When and if to release??

[louiesmom]

We found a baby mourning dove in the middle of the street a little over a month ago. We named him Louie and learned as much as possible about how to feed and care for him. He is now fully feathered and eating completely on his own. He also can fly some.
My question is when do I release him. I obviously want him to live a long and happy life. Will the other wild doves accept him? Or is it best to keep him?

 

[GitaBooks]

Welcome to BYC!

I'm so glad you helped the little guy out and gave him a second chance at life. I would suggest release. He will happily find a forever mate and should get along great with her. He will have miles to fly around in. Not to mention I it is illegal in a lot of places to keep wild animals as pets (as tempting as it sometimes is

).

We have rescued a large number of baby birds and released them. All you can do is hope that everything turns out well. We have never had doves, but we have had sparrows and robins.

I find morning doves prefer pine trees and open areas. Release him where there aren't a lot of cats that could hunt him and there are a lot of other morning doves, nesting sites, and good food.

Best of luck!

By the way, he's really adorable!

 

[jak2002003]

Great job!

If you have a yard and there are already morning doves about your area.. you could simply introduce him to that area.... put him in a big predator proof cage in your yard each day... and after about a week open the door.. but keep food and water inside for several more days in case he can't find enough on his own.

He should stick around and you can see him every day.. and maybe he will nest in your yard too.

 

[GitaBooks]

Great job!

If you have a yard and there are already morning doves about your area.. you could simply introduce him to that area.... put him in a big predator proof cage in your yard each day... and after about a week open the door.. but keep food and water inside for several more days in case he can't find enough on his own.

He should stick around and you can see him every day.. and maybe he will nest in your yard too.

That's a great idea!

We can't do that ourselves though, because our cats and dogs would eat them.