# A few questions



## Collard Dove (Jun 5, 2011)

Hi!!
I have a few questions to be answered:

I am getting a dovecote soon as I am getting dove eggs (you can find another thread I need answered), is this safe for my doves? Is it possible to train them to only stay in my backyard? 

How can I housetrain my doves as they will be living in the house most of the time?

Can I make a perch stand for my my doves and how?

How can I train my doves to sit on my shoulder while I attend to jobs e.t.c?

Please help!!!
Collard Dove


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## Collard Dove (Jun 5, 2011)

P.S
Please Respond soon as I am getting a dove as soon as I get an answer from my other thread!!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

doves are usually not let outside..they can get lost. why do you need eggs? just buy the birds. they should be in a large cage in the house..sometimes they can go outside in the sun, but in an enclosure.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What do you mean by house train? You can't _make_ doves do anything. You can try to _get_ them to want to do something, but birds cannot be trained like a puppy. If you turn them loose outside, they will either fly off and get lost, or eaten by a hawk. Good question about why get the eggs rather than just buying the doves. It is difficult to raise babies even for the experienced. They don't eat on their own like chickens. I think maybe you need to read and learn more about them before trying to hatch them. They may not be the kind of pet you are looking for.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Collard Dove said:


> P.S
> Please Respond soon as I am getting a dove as soon as I get an answer from my other thread!!!


Ok, are you getting ringneck doves, or white pigeons (who are sometimes sold as "white garden doves") ? This is a very important distinction. White ringneck doves cannot home and have to live inside or they will die. White pigeons can safely live outside if you take the time to get birds who are born on your location or follow other training advice from the pigeon people at this site.

*edit* having read your other post, you are asking for ringneck doves. These are indoor birds. 
Please research these birds further here before acquiring any: 
http://www.internationaldovesociety.com/tips.htm 
http://www.diamonddove.info/bird11 Ringneck.htm

This type of pigeon may be the type you are actually looking for: http://www.whitedovereleasesociety.com/
Please note this quote from the bottom of that webpage:


> NWDRS members consider the release of Ringneck doves unethical and immoral. Ringneck doves, readily available from pet stores and bird merchants, are not strong fliers. They have no homing ability or life experiences that would help them survive if released into the wild. Instead we use the White Homing Pigeon, a close relative and member of the Dove Family.


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

I have a white pigeon, currently sitting on my chest tickling my chin with her tail, and I didn't have to teach her to sit on my shoulder ... or head ... or lap. She just does. She lives in the house and you can't potty train a bird. I have seven, the rest of them parrots, and the closest I've come to potty training is that I watch to see when they start backing up and dipping their butt and I say, "Wait, don't poop on mommy!" and scurry over to put them back on their cage or over a paper towel. Sometimes that even works. My pidge doesn't give me any warning. So you just have to keep a supply of paper towels and pick it up. 

A bird living outside in an aviary is still in danger from weather and predators. Even in a seemingly secure enclosure. You're also not going to have as close a relationship with a bird who lives outside as you will if he/she is in the house with you. Especially if you're only planning on one, the bird will be lonely and frustrated being outside instead of with you.


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## Collard Dove (Jun 5, 2011)

Thanks Libis!!
I am still not sure wich type of dove I will buy, and I might buy an adult pair!!!

Thankyou all!!
Collard Dove


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Collard Dove said:


> Thanks Libis!!
> I am still not sure wich type of dove I will buy, and I might buy an adult pair!!!
> 
> Thankyou all!!
> Collard Dove


Look through the two different types of pigeons/(garden doves) that can live in a dovecote that this guy has. There is also info at the bottom about getting them used to your place: 
http://rupert-fish.co.uk/fantail-dove-pigeon/


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## Collard Dove (Jun 5, 2011)

Thanks again!!

It is really interesting!!!


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## Collard Dove (Jun 5, 2011)

*More help required (sorry to be a pest!!)*

What species of doves have homing instincts? Please, does anyone know where I can get doves eggs? I would really like to hatch some, and I am prepared for it! Also, hoiw do you care for the babies? I read at over three days old, you can give them ready brek. Is this info true????



Thanks again!!
Collard Dove


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Collard Dove said:


> What species of doves have homing instincts? Please, does anyone know where I can get doves eggs? I would really like to hatch some, and I am prepared for it! Also, hoiw do you care for the babies? I read at over three days old, you can give them ready brek. Is this info true????
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's better to get a pair of adults. Otherwise you would have to spend at least 4 days without going to work (or much else) to feed the babies. Baby doves/pigeons also really need the gut bacteria from their parents. They can be raised by hand from day 1, but it isn't best. 

I'm confused by what you mean by giving "them ready brek?" 

Look for white rock doves (Columba livia.) (though they are called "garden doves" where you live I think) The "rock dove" or pigeon has homing instinct. They're usually larger than a ringneck dove (Streptopelia risoria) (which does not home).


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Collard Dove said:


> What species of doves have homing instincts? Please, does anyone know where I can get doves eggs? I would really like to hatch some, and I am prepared for it!* Also, hoiw do you care for the babies?* I read at over three days old, you can give them ready brek. Is this info true????
> 
> 
> 
> ...




If you have to ask that, then you are *not* prepared for it. Why are you trying so hard to get eggs? Raising babies from eggs is hard even for experienced people. Too many things can go wrong, and the babies are not as strong or healthy as they would be if they were being raised by their parents. They get crop milk from their parents which cannot be copied for a human to give them. You think you are ready, but you don't even know how difficult it is to feed them or care for them. Hand raising babies should only be done as a last resort, when something happens to the parent birds, and the babies are already here. Bringing tiny babies into the world to raise them without parents, and learning as you go, is so unfair to the babies. Too many things you can do wrong, and to many things that can go wrong. Why is it that you cannot buy a mated pair and let them raise babies? You aren't really caring for the well being of the babies. Just what you want, and how you want to do it.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Collard Dove said:


> I think you all know I am really keen on garden bird doves (or doves with homing instincts.). I have never, ever cared for a dove in my whole life! Now, I really would love to hatch a dove, and raise it and care for it until the end of it's days! But, I need eggs to do that, and lots of advise!! I don't think I'll cange my mind with the hatching. If anyone has dove eggs for adoption, please reply to this thread!!


Hi,

First, can we keep this on one thread.

I for one am not clear on what kind of bird(s) you want or why.

So-called 'Garden Doves' are usually either white fantails or white homers. Actual 'Doves' as in pet doves are usually some variety of Ringneck Dove (which may be white, kind of fawn like the wild Collared Dove, or other colors).

Pet Ringneck Doves should not be outside unless in a secure aviary.

Fantails can be provided with a dovecote and allowed to live outside unrestricted, but they aren't great fliers or homers. They can and do get caught by predators such as cats. They can also be picked off their perch by hawks (usually female Sparrowhawks) or, in some parts of the UK, even Peregrine Falcons if the pigeons are flying around.

White Homers are a particular breed and do have, obviously, a more highly developed homing ability, and fly well. They, too, could use a dovecote (if they choose to accept it). Like any white pigeons, they are easily spotted by Hawks, though _maybe_ less vulnerable than fantails (somebody may know from experience). If I had them, they'd be in a loft like other homers.

So, what are you wanting in a bird? An indoor pet, birds in an aviary or one that can fly free and return? If you even manage to raise a bird from the egg, and it becomes dependent on you, you can NOT let it fly free in my view.

You say you have never cared for a 'dove'. Then I say trying to incubate and hatch an egg, and hand raise a baby from day one is NOT the way to go. Do you have an incubator? If not, can you afford one (they ain't cheap)? Do you have suitable accomodation for a bird or birds? 

Readybrek is OK as a substitute when feeding a youngster temporarily if nothing more suitable is available, but not for a newly hatched bird. 

If you are serious about keeping a pigeon/dove and not just wanting to 'experiment' then I'd advise you do plenty of reading up first. There's an introductory book called just 'Pigeons' by Matthew M Vriends, and another called 'Doves'. Both may (or may not) still be available in a pet supermarket such as Pets-at-Home, but you can Google them if you're really interested.


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