# Wanting dove....but don't know where to start...



## PigeonCare2009 (Jan 22, 2012)

I am from Michigan, and I would love to have a Diamond Dove....but of course I will not get any animal until I KNOW about it. I would like to know what food, cage, and supplies I will need for it, along with any information you guys have to offer. I wont be obtaining any birds for a while but would still like to know what I need to do and know to get a dove. -Tink


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

here is some reading online.

http://www.diamonddove.info/


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

That website that spirit wings posted is just about the best you'll find on diamonds. It was invaluable to me when I was first thinking about getting my birds.

Here are some pictures of my setup. (These are a bit old, and there are now four hens in there. I find that a group of hens get along very well, and that male doves are the ones who cause drama and problems for the most part lol. Anyway, I'll try to update these pictures with description.) 

This first image is a front view of my diamond dove cage. You can see the fuzzy tent that one or two of them uses when it's cold or when they feel like preening something ginourmous or playing hide and go seek or getting on top of it to be at the hiiiiighest perch in the cage. You can also see the canary nest that has since been removed. No matter what I did to that nest, it was too tippy and dangerous. They now have a similarly shaped nest securely on the floor and setup with an untippable dog bowl. They have one big fat perch (fatter than my thumb) to sleep on. It's fat so that they can cover their feet with a skirt of warm feathers like a blanket at night. They also have a super twiggy perch. All birds need perching variety to keep their feet muscles healthy. You can sort of see their cockatiel-sized swing in the back. They absolutely adore that thing even though it's probably too big for them, and they will not accept swings made for birds "their size." You can see their ceramic bowl on the floor. This is where their seed/pellets go, because doves are ground feeders. I have since upgraded this to a German-shepherd-sized untippable ceramic bowl, because they love to "dive-bomb" into the food and then they "dig" for their favorite bits, scattering seed/pellet everywhere. They have a water dish on one far door and a grit dish on the other far door. These are just big enough that they can't get stuck in them, but just small enough that they won't drown if they fall into the water. 










Here is a side view where you can see the swing better: 










I have since moved all this "furniture" around to create more flight space, but all the essentials are here.

I feed them Kaytee forti diet pro finch (I like that it has probiotics in it.) Their grit dish has Kaytee hi cal grit (the finch--small parrot size.)


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Here are my four girls cuddled in a row to go to sleep: 










By the way--do not put your perches as close to the side of the cage as I have in this pic. It messes up their tails. I underestimated their tail-lengths when I first moved stuff around.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Oh, I'm going to post some top ten household dangers things just in case you haven't had birds before. 

Please *never clip a dove or pigeon's wings.* This is ok to do to parrots because they can climb. Doves, however, have no defense besides flight so you must leave them fully flighted.

Do not let untamed diamond doves fly around the house. Please follow Hellen's suggestions(on that diamond doves website) for taming (and tame slowly or buy a pre-tamed bird) before allowing freer flights in bigger rooms.

Also--doves cannot drink from a bottle like some parrots. They must drink from a level surface of water in a bowl as from a straw.

http://www.naturechest.com/toptendaforb.html

Here are the things from this site that apply to diamond doves: 



> 1. Dehydration - ... If a bird's water bowl goes unfilled for days, or the bird empties the bowl, especially a bird who likes to bathe a lot, and the empty dish goes unnoticed, fatal dehydration can result. Birds can become critically ill within 24 hours of not having water and may die within 24 hours after that. Water in a... bowl should be checked daily...
> 
> 3. Toxic Fumes - There are quite a few dangers under this heading to be aware of.
> 
> ...


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

the above lists cont.



> 8. Human Errors - It is not recommended your bird be exposed to other birds unnecessarily. Many diseases of birds are airborne. Unfortunately, a bird can carry a disease, and be able to pass it to others without ever appearing ill. Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), chlamydiosis (psittacosis), Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) and pacheco's disease may all be spread by birds that appear healthy in physical appearance. Giardia, a one-celled protozoal organism, can be spread by a bird ingesting food or water contaminated by the droppings of an infested bird. Exposing your pet bird to other birds, especially outside of your family, should be avoided whenever possible, or kept to an absolute minimum. Many bird owners make a common mistake when adding a new pet to the family. Regardless of where the bird came from it should be quarantined for a minimum of at least one month. There are very logical reasons for quarantining. If the new bird is harboring an infection, the stress of moving the bird to a new home may cause the bird to become ill. Quarantine protects your other birds from the risk of disease as well has protecting the new bird if one of your birds already living in the home has a sub-clinical infection that it could pass to the new bird. So quarantine protects the new bird and the existing flock.
> 
> Birds should never be allowed near their owner's mouths. Humans carry bacteria and fungi that can cause serious infection, or even death, in our birds. Birds should never be kissed with an open mouth, nor should birds be allowed any contact with the owner's teeth, tongue, lips or saliva
> 
> ...


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Oh, and if you want I can get you the dimensions of my cage that happily holds 4 hens (do not mix males. If you reeeeally want a male, you should only have one pair per cage. This is part of why I'm happier with all hens. They can live in a cute happy little flock.)


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

OH--and diamond doves are scared of the dark! If you must cover their cage, only do three sides. I don't cover any sides and just make sure that the room is draft free.

Often when you get new diamonds you will need a child's night light in the room. Sometimes this is needed permanently. I weaned my diamonds off it, but it worked only because a very bright streetlight is right outside my window. 

Without these measures they get night frights and fly blindly into the cage walls. This can result in batterd bloody diamonds in the morning.


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## pigiesNdovies (Nov 21, 2011)

diamond doves r very cute n sooo tiny n delicate.
im gettin super sleepy to write cuz im so tired but let me write sumthin.....

diamond doves coo but not loud. very small. freak out when u wana pet them. very charmin lookin but prome to die of cold weather. cant feed them big giant sunflower seeds but sure love white millet seeds, red millet, sesame seeds n even go after sorgum red seeds. not sure if they love baths with water though. in the wild they will eat ant egg larvae clear

lots of colors to choose from. I got a sylver/grey male from head to toe. when he is hungry he walks near my feet n when thristy wont run from me n will go into his cage or come out. he dont got a partner yet but being aound other doves or a mirror


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## pigiesNdovies (Nov 21, 2011)

4got 2 mention...he LOVEs flying n the livin room n excellent hawk warnin alarmer. loves to walk around n tend to get more comfy.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

I forgot to mention--you will want at least 2 diamond doves. One lone dove gets lonely. I like to keep four hens.  They make a cute little flock.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

YES, they really do get scared of the dark. We had to keep a night light on to keep them from going nuts in their cage and beating themselves up.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

*Diamond Dove "pairs"*

I'll just add this in case no one else mentioned it. Be careful about buying a pair of Diamond Doves from one place. You will frequently see them for sale in twos - what _seems_ to be "pairs" - but they are frequently siblings (brother and sister). Brother and sister doves will eventually breed if you keep them together - but of course you should never let them because they are too closely related.

So if you want a breeding pair of Diamond Doves, please try to get the male and female from different sources so they are unrelated... and you'll have healthier babies!

Also, as some mentioned, Diamond Doves are often subject to "night frights" so keep them in a place where they will be undisturbed once the room is dark. If they see someone pass by their cage in the dark or even if headlights from cars go in their cages, they can sometimes panic. When that happens just turn on the lights for a while so they can see there is no danger and they can calm down.

Mine were also always afraid of brooms and mops. I think the long thin shapes reminded them of snakes. You have to excuse them for being jumpy but they are tiny doves so I suspect a lot of animals in their native Australia hunt and try to eat them, including snakes. My doves also got scared of a big woman that was visiting me wearing a bright red dress!

I had the Diamond Dove below for 15 years! He and his mates produced many babies over the years. I never did anything to tame him - he just tamed himself. His name was Pecker because he used to peck his reflection on the side of my toaster when I let him out.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Don't buy possibly related birds---unless you are sure you are getting all females.

Or, buy from a reputable breeder and ask for unrelated birds.

http://www.dovepage.com/buy/james-kell/index.html

(If you buy from James, wait until it gets a bit warmer out.)


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