Suddenly Eggs!

[MageofMist]

I am very happy yet confused since it is winter, but this is my male Diamond Dove sitting on some eggs his mate laid. XD I am having a bit of a baby boom, first baby quails and now we have diamond dove eggs!

I was expecting it to happen March and April time, the usual baby-boom time for birds, but my doves and quails seem way ahead of the game... The odd thing is we have no special solar lamps or anything that would normally trigger them to breed, with the quails I wasn't that surprised as they breed like rabbits, but I wasn't expecting diamond dove eggs.

Is there anything special I need to know regarding Diamond Doves and their chicks? I know they need to be cared for by their parents due to requiring the crop milk.

 

[Hokum Coco]

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[MageofMist]

I have had this happen with my homing pigeons when the late clutches of squabs reach full maturity during the winter months. When the squabs became too big for the parents to incubate to prevent hypothermia I housed them in a Styrofoam cooler by moving nest bowl and all.
You take a chance doing so as they may abandon the squabs but it worked for me thankfully.

Thank you for the advice! We do have plenty of Styrofoam we could make into a box to keep the squab in and insulated. And I'd rather take the risk of potentially having the chick abandoned than having the chick get chilled when I knew I could have done something. The parents seem VERY dedicated with the eggs, especially the dad, so I am sure they'd not abandon the squabs just because I moved it.

 

[MageofMist]

Turns out there is just one egg, but I heard that the female doves do lay one egg, and then another a day or so afterwards to make two, so I am still exited. The male left the nest for a minute to eat and drink, and that minute was all I needed to quickly sneak over and snap a pic!

 

[Hokum Coco]

Turns out there is just one egg, but I heard that the female doves do lay one egg, and then another a day or so afterwards to make two, so I am still exited. The male left the nest for a minute to eat and drink, and that minute was all I needed to quickly sneak over and snap a pic!

The nest and squabs should be fine for or week or so. Once the squabs become too large to incubate that is when I would advise you make your move to the Styrofoam. My pigeons did not eat the cooler I know chickens will so you might keep that in mind also.

 

[MageofMist]

The nest and squabs should be fine for or week or so. Once the squabs become too large to incubate that is when I would advise you make your move to the Styrofoam. My pigeons did not eat the cooler I know chickens will so you might keep that in mind also.

I wasn't gonna move the nest until I needed to, which I imagine would have been a week or so due to their crazy growth. XD And I can try and hang the Styrofoam box nest to the cage bars to ensure my quails don't eat it. Unlike the picky doves that only show interest in their millet and oyster shell grit despite all sorts of other things I provide as food and treats, they even turn their beaks up at mealworm, though I do see the female nibbling on the quail's layers pellets at times when stealing their millet.
The quails however will eat just about anything barring bananas, because bananas are too goopy and make their beaks feel weird it seems, judging by their immediate reaction to seeing a sliced banana is to rub their beaks on the ground to clean them!

 

[MageofMist]

The female dove laid her second egg today ^^ And the male is sitting on both as I type.

Edit: The female laid her second egg, though with some struggle as I did see her straining when laying it and I do see blood on the egg, but she is perfectly fine. The male took over for a bit after she laid the egg to give her a rest, and then she took his place in the incubation while he went to eat and drink. Here are some pics:


The eggs and the female dove on the nest, she quickly took the male's place after he went to eat, drink and gather fresh nesting material.

Edit2:
Also, the male dove is being especially broody XD Once he finished his eating and drinking break, he shoved the female dove off the nest to sit on the eggs himself!

 

[MageofMist]

Ok, no idea what happened but when I woke up, both doves were on a perch and when I went to look, the eggs were missing from the nest. I checked under the nest and found a single shard of white eggshell, so I think the doves may have accidentally pushed the eggs out of the nest when taking turns, and the quails ate them.

 

[Hokum Coco]

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[MageofMist]

Your nest bowl might be a tippie canoe when the parents trade off. If so something like this works well for me I pick them up at the Canadian Dollar Store. On the up side you may have a clutch of eggs in about another 10 days or more. If you choose not to supply them with dummy eggs. Disappointments are part of life I know chickens and doves are a tragic mix hope things go better for you and your doves in the future. The parents would have a better chance of raising squabs to maturity in a few more months.

I am thinking on making use of a robin nestbox, with the bowl in it, for my doves as not only will it be hard for them to roll the eggs out, it will also offer protection from the quails when the crazy little birds jump.

I know first-time nesters tend to have issues with their eggs by either breaking them or accidentally rolling them out, so I wasn't that upset as I knew what to expect, but still a little guttered over losing the two eggs so soon. And quails are extreme omnivores from what I observed, if it is even remotely edible and is easy to get to, even their own eggs at times, they will eat it if given the chance. I don't hold it against the quails though, as birds do bird things.