Raising a baby mourning dove!!! NEED HELP!!!

[Majd]

I mean did you introduce him to water do suck up by himself?? I explained what you should do in an earlier post. ..... don't forget to update us. ..

 

[jimboree]

Oh yes, I tried that today and he wasn't that crazy about it. But I will keep practicing with the water every day.

I was also wondering when a dove becomes an adult? Like how many days or months until they are considered adults

Also when will I be able to tell if beans a boy or girl. I feel like he's a boy by the way he acts but I'm obviously not sure.

 

[Majd]

At this stage it's a bit hard to tell the sex... but at 1 month and a half... a baby dove can become independent..... he is then called juvenile until he is approximately six months old.... at this age they reach sexual maturity and are called adults and begin to find a mate... you can tell the sex by the behavior of the mature dove... the more vocal one are usually males... and in mourning dove the male has more red feathers that glow on the neck than females that have a more pale red feathering..... and the males are very slightly bigger than females. ... but you can't tell for sure until the female lays eggs and the male mount her...

 

[jimboree]

Hey everyone. I know I haven't posted in a while but I would like you all to know that I let bean go today. He flew into the trees after a heart breaking good bye. I cried my eyes out, I still am crying. He or she was never just a bird to me, Bean became family. He would fly out of his cage and cuddle with me in bed. He loved to be kissed and snuggled and was the most amazing creature. It's hard to say good bye but I know this is what Bean deserves and I can only pray that God is with him out there. I didn't get a pic of him on his last day but I have a few pics from the other day. Please say a little prayer for Bean as he embarks on the beginning of the life he was meant to live.

And this was Bean on the day we met...

 

[Hokum Coco]

Bean will not venture to far a field my guess is.
Let us hope he makes it.
He will stand a better chance if he released into or near a flock of his own kind.

 

[jimboree]

We have a lot of mourning doves nearby so he's not alone. I see groups of them all the time. I just hope I get to see him again someday...

 

[Hokum Coco]

I know very little about doves. However they are similar to homing pigeons in lots of respects. Any of my squabs that I raised by hand are here in my loft for life. I will be surprised if Bean does not pay you a visit.

 

[jimboree]

Bean came home tonight! I was sitting outside and he flew to the tree next to me. He then went to the ground and sat next to me eating seeds. He then tried to take a nap on the ground so I brought him in for the night so he can eat a bunch of seeds and sleep safely. I will let him back out tomorrow, I just think he had enough excitement for one day. I'm so happy he's ok!

 

[recygirl]

Thank you for all the posts on this forum. I found a baby mourning dove in the middle of a 5 way intersection today. I stopped traffic to get the poor little thing out of the road. It can fly (low), but I was told my a wildlife center to put it back in a safe place for the parent to find it again. I drove back to the site and couldn't even begin to imagine where the parents might be and couldn't bring myself to put it on the little bit of greenery beside the busy intersection. So, I have it at home with me. Fed it earlier organic texturized soy softened with vegan earth balance margarine/"butter" and some water. It ate well.

I am going to follow the instructions and feedback given by all on this forum, but wanted to congratulate you for releasing it back into the wild. When I was reading your post, I thought to myself, "Wow, this person is going to have a really hard time putting this little bird back into nature," and then I read further to find that indeed, it was a tough job for you.

If it makes you feel any better, we had a pet crow growing up on our farm in South Africa. My dad hand reared a crow from when it was a baby. Since I was so young, I cannot recall where the crow slept, but he was our pet. He would come to meet up everyday as my mom drove her car up the dirt road coming home from school. He would fly beside the car and "race" us. We never kept him in a cage as far as I can remember, but he was free to go wherever he wanted. He always came back to us.

My little mourning dove is almost ready to fly (I have him out now so that "he" can practice flying and get his wings stronger, but all he's really doing is just sitting...

I will start another forum if I have any questions.

Keep us posted about Bean!

 

[skootlebug]

The story of You and Beans friendship really touched my heart and prompted me to make an account, please update us when you and Bean reconnect again!

You made his/her little life possible, That little dove will remember you!