# Feed and supplements



## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

I am thinking of changing my eldest dove’s diet from purely Harrison’s High Potency Fine to a mix of that and TOPs. TOPS seems to get very good reviews on the parrot forums. My other doves eat a finch and canary seed mix with hi cal grit (my eldest however will not touch grit).

I am concerned about D3 levels since it is very dark here in Oregon this time of year. I am going to get a few Featherbrite 20watt full spectrum bulbs to help out. These are all indoor pet birds. With that in mind, and considering their diets, should I worry giving them any additional vitamin supplements (such as Wins More)?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Why are you not feeding them a dove mix? You can give CalciBoost in the drinking water a couple of times a week, which would give both calcium and vitamin D3. Hi Cal grit is often not enough.


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## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

The only dove mix available at stores around here is Kaytee Supreme Dove Mix. I prefer to feed Volkman's Avian Science And Harrison's as they both seem like better quality foods based on the ingredients.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

But finch and canary seed is very small seeds, and a pigeon and dove mix has more of what pigeons and doves need. They should be getting used to eating seeds and such of different sizes as they are not the size of a finch or canary. Those feeds are based on the needs of finchs and canaries, not pigeons and doves.
You can get the Kaytee and add things to it to make it even better, like dried lentils and split peas, and a bit more of safflower seed. Would be better for them.


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## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

Hm, It might be the conure mix that I am getting then, not canary. I have used the Kaytee dove mix before and the seeds are the same size as the seeds I get from Volkmans. I am not at home so I cannot check the bag. I mix in finch seed so there is a very wide range of seed sizes for them, everything from very small to large. When I get home I will list the ingredients and nutritional info. Their conure and finch mixes include all the same seeds as the Kaytee dove mix, minus Milo. I could get that separate, though, and mix it in.

Could you expand on your statement of “what doves need”? I have found little to no information online about the specific nutritional requirements for doves aside from very generalized statements. What protein to fat ratio is best, for example? Recommendations for specific seed types vary quite broadly. The American Dove Association recommends “finch mix, cockatiel mix, wild bird seed, and semisoft dog food”. The DiamonDoveHomepage, which I trust greatly, recommends “millet, canary seed, hemp, milo and wheat.“ The Pigeon biz homepage recommends "a pigeon mix containing finely cracked corn, millet, poso and other seeds."

In regards to my original question, I ran into some very useful info on the DDHomepage under their Diamond Dove section.



> I think the diet for cage birds comes down to these four alternatives. Despite previous advice it should be remembered no that full spectrum artificial light will not allow for the synthesis of vitamin D3.
> 
> 1.Seed and other food AND direct unfiltered (no window glass) sunlight
> 2. Seed and other food AND liquid vitamins with vitamin D3
> ...


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

I'm not sure why you would want to change Harrison's , it so complete. For interest and quality of life for my doves I would offer millet sprays tied close to the bottom of the cage so they can forage it and keep the high quality and consistency of the Harrison's.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

For some reason, my Ringneck Doves like the smaller finch fix seeds too. I have 2 finches that I let fly around all the time and the doves go in their cage specifically to raid the food sometimes... but the finches do the same thing to the doves. Variety I guess!


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