Dove Hatchlings

[duckncover]

Okay I was online a few days ago on Craigslist and seen a lady selling doves. I decided to go see them point being they were free in Jessup PA!

Turns out They weren't even weaned! She gave them to me and I found out they're a little less then 2 weeks old!

But they are doing well luckily They have been eating bird rearing formula and are making progress!


With any luck they'll live and be the friendliest doves on the planet!!

Pic:

 

[ButtonQuailHeaven]

Some people really tick me off!! I can't believe this lady would give away chicks like that! They need their parents for quite a bit longer. Plus Doves need crop milk to begin with. Good luck in raising them up duck. I hope they make it. Make sure they drink it up don't force feed them. They don't handfeed like most birds do. They will drink it up like a straw. When their parents feed them they open their mouths and the babies suck it out of there. I fed wild ones once that fell out of the nest and have bred my own Doves but never handfed them. I let their parents do it like they should. I wish there weren't people in the world like this lady giving them away on craigslist!! She obviously doesn't have the heart to have any animals!

 

[duckncover]

They have been sucking the formula out of a baby bottle nipple. They appear healthy though!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed

 

[nzpouter]

they're easy to handraise once the feather get to that stage...

 

[ButtonQuailHeaven]

You don't even have to use a nipple. They can drink it out of a small bowl. They will get more that way. Just mix up your formula and heat it some but not too hot. Then dip their beaks into the formula and they will do the rest once they know there is formula in the dish. Don't drown their beaks in it just show them the formula by dipping their beak slightly into the bowl. Good luck and I am glad you got them away from that lady. She sounds like a real piece of work!

 

[deerman]

Quote:
They only fed crop milk the first 7 days, after that grain or what the parents eat. Easy to hand feed after 10 days 3 times a day.

People buy young parrots all the time to handfeed, make the best pets. They also start out feeding crop milk.

 

[ButtonQuailHeaven]

Here is a quote from an article about Doves:

"There are nearly 300 species of doves and pigeons in the world.

12 species have been documented in Texas.

The mourning dove and the white-winged dove are the most common species.

Common domestic pigeons - or rock dove - are not native to North America.

Doves feed their young "pigeon's" milk, produced from the lining of the crop. Only doves, pigeons, penguins and flamingos produce crop milk.

To drink, doves suck up water in their bills without raising their heads. Most birds dip their bills and then tip their heads back and swallow."

Parrots do not feed crop milk and parrots would never be tame without handfeeding. I don't have a problem with handfeeding them at all. Doves on the other hand are quite tame without the need for handfeeding so I don't think there is a need to take them away from their parents to raise them yourself.

 

[Bettacreek]

Regardless of whether they should or should not be handfed, you shouldn't list them as free on a random classified board to the first person who can come and pick them up. Ethical breeders of parrots will either walk you through weaning a parrot, or won't sell unweaned parrots to inexperienced buyers.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Have raised pigeons,doves,parrots,and parrakeets and yes all feed them on crop milk. You can even see the crop milk in the young. Looks more like cheese.

Dont know where you got the info, but need to add hookbills.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Agree no one should sell or give away, birds that need hand fed unless they give the knowledge of how.

No doves,parrakeets,or even cockatiel. Need to be handfed to be tame. Handle these when first out of the nest is all it takes.