# questions about my new dove



## eman (Dec 1, 2010)

Hi,

I bought a ringneck dove few days ago. I was told that it was 2 months old and a half. I was also told that it was a male. The dove never coos. But sometimes when he hears cooing sounds from my computer when I am watching dove videos, he will squeak. Sounds like a mouse. Is that normal?
I also hear the squeaking when I turn the lights off.
When do doves usually coo?
I feed him "pigeon & dove seed" by Hagen. I also put some "gravel with oyster shells and flaked charcoal". Do I need to provide a cuttlebone?

Thanks


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi eman,



They won't coo till they are a lot older.

He probably, misses his parents and, misses being fed by them.

Normal to 'squeak' when young.

No Cuttle bone is needed.


Cut up fresh Greens of the kinds people like to eat in Salads, really tiny bits, and encourage him to eat those...set a little pile next to his Seeds.


Set a frying Pan or Cake Pan or similar of say, an inch and a half of Water, of cool Water, set that on a Towel, on the Floor, and splash your fingers in it to invite him to bathe...

They usually love Bathing, but can be shy or nervious about anyone watching though.


Does he fly around indoors on his own recon?


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Jeannine (Sep 10, 2010)

Around 6 months is usually a good time to tell if he is a he or a she. They don't know how to coo very well when they are young, so they squeak and go though a stage I like to call 'silverware in the garbage disposal' -its cute, they will soon be cooing so lovely.

I had a 2 month old juvenile "bow-coo" as soon as I put him in a new cage with a bird he fancied, I was shocked!


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## eman (Dec 1, 2010)

Thank you both for replying
He is usually in a cage. I let him out to fly for 2 or 3 hours everyday. He flies around for a bit and then finds a spot where he takes a nap.
The lady that I got him from told me that she knows that it is a boy because she checked the pelvic bone like she always does with all of her birds.
He doesnt have a ring on his neck. He has small black spot. Will that come when he is older?


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## eman (Dec 1, 2010)

oh and forgot to ask that I have some spray millit hanging in his cage. Will he be able to eat from them or is it going to be hard because he is not a hookbill?


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## Jeannine (Sep 10, 2010)

The little black spot is the start of the ring; all the black feathers will come in soon. 
He sounds like a little guy still, he will grow a bit too, and his legs/feet will get darker.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Images of the Bird/Dove eman?


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## eman (Dec 1, 2010)




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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

Well, he is pretty as can be! Or she!


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## Jeannine (Sep 10, 2010)

oooh s/he is a cutie! watch his iris change from the olive greenish to a motled redish.  I love to watch the eyes change colors.
Check out my Dove photo album, I have 4 that are about the same age.


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

Congratulations on your new dove...very pretty! The color is Wild Type. I could see the violet coloring coming in on its' head and breast. Male Wild Types will show darker violet coloring than the females. Your baby won't show this until it molts into its' adult feathers. Doves are great pets! 

Here is a photo from DovePage. I would say this is a male...
http://www.dovepage.com/species/domestic/Ringneck/colors/wild.jpg

And this photo is from IDS site. This is what a female looks like...see how light the violet color is?
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/RNColorPics/wildtype.htm

Dawn


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## eman (Dec 1, 2010)

Thanks everybody


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

What a beautiful baby! Millet sprays make great dove treats and mine devour them until there's nothing left but the stems. A word of advice on greens: doves love greens and at least with my birds, the doves enjoy them a lot more than my pigeons. Romaine lettuce is good and nutritious for them but make sure you buy organic so it doesn't have traces of pesticides on it. And wash it well since even organic produce can have bacteria on it. 

Enjoy your new dove. We have 20 ringnecks and they give us much joy.


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## eman (Dec 1, 2010)

thanks
should I cut the lettuce into small tiny pieces, or just hang it in the cage?


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I clip it to the side of the cage with a clothespin for individual cage birds. Out in the aviary I put whole leaves on the floor and the doves devour them.


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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

I adore ringnecks! I currently have 7. It shocks me evertime I've been handling the pigeons and then I pick up a ring neck and they are so light in comparison! I have a preponderance of males, so there is always some high drama going on as the bachelors try to win or steal a hen. They really are a pleasure to have around! Enjoy!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

doveone52 said:


> I adore ringnecks! I currently have 7. It shocks me evertime I've been handling the pigeons and then I pick up a ring neck and they are so light in comparison! I have a preponderance of males, so there is always some high drama going on as the bachelors try to win or steal a hen. They really are a pleasure to have around! Enjoy!


you want three more hens and a big cage..lol..... oh the cage has a divider that goes with it..


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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

spirit wings said:


> you want three more hens and a big cage..lol..... oh the cage has a divider that goes with it..


Michelle, I'm wanting your 3 hens and cage. My blonde or blonde wild or whatever he is has been shot down by all my ladies! Maybe he can find true love with one of yours! 
He's getting himself into so much trouble it ain't even funny. He's a pretty little fella with a tufted head, too! I have him free flying in my bedroom now since he can't seem to get along with anybody. All he wants to do is hang around L. Peep and honestly, she does not like him one little bit!
Let me know when a good time would be. Thanks, Sue


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## Jeannine (Sep 10, 2010)

Some birds just don't like others - I have tried to move birds around; my sweet Edel acts like a jerk when she is paired with some birds - feathers flying, chasing, wings-a-slapping...then put her back in where she started and she is a sweet angel again. Oy!


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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

Oh, I agree! L. Peep has always been good with EVERYBODY till she met Elle (thought he was a she). I don't see where Elle starts problems and he is not the alpha male. He coos his little brains out all day and night and that's annoying to ME but I don't see where he does anything to make himself so unlikeable. 
I'm hoping maybe one of Michelle's hens will find him irresistable! He and I can only dream!


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

There's definitely a lot of drama with Ringnecks! Last summer we were finally able to have a nice, new aviary built for them, as they were previously in smaller cages, a pair or family to a cage. Now they have a 40 square foot space. But one of my males is so aggressive that I had to remove him and after a couple weeks. He wouldn't leave the other doves alone. Every time someone went to one of the feeders or water dispenser he flew down to chase it away. Now Woody lives in a separate pen with his mate. He's beautiful and friendly to humans and his mate but he's not nice to other doves.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Birdmom4ever said:


> He's beautiful and friendly to humans and his mate but he's not nice to other doves.


I have a male like that, too. I got him from a friend who has other doves that she couldn't keep him with. He would always start fights and then lose them. But that didn't stop him from starting a new fight. lol. Plucky little bugger. 
He has lived with me since June 2010, and I finally got him to be nice to the new little hen I got for his mate. He's sweet to her now, but I doubt he would tolerate other doves. 

(Though, as an exception, he sure flirts with my two diamond dove sisters *facepalm*)


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