What breeds could I keep as pets? (Pigeons and Doves)

Takeylla

Songster
Oct 8, 2018
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USA, South Carolina
Here is some types of doves and pigeons I like ( cuz I got bored and looked at all the breeds of them.) And I would like to know if some of these can’t be kept and which couldn’t or won’t do well in captivity as pets? So if y’all could help I would appreciate it. :)
Doves:
Asian emerald
blue spotted wood
Bronzewing
emerald spotted wood
Eurasian Collared
Galápagos
Golden spotted
Jambu fruit
Luzon Bleeding-heart
Morning
Pink-headed fruit
Ringneck
Pigeons:
Crested
Fantail
Frillback
Rock (dove)
Victoria crowned
White bellied-imperial
 
Here is the doves (so you know which ones I’m talking about)
Asian emerald
C096FFC8-16B7-4EB5-87AB-078A8ACA8D2B.jpeg

Blue spotted wood
CE763502-B241-4454-A315-6D435CF3CE18.jpeg

Emerald spotted wood
A811CA2E-294C-4506-BD0E-E5AF8D1128CC.jpeg

Golden spotted
06AFF4A4-1BC5-44A5-9847-EF237D8FFD1F.jpeg

Eurasian collard
E2D3A9AC-CADE-4B08-8736-81DF50489552.jpeg

Ringneck
2E979671-C755-464B-AFFB-EF2A124E4AF0.jpeg

Jambu fruit
E2BC2041-52CC-4285-B4DC-3FA618A84DCC.jpeg

Luzon bleeding-heart
D7F24E79-9754-44FE-BA7C-BBC9332D3B98.jpeg

Morning
F71D4ABC-102B-4848-93C3-16AC6C5D2784.jpeg

Pink-headed fruit
EBBB994E-FB03-4DF8-9C48-D5E60E69CAFC.jpeg

Galápagos
5B8F13C3-4B1F-480D-A8C6-10D595937920.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Any dove that you would be able to purchase from a pet store would be fine as a pet bird. I don't know if capturing a wild Mourning dove, would be a good idea.
The white doves also sold at pet stores are a variety, of ring neck doves. Those would also make good pets. @drmolarmagic does keep doves, so maybe some insight from him may be helpful about doves. I do not have any experience with the DOVE FAMILY.
I only know that they need a LARGE indoor cage. If outside, and they escape their cage,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, they do not return. :idunno (my understanding from reading about doves)
Pigeons on the other hand can be homeset. That means, that they can be trained to return to their cage/loft/home. This is not only homing pigeons. Homing pigeons are the ones capable of returning home from long distances. Rest of the fancy pigeon breeds are capable to return to their loft, from a released flight out of their loft. Rollers can be trained to return to a KIT.
If you are looking to only keep indoors, a single pigeon is probably the best choice. You will need to dedicate time to bond, and train your pigeon pet.
@Serin is our pigeon forum GO TO PERSON, :thumbsup when it comes to indoor pigeons. His pigeon Olive:love, is a frequent visitor to Pigeon Talk, thread.
Here is a quick jump.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/post-22083578
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:highfive:
 
Any dove that you would be able to purchase from a pet store would be fine as a pet bird. I don't know if capturing a wild Mourning dove, would be a good idea.
The white doves also sold at pet stores are a variety, of ring neck doves. Those would also make good pets. @drmolarmagic does keep doves, so maybe some insight from him may be helpful about doves. I do not have any experience with the DOVE FAMILY.
I only know that they need a LARGE indoor cage. If outside, and they escape their cage,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, they do not return. :idunno (my understanding from reading about doves)
Pigeons on the other hand can be homeset. That means, that they can be trained to return to their cage/loft/home. This is not only homing pigeons. Homing pigeons are the ones capable of returning home from long distances. Rest of the fancy pigeon breeds are capable to return to their loft, from a released flight out of their loft. Rollers can be trained to return to a KIT.
If you are looking to only keep indoors, a single pigeon is probably the best choice. You will need to dedicate time to bond, and train your pigeon pet.
@Serin is our pigeon forum GO TO PERSON, :thumbsup when it comes to indoor pigeons. His pigeon Olive:love, is a frequent visitor to Pigeon Talk, thread.
Here is a quick jump.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/post-22083578
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:highfive:
Oh ok thank you
 
It is quite possible to keep all those doves and pigeons as captive birds. I have kepts a few more unusual species myself over the years, however, the more exotic species need special care... such as

They can not be free flown,
They need large natural planted aviaries to feel happy and safe... which cost more to build and maintain.
They need a more specialised diet to stay healthy
They are more difficult to breed and only have one or 2 clutches a year.
They need heating in the winter and even UV lights are beneficial in wintertime.
It's also hard to find a breeder of such birds
They will cost a small fortune!!!
Some are endangered in the wild and protected, and you need to get a special licence to keep them (rightly so).

The fruit doves are beautiful, but their main drawback is their wet fruity diet... which leads to huge quantities of sloppy wet poop and you need to do a LOT of cleaning of their enclosure!! It's also hard to replicate their natural diet, and they can develop malnutrition and sickness from improper diets.

I would leave the exotic species to zoos and bird gardens!

If you want a dove that can be a real pet in terms of being petting, kissed and shower affection on, they the DOMESTICATED species are the way to go.

If you want to keep them inside you house in a cage, then I recommend the smaller domesticated doves, like ring neck doves. Also the fancy breed pigeons naturally have very docile and tame personalities and come in beautiful patterns and shapes. These kinds of birds a super easy to care for and keep healthy.
 
Here is some types of doves and pigeons I like ( cuz I got bored and looked at all the breeds of them.) And I would like to know if some of these can’t be kept and which couldn’t or won’t do well in captivity as pets? So if y’all could help I would appreciate it. :)
Doves:
Asian emerald
blue spotted wood
Bronzewing
emerald spotted wood
Eurasian Collared
Galápagos
Golden spotted
Jambu fruit
Luzon Bleeding-heart
Morning
Pink-headed fruit
Ringneck
Pigeons:
Crested
Fantail
Frillback
Rock (dove)
Victoria crowned
White bellied-imperial

Hi, all members,
I was join this site before 3 years for Quails farming, but now today I bought 1 pair of Fantail Pigeon , so if any one have pigeon so kindly tell me farming tips
 
I
Here is the doves (so you know which ones I’m talking about)
Asian emerald
View attachment 2009109
Blue spotted wood
View attachment 2009110
Emerald spotted wood
View attachment 2009111
Golden spotted
View attachment 2009112
Eurasian collard
View attachment 2009113
Ringneck
View attachment 2009114
Jambu fruit
View attachment 2009119
Luzon bleeding-heart
View attachment 2009120
Morning
View attachment 2009123
Pink-headed fruit
View attachment 2009124
Galápagos
View attachment 2009125
like ur birds, today I bought 1 pair of Fantail pigeon, if u know any tips for breeding so tell me
 
Today I bought 1 pair of Fantail Pigeons so any one know about pigeons so kindly tell me their breeding tips
Any dove that you would be able to purchase from a pet store would be fine as a pet bird. I don't know if capturing a wild Mourning dove, would be a good idea.
The white doves also sold at pet stores are a variety, of ring neck doves. Those would also make good pets. @drmolarmagic does keep doves, so maybe some insight from him may be helpful about doves. I do not have any experience with the DOVE FAMILY.
I only know that they need a LARGE indoor cage. If outside, and they escape their cage,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, they do not return. :idunno (my understanding from reading about doves)
Pigeons on the other hand can be homeset. That means, that they can be trained to return to their cage/loft/home. This is not only homing pigeons. Homing pigeons are the ones capable of returning home from long distances. Rest of the fancy pigeon breeds are capable to return to their loft, from a released flight out of their loft. Rollers can be trained to return to a KIT.
If you are looking to only keep indoors, a single pigeon is probably the best choice. You will need to dedicate time to bond, and train your pigeon pet.
@Serin is our pigeon forum GO TO PERSON, :thumbsup when it comes to indoor pigeons. His pigeon Olive:love, is a frequent visitor to Pigeon Talk, thread.
Here is a quick jump.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/post-22083578
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:highfive:
 
I agree with Jak that most of those exotic species are very expensive and hard to keep, best left to zoos and whatnot. That being said regular domestic pigeons come in literally hundreds of interesting breeds so if you want a dove or pigeon but still want something a little different then you could try researching some of the show breeds, there's many that are even more bizarre (in a good way) than the frillbacks.
I know you can keep collared and ringneck doves easily, I think ringnecks are easier to find in the US. Have you heard of diamond doves? They're a very small and beautiful dove, pretty easy to care for as well as an indoor pet.
Today I bought 1 pair of Fantail Pigeons so any one know about pigeons so kindly tell me their breeding tips
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/There's a lot of great folks in this thread who can answer any specific questions you might have :)
 

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