Can diamond doves from a pet store be tamed?

[backyard pigeons]

Oops, I know you haven't just joined, but welcome to byc! Forgot to welcome you earlier!

 

[Serin]

that is very sad and disturbing. I know PETA has some videos about the suppliers for petco animals but I wasn't sure how accurate those videos were, but they were very disturbing, have you ever seen those videos?

Yes... I dont support Peta but their videos are accurate and unedited. Those suppliers also breed for Petsmart.

 

[ElisaDove81]

Oops, I know you haven't just joined, but welcome to byc! Forgot to welcome you earlier!

thank you!

 

[jak2002003]

Hi. I breed diamond doves as a hobby.

They will tame down very easily. But, it depends on what you mean by tame and what you want out of them.

For example, they won't get tame to give you kisses, snuggle with you, or be petted. But they will get tame enough to not be frightened of you, and will feed from your hand.

I have had hundreds of these doves over the years, only one was super tame.

They should always be in pairs (any sex combination). I single dove is very lonely and will have a shortened lifespan.

They are naturally very flighty and easily spooked as they are prey animals. They can have problem at night time the most, when something wakes them up and they will go frantic and can injure themselves in the dark. I found covering the cage made no difference as a noise can set them off too. Now I have a low watt dim night light next to the cage, which means they can see and don't go bashing about in the cage so much.

 

[ElisaDove81]

Hi. I breed diamond doves as a hobby.

They will tame down very easily. But, it depends on what you mean by tame and what you want out of them.

For example, they won't get tame to give you kisses, snuggle with you, or be petted. But they will get tame enough to not be frightened of you, and will feed from your hand.

I have had hundreds of these doves over the years, only one was super tame.

They should always be in pairs (any sex combination). I single dove is very lonely and will have a shortened lifespan.

They are naturally very flighty and easily spooked as they are prey animals. They can have problem at night time the most, when something wakes them up and they will go frantic and can injure themselves in the dark. I found covering the cage made no difference as a noise can set them off too. Now I have a low watt dim night light next to the cage, which means they can see and don't go bashing about in the cage so much.

Thank you for the information Did you hand feed yours when they were very young? I know hand fed cockatiels make really good pets

 

[jak2002003]

Thank you for the information Did you hand feed yours when they were very young? I know hand fed cockatiels make really good pets

Hi. No, I did not hand feed them. They are not suitable to hand feed from hatching because they need 'pigeon milk' from their parents for the first few days of life. This is made in the parents crop and is like cheese... mmm lol. If they don't get this stuff they usually will die. This is the reason people don't hand rear doves and pigeons unless its a rescue or emergency.

 

[HeartsDelight]

I have bred diamond doves on a smaller scale and agree with everything @jak2002003 said.

They can be "tamed" to tolerate human presence quite easily, but they aren't "domesticated" the way pidgeons or parakeets or lovebirds are. Those species have been generationally bred for temperment in a way diamonds have not.

Kinda like iguanas vs bearded dragons. Individual iguanas can be tamed and the occasional adult will even be social. But bearded dragons have had friendliness selected for as species and the vast majority of them will naturally seek interaction either instinctually or with minimal work.

 

[ElisaDove81]

I have bred diamond doves on a smaller scale and agree with everything @jak2002003 said.

They can be "tamed" to tolerate human presence quite easily, but they aren't "domesticated" the way pidgeons or parakeets or lovebirds are. Those species have been generationally bred for temperment in a way diamonds have not.

Kinda like iguanas vs bearded dragons. Individual iguanas can be tamed and the occasional adult will even be social. But bearded dragons have had friendliness selected for as species and the vast majority of them will naturally seek interaction either instinctually or with minimal work.

I saw a video on youtube where someone actually tamed their diamond dove to fly on their hand, and to come when they called them, I guess every bird is different