Doves and Pigeons as Pets
By PH Budgie


Doves and pigeons, domesticated for thousands of years, have been used in the past as sacrifices to gods, raised for food and kept as pets. Pigeons have carried messages across battlefields and from town to town, been couriers of news from distant relatives or reporters, and transported vital medications to dying people. Nowadays tame pigeons are still used to carry messages, but more commonly are raised for racing, meat, scientific experimentation and "white dove" releases at weddings. A few species of doves are raised as pets and the white Ringneck Doves are often used in magic shows. Wild dove and pigeon hunting is still a popular sport. Over 300 species of the family Columbidae, the classification name for doves and pigeons, exist in the world. The United States has nine native and four introduced species of doves or pigeons.

The difference between doves and pigeons is mostly size. Doves are generally sleeker and smaller with pointed tails, while pigeons are larger and stockier with rounded tails. The common urban pigeon is also known as a "Rock Dove." The popular white dove releases at various celebrations are billed as "dove" releases, but ethical companies always use white homing pigeons, as they return home.

Doves and pigeons make excellent pets. They are attractive, quiet, unobtrusive, have a calming, gentle voice, are fairly easy to tame, generally healthy and hardy, active but not demanding, require little maintenance and are usually inexpensive. They are easy to breed and make excellent parents.

DOVES

The most common doves kept as pets are the Ringneck and Diamond Doves. The Ringneck Dove has been bred in over 40 color mutations: white, peach, fawn, pied and apricot, to name a few. It is also known as the laughing dove, collared dove, Barbary dove or turtledove, and the white mutation is sometimes called the Java dove, peace dove, or sacred dove.

Color mutations of Diamond Doves include cinnamon, pied, brown, brilliant, yellow, snow white, white tailed, and silver. The Diamond Dove, sometimes called the Little Dove or Little Turtledove, belongs to the genus Geopelia that includes five small, long-tailed doves that eat grains and live in the relatively open savanna and semi-arid regions in Australia. One of the five species, the Zebra Dove, has a range that extends into Southeast Asia and have been imported into and become feral in Hawaii and parts of the continental USA. Four of the species have barred plumage while the Diamond Dove has spotted plumage.



Ringneck Doves

The domestic Ringneck Dove, Streptopelia risoria, is a cross between the wild species of Ringneck Doves, S.decaocto and S.roesogrisea. These are the doves of the Bible. They are not native to the USA, but probably originated in northeast Africa and Arabia. Raised as pets for over 2,000 years, they are now the most commonly kept doves in the world.

The most familiar colors are beige-pink and pure white, but many other mutations have been bred, including a silky-feathered variety. The original wild colored bird has smooth brown and gray feathers on the back and wings with a rich rose-colored head and breast. The bird is named for its collar of black feathers about 3/16' wide around the neck, or in the white variety, a collar of white feathers growing horizontally against the grain of the neck feathers. These doves measure approximately 10 to 12 inches in length from beak to tail tip, and have a wingspread of approximately 15 inches. Males and females look alike and about the only way to tell the difference is by observation. Only males perform bow coos under ordinary conditions. This is the fastest coo in courting behavior, and is always directed at a particular bird with an accompanying head bow. The feet often alternate in "stamping". However, females long isolated from males may bow coo when presented with another bird. Perch coos and nest coos are slower and softer and the nest coo is always accompanied by wing "flipping." Perch coos and nest coos may be given by both sexes. Other characteristic male behaviors can also be taken on by long-isolated females, so are not as reliable. Some of their vocalizations sound like rippling laughter, thus the common name, "laughing dove."

Ringnecks can be kept and bred in cages as small as two feet square, although a more appropriate size for a pair would be 36 x 24 x 30 inches high. A single bird can be housed in a smaller cage, but should be let out every day for indoor exercise. They should never be allowed outdoor free flight as they lack the "homing" instinct of pigeons. Ringnecks can be kept alone and tame quite easily, even as adults, with lots of patience. Let the bird see you often, always use gentle, slow movements, talk softly, and offer treats from your open palm, and within a few weeks the bird should trust you enough to step up onto your finger. If a bird raises its wing vertically over its shoulder and backs away, withdraw and try again later. Frightened doves can bash against the cage bars with enough force to injure themselves. When cornered, a terrified dove will "slap" you with its wing, although most doves won't bite or peck. Males tend to be quarrelsome with other males so it is best to keep them singly or in mated pairs.

Provide separate food, water and grit dishes. Ringneck Doves eat seeds whole and suck water, as do all columbiaforms. They are ground-feeders, so are most comfortable with dishes placed near the bottom of the cage. Favorite seeds include wheat, milo or kaffir, rice, millet, cracked corn, vetch, chopped peanuts, safflower and tiny black sunflower. Commercial "Dove and Quail Mix" seed is available, but sometimes hard to find. Pigeon pellets or the smaller game-bird pellets (20 percent protein), or "crumbled" poultry feed, if reasonably fresh, are good for supplementing grain. The pellets will supply vitamins A and D3. The D3 is necessary if direct sun is not available. Some birds sweep their beaks through the seed looking for choice tidbits, so be prepared to vacuum under the cage often. Change the food and water every day, and keep the cage bottom clean. Soiled feed on the ground may spoil and cause illness. Doves also like extra calcium (crushed eggshell, or oyster shell) in their grit. Doves appreciate deep green leaves, such as dandelion, but they are not necessary if pellets are given. Welcome treats include crumbled whole wheat bread, millet sprays, crumbled hardboiled egg yolks, fresh greens, small pieces of grapes and watermelon. Some birds are pickier than others, so keep experimenting. If you have white birds, don't line the cage with newspaper or you will soon have birds with gray tails. Brown wrapping paper or paper towels work best, or use a cage with a wire bottom and under-tray. Provide a large shallow bathing dish two or three times a week, or mist the birds with a spray bottle.

If you let your doves out, be prepared for them to fly up to the highest curtain rod and down to the floor to walk around the room looking for tidbits or nesting materials. They will return to their cage in time. Their droppings are well formed and harden quickly, so are easy to pick up with a vacuum cleaner. Don't be alarmed if your doves spend a few moments each day lounging on the bottom of their cage or on the floor, as long as they get up and go back to their perches within about an hour or so. Doves all exhibit this 'couch-potato' lounging posture, particularly in the afternoon, which is 'dove rest-period.'

Perches in the birds cage can either be made of natural wood such as apple branches (be sure no pesticides have been used), or of hardwood, about 1/2 to 3/4 in diameter. Place three or four perches at least eight inches from the sides of the cage, so that they will not damage their tail feathers by banging them against the bars, and at least fifteen inches apart to give flying room.

If the birds are kept inside, protect them from cold drafts and breezes, cooking fumes, fireplace smoke and other hazards. However, these are hardy birds that can take below freezing weather. They do well in outside aviaries if slowly acclimated and protected from the elements.

A mated pair of birds will produce young on a regular basis, all year round. Unless you plan on a huge flock, or on giving away birds, it is best to remove the eggs. Sadly, some people still use white Ringneck Doves for celebratory "dove releases." Ringneck Doves released to the wild are fated to die horrible deaths. They are not equipped to live wild in most of our climates, have no natural fear of predators, and have never learned to distinguish "natural" foods.

Ringneck Dove hens will probably start to lay eggs at about 8 months of age, sometimes even without a male present. Often the hen will sit in the food dish to lay her eggs. When you notice this behavior, place an 8 to 10-inch basket on the floor of the cage, away from the perches so droppings will not foul it, and provide clean straw or small sticks. You can line the nest first with paper towels and a little alfalfa straw for easy cleaning. If you do not want baby birds, remove the eggs when the second egg appears or four days after the first egg is laid, since some hens reabsorb an egg from time to time. When you remove eggs, distract your birds with a stalk of fresh millet seeds or some other treat. You can substitute marble eggs for the real ones to prevent immediate re-laying. Hens lay eggs approximately every three to four weeks in the spring breeding season, and if kept in warm rooms they will lay year-round, so be prepared to take away about a dozen eggs per hen per year. If you want baby birds, they will hatch in approximately two weeks. Both parents will take turns sitting on the eggs and feeding the babies, and when the babies perch on the side of the nest and get ready to try their wings, about 2 weeks after hatching, you can start finger-taming them.

Ringneck Doves can be sweet and loving pets, given time and patience. Purchasing hand-raised babies will assure a tame bird. Their gentle ways and laughing coos offer an interesting and entertaining atmosphere to any home.



Source: Bird Hobbyist

Diamond Doves

Diamond Doves (Geopelia cuneata) were imported to Europe in the late 1800s. They were raised in the London Zoological Garden as early as 1868. They have become one of the most popular of aviary birds and are an excellent choice for beginners. They rarely get sick and can be kept with other small, peaceful, birds such as finches. They also do well inside and are best kept in pairs. They can live up to fifteen years in captivity, with an average life expectancy of ten years.

The Diamond Dove is one of the smallest of the Australian doves, weighing less than an ounce (23 to 27 grams) and about 7-1/2 to 8-1/3 inches long. Adults have a gray body, creamy-white abdomen, blue gray and chestnut wing feathers with white diamond specks on the wings, a long tail with white tipped outer tail feathers and dark gray bill. The legs and feet are pink. The adult birds' eyes are have orange irises with a pronounced orange-red orbital ring and can often be sexed by the thickness of the eye ring and the color of the wing feathers. At maturity (about one year), the males have a silver gray color and a wide eye ring (about 2-3 mm). The females tend toward a brown gray color and have a thinner eye ring (about 1 mm thick).

Diamond Doves have a variety of cooing calls. Birds in captivity will sometimes imitate human coos, too. They are very affectionate -- when one bird of a pair returns to a nest they often greet each other with very low, raspy coos. At night, if they are not nesting, they cuddle with each other and give their mate a series of very rapid light pecks around the neck and head while slightly shaking their wings. When mated birds become separated they will make a two-note call until they become reunited.

As with all birds, Diamond Doves need enough cage room to move around, roost and exercise comfortably. A pair can be kept in as small as an 18 inch square cage but should be allowed free indoor flight every day. Minimum flight cage size should be 3'x 4'x 6'. They should never be allowed outdoor free flight as they lack the "homing" instinct of pigeons. They eat small whole seeds such as millet, canary grass, milo and wheat (a vitamin-fortified finch mix would work well) and are primarily ground feeders so should be provided separate seed, water and grit containers on or close to the floor. Also provide a cuttlebone, at least two natural-type perches of varying height, size and spacing, a small canary-type nest and dried grasses for nest building. Millet seed sprays, fresh greens, an occasional piece of whole wheat bread, hard boiled egg yolk and small meal worms are welcome treats. Grit should include crushed eggshells or oyster shells for calcium, sand for food grinding purposes, and tiny bits of charcoal as a digestion aid. Clean, fresh water is essential. Water bowls should be open and fairly deep as doves suck water into their bills. Offer a bathing dish once or twice a week with about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of luke-warm water, or mist the birds with a clean spray bottle. Cages should be located in a draft free area away from heating and cooling outlets, open windows, fireplaces and kitchen cooking fumes. If the cage is in a dark room or if the area becomes very cool, add a light attached to a timer. Vitalites, although expensive, provide a healthy light spectrum.

These birds are happiest kept in mated pairs, but unless you want a lot of birds, you should remove the eggs once laid. Males can become territorial and may fight, especially if there is a female present. Females usually get along well together. Courting behavior is charming. The male dove usually begins the mating sequence by flying to the nesting site and incessantly calling for the female to join him. Once she is interested, they both fly to the ground where the male will display his tail feathers like a fan, while touching his beak to the ground. Sometimes he will puff up his feathers and strut around the female, stop, puff his feathers up further, then repeat the cycle. Sometimes separately or at the end of this display, the female will open her beak and the male will feed her like he would a baby, but the actions are much more violent and often end with the male violently slapping his wings against the ground. After mating the male will give a series of very short coos for a minute or so while both remain very still.

Diamonds are devoted and very affectionate birds. When one bird of a pair returns to a nest they often greet each other with very low, raspy coos. At night, if they are not nesting, they often cuddle with each other and exchange very rapid light pecks around the neck and head while slightly shaking their wings. When separated, the birds give a two-note call until they become reunited.

Two small white eggs are usually laid one day apart. Incubation is 13 to 14 days. The male will sit on the eggs during the day and the female at night. Sometimes both birds will brood together, especially toward the end of the incubation period. The young are hatched without feathers but are fully feathered within a week and are flying within two weeks. Both parents feed the young regurgitated food until they able to peck sufficient food for themselves. Before the babies are weaned, the parents may start a new brood. Diamond Doves are charming birds and make a wonderful addition to any aviary. They are particularly suited to apartment living, as they are fairly quiet, clean and non-destructive. They can be tamed with gentle and persistent handling, but will be friendliest if purchased young from a small breeder who has handled the babies from the time they are hatched. Although they will never talk and most likely won't learn "tricks", they are beautiful and will provide hours of quiet entertainment and pleasure.

Source: Bird Hobbyist

This is wonderful information...Thank you..