# A comfortable nest for diamond dove?



## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

Fred the Diamond Dove has been doing very well lately, adjusting to his surroundings.

The other day I looked over though and was quite surprised to see him sitting *in* his nest (he has a nest from PetSmart - a straw basket one that I've lines with soft cotton (which I change regularly) and wires onto the side of the cage). I had never seen him sitting in it before, only perching on the edge of it. 
(Actually, we've making a joke about it being his toilet because he'd sit on it during the day and poop into it, haha.)

Anyway, he has seemed a little restless and more talkative the past couple of days and today I found him sitting in his grit dish. Something else that he's never done before. I've tried moving the nest around the cage, trying to find a better place for the nest that he likes better. I'm worried that he is uncomfortable because he seems so restless.

I'm also now worried that he is a girl?


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

JLee said:


> Fred the Diamond Dove has been doing very well lately, adjusting to his surroundings.
> 
> The other day I looked over though and was quite surprised to see him sitting *in* his nest (he has a nest from PetSmart - a straw basket one that I've lines with soft cotton (which I change regularly) and wires onto the side of the cage). I had never seen him sitting in it before, only perching on the edge of it.
> (Actually, we've making a joke about it being his toilet because he'd sit on it during the day and poop into it, haha.)
> ...


LOL....you may have to change that to Frieda............


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

really? is this a sign?


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

I really don't know anything about Diamond Doves but I'd say there's a chance Fred is a Frederica.

You might try putting 2 or 3 little nests in different places in the cage to see if Fred prefers one. Maybe drape a towel over one end of the cage for a bit of privacy if there is an egg on the way. Keep a close eye on Fred and make sure there's a calcium supplement available just in case.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Honestly, I don't know much about Doves and their behaviours, but I do know pigeons and I would suspect (if it was a pigeon) that it's a girl. Other who actually have doves will be along I'm sure. 
If she lays and egg.......well, THEN you'll know.


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

I give him (her??) Hi-Cal grit and scrape a cuttle bone into the grit. Other than that I don't use any other calcium supplements.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

JLee said:


> I give him (her??) Hi-Cal grit and scrape a cuttle bone into the grit. Other than that I don't use any other calcium supplements.


That should be sufficient.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

They do like a choice of nests. Some people use the baskets, some use the dishes. Some doves just love to coo in the seed dish.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

my doves seem to be liking just a small box like this one in the link, it did not tip over like some other things that I tried.
http://www.diamonddove.info/11_02_Ringneck_in_nestbox.jpg

I think it would be the same for the diamond dove. have no open bowls with food in there or they will lay in them...so I got a small plastic container with a lid, like those you buy for leftovers and throw away. put the lid on then turned it over and cut a hole out of the plastic and use that for food, they don't sling food around and can not sit in it, for grit and water I just use those hanging feeders used for all kinds of small birds and hang from the side, but they are small so they don't sit in them.


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

Anything I put on the floor of the cage he's scared to death of - won't go near it. He keeps trying to get into the nest that is wired to the side of the cage - but it is like he can't figure out how to sit in it. Which means I must be doing something wrong- we're still working on placement. He seems very stressed


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

Sounds like FRED is surly going to show you that its actually Fredia...lol.... Sounds like she is searching out the perfect place to lay eggs. Our female lays her eggs in odd places, and never in the nice , fleece lined basket that I have for her..(go figure) lol.... yesterday she laid her 2nd egg in her food dish , they love their food dish so Spirt Wings idea ia fantastic and I will be doing that today. We too wondered if the nest I provided had a sign that was invisable to us that said ..."Comfy Fleece Toilet HERE" LOL....... Birds!!! Noelle will also be very verbal during this time and even though she can come out to fly , she will choose to stay in her home. She does low coos and is very still most of the 48 hours when she is laying her eggs. So I guess time will tell for you but I'm guessing .................... Its a girl!


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

BTW~ I'm also wondering if the stress that your picking up on from her .... is just her trying to find a place to sit to lay......Does she find a place and sit still for awhile or is she just up and about all the time??? She may just be trying to find her "comfy" place?


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

Can she hurt herself by being so stressed? So she will just lay the egg if the egg is ready to come out - if if she doesn't have the "right place" to do it in? I'm terrified that something will happen to her...

It is weird to all of a sudden say "she"...


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

Up and about all the time... flying around the cage and "trying" to get in the nest but not succeeding. He'll hop into the nest and immediately hop out and perch on the edge. Then do it again and again... he's breaking her very delicate wing feathers because he is doing this over and over again... so I keep moving the nest to see if there is a better place with easier access... and then he "forgets" how she used to get to the top of the cage (before she had a clear path, hopping from one perch to the next)... so he flutters about because of that... His cage is big enough for him, but not big enough to really do any flying in... just the one perch to the next hop/fly or fly/drop from the top of the cage to the bottom...

He's never been like this before. Usually he just sits and plays with his millet and scratches in the bottom of the cage, eats, coos and does other-bird things... but not in such a frantic way. I'm probably making it worse by moving the nest too much. I'll leave it where it is for a bit and see if he calms down.


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

Oh yes...no woories.... if she is ready to lay . she will "just" lay it.... Noelles first egg was layed on a wire shelf, the second one she just dropped in the bottom of the cage, so don't worry.

Also, you may provide a heat lamp for her. ....Noelle positions herself near it when she is getting ready..... But if she is a he and he seems listless then there may be a health issue, where again the heat lamp would help, they will seek out the heat if they need it if not, they ignore it when it is offered. If you choose to do this it needs to be placed so that he/she can move away from it.

Also, what exactly are you concerdering stressed, ...like does she fluff herself up, sit at the bottom or in one spot??? not eat/drink? poops look ok?


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

yes... do that... find a place and leave it there, She may be frustrated that it keeps getting moved...... so leaving it alone would help...  Its nice you care so much about where it is.... very sweet of you! But from my experience they will nest where they buy there own real estate and that is usually not where you decided... (Silly birdies)


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

if she likes the grit dish, give it to her and put another one in....no need to fret.


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

Poop looks fine and is eating and drinking, doing all the other normal bird stuff that he has been doing. He is still preening and talkative - hoping from one perch to another. He just seems more active with the nest - more interested in the nest than ever before (aside from the fact that he usually perches on it during the day) he seems to be trying to sit in it... instead of just perching on the edge he is jumping in, out to the edge, down to the bottom of the cage, back up to the nest, then repeat. Maybe it is nothing and he's just playing or something? Or telling me he is bored? It just came to mind that he might actually be a "she" because we've been wondering since we got him (he was sold to me as a boy). But he hasn't bow-cooed, but he is more talkative than females usually are - or than what I've been told (he'll hold a conversation with my for 15 - 20 minutes at a time).


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

I wouldn't worry then...... Like spirit wings said if she likes the grit dish then thats the spot he/she likes....They have a habit of choosing their own "bed".. No worries! Relax and just enjoy watching and keep us posted on whether he turns out to be a she.


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## JLee (Dec 16, 2008)

Ok, I'll try and relax, haha  He's just my first bird since I was a kid and I've been told how delicate Diamond Doves can be. I work at home so I'm used to seeing him a certain way every day and all this new activity has just been freaking me out a little  

Thanks for all the advice! Any more will certainly be appreciated and I'll let you know if any eggs are found.


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