# Getting dove to pair bond with new bird instead of human?



## elizaisling (Mar 28, 2012)

Hello,

My 3 year old female ringneck dove, Calliope, has been very attached to me since I got her - and it got to the point where she would coo for me nonstop any time that I wasn't right there with her. She doesn't lay eggs very frequently, but will "present" herself to me (wings slightly raised, crouched down, tail moved to the side) from time to time. I avoid touching her in ways that might trigger this reaction, and I don't feed her out of my hand or anything like that. Nonetheless, she has been determined to make a mate out of me! The two main concerns here are that 1. the school year is started up again and my boyfriend and I have very busy schedules, so she would be alone for a good chunk of time most days, and I didn't think it was fair to her; and 2. she doesn't understand that she can't have my attention constantly, and seeing as we live in an apartment, it's hard to escape the non-stop cooing!

I resisted getting a new dove at first, but after a few months of consideration, I went out and got another dove - another female of about the same age. Calliope, the first dove, was very jealous when I first put them together. She would chase the new dove and behave aggressively toward her. The aggressive behaviour decreased over the last week or two, but Calliope still showed little interest in interacting with her new companion, preferring to keep calling for me instead.

The other day I decided that if I wanted her to try and socialize/bond with with the new bird, I was going to have to make it clear to her that I was not available to socialize with. My assumption is that as long as she can see me and knows I am there, she will not give up trying to get my attention and will ignore the new bird. I have moved their cage to a separate room and for now I am not interacting with them at all. My boyfriend goes in for a few minutes to feed them and make sure they are okay each morning, but aside from that we are limiting human contact as much as possible. My hope is that, given no other options, she will socialize with the newcomer in my absence and the two will bond.

I am concerned, however, that she can still hear me. I am often just in the next room, and the walls here aren't exactly sound-proof. I have a fan running in the room with them to try and provide some white noise to interfere with Calliope hearing my voice, but I don't know if it is doing the trick.

Does anyone have experience putting a new bird in with a bird bonded to a human? Will it work? And if it does, will she just reattach to me when we bring them back in the main room and she can see and interact with me again? I really don't want to have to give them up as they (especially Calliope) are dear to me and I enjoy spending time with them. I just didn't realize Calliope was going to end up wanting my attention every single minute of the day!


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## caarrr (Sep 17, 2013)

i have no answer, but i understand you agony. me and my fiance are college students too.except we only have one albino ringneck dove (looks like yours) and she doesn't stop cooing for my fiances attention it's soo irritating. we have her in the kitchen since we live in a studio so she heres him all the time. people on my forum thread are telling me to get her a mate. I was considering a female, but now after reading your problem I'm feeling hopeless. THERE HAS GOT TO BE A WAY TO UNBOND THEM FROM HUMANS! it's so annoying I don't know what I am going to do around finals! ahhhh


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## elizaisling (Mar 28, 2012)

I am sorry to hear you're having the same problem. In my opinion, I think it is probably worth a shot to try getting her a mate - yours may not react like mine did, as every bird is different - as long as you make sure you can return the new bird to wherever you get it from if things don't work out between the two. My boyfriend was very hesitant at the idea of getting a second bird, since he was afraid that would just cause twice the noise. However, our new female (pied in colour, unlike Calliope, who is light cream) is very quiet and rarely coos. She appears to be alert, is eating and drinking, and looks completely healthy otherwise, so I believe that this quietness is more normal for females who have lived with other birds like our new one did before we got her. But perhaps without other birds around, the females end up being louder, like our first dove (and yours, from the sounds of it).

It's really frustrating because I love the birds and they are a joy to have, EXCEPT when they don't stop making noise and I can't get my work done 

As a side note, Calliope does seem to be cooing less since we put the two in the other room, away from us. I am hoping that in a few days' time they will start to bond; my boyfriend said they were sleeping on the same perch when he went in to feed them this morning, which is something that wasn't happening before. Progress, at least!

Best of luck.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

Oh, good luck with Calliope! You'll have to keep us informed on how things go.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I would have gotten a male for the little hen. And introducing them slowly in separate cages is a better way of doing it, as the first bird is of course, going to be territorial of their space. Two cages side by side till they get used to each other. Then let them out together in the room to sicialize. 
It depends on how long your bird was with just you. Sometimes, they imprint and I don't think they even realize that they are a bird. If it does work, it will just take time. Good luck!


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## Jass SamOplay (May 29, 2012)

Hi Eliza,
Sorry that u're facing problems with ur pet dove.
Fact of the matter is that Calliope(nice name) needs u more at this time.I would introduce the birds to each other under my watch. Like u said Calliope is agressive towards her, I would introduce them to each other and will intervene if things get ugly. I would always be there to tell Calliope that the new comer is not a fiend but a friend. Usually,the agression goes away in 2-3 days or week. But since ur birds are of same sex it may take longer.
I would also most definitely partition(temporary and see through) the cage and give them company of each other,by putting Calliope in one and new one in other section so that they can interact vocally from a safe distance so that they don't fight. Keep good relation with both,after all they are ur pets.


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