Hatching doves?

[percyj]

Sorry for all the questions...

1) What is the mortality rate for hatching out ring-necked or diamond doves?

2) which gender makes better pets?

3) how can you differentiate between the genders?

4) how many sq. Ft. Per bird?

5) What is their diet?

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

Quote:
1. I'm not sure what the mortality rate is. If they have plenty of food and water, and there aren't any fights in the nest between different pairs, then you should have successful clutches every time. If they are healthy, that is. Sometimes young birds aren't good parents at first. But they get better with each clutch.

2. I don't think the gender really matters. Both are equally as easy to tame, if you spend time with them.

3. Diamond doves are easy - the males have bright red ceres around their eyes, and the hens have a more pale red-orange color. Ringneck doves you can only tell by their actions. The males will coo MUCH more (most hens never fully coo, just the occasional "laugh" or grunt while on the nest), dance/bow, and chase the hens.

4. For doves, 1 square foot per bird minimum. The more room, the better. The important thing is that they all have at least one perch and each pair has a nest box available.

5. Same thing as pigeons - seeds and grain. The only thing different is doves are smaller and cannot swallow large grains like whole corn. Wild bird seed, layer mash/chick crumbles, or a mix of any small seeds/grain. They can eat scratch feed as well, but they like variety, so I advise mixing it with bird seed. Or you can mix'em all together! They really like safflower seed, so that's a nice treat for them

 

[shelleyd2008]

I think the 1 sq. ft. thing is okay, but remember that they need a cage at least 2'x2' so they can spread their wings fully. A pair is okay in a 2'x2', but I wouldn't put a single in a cage smaller than that. My pairs have 2'x3' cages and my loner has one about 2'x2'.

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

I agree. I have some cages that I think are about 2x2x2, perhaps a tad bigger. I have separated my pairs in there before and they did well breeding in there. But I also wouldn't put a single, or more, in a cage smaller than that. Like I said, the more room, the better

 

[deerman]

the ringnecks , i like in large flight pens.....not a cage....IMO they need alot of room to fly.