# Pigeon dove hybrid possible?



## SueC (Jun 9, 2005)

BiBi, my little dove is all grown up now. Since last week, he started to have designs on Beanie who has made it clear that she's not interested in him. Apparently the message did not get to his head because every other day, he will be coo-ing in front of her. Things took a change last evening when Beanie seemed more receptive towards his advances.

I'm confused that 2 different species are prepared to mate. Is this ok? Should I be stopping them?  

I recalled reading something about barley reducing the sex drive in pigeons. May I know which type of barley is this? I want to feed this to my feral flock too as I noticed the nos. are getting larger and I'm afraid the authorities will start culling.  

Suzanna


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Hi Suzana, I currently have two babies that are hybrids; mom is a red and white pigeon, and dad is a ringneck dove.  The first pigeon I ever had, Gonzo, had a dove female for a mate, and they also had one set of hybrids before I separated them due to his bullying her around.  The female pij and male dove I have now were raised together and these are their first eggs to hatch. It is rare to have hybrids, but not impossible. Of course, the hybrids are sterile, like a mule is. I will be posting some recent pictures of my hybrid babies (they are about three weeks old now) tomorrow or Friday, so keep an eye out if you would like to see them. They do look quite a bit like a cross between a pigeon and a dove; they're quite charming.  I'm not sure about the barley, but someone will be along with an answer for that.


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## SueC (Jun 9, 2005)

Thanks maryjane for your comments.

I will definitely keep a lookout for your hybrid babies.  

As for Beanie and BiBi, I don't think I can/will allow the eggs, if any, to hatch as I don't intend to add to the nos. of feathery/furry friends that I have. Just want to ensure that what they are doing is not detrimental to their health. 

Suzanna


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Dove/pigeon hybrids are definitely possible.

http://www.ringneckdove.com/Wilmer's%20WebPage/pigeon_dove_hybrids.htm

Terry


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## SueC (Jun 9, 2005)

Thanks for the link, Terry. The hybrids are very pretty!  

Suzanna


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Suzanna,

Don't know that it much matters which barley you use, as long as it forms more than 50% of their diet.

I buy what the supplier calls 'malting barley', but we sometimes get 'releaned barley' which, I believe, is just barley which spilled from the hoppers and is cleaned and bagged up. Basically any whole barley is fine.

John


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