So confused!!

[Artsyrache]

My son just got a pair of ringneck doves. The sellers weren't sure of the sexes, but I did a LOT of reading. I was sure we had a male and a female. The male does the typical bow coo, the female preens his face and engages in "beaking", and I saw the male on the females back in mating position.

BUT, I found the first egg on Saturday. It looked like the female dropped it from where she was sitting on her perch. I removed the shattered egg. On Monday, there was an egg in the nest box. I removed it and replaced it with a dummy egg. They've been incubating it. Then today (Thursday), I found another egg!

I thought doves layed eggs in twos. Any ideas? Could this have happened bc the first shattered? Or maybe the dummy egg isn't fooling them? Or could I have 2 females, in spite of one acting male?

 

[silkiecuddles]

I've never had doves, but I did have a small flock of pigeons for a couple years.

Several times I had two females make a nest together and they would both lay two eggs (which matched because they were fertile by my male). They may have laid the third egg to compensate for the shattered one, but if they lay another, then you have two females.

Just curious, why did you remove an egg?

 

[Artsyrache]

I thought I had a male and a female, so I wanted to replace the fertile egg with a dummy. I'm not ready for babies yet!

I had read and been told that replacing the egg with a dummy will keep a female incubating so she doesn't lay again immediately.
Sorry if I'm being confusing-the only egg I got rid of without substituting a dummy egg was the one that shattered on the floor of the cage.

 

[silkiecuddles]

I thought I had a male and a female, so I wanted to replace the fertile egg with a dummy. I'm not ready for babies yet!

I had read and been told that replacing the egg with a dummy will keep a female incubating so she doesn't lay again immediately.
Sorry if I'm being confusing-the only egg I got rid of without substituting a dummy egg was the one that shattered on the floor of the cage.

No, you're not confusing me .
She'll sit for (I think it's 15 days?) a while and when nothing hatches, she should get up and return to her normal day to day.

Pigeon parenting is one of the most amazing things IMO, so you should let her hatch a batch at some point, for the experience if not anything else

 

[Artsyrache]

We might give it a try eventually! They really are the sweetest, most amusing birds. TBH, I'm terrified of doing something wrong, since I've never had birds before. I definitely want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I let any babies into the picture!

 

[silkiecuddles]

We might give it a try eventually! They really are the sweetest, most amusing birds. TBH, I'm terrified of doing something wrong, since I've never had birds before. I definitely want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I let any babies into the picture!

If you do, I want to see some baby pictures!

(I didn't have to do a thing for my pigeons besides make sure the parents had food and water

.)

 

[Artsyrache]

Lol, ok you're tempting me!! If we end up with little ones, I'll post lots of pics.

 

[silkiecuddles]

Lol, ok you're tempting me!! If we end up with little ones, I'll post lots of pics.

Hehe. Thanks, and best of luck to you!

 

[Artsyrache]

Thanks for the help!

 

[silkiecuddles]

Thanks for the help!

My pleasure!