# Ringneck Doves: Taming Two Adults



## Shadowringneck23 (Jul 5, 2012)

Dear Pigeon-Talk,

I have decided to purchase one male and one female Ringneck Dove so that they always have companionship and aren't too lonely when I am at school/work. The two doves I am getting are about one year old and I was wondering how difficult they would be to tame? How do wooden eggs work so that I can minimize the chance of them successfully breeding? Thanks!


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Doves are harder to tame than pigeons. Some never become tame. Are the ones you're getting used to humans? If yes, there is a better chance of taming them.

Wooden eggs work great.

Reti


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Make sure your male and female doves are not related - i.e. not brother and sister. Because they will eventually breed and you don't want inbreeding. It's best to get a male / female pair from different sources.

Two female doves can live together nicely and of course they cannot breed. Something to consider.

Two doves can be tamed but it may be harder than if you have just one first and then get another. If the doves have been handled roughly, they may take a while to tame. It's best to *never* grab them in your hands, if you want tame doves. Just calmy encourage them to step up on your hand or arm - get them used to that for a while inside their cage before you bring them out - but keep in mind, they may never like being petted - it's not natural behavior for most birds anyway.

If you can, doves will appreciate being allowed time out of their cage to explore and fly around (inside the house). While they are doing that, it's best not to chase them around trying to make them perch on your finger. It's better to just let them come to you. But I would avoid letting them fly loose in your house until after you have them tame enough to perch on your hand inside the cage. And remember, avoid ever grabbing them to return them to their cage. They will probably go back in on their own but if not, bring the cage to them.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

FYI - It would be okay to get your male and female from the same location as long as the breeder can guarantee that they are not related. This will keep you from having to quarantine the birds from different breeders before putting them together. A reputable breeder will know the bird's health history and any meds or treatments given.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Good point! If one breeder can give you unrelated pairs, that could make things easier.


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## LBWright (Jul 17, 2012)

I read that clipping the flight feathers on one or both wings of a wild dove will dramatically increase his tameability. I wish I could find the article. I think it was something from ADA written by possibly John Fowler but it could have been George Schutt.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Why would it matter if they are related if she isn't going to let any babies hatch?


Once the hen lays her 2 eggs, replace them with the wooden ones and they will go ahead and sit on the eggs until the pair realized they aren't going to hatch. You can buy wooden dove eggs on line at New England pigeon supply. Keeping eggs from hatching is a very smart plan because doves are *very territorial* and if some do hatch you most likely will need to move them to a separate cage once they fledge.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Wing-clipping for pet doves should be an absolute last resort because they are generally pretty easy to tame. A wing-clipped dove is completely helpless. Unlike parrot-family birds, than cannot climb to safety. They are stuck on the ground where they can be stepped on or attacked by other pets. It's also makes them fearful because you took away their natural means of getting around. They can also run away from you if they are that scared of people. Chasing one around, even if they can't fly, is not going to tame it.

If a person is not confident about taming a dove, they should look for a breeder who can sell them a young bird, which will tame quickly and easily. Otherwise, any Ringneck or White dove can be tamed if the person works with it gently, starting by getting it to perch on the hand in the cage. However, doves from aviaries, where they have been handled roughly or not at all, will take a while to tame. Rather than wing-clipping them, it would be far simpler just to find doves used to living in a cage that are already more used to people - or again, just ask the breeder to sell you a baby that is self-feeding but still pretty young and that bird will tame quickly.



















If you can find a breeder who will handle them as babies for you, they become extremely tame. I had these 2 babies so tame, they would fly to me on command, even before the parents stopped feeding them. It broke my heart to sell them but I could only keep so many! Something to consider when you breed birds - you have to find them good homes...









My comment about getting unrelated male/female pairs to avoid inbreeding was just to point out that, even if you don't want to breed them and use wooden eggs, they may succeed in breeding eventually anyway - you may forget to pick up eggs or they may lay them somewhere else in the cage and eventually hatch some babies - so it's still best to have unrelated pairs, to avoid inbreeding, just in case. I am still haunted by visiting an inscrupulous bird breeder who didn't worry about inbreeding and had doves being born with severe birth defects. She used to throw her freak babies to her dogs who would kill and eat them - it was horrible!


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