Adopted a pair of white ringneck doves Saturday!

[QuackandPuddle]

Well, it was our Anniversary and our trip to Petsmart turned into an adoption. We just shouldn't be allowed in there and this is yet another case for shopping on Chewy instead! Our local Petsmart carries pets for adoption only and the fee goes right to our local SNAP agency that does far more than spaying and neutering for local animals. This mated pair had been there for several weeks because they were not allowed to be separated. Another reason I love Petsmart... they knew better than to break up the couple. We named them Jack and Sally and the two are quite amorous already! They began mating in front of us in the store and have spent much of the last 48 hours flirting, dancing, laughing, and mounting. I don't think they have finished the deed completely yet, but there is lots of flapping and snuggling going on. I have raised chickens for years, and have had a variety of parrots come and go between finding their forever homes. I am just a bleeding heart for wayward birds.

The point of this thread is this, though... I am addicted to these birds. God has never put a sweeter, more gentle creature on this earth. I thought my ducks were the kindest, gentlest pair but these doves are just love with wings attached. Are all pigeons/doves this affectionate? They are gladly handled, immediately flew to us when let out of the cage, and they are trusting with our pair of golden retrievers. Like, they will land on them and snuggle into their warm areas. The dogs are smitten too, as they are most accustomed to our Conure (he passed last June) who would screech and bite when they came near. The dogs come into the room and look at the cage lovingly with tails wagging.

I am SO ready to start breeding! But of course, like any new mania I will wait until I have a better understanding of their habits and have a home lined up for the grown squabs. But seriously, did we hit the lotto? Or am I just hardened from years of hookbills with attitudes? I can't imagine wanting any other companion bird after these two. They are the sweetest! No pecking, no frantic flight into windows. They are incredible! Is this typical behavior or are my two just unusually comfortable with people and animals?

Bonus pic of the pair with their doggy friends.

 

[townchicks]

I would say your two Doves are particularly tame. They are easy to tame but they do not come out of the egg that way. They need to be handled regularly from a young age to become as tame as yours are. You really did hit the lottery! I would caution you about jumping right into breeding, however. Doves are very prolific! It is not that easy to find homes for them either. The shelters in my area frequently have them, sometimes they have entire aviaries come in from people that are moving, or just plain tired of them. All of my doves are from shelters. You also need to know, that male doves are very territorial. They will fight with other males to the point of even killing them sometimes. One of my doves even killed a male button quail that he was housed with. All of my males would, and have, fought with the other males, so they are housed separately. It is impossible to tell the difference between the sexes by looking. I have four doves, and only one of them is a female, paired with one of my males. One of the other males was supposed to be a female, but after a week with the other male, they began fighting, and I realized it was a male also, and I had to separate them. A friend of mine that let her pair raise a family, had the father attack the male offspring as soon as it fledged from the nest. I control the population at my house by replacing the eggs from my pair with fake eggs, and they will sit on those for a couple of weeks. When they figure out those aren't going to hatch, they lay more, and I remove those. I really enjoy my doves, the cooing is such a peaceful and soothing sound. Congratulations on your new pets!

 

[QuackandPuddle]

I did know that the males could be agressive, but had no idea that they would go after another species or even a little fledgling. That is very good to know!

The only breeding we would be doing would be for family members. We have several kids in the family coming into an age of responsibility for pet care. But even that would be many months down the road. Thank you for the advice!

I am quite enamored with this duo! They are so funny to watch and seem to ask for so little in return. Today, we had our first egg. I'm considering waiting until the second one comes and boiling them for a bit before returning them to the nest until we find a good decoy. Did you order yours somehwere in particular? I'm curious how sensitive they are about the size and coloring of the replacement.

 

[townchicks]

I did know that the males could be agressive, but had no idea that they would go after another species or even a little fledgling. That is very good to know!

The only breeding we would be doing would be for family members. We have several kids in the family coming into an age of responsibility for pet care. But even that would be many months down the road. Thank you for the advice!

I am quite enamored with this duo! They are so funny to watch and seem to ask for so little in return. Today, we had our first egg. I'm considering waiting until the second one comes and boiling them for a bit before returning them to the nest until we find a good decoy. Did you order yours somehwere in particular? I'm curious how sensitive they are about the size and coloring of the replacement.

I ordered fake eggs online, but the eggs they sent me were smaller than the dove eggs. They seemed to do the trick ok, but I ended up making some from FIMO, ( a craft clay that you harden in the oven) that were the same size as the real dove's eggs. It's really easy.