# Tips for Taming a (Eurasion) Collared Dove



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

Hello 

I've recently purchased a Collared dove from a breeder, and it doesn't seem to be tamed. Its not too flighty or too scared of me or anything, but it certainly is not too trusting. I can get her on my finger for a bit, but she wont stay too long there. In general, please, if you any advice for how to tame her, i would greatly appreciate it.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Great that she will get on your finger a little. (Some birds are very like cats and wont perch even after extremely tame--I have a ringneck cock like this. Just thought you should know.) 
How does she act about you getting that close? (That affects what steps I tell you to do first.)


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

Well, she used to be pretty docile about it, only moving a little bit when i got really close, and if i was slow and easy she wouldn't move that much. Shes out of her cage at the moment in a spare room (i think i told you that in the other thread) and before she let me walk all the way up to her and only got a bit nervous when i was very close, but i still got her on my finger. Today, i walked in and didn't try to touch her, but walked around and spoke to her, and at one point as i was leaving she went ahead and settled down into nesting position as i was talking to her, so im not sure if shes so of me at the moment - but i haven't tried picking her up in the last two days.


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

Alright, ive just tried to get close to her and pet her, and here's the scoop: Last night, when it was mostly dark, i got close enough to her to pet her and i stayed there for a while running my finger down her back and talking to her. Today, she was sitting between her cage and the glass table in a more secure spot rather than out in the open, and she got a bit nervous when i got very close, so i guess shes not so comfortable with me yet. However, i can get within touching distance of her, and i tried to get her to handfeed with my hand like two or three inches away from her but i don't think she was hungry. When i tried to reach out with my other hand she got afraid and ran away behind the glass table. However, when i moved hand , she came back out, and i tried to hand feed her again. It still didn't work, so i took away her food and i am going to try and give her some time to get hungry, maybe five hours. Does that sound good to you, and what else do you think i can do to begin to tame her?


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

sam Jaffe said:


> Alright, ive just tried to get close to her and pet her, and here's the scoop: Last night, when it was mostly dark, i got close enough to her to pet her and i stayed there for a while running my finger down her back and talking to her. Today, she was sitting between her cage and the glass table in a more secure spot rather than out in the open, and she got a bit nervous when i got very close, so i guess shes not so comfortable with me yet. However, i can get within touching distance of her, and i tried to get her to handfeed with my hand like two or three inches away from her but i don't think she was hungry. When i tried to reach out with my other hand she got afraid and ran away behind the glass table. However, when i moved hand , she came back out, and i tried to hand feed her again. It still didn't work, so i took away her food and i am going to try and give her some time to get hungry, maybe five hours. Does that sound good to you, and what else do you think i can do to begin to tame her?


I would hang out with her a lot in the room--not moving forward, but also not moving away. I don't know how old you are--but if you have homework to do, or some reading to do, maybe do it in the room with her. If you have her on a seed diet, watch and see what her favorite part of the food is and start taking that favorite bit out when you put her bowl in her cage. Then you can put a line of the favorite seeds on the floor while you sit in the room reading or whatever. Eventually you can put the favorite seeds in your hand and leave it flat on the ground.


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

Ill try and spend my time working with her in her room, so she gets used to my presence. Im 17 and still in school (just graduated highschool, though) so i've got plenty to do. AS for seeds, im not aware of any brand name packages here in Morocco which i could use, but the breeder gave me a small bag of these seeds here and these are what i have been using 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157627028655248/

For treats, i went out the other day and bought a bag of almonds, some sesame seeds, dried prunes, corn, and peas, (also trying to give her some variety in her diet) and i was going to see which ones she ate and which ones she didn't, but i'm not sure what i could give her as a treat at the moment... are there things i could buy at my local supermarket, you think? Bread? 

also, do you think i should put off the handfeeding thing untill later? So far, ive had her about two and half weeks, and ive only been taking small steps to tame her, maybe twenty minutes every day or so, because i don't have much time for it. 

Thanks for help, and don't worry about the bickering on the other forum - the advice was great gave me what i needed.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

sam Jaffe said:


> Ill try and spend my time working with her in her room, so she gets used to my presence. Im 17 and still in school (just graduated highschool, though) so i've got plenty to do. AS for seeds, im not aware of any brand name packages here in Morocco which i could use, but the breeder gave me a small bag of these seeds here and these are what i have been using
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157627028655248/
> 
> ...


Awesome--I'm in college and during the school year if I have time during daylight hours to study I hang out with the birds too. 

I'm not sure what kind of seeds those are that you're using--maybe some sort of lentil? 

It's ok to take small steps. She may need to transition into trust slowly. Food is a great motivator though. Maybe leave the seeds you bought somewhere she can test them out so you can figure out her favorite. 

This is what kind of seeds/ingredients are in my ringneck dove food: White Millet, Milo, Wheat, Canadian Field Peas, Red Millet, Canary Grass Seed, Popcorn, Safflower, Oat Groats, Ground Yellow Corn, Ground Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Middling, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Beet Pulp, Soy Oil, Salt, Fish Meal, DL-Methionine, Brewer's Dried Yeast, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Carbonate, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Oxide, Vitamin A Supplement, Cholecalciferol (Source of Vitamin D3), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, Biotin, and Sodium Selenite. 

I know some of the chemical stuff you wont be able to find--don't worry, that stuff is all in the pellets of the mix. Mostly I posted the ingredients so you could see the seeds, and maybe for your reference if you end up shopping around for pellets.

Is there anyone who raises pigeons in your area? You might be able to see if they buy pellets for them somewhere that you could mix with seeds to make a really nice balanced diet. 

I've never tried prunes with my birds, it will be interesting to see if she likes them. With fruit, I always cut it up to very small pieces, similar to the size of a seed. Otherwise, my birds don't want it. Since Eurasians are a bit bigger than ringnecks, she might tolerate slightly bigger pieces a bit better


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I think your on the right track with the feed.. just go by what they naturally eat and get as close as you can.

"This bird is mainly a grain-eater, taking all kinds of seeds from wild or cultivated plants, but also fruits and berries. It also catches some insects and invertebrates. 
It feeds only on the ground,"


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

Ive just tried to handfeed her and she ate out of my hand! Thats a good step, i hope. I didn't do anything with her really afterwards, though. Probably could have pet her a bit. But anyway, i then gave her some of my treats from the store im hoping she will like (prunes, almonds, peanuts, and sesame seeds) and left her be. Any of those poison?


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

sam Jaffe said:


> Ive just tried to handfeed her and she ate out of my hand! Thats a good step, i hope. I didn't do anything with her really afterwards, though. Probably could have pet her a bit. But anyway, i then gave her some of my treats from the store im hoping she will like (prunes, almonds, peanuts, and sesame seeds) and left her be. Any of those poison?


It's great that she's eating out of your hand! I would keep doing that until she gets really confident about coming up to you. 

I'm not sure if prunes are ok--never fed them before. Make sure the peanuts are unsalted.


----------



## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

you have come along way with your patience!.. awsome! if you can find dove mix for the main diet that would be ideal.


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

alright - its been several days now and i keep coming in to feed her her dinner by hand, and most of the time she is happy to eat from me - at least, once i begin to pet her with my other hand, she seems to get very comfortable with me and will eat with wild abandon. Before that, however, she usually is a bit hesitant to eat anything. Now, im beginning to wonder - whats the level of friendliness i can expect from her in the long run? How is your relationships with your doves? 

As for the treats, i don't think she liked any of them, but i'm going i for a second try. The prunes i read something about the pits being poisonous (to parrots) and got scared and took them from away from her.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

sam Jaffe said:


> alright - its been several days now and i keep coming in to feed her her dinner by hand, and most of the time she is happy to eat from me - at least, once i begin to pet her with my other hand, she seems to get very comfortable with me and will eat with wild abandon. Before that, however, she usually is a bit hesitant to eat anything. Now, im beginning to wonder - whats the level of friendliness i can expect from her in the long run? How is your relationships with your doves?
> 
> As for the treats, i don't think she liked any of them, but i'm going i for a second try. The prunes i read something about the pits being poisonous (to parrots) and got scared and took them from away from her.


Fantastic progress so far.  

How friendly she gets just depends who she is. I have one bird who loves to sleep in my hand and doesn't stray too far from me. Another likes to hang out on bookshelves and only comes down for a snack or to be nosy and doesn't want touched because he just isn't a touchy person. Another of my doves is in-between. This little guy loves to fly with reckless abandon, but when he gets sleepy he'll come back to me and nap on me. Another of my doves wants nothing to do with me. They have very different personalities. 
As you have a single bird, though, it is possible that she will eventually bond to you as she would to another bird. If this happens, she'll be glued to your side.


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

shes not being anywhere near as cuddly your birds sound, but i hope i one day get there. That sounds really nice. Though, frankly, i dont know how i would get away with her glued to my side when the cats already there.

but anyway, heres an update: I dont think im really getting anywhere with her at the moment as far creating a friendship goes, but at least she doesnt seem too mad at me. Whenever i come near her shes fairly placent, and she doesnt mind my hand at her feet but she doesnt like me to try and bring my hand up to her back and pet her. Thats makes her fly away, except when i do it at night when im trying to feed her. Then she seems to take to the petting. 

I moved her back into her cage for just a bit the other day because the heat was getting so bad in her room and i couldnt open the windows, so i wanted to take her out of there before she died from heatstroke. I barely could stand sitting in there, so i didnt want to take the chance of her dying from the heat. the problem with this is that its getting to be very hot here in fez and soon she probably will have to spend every day in the cage out in the living room, with only at most an hour or two in the room, so i hope thats alright for her. 

what do you think of me dropping a towel on her and then picking her up and petting her for several hours while shes in the towel, so she doesnt struggle to get away and cant hurt herself? Any other tips for the moment? I seem to be at the state where i can approach her, but i cant pick her up or pet her or anything and shes not too trusting of me quite yet. 

Also, how long do you suppose it would take a bird to become friendly with its owner? Im kind of curious about a timeline for how long it should take and to judge myself about how shes doing.

Thanks for all of the help!


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

And i will try and look for some dove mix. Problem is that here in morocco things are so loose and third world that even the supermarket has kittens running around in it, so i dont know if i can find anything like dove mixes but i will look. I know its best she eats something which will really give her what she needs.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

sam Jaffe said:


> what do you think of me dropping a towel on her and then picking her up and petting her for several hours while shes in the towel, so she doesnt struggle to get away and cant hurt herself? Any other tips for the moment? I seem to be at the state where i can approach her, but i cant pick her up or pet her or anything and shes not too trusting of me quite yet.
> 
> Also, how long do you suppose it would take a bird to become friendly with its owner? Im kind of curious about a timeline for how long it should take and to judge myself about how shes doing.
> 
> Thanks for all of the help!



I wouldn't do the towel thing except in emergencies like if she got outside and you needed to catch her. That sounds like it would break the trust you've gained. 
Move slowly and be patient. Doves live 15-20 years, so there's plenty of time. I have a couple of doves who do not like to be picked up--sometimes that's just who they are. Keep feeding her from your hand so that every time she sees you she knows that you mean good things. Eventually she might start coming to your hand on her own. But it has to be out of trust--not forced. 

It once took me three years to tame a parrot (even then he wouldn't let me pet him--that was when I finally got him to perch on my finger. He had been somewhat abused by previous owners, so he was afraid of hands.) I have a dove right now who I've had for six months and she will still have nothing to do with me except peck a few seeds from my hand. I fear that I pushed this back several steps yesterday as her toenails were getting so long that we were forced to hold her and clip them--it was very scary for her even though we were as quiet about it as possible. Now when I walk by she freezes and looks very afraid. It can be easy to lose trust when you've only just gained it. Then it gets harder to gain it back. 
Better to let your bird learn that you are a "safe place/person."

If there are times that you are forced to catch her, be gentle, quiet, and calm about how you do it. Make it as little stress as possible.


----------



## sam Jaffe (Jun 13, 2011)

Alright. Sorry about that. I guess i just was trying to find some way which would help us to friends a bit quicker, but your probably right. better to do what you've suggested, which is to go towards friendship step by step. I guess i only thought of it because i think ive tamed animals like that before, and when i asked my dad about it he even told me that was the way they tamed their current little parrot, sun. But i think your right when you say i should try and just gain her friendship over several weeks or months.

However, i think im going to come in tomorrow and throw a towel over her so i can lather some ointment on her wounds, which have not been treated in the slightest since she got them. Hopefully that doesnt do anything too bad to our relationship.


----------



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

sam Jaffe said:


> Alright. Sorry about that. I guess i just was trying to find some way which would help us to friends a bit quicker, but your probably right. better to do what you've suggested, which is to go towards friendship step by step. I guess i only thought of it because i think ive tamed animals like that before, and when i asked my dad about it he even told me that was the way they tamed their current little parrot, sun. But i think your right when you say i should try and just gain her friendship over several weeks or months.
> 
> However, i think im going to come in tomorrow and throw a towel over her so i can lather some ointment on her wounds, which have not been treated in the slightest since she got them. Hopefully that doesnt do anything too bad to our relationship.


Yeah, sometimes it's necessary to do things that scare a bird a little bit for the good of their health. That's why I clipped my flightiest bird's toenails on Monday. She was really upset for a couple of days, but I feel that she's much safer with short nails. 

It took me a long time to learn how much differently doves learn to trust from the way that parrots learn to trust. Parrots are more curious and more interested in climbing on people and objects-which can be exploited to tame them. With doves it's all about the food and companionship. (Not that parrots don't want companionship.) The rest of a dove's instinct is mostly running away from things that might eat you.


----------

