# Feather plucking question - Dove



## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

Hi Everyone,

Firstly: I'm new. (So appologies if this is in the wrong place or out of context)

Some background: Pippa is a Laughing Dove Fledgling, she's friendly and affectionate and makes such cute "peep" sounds. She fell out of her nest at about 16days old (did not know she could be left-be till it was too late). We(my boyfriend and I) "rescued" her and fed her toddler pronutro and wild bird seeds, which she loves. We kept her in a crate ontop of an old shirt. She had a piece of firewood in there she could perch on (which she loved too) and a small box with a hole cut out as a "nest-area" in which we put a little hamster sawdust ontop of some newspaper. Not ideal.

A week later she warmed up to us and we bought her a small bird cage with perches and removed the "log" and old shirt after allowing a day for adjusting to the new environment replacing it with newspaper and a cleaner "box-nest".

She has always had a clean area and fresh water.

My query:

During the first couple days we were nervous about caring for a tiny creature so wiping her down with a wet cloth seemed a bit too over-welming for her so whatever mess she made (within reason) was untouched by us so unfortunately she had dried pronutro on her chest feathers. As a result she plucked them out.

A day or 2 later I bathed her in cool water and let her dry off in the sun (which I later learned was also incorrect parenting). However, this seemed to clean her off fully and restore her fluffyness.

I'm concerned now about her feathers growing back, how long it should take and what we can do to prevent her from picking it up as a habit.

Now she's flying and seems happy, even Luke, our pitbull/boerbull has been very gentle around her. She sleeps inside on a shelf in her cage with a towel covering 3 sides and the top of the cage to block the light at night but allow air flow.

This weekend I will wash and scrub her cage out properly and fashion a small bath tub to go into her cage. Any other suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated as we are first time dove lovers and owners. Please don't be shy to highlight anything we've done wrong.

Thanx,
C


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

I’d start working on a way to release her. Set up an outdoor predator proof cage, preferably close to some doves. It doesn’t have to be large


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

*Thank you for getting back to me*



bootface said:


> I’d start working on a way to release her. Set up an outdoor predator proof cage, preferably close to some doves. It doesn’t have to be large


We all decided to keep her as she is very sociable now and as we now have a feeding routine we're concerned about her finding her own food in the wild that would be safe for her.

She flies around our flat and has her certain spots she likes to sit so she's not always in her cage and yesterday I finished work later than usual and my boyfriend who was home with her said she was "looking for me" when he let her out for her usual feeding time. When I take her out to feed her we always sit in the same spot together (thats where she "inspected" noisily, pecking and bobbing.). He has a different spot to feed her as this is more comfortable for him. I got such a welcoming home performance from her last night it was really magical (she was quiet until she heard my voice then there was bobbing and cheerful chirping and waddling around in her cage, she also does this adorable "shoulder shrug" that makes me think of an R'n'B dancer.. Haha) so I opened the cage door and let her come to me, she's so happy to perch on me wherever comfortable while I mozy around the house doing little chores. Pips and I also clean her cage together every night and she's learning now to come when she's called, I use a whistle that mimmick's her "peep" call. We've also heard her make "gargly" sounds like when she's close to us like she's "chatting" instead of "calling"

It would break my heart to set her free. And I honestly think it would be more harm than good for her because she seems to really like me too, relying on us for food etc. (I know how selfish this sounds but I mean it in a totally objective way) There are other pigeons and doves in our area but not as much as where she was found and we also have more snakes where we are so this factored into our decision too.

P.S. Little update, it seems there's a small tuft of feathers growing back on her chest so I'm no longer too concerned about her plucking, I watched her carefully last night and she's preaning well.


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

I'm using my phone to post this so not sure how it will come out. Birdy's very happy. My query is about grit and how it works/what its for..? She has a bigger cage in the way within the next week hopefully. Want to put her on a fishtank stand with a plywood base facing a window but across a small room. We feed Pippa baby cereal (multigrain) with wild bird seed (Mushy after mixed with water.) We got her on the 13th of Jan and she must've been around 2 weeks old she's probably a month old now. Her poops today are quite watery. Are we feeding her wrong? She eats 3 times a day. 9am, 2-3pm and 9 pm then bed for her. Also might be relevant: she's not a fan of water...?


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

Unless laughing doves are drastically different, she should be completely weaned and on an adult dove seed mix.


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

bootface said:


> Unless laughing doves are drastically different, she should be completely weaned and on an adult dove seed mix.


Thank you so much  is there any other advice you can offer new parents or are we on the right track? What about grit? What's safe for her interms of toys etc?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

All pigeons and doves need grit once they are eating seed, as it helps them digest the seed. Into the grit you can add some boiled chicken egg shells for calcium. Most pigeons and doves don't play with toys.


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

Jay3 said:


> All pigeons and doves need grit once they are eating seed, as it helps them digest the seed. Into the grit you can add some boiled chicken egg shells for calcium. Most pigeons and doves don't play with toys.


How/what do I do about grit? Is it ground up egg shells and what else? I have looked it up, and havent successfully found information thats helpful.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, welcome to PT and congratulations for your new family member  !

I always leave available (in a separate bowl) to my birds cuttlebone (source of calcium: I cut it in small pieces with scissors: you don't have to break it up with fingers) and crumbled blocks for pigeons like the ones in the pictures: they regulate by themselves the ingestion according to their necessity. 

The first block contains minerals (like iron, etc); insoluble (or flint) grit (the small stones which go into the gizzard and help to grind up the seed: so they help with digestion) and oyster shells (the soluble grit which dissolves in the digestive system giving birds calcium). The second one contains shells, calcium carbonate, etc and anise which helps with digestion. 

I don't know if you can find the blocks in your area. If not, you could look for a different kind of product like, just for example, this one:

https://www.viovet.co.uk/Versele_Laga_Colombine_Grit_Redstone_Pigeon_Supplement/c18652/ 


You can find also calcium complement for drinking water.

Don't forget to give to Pippa also vitamins: vit D3 is really important because without it she can't absorb the calcium she gets (in the wild she takes vit D3 from the sun). You can find vitamins for drinking water or some mixture enriched with vitamins.

To offer a larger variety of seed I use to buy mix of different brands and mix them each other. I add dry legumes like mung beans, lentils and peas. I also give to my birds a mixture for canaries enriched with dehydrated fruits: they love it  .


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

Colombina said:


> Hi, welcome to PT and congratulations for your new family member
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is alot of information. Thank you for your feed back. I will have a look at the local pet stores tomorrow. I will get back to you guys as soon as I can. I crushed up an eggshell after an egg supper the other night. Rinsed it out and crushed it really small in my hand. I added that to her dry bird seed mixed with a little mush. So she doesnt move over straight away. She battles to pick up dry seed. So I put it into a bowl and didnt hand feed her today at all. She's getting it slowly but surely. Tomorrow will tell all. Gave her her usuall mush just now because she had a really empty crop. Tomorrow we try again


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

So I found that she loves to sit infront of her cage with seed on an old plastic dog food bag. So i put some mushy-ish seed on one side and dry seed next to it to try and get her to associate the dry seed with food and she's getting the plot. She just cant pick up the bigger seeds yet.

In other news- her chest feathers are starting to sprout a reddish brown which is just beautiful. She's definately a laughing dove. Her colours are slowly coming out. Our chirpy little nugget. Hahaha.

My next question is now that she's a bit older will her crop need to always be full after eating or will she moderate herself throughout the day? She still doesnt like the idea of water. Is that something we need to work on? And how?

Thanks always to everyone for your fantastic help. I havent found grit in a store yet so will get some cuttlebone stuff and continue to use eggshells in her food. She's got healthy poop again which is great.


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

Hi feathers and friends,

I have another question. Pips eats but not until her crop is full. She's almost a month old now. How do her feed requirements change as she gets older interms of amounts and frequency? I know she needs to move onto seeds now but thats proving to be a difficult task. We dont want to starve her onto seeds (which is all i've found online... there must be another way) because she still battles to get past the picking them up stage. Also, what are wierd behaviours that we need to look out for?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Any egg shells offered should be boiled first to kill any bacteria. They should be put in a separate bowl for her to take, or mixed into her grit, not with her food. Egg shells don't serve as grit as they break down too easily to help them digest seed. They just give them calcium. But she would still need the sun for vitamin D3.
You don't have to starve her. Feed her at the end of the day just to make sure she gets enough. She will learn to eat the other seeds eventually. As long as she knows how to drink, she will take what she needs. Leave seed and water with her all day. Water should be available all the time.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Is she still eating mushy food? If so, as it contains water, she needs to drink a smaller quantity of water (because she is taking it by food).

As I suggested, offer her a large choice of seed: doves and pigeons mix but also a mixture for canaries. This way she can practice with different kind of seed: smaller and bigger. Each bird learns to eat at a different moment, they learn it little by little. You can put the seed in a bowl or a plant pot saucer but also sprinkle them around her.

The baby dove I rescued learned to eat by herself this way. I prepared small balls (having the size of peas) not too soft not too hard with baby bird formula and water. I offered them to her from my hands and I put them too in a coffee saucer. She ate them easily and then she learned, step by step, to eat seed.


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

Wow thats so insightfull! You guys are really helpful. We just bought shell grit and I put a small bowl of it, a small bowl of water and dry seeds on the floor of her cage. She's developing different calls and mannerisms for different needs and as we've learnt tounderstand her better this process is becoming so much easier with all your help. We found a mite and lice spray for her too which is great. So will be saving up for that. We give her mush and seeds mixed together and she's doing very well. Love this little birdy very much. What would you recommend for her interms of a friend? We dont want to breed or anything like that and she's never alone for long periods of time so she's not "lonely" but I'm thinking another bird friend for when she's a little older. Would other species mingle well or would it have to be another dove? How well do females go together?

Thanks always


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

I dont know doves, but we have two female pigeons who are great friends. If you get a male, you can get fake eggs and swap out real for fake eggs.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Here there are not wild laughing doves (I have never seen them too in pet shops) so I don't know their behavior: I can't say if they can live with other species. I'm sorry...

I can just tell you about my own experience with doves we have here. 
As I had a female, I decided to take a male. They are really happy together. It's so nice to see them kissing each other  . 
I hung up a purple wicker basket at the curtain road: this is their nest and they really love it!!! Just remember, as cwebster said, to use fake eggs.


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## Cerazey (Jan 17, 2018)

Fake eggs? #newconcept. Hahaha. What do you do with the real ones?


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