Dove care

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Can doves eat layer pellets ground up? What about chick starter? Or scratch? What about greens? Can they eat grass? What do I put their water in? A chick waterer? A bowl? What about nesting boxes for them? Bedding? How much space do they need to fly around in? Do they need a head lamp in winter?

 

[Birdman18]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Can doves eat layer pellets ground up? What about chick starter? Or scratch? What about greens? Can they eat grass? What do I put their water in? A chick waterer? A bowl? What about nesting boxes for them? Bedding? How much space do they need to fly around in? Do they need a head lamp in winter?

Hi Mrs. Fluffy Puffy,

Yes the doves should be able to eat layer pellets ground up, i don't see it as a problem i usually feed my wild bird seed with safflower, sunflowers, and other grains & seeds. You should try to experiment to see which seeds or grains they like best, i remember one day giving them canary seed, nyjer seed, and oats they seem to prefer some over the other.
For the waterer use a good sized deep container, doves drink water differently than say quail, they need to dip their beak in the water to drink and need a deep container to drink from. Something like a chick feeder would be too shallow and they wont be able to drink properly.
Doves dont seem to eat grass. Any nesting box seems to be fine as long as they can fit inside and deep enough, but not too deep, they wont be able to see their eggs if its too deep. You can put straw or other material in the nestbox sometimes they seem to want to build their nest on their own so just place nesting material like tiny twigs at the bottom of the aviary and they will make a nest.
Doves seem to be pretty hardy in the winter i dont think they would need a heat lamp as long as their protected from the elements.

Hope this helps!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Thank you so much! So what would you use for a waterer? Could I put their food in a bowl or chick feeder? How offten do they hatch out babies? Could I use hay as bedding?

 

[Birdman18]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Thank you so much! So what would you use for a waterer? Could I put their food in a bowl or chick feeder? How offten do they hatch out babies? Could I use hay as bedding?

I just use a plastic container approx. 8" long, 5" wide, and 4" deep. The doves need to be able to dip their beaks in the container and have depth in that container to drink. Yeah you could put their food in a bowl. My doves usually have 3 to 6 clutches, it depends though but usually if they trying hatching out eggs and they dont hatch they'll keep trying and lay a new set of eggs. If you get 4 eggs in one nest which has happened to me that means you have two females using one nest.
Yes hay, straw, pine needles, even thin twigs or sticks are all good.


If you don't mind me saying, What kind and how many doves do you have? or do you not have any yet?

Good Luck!!!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I'm getting 2 white doves I don't know if they are male or female? They could be both females or both males or both? I'm hopeing male and female! How much room do they need to fly around in?

 

[Birdman18]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

I'm getting 2 white doves I don't know if they are male or female? They could be both females or both males or both? I'm hopeing male and female! How much room do they need to fly around in?

White doves are nice birds to have, I have Ringneck Doves myself i'm thinking about getting some diamond doves to add something else to the aviary, their cute little doves. You'll know if you have a male by hearing his cooing and bowing down. My aviary that i have for the doves is about 5 feet long and 3 to 4 ft high. They just need enough room to have perches and get their exercise from flying. I would always make the aviary bigger, you'll have more doves as they lay eggs so you'll want them all to have plenty of space.​

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

What do you call white doves? I mean like, there are ring neck doves and dimond doves and stuff. How much could I sale baby doves for? I saw an add in the paper for baby doves for sale for $20.00 each. Would people buy doves? Would a chicken/rabbit hutch with a run underneath work for them? Will the parents take care of the babies and stuff or would I have to take care of them? What do you feed baby doves?

 

[truecolorsloft]

"White doves could mean several things to many people. Albino ringneck doves, bull eyed white ringneck doves, and white homer pigeons are all called "white doves." So in the end it depends on the specific birds you have. As far as breeding it depends on if your birds are good parents or not. Generally doves take care of their own babies, but rejections do happen, and you can let nature take it's course of you can try hand feeding. We use a formula of generic birdseed and game bird crumbles ground to a powder, and mixed with water. It should resemble a thin slurry, and can be fed through a syringe every two hours. As far as pricing it all depends on if you band your birds, and or if you show them etc. We are members of the American dove association and National pigeon association and all of our babies are seamless banded. We take in the colors, relationship status and breed of the bird into the price.
Regarding a rabbit hutch, aslong as it's predator safe it should work. We have our doves inside the house in parrot sized cages, but they get daily fligh time in the house, where as our pigeons are housed outside in the loft, and get flight time. I hope this helps you.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Thanks for all the info truecolorsloft!!!

 

[larrylofts]

When i had doves fed them laying pellets not ground up whole they did ok. Ask what they have been feeding them . Grains or seeds they will pickout what they like and waste the rest if you don.t make them clean it up.I try to feed what they will clean up in a day.Grit will be needed if you feed seeds or grains pellets are a complete diet droppings are loose and more of it but when feeding there babies they seem to really fill them up. Doves seem to do better in single pens haveing several pairs in a loft seems like they all liked one nest and laid in it . Nest bowls i used plastic dog bowls from dollar store handful of shaveings and some hay or pine needles on top of the shaveings. Doves will feed there own young until they can fend for themselves. I raised them in single pens two feet by two feet and three feet tall . If not sure about the sexs a dve male will start acting like a male about 4 to 5 months of age hens mature about 6 months . Only way too make sure you have a hen lays eggs , Two doves of the same sex can and will act like pairs . Doves lay two eggs per clutch so if you find four you have two hens. Were in Texas are you might be able to find a dove breeder close to you so you can visit them .