A couple of years ago, Margit and Urmas Sand moved from Pärnu to Võru County and opened Mäe Hobby Farm. The farm is home to nandus, emus, ostriches, rare pheasant species and even peafowl, ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported Thursday.

In addition to showcasing the birds, the farm also places great importance on the sale of exotic bird chicks — and chick season is currently underway.

"We're expecting our first batch of pheasant chicks soon," said Urmas Sand. "We already have emu chicks, and of various ages already. The first ones are over three months old, and the second-to-last batch hatched yesterday."

One such little emu chick living at Mäe Hobby Farm is about a month old, but its sex can't be determined until it has grown into an adult — meaning at least a year and a half old. At that point, its sex can be determined, for example, by its voice.

"Females make a distinctive sound, like a drumroll, or the clacking of a plastic bucket," he noted.

This knowledge is of little use when it comes to marketing birds, however.

"People still want an already identified animal — whether a female or male bird — to add to their flock, and in order to sell the bird early, we need to be able to determine its sex at an early age already," Sand explained.

Mäe Hobby Farm is not alone in facing this issue either; other facilities also lack the capability to determine the sex of birds.

Likewise located in Võru County, Alaveski Animal Park is involved in breeding lynxes and snowy owls.

"To give them away, we absolutely need to know the sex of the [owl] chicks; otherwise we can't even complete the documentation," said Rein Kõiv, the owner of the animal park.

Up in the capital, Tallinn Zoo does have a genetics lab, but they do not offer sex determination for bird chicks as a widespread service.

For now, Mäe Hobby Farm has been sending the necessary samples to Spain, a lengthy and costly process. This prompted them to consider opening their own lab at the farm, and now they are already taking the first steps toward making it a reality.

"We're setting up a PCR lab to determine the sex of birds," Sand confirmed. "And we'll determine the birds' sex through feather, eggshell or blood analysis."

The owner of Alaveski Animal Park added that the bird farm's lab is highly anticipated.

"Not just within Estonia, but throughout the Baltics, I think," Kõiv said.

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