# Dove/pigeon-safe house plants?



## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Ok, so here's the deal. I had to get rid of my ringnecks because of allergies. Thus, I have a somewhat big cage that I can now outfit for the diamond doves. 

I was thinking that in nature they would be flitting in the trees and bushes, so it would be really neat to get them a plant (or fake plant) to flit through, perch on, and hide in. 

Are there any low-light, low-maintenance, bird-safe plants you guys can think of (sorry, I suck at keeping more difficult house plants alive for some reason--I think it's an over-watering issue...) 

Or is there a good place to get fake plants that won't have any pointy edges that they could get hurt on etc??


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hi Liz! Sorry to hear that you had to give up the ringnecks, they were so lovely, weren't they?

I had some pothos (devils Ivy) in with my pigeons last year. Its is very pretty and hardy- I had it cascading down from planters in the aviary, making it look lush and natural. It needs almost no light at all and can withstand neglect.

The pigeons loved it- they tore it apart over the course of a month to use for nesting material. The squeakers sat in the planters bunched together, like they were nests, lol...sooo cute! And they were always in the dirt digging around, so I couldn't use fertiliser and I worried about them picking up some disease/worms in the soil.

I might try a palm next, and cover the soil with large pebbles to stop them from digging around in the soil.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Bella_F said:


> Hi Liz! Sorry to hear that you had to give up the ringnecks, they were so lovely, weren't they?
> 
> I had some pothos (devils Ivy) in with my pigeons last year. Its is very pretty and hardy- I had it cascading down from planters in the aviary, making it look lush and natural. It needs almost no light at all and can withstand neglect.
> 
> ...


How pushy of a vine is that? This is a large traditional birdcage, so I wouldn't want the vine pulling at the bars too much. Does it withstand pruning well (such that I could keep it back from the walls?) (I kill plants normally. I once killed a cactus. But I really think this would by good for them psychologically as it more closely mimics a more natural habitat, so I'm going to give it another shot lol.)


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Do you guys think fake plants would hurt them any? I'm not sure a diamond would be strong enough to tear off pieces and ingest them. What about reptile trees?


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## Bella_F (Nov 29, 2008)

Hi Liz! Since the cage is smaller than an aviary, have you thought about putting the plants outside the cage in planters that hang from the cage, instead of cluttering up the interior? It might be safer & more hygenic that way.

RE. Fake plants for Reptile enclosures, I keep two large tropical tree frog enclosues full of rescued tadpoles that grew up, lol, . You can get some very realistic & attractive looking fake plants for reptiles. You might like the cascading ones like `ficus' adn `ivy' ...I have a lot of these .

Most plants die in these enclosures because the frogs are nocturnal and can't stand too much light, but the devils ivy and something called `wandering dew' (a creeper that looks like a bromeliad) both thrive. 

The fake plants are better for hygiene and most reptile keepers prefer them over live plants.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Bella_F said:


> Hi Liz! Since the cage is smaller than an aviary, have you thought about putting the plants outside the cage in planters that hang from the cage, instead of cluttering up the interior? It might be safer & more hygenic that way.
> 
> RE. Fake plants for Reptile enclosures, I keep two large tropical tree frog enclosues full of rescued tadpoles that grew up, lol, . You can get some very realistic & attractive looking fake plants for reptiles. You might like the cascading ones like `ficus' adn `ivy' ...I have a lot of these .
> 
> ...


Well, what I'm thinking mostly is diamond doves are so nervous/fearful/high strung. I feel like they want cover to hide in like they would have naturally. I'm just trying to figure out a good way to do it that would be hygienic while giving them a good place to play their hide-and-seek games together and also feel unseen by "predators."


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

I've gone ahead and moved them to the larger cage and put a jungle gym of different sized and shaped perches along one side to maybe feel like the way a bush grows. It seems to be helping their nervousness. I might eventually let an ivy or spider plant grow on top of or just inside the cage.  We'll see how they do for now.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

a ficus tree would be cool, easy to keep indoors... they do shed their leaves a bit in fall I think, my sister has had one for years, she even puts lights on it at chirstmas..so I would think it would hold up to a few diamonds perching on it. Another idea is a meyer lemon tree, it would need uvb lights on it..but the birds would get their needed light as well as the tree, then you could make you're self a glass of lemonaide and sit back and watch you're birds..lol..


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> a ficus tree would be cool, easy to keep indoors... they do shed their leaves a bit in fall I think, my sister has had one for years, she even puts lights on it at chirstmas..so I would think it would hold up to a few diamonds perching on it. Another idea is a meyer lemon tree, it would need uvb lights on it..but the birds would get their needed light as well as the tree, then you could make you're self a glass of lemonaide and sit back and watch you're birds..lol..


That sounds awesome! How big do those get? This cage is about 4ft high.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Does anyone know about toxicity of Hawaiian Umbrella trees to birds? UNL says that the Hawaiian species is non-toxic (in ref to humans) while the Australian species is toxic. 

http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/product210.html


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

I have mint growing in my doves aviary which they enjoy.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

nancybird said:


> I have mint growing in my doves aviary which they enjoy.


I bet that smells great!


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

Yes it does.My doves like to walk around init.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

nancybird said:


> Yes it does.My doves like to walk around init.


Now it'll be hard for me to pick between that and a little bonsai tree.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Ok, so I've been thinking about this, and diamonds often live in the grasslands of Australia (along with the more open areas of the forests, etc.) I read here: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/ampa/46.pdf that zoysia grass is generally safe in aviaries, which makes me feel that it would also be safe growing in the corner of the cage and potentially interesting to the doves. Also, this is the grass my parents' yard and I'm confident that it's unkillable. Now to check if the family has sprayed it at all this year.....

The other thought that I had was perhaps to grow millet, but I'm concerned that they might decide to eat only millet if I give them such an unlimited source of it lol. 

A third thought that I had was that this fake orchid is cool and so part of me wants to buy it for them: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Exo-Terra-R...527?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item589485d3cf On the same though, though, I'm not sure if the flowers would interest them or not. I know yesterday we tried giving them a hibiscus bloom to play with and they were a bit skittish about it...

Also, I'm thinking about finding a poster of some Australian grassland to put behind their cage. 

Additionally, I'm thinking of finding a flat river rock to see if they'll enjoy sitting on it the way I hear pigeons love bricks. 

Any other ideas? lol


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

Hi Liz I have rocks in with my doves and they seem to enjoy them.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

Still looking for a rock. I really had thought I had one around here somewhere....

I'm finding varied reports on zoysia's toxicity. Some say it works great for geese, etc, but others say it can give horses rashes. (and if it gives a horse trouble, it makes me nervous for my tiny birds....) 

Does anyone know a totally safe easy grass that doesn't get huge?

Or maybe I just need fake plants and some mint lol.


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

For awhile I had parsley growing in a small container and my doves enjoyed it so much that they destroyed it.I thought it was funny because it was for them to do whatever they wanted to do with.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

nancybird said:


> For awhile I had parsley growing in a small container and my doves enjoyed it so much that they destroyed it.I thought it was funny because it was for them to do whatever they wanted to do with.


I can see ringnecks really enjoying tearing that up lol!


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

It was nice to enjoy my doves just being doves.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

I upended a small ceramic bowl this morning to see if they'll sit on it like a rock. It's kind of textured. If I find a rock, though, I'll put it in instead. 

By the way, last night the diamond doves were mostly on the floor when they went to bed. I've weaned them down from their night light to dark enough that I know the ringnecks couldn't see, but it seems maybe the diamonds can. They had all flown up to different perches by this morning. lol. I had always thought that the perch groaning noise helped them do this, but this morning they were all at different elevations and locations around the cage. They also don't know the perch locations in this one well enough to do it by memory yet. I just moved one perch yesterday to facilitate better movement through the cage. So, am I right in thinking they have better night sight than ringnecks, or do you think that there is another component involved here?


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

I am not sure about different eyesight strength's per different type of dove.That is very interesting.Maybe they are curious that the light means that you are nearby and they want to see what you are doing.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

nancybird said:


> I am not sure about different eyesight strength's per different type of dove.That is very interesting.Maybe they are curious that the light means that you are nearby and they want to see what you are doing.


But I got up at 5am (they live in my bedroom) and when I flipped on the light they had already found their ways to perches (one even about 3.5 ft off the cage floor.) 

I do agree that they are very curious, smart little things. When I moved them to the new cage, they spent a good day pecking and testing all the bowls and perches. XD


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

How many do you have?They sound like they are happy and healthy.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

nancybird said:


> How many do you have?They sound like they are happy and healthy.


They are the four in the picture on my sig.  2 blues and 2 silver whiterumps with lacewing pattern. 

Fluffy, Snowflake, Susan, and Lucy. (All hens.  )


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

I thought that was a picture of them.It's very nice.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

nancybird said:


> I thought that was a picture of them.It's very nice.


Thanks.  

So yesterday one of my biology professors suggested male buffalo grass for a good bird-friendly grass. Now the trick will be saving up for full spectrum lighting and finding a small enough amount of the grass lol.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

I got some plants. They're too big to go inside the cage, but the doves seem interested with them alongside the cage. I got a purple and yellow pansy (hoping it lives at least for a while... anybody know their indoor lifespan?) and a little umbrella plant (the dwarf shade variety Schefflera arboricola.)  I'm hoping these do well. I've got a lamp for the pansies, and I'm letting the umbrella plant alone--as it's supposed to only want indirect light for 4 hours a day anyways.

And now for bad quality cell phone pictures:



















By the way, I know people eat pansies on salad all the time, but I can only find the toxicity towards birds for other species of pansy. Anybody ever tried feeding these flowers out? What about the leaves?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Libis said:


> I got some plants. They're too big to go inside the cage, but the doves seem interested with them alongside the cage. I got a purple and yellow pansy (hoping it lives at least for a while... anybody know their indoor lifespan?) and a little umbrella plant (the dwarf shade variety Schefflera arboricola.)  I'm hoping these do well. I've got a lamp for the pansies, and I'm letting the umbrella plant alone--as it's supposed to only want indirect light for 4 hours a day anyways.
> 
> And now for bad quality cell phone pictures:
> 
> ...


I thought you had to sell you're doves because you are allergic. do diamond doves have less allergin? as far as the flowers go, I do not think birds eat violets much, people do on salad I would say not much..but perhaps in spring and fall... turtles do eat them. and usually it is just the flower. they (doves) may eat it like they would greens.. nasturtium flowers are easy to grow from seed too and those are edible.


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## Libis (Oct 8, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> I thought you had to sell you're doves because you are allergic. do diamond doves have less allergin? as far as the flowers go, I do not think birds eat violets much, people do on salad I would say not much..but perhaps in spring and fall... turtles do eat them. and usually it is just the flower. they (doves) may eat it like they would greens.. nasturtium flowers are easy to grow from seed too and those are edible.


I had to send away the ringnecks due to allergies. I'm trying to keep the diamonds. They have much less dust than the ringnecks. 

Interesting flower ideas--I'll have to look into them.


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