I'm thinking about possibly getting a dove...

Chickincredible

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hi everyone! So I've had my heart set on getting a chicken for the past few years but I've learned that my neighborhood doesn't allow chickens (Darn!) and I started thinking about maybe another option that isn't considered "poultry" or a "farm animal". Doves are definitely on that list because you can easily buy one at a store... and because you wouldn't be fined anything for having them. I wanted to know what type(s) of doves make good pets and if they do make good pets in the first place. Thanks!
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You should consider getting a Fantail pigeon. I breed Birmingham rollers and West of Englands.
Their friendly when you spend a lot of time with them.
 
If you are going to keep doves in your house you are best with the smaller ones like Ring Neck Doves / Peace Doves, or Diamond Doves.

Fantail and White Homers produce a large amount of feather dust... this can lead to serious health problems called Pigeon Fanciers Lung...

an allergic reaction which affects the air exchanging parts of the lung and causes shortness of breath, cough and feverish illness.

They are fine in a loft or outdoor setting as you can provide lots of ventilation to keep the dust to a minimum.

Doves are very social birds and they are best in pairs.

If you get only one it is likely to be very lonely... doves are together all the time... so if you have to go to work or school or out shopping for a few hours the dove will be very stressed. A lone bird will not be as active and will usually just sit about looking bored.

Having 2 means that you can enjoy watching them interact, cooing, preening each other and playing.

2 will get just as tame. They will love to feed from your hand and sit on your shoulder... or the back of the sofa.

I really recommend the Ring Neck doves. They come in many colours and get really tame. They are calm and easy to feed and take care of.

The smaller Diamond Doves are lovely too.. but they are more skittish.. and they are a harder to tame.. always staying a bit 'jumpy'.

Here is a photo of some of my Ring Neck Doves.



 
I've got both diamond doves and ring neck doves and both are super tame, not flighty at all. The sounds they make are not as loud as pigeons if noise is a consideration. Diamond doves are especially quiet. They are small with small voices.
 
Most of the time people do not have problems with their lungs around pigeons.
Up to 22 percent of pigeon breeders exhibit symptoms of pigeon fanciers' lung, according to the British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research team.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_6583236_pigeon-breeders-lung-disease.html#ixzz32QljerF9

This is a serious condition and it is going to increase the chances of getting this disease if people are keeping the pigeons in their home / bedroom etc and living with them 24 / 7.
 
No it rarely happens. I heard that it only happens with pigeon fanciers that have pigeons for like 50 years and we know someone that's had pigeons for a long time and he doesn't have any problem. People have pet pigeons in their house all the time and I've kept one pigeon in my house and it wasn't bad at all. And female pigeons hardly make any noise at all.
Oh and chickincredible you may be able to change the law in your neighborhood about keeping chickens.
 
Before anything else.. look into Chinese red breasted blue quail (if I'm saying that correct), or known in usa incorrectly as "button quail". quail act much same as chickens even pecking scratching around for bugs seeds and taking them from hand, and raising babies same way.

bantam or mini ducks are another option.

i kept bantam chickens and no one knew or cared, and didn't even believe when showed them that i had and they were chickens. just look for true bantams that generally smallest, or bantam Americana as I've settled on as fave chooks.

Roller and tumbler pigeons seem to put off hardly any dust, especially compaired to other rock dove breeds smaller and larger, and much less dust than tiels, ringneck doves, budgies/"parakeets", finches maybe, corternix quail, homing pigeons, owl type pigeons, and any hookbill species.

I've bred all said in my condo for years when had to move them in there, and only minor probs if didn't mist with warm water during hottest part of day and scrap poo with paint scrapper daily, as well as vacume daily. basically taking care of how should them and your place anyways. lol. i did however have two air filters by aviary where several of each of: tiels, ring neck doves, cortermix quail, budgie, etc were, and had to vacuum out every other day to once a week.

rollers/tumblers (all rollers are tumblers), were cleanest birds ever kept and I've had a lot as fostered hundreds of rescues aside from breeding budgies for fun, as they don't leave seed shells behind, they poop solids straight down if not brooding, they don't roll or scratch or peck toss around stuff hardly as bad, and many more reasons why i decided to only keep tumblers when needed to move and sadly rehome all other birds only able to take at time several birds total.

keep us updated and hope you find what your looking for, and ask anything if you want advice (its how i learned along with trial and error).
 

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