# Welcome home my first pigeons.



## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Yesterday I brought home my first pet doves. I believe these are ringneck doves, pure white wedding birds. Of course, they are untrained, unbanded, and pretty much just...pretty. They aren't tame. They also aren't in their own aviary yet. I have so much to do, and the chickens are so upset about losing the run I don't know where to put them.
I've already made my first mistake before bringing them home. The cage I was going to keep them in until the aviary is done was too small, and they were unhappy. Of course, how can you tell how a dove feels? Transporting non-tame birds didn't go well from cage to coop, and some of them have small injuries which were completely my fault. They can still fly though.
They are gobbling up chicken feed at the moment. Any warnings so I can avoid my next mistake?


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Looks like you put the cart before the horse.

Your doves are naturally stressed out with the change of handlers and the change of where they are living. This is normal. But, it seems like you acquired these pretty doves before thinking of their living area.

Well, with that said, what is done is done. You need to find a large enough place where they can at least flap their wings without banging against the cage if they are to kept in one.

They should not not be fed chicken feed...they are not chickens. 

Please feed them a pigeon-dove mix.

If you have access to a feed and grain store, they sell dove mix, otherwise, you can find Kaytee paloma-dove feed at places like Pet-co.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Hi Philodice and welcome to Pigeon-Talk. I'm sorry you got off to a bit of a rocky start with your doves. If they are, in fact, doves do be aware that they cannot be allowed out to free fly. Doves simply don't have the street smarts or flying ability to evade predators such as hawks, cats, dogs, and even humans.

I'm sure you will figure things out in a hurry and will greatly enjoy your birds. You will find a wealth of information here regarding all aspects of keeping pigeons and doves. Victor has given you some good advice to get started with.

Please keep us posted. We would also love to see some pictures of the birds if you are able to do that.

Terry


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi, Welome. Pigeons and doves and pigeons do not go very well for so many reason. Doves and pigeons maybe stressed out of the chickens and also note the disease factor that both can share. How big is your dove cage and how many doves did u buy


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I just brought home the right feed and I am working on a nice big dove aviary this week. Meanwhile the two chickens are in the yard running around. I just coincidentally ended up bringing home two times the doves that I thought I would. I thought I had the cage thing handled, but Ring-necks are bigger than I thought they would be. About 3x bigger. I hate to start out sounding like a moron, but there you go.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Hello and welcome. You don't sound like a "moron" at all.....no worries!  We all start out somewhere. As a chicken, dove and pigeon owner myself, I can tell you for sure not to let the birds mix (even the nicest chicken can take offense at a dove and peck it to death in moments, which would be awful of course). If you haven't started building yet, keep in mind a fenced dog kennel/run makes a great and ready-set aviary (you would need to cover it with smaller wire or hardware cloth to keep predators out). Sounds like you got the right food set up, make sure to include grit of some kind (they sell it at most pet food stores with the parrot food). Some crushed lavender or rosemary is a natural calming scent, and can be placed around the cage they're in now to help calm them down (don't put it where they can eat it lol). They might enjoy some shallow dishes of water for bathing once they settle in. Someone mentioned it, but make sure not to let them out as they don't have homing instincts.  In their new aviary, they would enjoy some perches as well as nesting boxes (milk crates work well, shelving, plastic shelves with every other drawer removed, old furniture, baskets on their sides, etc.) When catching them to move them, I've found with doves (they do get frightened easily, I know how bad you can feel trying to catch them!) that a soft net helps with a long handle. Then a quick swoop, capture, and scoot into the new place, just about harmless and quick and easy for you both. Doves also enjoy fresh greens such as spinach, romaine lettuce, and other veggies with vitamins (iceberg lettuce has no nutritional value). They also enjoy safflower seeds (similar to shelled sunflower seeds, can be bought at pet shops), though not too many as they are very fatty.  Dried peas and raw, unsalted peanuts are good treats too in moderation. Try not to feel too stressed or unsure, it sounds like you are on the right track and they will do just fine. It does take doves longer than pigeons to settle into a new place, at least from personal experience I've seen this. You might try covering their temporary cage most of the way so they aren't alarmed by things going on around them (as they are settling in). Good luck and please feel free to ask any questions you may have or share any thoughts with us. We would love to see pictures of them too.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Oh yes, by wedding doves I meant the ones you see in cages, not the ones you release. Homers sound like too much work for somebody like myself who works so much at the office. So from tiny wire cage to 10 foot by 6 foot by 6 foot tall aviary. (Cooingham Palace) I think I just might have put them up right.

http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f219/FurrDeFaux/Doves/

Research update: These are Bull eyed white ringnecks. OOOHH.

I'm wondering a few things. Do I put the feeder on the floor or hang it? Granted, watching them swing from the feeder is amusing but not if doves don't like that sort of thing. Do I put the water in a dish on the floor, or hang it? My doves don't seem to enjoy hanging out on the ground, so I hung the feeder and water for now. Will experimentally changing the layout of perches, food, water, etc confuse and upset them?

Perches or shelves? (Thinking of shelving doves...mmmm.)
Pigeon holes (A shelf of cubbies for nests)p ) or nest holes cut in one gallon water jugs wired to the wall?
How high up do the perches go?

Yes, I know it is chicken wire instead of the recommended hardware cloth for now.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

The cage is so big, not all the doves fit in the shot.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

In addition to the round perches, add some flat ones. A full length shelf would be appreciated too.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hi Philodice,

You have beautiful birds, and their living area looks so clean and fresh...very nice.

To help answer some of your questions based on my experience, you asked if the feeder should be on the floor or hang it, It depends I suppose on your set up. Is this their flight aviary or their living area as well? I have 8 pigeons and they have a pigeon coop where they stay in at night and are kept in their own private small animal gage. They eat in there as well. I keep a hanging water dish, grit dish and feed dish for each one. On the aviary, I keep a hanging water dish and they have their water/ bath pan on the bottom, but way from their perch areas so not to contaminate the water. This you may want to factor in as to where to place their water, grit and feed containers. Since my pigeons only spend the daylight hours in the aviary, they are fed well in the morning and then before dusk when returning to the coop, though I do give them treats in their aviary sometimes. I don't feed mine in the aviary as a deterrent to unwanted rodents.My pigeons, after experimenting with various landing positions prefer the higher areas but will go down to forge, or get a bath in. 

You can be creative as far a s finding them a perching area. We have an old swimming pool ladder with a couple of old wood shelves on the two bottom steps. On the top platform I keep a brick to help keep their nails trim. 

On the length part, I have a two inch wide piece of trim molding going across.

And yes, you are right about the hardware cloth. I am still installing mine in the aviary which I converted from an old pit bull dog pen. 

My pigeon coop has hardware cloth and mosquito netting to keep the flying and creepy crawlies out for the most part.

Good luck with your project and thank you for sharing your pictures.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Welcome to the forum. Your doves are very pretty.

I know you are aware of the hardware cloth but I can't stress enough how critical it is that you cover the chicken wire. Too many predators can harm your doves, particularly at night.

Personally, I like ground feeders since both pigeons and doves mainly feed on the ground. We ordered our feeders from Global Pigeon Supply and are pleased with them. You can check our Resources forum for links to all the major pigeon supply businesses. Be careful though - you'll want to order everything.  

We use the gallon containers that water comes in for waterers. Just cut a round circle, about 4-5 inches from the base, that is large enough for their heads to fit. We wash them out every day and replace about every two weeks.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

They sure are beautiful.  If you can't get hardware cloth immediately, you can always temporarily cover the wire with plywood or similar boarding until you can get to the hardware cloth.  Also, baskets are a big hit with my pigeons and especially the doves. One pair has a plastic green basket (such as you would keep under the bathroom sink for old toothbrushes and stuff) and they love it. I also have several wicker baskets hanging, or attached to the sides of the aviaries, and some on the floor (many of my pigeons like to be on the floor, silly birds  ).


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Why is chicken wire so bad?
I got a shelf, I have to hang it.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

philodice said:


> Why is chicken wire so bad?
> I got a shelf, I have to hang it.


Chicken wire is not advisable at all to house outdoor birds. Predators from the smallest rat to the mighty hawk can penetrate the chicken wire to get to their victim for a meal.


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