# Diamond Dove: Male or Female?



## rascal66

Hello,

I recently bought (In early April) a new Diamond Dove from the pet store, assuming it was a female (The store told me she was about 5 or 6 months old) so I can start breeding her with my male but I've encountered so many problems and I've come to question if it is really a female or not and I kind of need help.

I have two males in separate cages. When I tried placing her with the first male of my choice, he attacks her. I tried getting them together outside the cage so they can get used to her presence but once she gets too close to his cage, he try's smacking her with his wings. He is normally always doing perch coo's and calling for females in the nest I have there for him. I just don't know why he doesn't get along with her.



After giving up on him, I tried placing her with my other male Diamond Dove and though he will do bow coo's for her, she always runs away and I've even caught her strutting for him, mock mating with him (Hopping on his back but getting off immediately) and even attempt to force feed him. The only thing I haven't seen her do is fan her tail. I have read that young male's tend to do this as they grow older to even other male doves. But that's just the thing. Is my Diamond Female really female? The orange ring on her eye shows that she is female in my guess (I'll post a picture of her as soon as I can) It is thin and not 'puffy' like my males. She hasn't even laid eggs yet so I still really can't tell. How old do Female Diamonds have to be to start laying eggs?


For anymore back story on my males, they used to be cage mates and never really fought often. In fact they used to try mating with each other and always wanted to be around each other. But it is fact that they are both males. I don't know if this affects my males in any way by separating them.

I would really appreciate the help!


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## Jay3

Sometimes 2 males or 2 females will mate up. Possible that they considered themselves a pair.

As far as introducing a new female to your male, it will go smoother if you were to put them in cages next to each other for a while and let them get used to each other. He sees his cage as his territory, and he is protecting it even from her. Once they start showing interest in each other, you can let them out together. Maybe then you could let her into his cage. I had a young pigeon like that. He would chase this little hen around the loft trying to get her attention, but every time she would go into his box, he would throw her out. It seemed so weird to me. I remember saying to him that he would remain a bachelor forever if he kept that up. Then one morning I went into the loft, and there they were snuggling together in his box. If she is a female, then I think he will probably get the idea to be nice eventually, when she comes to his box. BTW, this works better if the third bird isn't around when you are trying to introduce them in separate cages.


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## meldrew

I agree with what Jay3 has said, also, if you look at the eye cere, (the skin area around the eyes) you may notice that cocks have a brighter red cere than the hens. If they all look the same you may have three cocks? the only sure way will be to persevere, and hopefully you have a hen. Your description of the eye sounds like a hen though. good luck.


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## astronoc

Can you post pictures?


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## rascal66

Here is my doves.

This was the first male I tried introducing her to. 










This is the second male that actually does bow coo's for her










And this is 'Her'


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## astronoc

Looks like you have them properly sexed.


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## rascal66

Jay3 said:


> Sometimes 2 males or 2 females will mate up. Possible that they considered themselves a pair.
> 
> As far as introducing a new female to your male, it will go smoother if you were to put them in cages next to each other for a while and let them get used to each other. He sees his cage as his territory, and he is protecting it even from her. Once they start showing interest in each other, you can let them out together. Maybe then you could let her into his cage. I had a young pigeon like that. He would chase this little hen around the loft trying to get her attention, but every time she would go into his box, he would throw her out. It seemed so weird to me. I remember saying to him that he would remain a bachelor forever if he kept that up. Then one morning I went into the loft, and there they were snuggling together in his box. If she is a female, then I think he will probably get the idea to be nice eventually, when she comes to his box. BTW, this works better if the third bird isn't around when you are trying to introduce them in separate cages.



Thank you for sharing the story! I would be so happy if i saw my doves doing that finally! And thank you for the suggestions  I'll try what I can. But for the separate cages, I only have 2 big cages so I wouldn't know where to put the other male If i were to do this... I do plan on getting a third cage soon since I do plan on breeding them and I might even consider a 4th small cage for the future. But with her current Male she's with, they don't pay much attention to each other and when they do, it is the male doing his bow coo's for her but she'll just run around or do that mounting thing I mentioned earlier. But One thing I'll try is what you suggested, letting them roam outside the cage just the two of them with the other male out of sight at least! But again thank you for this!


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## rascal66

astronoc said:


> Looks like you have them properly sexed.


I thought she has always been female but I began to question since she showed male-like behaviors I wasn't too sure! Do you know when females start laying eggs in their life?

Thank you


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## rascal66

meldrew said:


> I agree with what Jay3 has said, also, if you look at the eye cere, (the skin area around the eyes) you may notice that cocks have a brighter red cere than the hens. If they all look the same you may have three cocks? the only sure way will be to persevere, and hopefully you have a hen. Your description of the eye sounds like a hen though. good luck.


Thank you 
I posted pictures of the 3, I do believe she is female but I really just want to make sure!


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## astronoc

rascal66 said:


> I thought she has always been female but I began to question since she showed male-like behaviors I wasn't too sure! Do you know when females start laying eggs in their life?
> 
> Thank you


As early as 3 months. I wouldnt breed them until the female is a little older than that though. 

I think its 8 months for a female and 6 for a male regarding when its OK to breed them but dont quote me on that last one.


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## rascal66

astronoc said:


> As early as 4 months. I wouldnt breed them until the female is a little older than that though.
> 
> I think its 8 months for a female and 6 for a male regarding when its OK to breed them but dont quote me on that last one.


Alright thank you so much. My males are both about 1+ years old. My 'female should be about 6-9 months old.


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## Jay3

They can breed earlier, but normally make better parents at a year or so. But that is individual.


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## pigiesNdovies

i tell u very fast if its female or male. 
ready?
Ok, i tell u everythin......
the dovey with BIG GIANT orange ring on the eye, its a male. put a mirror next 2 cage n it will get agressive n bow/coo.
the dovey with small unswollen orange ring on its eye its female. she will lay eggs ALONE n she will ONLY do a coo-coo-coo note. very low no exagerated boos/coos/bowing n tail spreads. trust me doves/pigeons n all animals show if its a guy or gurl-except me cuz i sometimes wear gurls makeup n use my sister's clothes but im ah boi


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## rascal66

pigiesNdovies said:


> i tell u very fast if its female or male.
> ready?
> Ok, i tell u everythin......
> the dovey with BIG GIANT orange ring on the eye, its a male. put a mirror next 2 cage n it will get agressive n bow/coo.
> the dovey with small unswollen orange ring on its eye its female. she will lay eggs ALONE n she will ONLY do a coo-coo-coo note. very low no exagerated boos/coos/bowing n tail spreads. trust me doves/pigeons n all animals show if its a guy or gurl-except me cuz i sometimes wear gurls makeup n use my sister's clothes but im ah boi



Thanks for that  
Yea I've seen my males do bow coo's at the mirror before. It's cute in a way.

Well now I just have to wait for her to lay eggs.


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## Shadowringneck23

*Bonded*

It is possible that when you bought her at the pet store she was already bonded to a male and is grieving the loss. It is also possible that you have a male and that is why he fought with the first male, and is "mock-mating" with the second male.


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## rascal66

Shadowringneck23 said:


> It is possible that when you bought her at the pet store she was already bonded to a male and is grieving the loss. It is also possible that you have a male and that is why he fought with the first male, and is "mock-mating" with the second male.


That seems very understandable truly. I remember earlier in the days, there was a lighter male looking bird in there with her. The day I bought her, she was all alone. I'll put this to consideration though, thank you.


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## Lefty07

Sometimes male Diamond Doves can be very aggressive even with females, even with their mates. And having 2 males in sight and sound of each other may make them extra territorial, especially with a female around. If you want to breed 2 of them, things _might_ go smoother if the cage with the pair and the cage with the single male are not close to each other. But in the beginning, it might be nicer for your new female to have her own cage, near the males, so she can get used to her new home first, before she has to deal with a male dove courting her and pressuring her to breed etc.

My male Diamond Dove always got overly aggressive with his mates to the point where I would end up selling the females, when I sold the babies - and then eventually, I get him another mate and repeated the cycle. But he was so rough with his females I couldn't leave them in the same cage for too long. He also got aggressive with his babies (i.e. wanted them out of his cage) as soon as they grew long tail feathers. So if you breed your doves, be prepared to move the babies into their own cage once they grow to adult size and shape (i.e. have a long tail).

Diamond Doves, being small, can fit into relatively small cages but I think their territoriality, especially when breeding, can make cage life stressful for the less dominant birds - so a big cage or aviary for them never hurts, if you have the space.


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## rascal66

This dove turned out to be a Male after all!!!


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