# Concerned about imprinting/taming



## geckobat (Apr 21, 2015)

Hey

I haven't posted here before but i used to raise pigeons previously and I recently came across an abandoned baby White-Winged Dove on the ground (I thought it was dead so i nudged it with my foot and lo and behold: very much alive). I took him in and have been feeding him Kaylees every few hours (as his crop empties) and I am starting to transition him to peas. I found him at roughly 12-14 days old I believe. He's been doing very well so far. Very loud, active, no issues.

My concern is how do I teach him to be wild and/or releasable? I'd love to keep him but I'm moving to a new apartment (with roommates) that doesn't allow birds, and I know White Winged Doves are generally illegal to have as pets. I try not to handle him beyond feeding but I don't know what to do beyond that. Is it possible for a dove of that age to imprint?


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

It is possible to imprint and to secondarily imprint on humans but at that age, he knows he is a bird, so I would keep the contact, handling and visuals to a minimum and then as hes older, put in cage outside when u can so he sees other birds. Then when u know he is fully fledged and eating well on his own, you can try a soft release. Simply google that. Its just basically you releasing it and leaving food out for it until it no longer comes for food and or finds a mate.


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

geckobat said:


> Hey
> 
> My concern is how do I teach him to be wild and/or releasable? I'd love to keep him but I'm moving to a new apartment (with roommates) that doesn't allow birds, and I know White Winged Doves are generally illegal to have as pets. I try not to handle him beyond feeding but I don't know what to do beyond that. Is it possible for a dove of that age to imprint?


I found doves very different to raised baby feral pigeons so far. They are much more affectionate and fall in love with human companionship. My rescued dove will sit on my shoulder all day and purr (it actually purrs like a kitten) , if it can. They get very dependent on your love, and its not quite like impressing so much, its more about their nature as a bird. They are just beautiful.

Feral pigeons babies raised closely with humans do release very well, but doves not so much. All i can say is the pleasure of keeping a dove as your companion is well worth the problems. If you can somehow keep him, it will be better off, and so will you. They are a pleasure to have around.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

geckobat said:


> Hey
> 
> I haven't posted here before but i used to raise pigeons previously and I recently came across an abandoned baby White-Winged Dove on the ground (I thought it was dead so i nudged it with my foot and lo and behold: very much alive). I took him in and have been feeding him Kaylees every few hours (as his crop empties) and I am starting to transition him to peas. I found him at roughly 12-14 days old I believe. He's been doing very well so far. Very loud, active, no issues.
> 
> My concern is how do I teach him to be wild and/or releasable? I'd love to keep him but I'm moving to a new apartment (with roommates) that doesn't allow birds, and I know White Winged Doves are generally illegal to have as pets. I try not to handle him beyond feeding but I don't know what to do beyond that. Is it possible for a dove of that age to imprint?


Once he is eating seeds on his own, you can do a soft release, keep him in his cage outdoors for a week and then open the cage, keep the food in front of it, he will go off and come back to eat, leave it for a week or more then slowly Reduce the feed and then take up the cage and dish, he is on his own, he may be the one to leave first and at some point you may not see him. If you have a covers bird feeder that can help, and you may see him through the years if you feed rgularly, you just may not know which dove he is at that point.


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