# dove has laid an egg!



## chuparosa (Apr 27, 2012)

I came home to find one of my foster doves sitting on an egg! I boiled it and returned it to the bottom of the cage. She did not go back to sit on it. Help! What do i need to know?


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## astronoc (Apr 30, 2012)

What is your goal? To not hatch but to let her have an egg to minimize calcium depletion?


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

Well now you know one is a female... Give them a nest to set in...a basket or a shoe box will do. Put some hay in it...and then put the egg in. You can put the dove in the nest too to show her. If they do turn out to be both females...you won't have to boil the eggs anymore because they won't be fertile anyway. 

Dawn


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

why you boiled the egg? the next steps is to peel the shell and ready to eat..


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## Coocooloft (Apr 20, 2012)

once you move the birds egg they always think something happened to it


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## chuparosa (Apr 27, 2012)

This morning I put a towel on the top of the cage and placed the egg in it. She went right up and sat on it.

I do not know the history on these doves as I am only their foster momma. They could have been mixed in with other doves. I was told by the rehab center who gave me the doves to foster to boil the egg. They did not have any other instructions which seemed odd to me.

I would like to know if momma dove needs any special foods. Should I give her high calcium foods or a supplement? They do get vitamins in their water. How long will she need to sit on the egg? I do not want her to keep laying eggs.

Are there any other issues I might need to know about such as will the other dove get jealous, do they need more sleep etc.

Thanks in advance.


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

the egg you boiled will not hatch anymore.. wait for two days and there will be another egg.. as far as i know they laid eggs twice.. if you want to hatch the egg dont boil it.. you can remove the one you boiled because its a waste of time if you gonna wait those egg to hatch..


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## chuparosa (Apr 27, 2012)

jtronics said:


> the egg you boiled will not hatch anymore.. wait for two days and there will be another egg.. as far as i know they laid eggs twice.. if you want to hatch the egg dont boil it.. you can remove the one you boiled because its a waste of time if you gonna wait those egg to hatch..


Yes, obviously it won't hatch. That is the reason for boiling. I am not looking to breed the doves. I am a volunteer rehabber and the doves do not belong to me. I was told by their "owners" to boil the egg and replace it. Are you certain that she will lay another egg? I thought replacing the egg will stop her from laying another.


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

sorry for mis understood.. yeah she will lay egg.. mostly doves lay two eggs..


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

jtronics said:


> sorry for mis understood.. yeah she will lay egg.. mostly doves lay two eggs.. if she lay egg again you can remove both eggs.. after a week shell gonna forget it..


The reason for "boiling & replacing" is so that they will continue to "sit" the eggs for the time that they normally would.
If you just remove the eggs, she will lay again. Continual laying depletes the birds calcium level which in turn can then cause other health problems.



chuparosa said:


> Are you certain that she will lay another egg? I thought replacing the egg will stop her from laying another.


Doves & Pigeons normally lay clutches of 2 eggs a day (or 2) apart, so she will probably still lay a second. Just do the same with this. Normally as long as she is sitting both then she wont lay again till she stops sitting them giving her more time to increase her calcium level, however - if you find more eggs then possibly you have two hens lol


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## jtronics (May 6, 2012)

Thanks Quazar...


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## Doves1111 (Mar 5, 2005)

Coocooloft said:


> once you move the birds egg they always think something happened to it


That is *not* true...

Dawn


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## chuparosa (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks everyone for all your help! Since momma has laid her egg, I have had a 99% reduction in cooing. I think maybe all the cooing was momma having trouble laying the egg. She did go back to sitting on the egg but yesterday I removed the egg and threw it out. Frankly, it was grossing me out. If the future holds more pigeon or dove fostering I think I will invest in a fake egg or two.

My doves are due to return to their "owners" by the end of the week. I am really hoping that there is no more egg laying until then. Momma seems happy and is not looking around for the egg. All seems normal.

Although I have only had these doves for three weeks, I have learned tons about them and I know there is even more to learn. All of you with pet doves are very lucky indeed. They are amazing birds. I love them.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

When you remove an egg, that's when you replace it with a fake egg. That way she will sit on it for about 18 days. If you just take the egg away and don't replace it with fake, it encourages her to lay again. If you were to keep doing that, she would just keep laying, and become depleted of calcium. Yu don't put in the fake eggs to keep her from laying any eggs.


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