# Territorial Aggression in doves



## Destornis (Aug 10, 2015)

Hello everyone, I had a question. So my dove, which I know is a male has this territorial aggression problem and I was wondering if there's anyway to fix that. Would I have to stay near his cage for him to get used to me? Feed him by hand? Anything like that? He's okay in other places around the house, but it's very aggressive towards his cage and the room the cage is in. What should I do? Anything helps, and please keep in mind I am new to keeping doves.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Pigeons and doves are territorial and they protect their territory from any intruders, so this is normal. They see their place as a safety and to protect it is their duty. Males are usually more territorial than females. 
You can work out to tame him, feeding him in your hand would help but the normal behaviors are unlikely to be changed. Sometimes they could even calm down to some extent but you never know.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

My doves LOVE cooked "baby green peas" and Hemp seed, as treats. Try offering those from your open hand. Then he may bond more with you and "relax" a little. If he is too shy to eat from your hand right away, try putting some of these treat food in the cage first, so he gets to like them. Regular size green peas are too large - so look for frozen "*baby* peas" - thaw or cook them first - serve at room temp.

P.S. does he have a mirror in or near his cage? Mirrors can sometimes make male doves become extra aggressive - so remove it, if you have one!


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Destornis said:


> Hello everyone, I had a question. So my dove, which I know is a male has this territorial aggression problem and I was wondering if there's anyway to fix that. Would I have to stay near his cage for him to get used to me? Feed him by hand? Anything like that? He's okay in other places around the house, but it's very aggressive towards his cage and the room the cage is in. What should I do? Anything helps, and please keep in mind I am new to keeping doves.


You don't really describe what he is doing exactly. 
I would say, just remember he is a tiny dove and you are the big human, he can't do but so much damage....lol.. Stand up for your self and ignore it. He may mature and calm down over time . Giving him treats for acting like a bully
Does not make sense to me. I would only give treats when he was in a calmer mood, you would be rewarding
The behavior you want, not the behavior you do not want.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Obviously, you would only give him treat food, if he was behaving calmly. You can't hand-feed a bird that is attacking you! So I was not suggesting rewarding bad behavior.

But I too, am wondering what this "aggression" actually is... how is the dove behaving? Is it really aggression or is it fear? Or was he in an aviary before and is now feeling cramped in a small cage? (is this dove allowed to fly around for exercise?). Real *aggression* from doves, _towards_ people, is not too common! Usually they flit around from fear, especially if they are in a new home and do not feel "safe". True aggression is usually against other doves, when there is breeding activity, in too small a space.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

We got some rescues, inside at present, both disabled pigeons and doves (Eurasian Collared Doves). The doves are little more than half pigeon size, but one of the pair seeks out and bullies my pigeon pair until the pigeons jump back into their cage to escape. I have never seen a 'dove attack' before this, and it is so unlike how aggressive pigeons behave. The doves are very tolerant of me (the giant pigeon?), and of all the other pigeons. Weird little birds.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Although smaller, doves are used to more "personal" space than pigeons. In the wild, doves nest in single pairs and not in "colonies" like pigeons. So, when in captivity, a breeding pair of doves usually get a cage to themselves - whereas you can breed a lot of pigeons much closer together in a loft situation.

The most aggressive bird I ever had was a male Diamond Dove. Whenever I let him out of his cage, he would immediately fly over to my toaster and attack his reflection. Named him "Pecker". He lived to age 15 and fathered several babies - but he was so rough on his mates that I usually sold them with the babies to save their lives!


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## Destornis (Aug 10, 2015)

I got this dove from a rescue, so I don't know everything about his past. When I fist got him, the first 2 weeks or so, he would act flirty to me, and would fly to me. But, suddenly he would just jump at my hand and peck hard. I mean, I don't understand it, how it just happened. I never hit him, or tried to threaten or scare him ever. He would laugh and bite, and start boxing with his wings. I just don't know. He eats from my hand, roughly at first then calms down. He has a large cage that is alone in. He can fly around in it, and everyday I let him explore the room he's in, for around an hour.
He also does not have a mirror. He used to, but I got rid of it, fearing that was the cause of some problems.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

The mirror probably made him aggressive (seeing "another" male dove I his cage). He will probably calm down with time. I think hand feeding will help too because he will associate you with something positive, rather than you being an "intruder" in his space. Be patient... he might end up being a nice bird and great pet. One real positive point about him, he is not afraid - so when he calms down, that could "translate" into him being a very tame pet.

My Diamond Dove "Pecker", which I described above, became super tame and friendly, after I removed his mirror. He would fly to me when I called him and sit on my shoulder for hours.

Doves LOVE Hemp seed. You can buy it on eBay It's a great treat food. It's a fatty seed so it should not replace the regular food - but it can be a treat that you offer from your hand, for taming ad bonding.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Lefty07 said:


> My doves LOVE cooked "baby green peas" and Hemp seed, as treats. Try offering those from your open hand. Then he may bond more with you and "relax" a little. If he is too shy to eat from your hand right away, try putting some of these treat food in the cage first, so he gets to like them. Regular size green peas are too large - so look for frozen "*baby* peas" - thaw or cook them first - serve at room temp.
> 
> P.S. does he have a mirror in or near his cage? Mirrors can sometimes make male doves become extra aggressive - so remove it, if you have one!



This is good advice, and usually works in time. In time he should start coming to you for the treats.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Destornis said:


> I got this dove from a rescue, so I don't know everything about his past. When I fist got him, the first 2 weeks or so, he would act flirty to me, and would fly to me. But, suddenly he would just jump at my hand and peck hard. I mean, I don't understand it, how it just happened. I never hit him, or tried to threaten or scare him ever. He would laugh and bite, and start boxing with his wings. I just don't know. He eats from my hand, roughly at first then calms down. He has a large cage that is alone in. He can fly around in it, and everyday I let him explore the room he's in, for around an hour.
> He also does not have a mirror. He used to, but I got rid of it, fearing that was the cause of some problems.


Not everything IS obvious ESP. When it comes to animals. The dove since he does not have a mate thinks your it, he is what they call driving you to the nest and basically bossing you around so you will get busy laying eggs and or accept him as a mate. I would get him a hen to introduce as it will or may let you off the hook.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Doesn't sound as if he views the poster as a mate. Just sounds territorial and as if he doesn't like him or know him well enough. It will just take time, and hopefully it will get better with patience and treats don't hurt either.
But yes, most are lots happier with a companion bird.


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## Destornis (Aug 10, 2015)

Thank you for the replies! I'm very pleased I came to this forum.
Those do sound like great ideas, and I do have a female dove now, but is caged separately. I'll try to feed him those treats, and hopefully teach him to fly to me if I get that far. I just thought I was his sworn enemy, and I didn't know what to do. The dove does not seem to be as aggressive as he was awhile ago; he won't just immediately bite me or anything. So, feed him those treats in his cage with my hands? He does eat from my hand, but it takes a minute or two until he eats gently haha


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I have one like that. And he would want the treat, but he would take them roughly in the beginning, as though he was mad at me. He wasn't. He just didn't trust me, so he wanted me to know that he was in charge. He would always take the food in a way that was half accepting the treat, and half threatening. He did eventually learn to trust me, and now is a nice bird, who has lost that aggression. I think yours will get better as he learns to trust you. That just takes time.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Having a mate won't necessarily calm him down. In fact, introducing a female to him (in the same cage) could be a disaster. I'd keep the female caged separately for a while - maybe allow them to interact outside their cages for now. An aggressive male dove can be very rough on a mate sometimes, especially in a small cage so be careful.


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## Destornis (Aug 10, 2015)

They have been alone for a little over three weeks now, just seeing each other from their cages. I will continue to work with him, giving rewards when he is calm towards me. When he is tamer, I might introduce the other dove to him. They have a larger cage, they can share together once everything is good.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Destornis said:


> They have been alone for a little over three weeks now, just seeing each other from their cages. I will continue to work with him, giving rewards when he is calm towards me. When he is tamer, I might introduce the other dove to him. They have a larger cage, they can share together once everything is good.


I have had six doves at one time and grew up taking care of doves. Males can be aggressive for different reasons. Territory or to their hens. I'm not there so I took a guess from your discription. That is all any human can do over the Internet. NO ONE really knows for sure. I certainly would not offer treats during or right after he bites or acts hostile to you. Reward the behavior you want. And to let you know he will treat the hen the same as he does you. I had a male with two hens and he treated both of them that way until they got to their nest and then he was happy. My doves when given to me were six and none of the sexes where correct in the guessing of the magician who gave them to me...lol.. So just keep that in mind. Good luck. Oh , and neutral Territory is a good place to introduce the doves together for a short amount of time, lengthen the time gradually.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Don't know why you are saying not to reward bad behavior. No one is saying to do that. I think Destornis understands the concept. Treats do work well to get him to come to you.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Jay3 said:


> Don't know why you are saying not to reward bad behavior. No one is saying to do that. I think Destornis understands the concept. Treats do work well to get him to come to you.


I do not care if you don't know why. The thread maker can post for him/her-self. 
I do not think it IS always clear when to give treats. I work with pet owners everyday, helping them. It's very common.


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## Destornis (Aug 10, 2015)

I'm not rewarding bad behavior, I'm just trying to let the dove know that I'm offering treats to be friendly and not a threat. If he does display bad behavior, that's just what the dove wants to do. I'm not giving him treats for that; like I said, I'm just offering the treats to him.
Over time, I can clearly imagine him not displaying those bad behaviors when the dove knows I have good food.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You go in and offer the bird treats to get him used to you. You wouldn't do that while he is attacking you. Wouldn't be possible anyway. If he chooses to attack you anyway, then you would stop for then, and try again later.


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