Pigeons vs Ringneck Doves as Indoor Pets

[emulhall]

And these are a few of the pigeons. Equally as lovely, but less suited to be a house pet then a ringneck dove... in my opinion.

All of your birds are adorable! So cute! Thank you for your response. Do you agree with other people’s responses about doves being more hands off? Or has that not been your experience?

 

[Serin]

I don't know what kind of pigeons you have that are so dusty they stain clothing.
My bird is not like that at all.
She is about as dusty as two cockatiels, maybe a little less, but she molts more.

My cockatiels would cover the walls with a talc-powder in a couple days, but Olive doesn't seem to leave any residue. She does shed little dander flakes around her cage that can build up in a couple days.

 

[Serin]

All of your birds are adorable! So cute! Thank you for your response. Do you agree with other people’s responses about doves being more hands off? Or has that not been your experience?

They are not hands-off, they are generally tamer than pigeons even if not handled much, but once a pigeon does bond to you the bond is stronger.

 

[Serin]

This was my dove, Sparky.

I didn't have him and Olive at the same time, but they are about the same size. Olive is a very small dainty pigeon, and Sparky was a very large dove. They were about as messy as each other, but some pigeons are much bigger and some doves are a lot smaller - it was really surprising to see small ringneck doves half his size in a shop, as I had only him as a reference. Maybe this is the difference in Jak and I'd perspective. Olive may be a couple ounces more, but Sparky was as long and had as wide of wings. Sparky had larger, wetter droppings that were a bit worse to clean. Olive has small solid drops.

Both birds were handleable. Olive is much more devoted. Sparky was more independent and more interested in birds, any kind, than people. Olive is indifferent to all other birds, but she loves all people. Sparky stepped up if you picked him up on your hand. Olive jumps up on request and flies to you.

 

[emulhall]

This was my dove, Sparky.

I didn't have him and Olive at the same time, but they are about the same size. Olive is a very small dainty pigeon, and Sparky was a very large dove. They were about as messy as each other, but some pigeons are much bigger and some doves are a lot smaller - it was really surprising to see small ringneck doves half his size in a shop, as I had only him as a reference. Maybe this is the difference in Jak and I'd perspective. Olive may be a couple ounces more, but Sparky was as long and had as wide of wings. Sparky had larger, wetter droppings that were a bit worse to clean. Olive has small solid drops.

Both birds were handleable. Olive is much more devoted. Sparky was more independent and more interested in birds, any kind, than people. Olive is indifferent to all other birds, but she loves all people. Sparky stepped up if you picked him up on your hand. Olive jumps up on request and flies to you.

Awesome! I love these anecdotes of yours. Yeah, I’m definitely leaning toward pigeon Although your dove looks so cute too!

 

[emulhall]

I don't know what kind of pigeons you have that are so dusty they stain clothing.
My bird is not like that at all.
She is about as dusty as two cockatiels, maybe a little less, but she molts more.

My cockatiels would cover the walls with a talc-powder in a couple days, but Olive doesn't seem to leave any residue. She does shed little dander flakes around her cage that can build up in a couple days.

Thank you for this comparison. I can see it more clearly now as I’ve interacted with cockatiels before.

 

[emulhall]

They are not hands-off, they are generally tamer than pigeons even if not handled much, but once a pigeon does bond to you the bond is stronger.

Hi Serin. One more question if you don’t mind lol! Do you think if I were to get two female pigeons they would still be affectionate? More so than a mated pair? Or would they ignore me to hang out with their pigeon friend?