Did I do the right thing?

[little brown hen]

This past spring I bought the neighbor 2 doves not sure of the breed, but he has pigeons. I quess he put them together well this summer they were at my chicken coops eating almost every day. I don't think they were roosting with the pigeons instead they were roosting in his barn loft. Anyway one day I seen just one never seen the other so I continued to let it feed with the chickens. Well It's cold out side now we have had low's of 18 here and a few flurries. Well it was feeding in the chicken coop today and I caught it and put it in a bird cage. Did I do the right thing and bring it into the house were it will be warm and I can feed and water it all winter and I will release it in the spring or should I have left it alone? Thank's to all your help

 

[sourland]

I think you did the right thing. Survival on its own through the winter would be an iffy thing. Only problem is that you may come to enjoy it so much as an indoor pet that you may choose not to release it in the spring.

 

[Blisschick]

I have a single male ringneck that showed up injured one day when I was feeding my chickens. He's now a permanent house bird. He has his own spacey cage with some toys, millet treats, and cuttlebone. If I let him out, he just sits on top the cage. He's spoiled and he knows it.

 

[Tony K T]

If it has been outside all along,it has climatized to your weather.It's best to bring it outside or he/she will molt and lose all the down it has built to suit the weather.Then if he/she does molt and goes outside in the cold months it will surely die.Unless you plan to keep it inside for the winter,it will be fine.If you let he/she out next spring and keep him/her outside all year,he/she will climatize for the cold weather.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Celtic Hill]

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does he produce alot of dust?

 

[Blisschick]

No, not really. I haven't noticed anything beyond the normal amount of dust my own home makes. He does make a mess with the seeds, though. That's not a big deal, since it just takes a swipe of the vacuum to fix that.

 

[larrylofts]

I Believe Doves Like Pigeons Have Dust That Is Feather Protein. When Shedded Can Cause Allergic Reactions . Many Fanciers Wear Dust Masks When In Lofts And At Shows . To Protect Againist Pigeon Lung Diaease Some Fanciers Have To Quite For Fear Of Serouis Results. Flu Like Feeling Fevers Are What Are Describe As The Begining

 

[Celtic Hill]

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My Dad had that when we had our birds, part of the reason why we got out of them, now im older and i can do everything im getting back into them.

 

[little brown hen]

How do you tell it's a male?
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[little brown hen]

well I have been doing alot of reading on here about doves. This dove is so quiet and makes no sound does that mean it's a hen? If so she has not laid an egg, but of course I don't have a bowl in her cage could that be why?