Help with Coocoo, our Laughing Dove

[Coocooku]

Hi everyone!

Coocoo, our laughing dove is a rescue who has been with us since he was a few days old. We managed to take care of him/her and is now almost 3 months old. Have not been DNA-sexed yet but we are planning to- but we assume him a male. We don't have any experience with doves or birds in general, and we are learning by the day, also with some readings and research.

Since he grew up with us, he is so attached and will always sit on our shoulders, heads or wherever he is comfortable - just as long as he is near us ALL THE TIME! He was never caged, so he is free to roam around the house. He recently have this behavior where he will coo/laugh and seemed to be fighting with/attacking our feet and hands and will mount on them (like dogs humping on human's legs). He has also started cooing/laughing the entire day (we assume calling for a mate) and would be exposing his behind with his tail facing up. Having no experience on these, please advise on what we need to do. Do we find him a mate? Will it have any psychological effects on him if we didn't find him a mate? He barely ate and continuously coos/laughs the entire day (like the 2nd video) and is already aggressive when we come near him.

Sorry if this is so long and for so many questions. Thanks a lot for all the advises in advance!

 

[Qwerty3159]

Definitely a male dove. He's trying to mate with you. I've seen hand reared doves and pigeons that tried to pair up with humans that were able to also lead normal lives and pair with their own species.
If you found him a mate it would give the members of your household some peace and a break from his courting. I don't think it would be truly detrimental if he did not have one but the behaviors are unlikely to stop if he has only humans to court. I'm on my phone and can't check your location but if he is a wild/native dove and you do decide to get him a mate I would recommend buying a female domestic dove like a ringneck and then just replacing any hybrid eggs with wooden ones.

 

[Quackter]

I don't know anything about hand raising a dove, but we did have some essentially pet doves in "my little thicket" They were so tame they'd almost never jump. We'd watch them, could tell some individuals, peak at the eggs and babies in their eye-level nests. They really liked the lowest branch on a black locust right at the trunk. Usually two or three pairs in maybe a half acre brush and small trees. The one behavior observed that really stuck was whenever you started seeing a pair have a third hanging around. We got told by an old timer that they knew when they were going to die, and that the new one would hang around until then. From what I seen, I think he was right. Sure enough at some point, new boy or girl would be there and the other one wouldn't. They'd flock in the fall, and there might be 6 or 8 on the power lines cooing in the summer, but they are pretty darn partner dependent I think. I'd find him a girlfriend. Very cool bird by the way, sure looks fun.

 

[Coocooku]

Definitely a male dove. He's trying to mate with you. We thought so, too. We were advised by the Vet to have him DNA-sexed to confirm his gender. We will definitely have this done. I've seen hand reared doves and pigeons that tried to pair up with humans that were able to also lead normal lives and pair with their own species. We were so scared that he won't survive, but he did! He gets to see other doves from the window everyday. I hope he won't have a difficult time adjusting when we find him a mate.
If you found him a mate it would give the members of your household some peace and a break from his courting. I don't think it would be truly detrimental if he did not have one but the behaviors are unlikely to stop if he has only humans to court. His courting doesn't really bother us at all, we are just really scared that not finding him a mate might have some psychological effects. I'm on my phone and can't check your location but if he is a wild/native dove and you do decide to get him a mate I would recommend buying a female domestic dove like a ringneck and then just replacing any hybrid eggs with wooden ones. Appreciate your advise, @Qwerty3159! I will posting updates regarding this.

 

[biophiliac]

What a lovely bird you raised. And very good advice from @Qwerty3159 .
I'll be interested in your updates.