# I can't tell the sexes of my doves



## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

So a while back we bought a white ring-neck dove at earl may and we think its a male because we had him for 6 months and no eggs but coos and laughs a lot and coos in the nest all the time. 

We got a new dove, that we were told to be a female but seems to have no interest in the male, but last two days she being sitting in the food bowl and pooping big poops.

I'll load a couple of pictures.
The one in the nest is the male and the other one is the female, o and rocky the mourning dove.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

you can tell the sex when one lays eggs then you know it is a hen.. if the eggs are fertile then you have a cock in there... but just to let you know it is not wise to keep two males with one hen.. two hens one male works well though.. and that may be what you end up with.. it is really hard to tell ..as time goes by you may get eggs and then you will know.. I was given 5 doves.. they thought 4 were male and one hen... it turned out one was male and 4 hens..the hens just did not lay at that place for some reason..so even if they do not lay eggs that is not an indicator of sex.. it could be either.. but if they lay..then 100% that is a hen.. short of doing a DNA test that is the only way to tell..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

Well we now have an egg, I guess the male is a female, one thing I dont understand why it took her 5 months to be with us to lay an egg. Now I have two females, should I get a male?


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

She was probably too young to lay eggs and now is mature enough to. If you want babies...then get a male for one of your hens. If you don't want babies...then your 2 hens will be fine together. Make sure they have a high calcium grit and/or crushed oyster shells offered to them...they will need it for their egg laying. 

Dawn


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> Well we now have an egg, I guess the male is a female, one thing I dont understand why it took her 5 months to be with us to lay an egg. Now I have two females, should I get a male?


Im not following you.. you have three birds in that picture... you know one is a hen....not sure why you need to get a male.. you do not know what the other two are... anyway... two hens do great together and I even prefer hens to tell you the truth ..less cooing... like I said before..two hens and one male is great..it is called a trio.... but two males and one hen will be trouble... Im thinking because you have not had trouble and the pic shows all three together...then you may just have a trio which works fine... now if you wanted to get another male for the spare hen..(that is if it is a hen).. then that pair would have to be in a seperate cage of their own..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

I know I have three, but the mourning dove has no interest in them, he or she just pecks at them both and the younger white dove fights with the mourning dove alot.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> I know I have three, but the mourning dove has no interest in them, he or she just pecks at them both and the younger white dove fights with the mourning dove alot.


that is why you need a seperate cage for any pairs... when you figure out what you have... and just wondering why do you have a morning dove.. is it unreleasable?... you have to have a license to keep one of those...


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

I know, I need to get a permit, just haven't had time, and I keeped him because his wings is messed up and cant fly. Well I got a male and know it is because all it is doing is bow cooing at every bird, question should i remove my birds eggs?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> I know, I need to get a permit, just haven't had time, and I keeped him because his wings is messed up and cant fly. Well I got a male and know it is because all it is doing is bow cooing at every bird, question should i remove my birds eggs?


I see..good for you for taking care of him, I won't tell..lol...... about the eggs..well you can replace with fake ones they can sit on.. but if you want them to hatch them..if they are fertile that is .. the pair should only be in there with the eggs.. the third bird needs to be seperated....from what you are saying it does sound like a male.. but Im still not sure which one that is...lol.. the morning dove?.... if the hen laid eggs then she has paired with one of them.. and that is who she needs to be with.. so which one is her mate?... when you know that... then take out the extra..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

The eggs are not fertile, but wondering if she won't mate with him untill her eggs are gone, because that seems to be the only thing that she cares about at the moment.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> The eggs are not fertile, but wondering if she won't mate with him untill her eggs are gone, because that seems to be the only thing that she cares about at the moment.


usually mating stimulates the egg laying.... and now.. Im lost again..lol.. who is she mated too?.. she and her mate should be taking turns on the eggs... so really I do not know how to give you advice because Iam just not clear on what is going on there.... let us know and perhaps we can give you some helpful advice... and wondering ... how do you know the eggs are not fertile.


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

I'm confused too!  

So now you are saying you *do* have a White male and a White female...who have a set of eggs?

If they are the mated pair you are talking about...take the Mourning Dove out and put him in a separate cage. The pair needs to have their own cage. That is probably why the young White one is pecking on the Mourning Dove...she/he wants him out!

How do you know that the eggs are not fertile? You can usually tell by the 5th day. Even if they are not fertile and they are setting on them...I would leave them in for the young pair to get practice setting on them. If they are not setting on them then throw them away...they will lay another set. 

Dawn


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

Ok lol ok I'll let me start again. 

Ok I once just had two doves, sparkle(the one that laid the eggs) and rocky(mourning dove), so I thought wrong and assumed sparkle was a male. 

So I got a new dove from Florida and shipped to me because these birds are hard to find around here. I was told from the bird place that I was given a female, when I got her I realized she was to young, still squeaking and not old enough to coo.

Two weeks later after I got Pearl(dove from Flordia), Sparkle laid an egg, when I thought she was a he yet, with no males present.

Then yesterday I called around and found a dove 30 miles away at Earl May. So I went and bought him, hoping he was a male. Sure enough 5min later he was doing his bow coo.

Hope this explains it all lol.

So my question is, would they mate quickier if I took the eggs out, because Dimondie(Male dove from Earl May) is constantly trying to impress Sparkle, but she seems to have no interest in him right now, only interested in her eggs.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> Ok lol ok I'll let me start again.
> 
> Ok I once just had two doves, sparkle(the one that laid the eggs) and rocky(mourning dove), so I thought wrong and assumed sparkle was a male.
> 
> ...


let me get this right... you have four doves.. one is a wild type you rescued.. now... if sparkle laid eggs before then it sounds like she paired with the wild dove... the young one can be male or female..time will tell.. the fourth sounds like if they are sure he is a he.. you have a male.... so I would leave sparkle in with the wild and she can keep her eggs with him and be a family... the other two can go in another cage..and see if they pair up.. as the young one just may be a hen... if not then I think if the male you got from earl may would pick on the young one... you will have to just watch and make sure she is safe from him bullying her... so that is what I would do...


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

andrew2004gto said:


> Ok lol ok I'll let me start again.
> 
> Ok I once just had two doves, sparkle(the one that laid the eggs) and rocky(mourning dove), so I thought wrong and assumed sparkle was a male.
> 
> ...


Okay...I think I'm following you now...LOL!!! You now have 3 Ringneck Doves (Sparkle, Pearl, and Dimondie) and 1 Mourning Dove (Rocky) with a bad wing that you rescued...is this correct?

If so...put Sparkle (the one that laid the eggs) and the new male Dimondie (that you found 30 miles away from Earl May) together in a separate cage. 

Throw the eggs away since they are not from the new male Dimondie. This may help to speed up the bonding of Sparkle and Dimondie. Sparkle may not like Dimondie now that she laid eggs and as you said...she is not showing any interest in him but only in her eggs. It may help to put them in a totally different cage then the one where she laid her eggs. Leave out the nest for awhile until they bond. If you put the nest in now she might be too protective of it and beat the living daylights out of the new male, Dimondie. 

White is sex linked...so it is possible that the breeder of the young White dove, Pearl (that you got from Florida), could know the sex. If you breed a White male or a male that carries White to any colored female...then any White offspring will be females.

Am I close this time? 
Dawn


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Doves1111 said:


> Okay...I think I'm following you now...LOL!!! You now have 3 Ringneck Doves (Sparkle, Pearl, and Dimondie) and 1 Mourning Dove (Rocky) with a bad wing that you rescued...is this correct?
> 
> If so...put Sparkle (the one that laid the eggs) and the new male Dimondie (that you found 30 miles away from Earl May) together in a separate cage.
> 
> ...


That can be done... but what if sparkle has picked the wild dove for her mate.. why seperate them?.... the other two ring necks could be a pair at some point.. if the young one turns out to be a hen... that is an if...lol..


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

Well...the wild dove is a Mourning Dove. It has been done...Ringnecks Doves and Mourning Doves will mate and produce hybrid offspring that are infertile...mules. In this case...I don't think they should be paired and allowed to reproduce. I think we should keep our birds pure and leave the hybridizing to the experts. Just my 2 cents worth...

Dawn


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Doves1111 said:


> Well...the wild dove is a Mourning Dove. It has been done...Ringnecks Doves and Mourning Doves will mate and produce hybrid offspring that are infertile...mules. In this case...I don't think they should be paired and allowed to reproduce. I think we should keep our birds pure and leave the hybridizing to the experts. Just my 2 cents worth...
> 
> Dawn


that is a good 2 cents worth.. but poor wild guy...with out a mate..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

Yes correct, the male just broke one of the eggs so im going to take the other one out.

Im giving the mourning dove away today because the Pearl and Dimondie is beating the crap out of Rocky. 

The second egg she laid broke, should I try to give them calcium in their food?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> Yes correct, the male just broke one of the eggs so im going to take the other one out.
> 
> Im giving the mourning dove away today because the Pearl and Dimondie is beating the crap out of Rocky.
> 
> The second egg she laid broke, should I try to give them calcium in their food?


yes give them calcium.. you can get kaytee hi-cal grit for cockateils at the pet store ..they love that... and it is put in a seperate croc for them to take as they need it.. not in the food..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

Yea I bought some earlier today, and just put it in a seprate bowl, and shes loving it.

I took the egg out and she looks sad, what if she won't lay anymore because she saw me take it.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> Yea I bought some earlier today, and just put it in a seprate bowl, and shes loving it.
> 
> I took the egg out and she looks sad, what if she won't lay anymore because she saw me take it.


she won't remember you took them out.. but it is good to get you some fake eggs so you can let them sit those when you do not want babies and or the eggs break.. that also stops them from laying right away and depleting their calcium.. they sit the fake eggs for a few weeks and they have a rest from laying.. if she laid resently she will lay again.. in a few weeks..or less..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

I proubly should of started a new post but anyway, one week later she laid a new egg in the food bowl and is fertile because I seen the male and female mate at least 6 times.

I had to get a new food bowl because the male kept bringing her hay to the old food bowl so I kept it as is to let her nest in it.

I have two questions. 

Should I move the egg to the bigger nest in my picture so the egg dont fall out?

And Why isn't the male helping her with the egg and sit on it, hes just bow cooing at the other bird now?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

andrew2004gto said:


> I proubly should of started a new post but anyway, one week later she laid a new egg in the food bowl and is fertile because I seen the male and female mate at least 6 times.
> 
> I had to get a new food bowl because the male kept bringing her hay to the old food bowl so I kept it as is to let her nest in it.
> 
> ...


usually they sit when the second egg is layed, if he does not help her then he may not be the best parent bird either. if you move the eggs they will abondon them, if you want them to hatch you have to remember those eggs are potentially two more grown doves down the line..so you need to have room for them and a seperate cage at some point as the male will not know they are his young when they mature and he may pick on them and hurt the younger birds.. for the next round of eggs or fake eggs you will want to use and a nest .. if they like that dish then great.. but if you want them to nest in something else here are some ideas...

http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/nestingcontainers.htm


here is some ideas for feed containers..

http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/feedcontainers.htm


and here is a great tips page for dove owners.. happy reading!


http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/tips.htm


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

How big is the food bowl? Will it be big enough for the squabs? They will be almost the size of the parents before they leave the nest. If you replace the bowl with a larger nest...put it in the same location. Some pairs don't care at all if you move their eggs and others will quit setting on them. 

It is normal for some hens to set on the eggs by themselves for the first few days and then the cock will eventually start to help. Or...he could be young and don't know what's what yet...!

Is the pair in the cage by themselves...did you remove the other doves? He's not bow cooing to another dove in the same cage is he? The breeding pair should be all by themselves. If he's bow cooing to the dove in another cage...put something between the cages so they can't see each other so he concentrates on his eggs. 

Dawn


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

the bowl is big enough for one grown bird, and after I posted this the male started to sit on the egg when the mother goes and eat.


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

Then replace the bowl with a larger nest. As long as it is in the same location they should be fine. I have moved eggs with no problem...but this being you first experience...I would just replace the bowl with something larger and leave it in the same location.

Dawn


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

Ok big problem my other female laid an egg with the 3 and laid another on the ground so one mother is sitting on all 4 in that food bowl.

I'm going to have to move them no matter what.

You sure she will abondom if I move them because I pick up her eggs all the time to look at them, but she does get pissy when I do.


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

There she is, in her little nest. I would get a bigger bowl but see how its apart of the cage


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

pairs need to be in their own cages with nest bowls big enough to hold babies if your going to be breeding doves.... do that and you should have less problems..


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## andrew2004gto (Mar 9, 2011)

I put the nest at top( plenty big) and she laid eggs in there first.

When I got the male, he started putting hay in the food bowl.

And I don't have pairs just two females and male. Someone told me two females and a male would be fine but two males and one female wouldn't.

Update broke one of the eggs.


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## anhmytran (Jan 5, 2013)

Two hens do not fight, but two cocks fight.
In human world, a man can have more than one wife in the same roof.
However, I do not think a man can tolerate another man having sex with his wife on his bed.


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