# Ringneck dove behaviors



## RockPigeon<3er (Aug 2, 2012)

So we got these little beauties a few days ago. They're so sweet and I love them. But I have a few questions :
Do female ringnecks coo a lot? 
Can I breed brother to sister, all these guys come from the same parents.
What age are ringnecks when they start breeding?
I keep holding them, and they keep doing this little dance.. They stamp their feet for a little bit, stop. Then repeat. It's super cute. 
Thanks! Also, any ideas on what they're mixed with? I was thinking a white ringneck with a brown ringneck.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

To answer your questions:

1) Females coo but not as much as males.

2) You should not breed brother and sister. It causes inbreeding and is bad for the offspring genetically. Only breed unrelated birds. Find someone else with doves and trade some to make unrelated pairs.

3) They can probably breed at somewhere between 6 and 12 months of age but better to wait until they are 1 year old (12 months). Don't be in a rush to breed them as it can be hard to make them stop. And all yours are related and so should not be bred together. If you keep them together as a big flock, they will probably get a long OK but if you split them into smaller numbers, they may get territorial and try to breed - and a pair usually doesn't like a "third wheel" in the cage for them. And 2 pairs in the same cage is usually trouble too, if they start thinking about breeding.

4) When they do foot stamping, they are usually uncomfortable about something. If you are grabbing them in your hands, it may be making them nervous. It's better to tame them to perch freely on your finger, hand, or arm without having to grab or pet them. Birds don't "pet" each other so doing it to them can make them uncomfortable. Some doves tolerate it OK but they can also interpret our hands (if you grab or pet them) as aggressive or sexual. If they start crouching, it means they want to mate with you so that is definitely too much "petting"!

Hope this helps! The coloration they have is usually called "pied" - i.e. a little of brown and white mixed together.


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## RockPigeon<3er (Aug 2, 2012)

1) cool, thanks :3 that's what I figured.

2) ok, thanks. Ill look for something genetically different.

3) ah, I see. Thanks. And no worries, I won't rush.

4) I was simply laying down with the ringneck on my stomach and I it randomly started stamping. I wasn't petting it, holding it, etc. 


Thanks for all the info :3


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Regarding number 4, if it was sitting on your stomach, it sounds pretty tame - nothing to worry about - but it might have been foot stomping because of your breathing or something. But if it's that tame to sit on your stomach, don't worry about a little foot stomping!

Sounds like you are doing the right stuff and making them into tame and friendly birds. That's the best thing you can do for them - i.e. get them tame and used to people - because it's sad when birds are scared and can't be let out of their cages.

I didn't mean to scare you about breeding them but, as others will attest, it can be hard to get them to STOP!


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## RockPigeon<3er (Aug 2, 2012)

Haha! Yeah, the lady we got her from had 8 in a span of 2 months! The mom was still feeding 2 and sitting on eggs. I don't want 4 babies a month, lol
These guys are only 1-2 months old, so they can't fly too well, and pretty calm, they came to me that way, I had nothing to do with it xP ill have to thank the old owners.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

*A treat food*

Your young doves might like a treat food to help build up their bodies. I occasionally give my doves mashed hard-boiled eggs. I boil up some eggs - after they cool, I mash them (to pea sized nuggets) and mix in a little corn meal which dries up some of the moisture. You can also slip in some powdered bird vitamins - but not too much - I think they taste bad. You can also sprinkle a few seeds on top to get them interested. Store the extra in the fridge.

Egg food is rich food so I limit it to a couple times a month, unless they are breeding, in which case they get it a lot more often. But your babies could probably use egg food a couple times a week right now.

Another good treat food for doves is hemp seeds. They absolutely love them. I reserve them as a food I feed them from my hands. I give it to them a couple times a week. It is also a rich food so you wouldn't want to give it to them every day. You can find people selling hemp seed on eBay if you don't have it available locally. Hemp is technically marijuana but it legal as a bird food - I think they zap it so it won't germinate. If you throw some hemp on top of some egg food, they are in heaven. 

I mention these "rich" treat foods because your babies were born over a short time span by parents who were working very hard and so they might need some foods to build them up. Give them some egg food and you will see a difference in their physical health and ability to fly, etc.

Too much egg food when they are full grown can also encourage breeding, especially if you have a male/female pair, so don't over-do. But right now, your babies could probably use it a few times a week, for a month or more (and then gradually less often).

Some people recommend mashing the shells up with the eggs, to give the birds more calcium. I think this is OK for adult breeding birds before their eggs hatch but I normally prefer to leave it out - especially for baby doves - because egg shells can be sharp when they swallow them. But your doves should have bird grit (or better yet "high calcium" bird grit and / or crushed oyster shells) available all the time in a separate bowl. They need grit for digestion and minerals (calcium). The grit sold for parakeets and small cage birds is fine for doves.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

wow 8 doves, that is allot of doves esp when one does not know much about them. why did you get them?


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## RockPigeon<3er (Aug 2, 2012)

That's a good idea. I've been trying to get them to take treats & have been baking birdy bread. Ill have to top it off with a little bit of egg. We have bantam chickens so their eggs will be perfect sized ^^ thanks

Its not like I knew nothing. I knew how to house them, feed them, water them, I just didnt understand some of their behaviors. I didnt understand foot stamping though I think I can understand puffing up w/ a wing or two raised. I also figured sexing them would be the same as sexing a pigeon -impossible pretty much- but suppose I hoped there'd be an easier way, so figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I got them because I liked them. I have a few friends who love ringnecks as well so I won't be keeping all of 8, ill probably be down to 4-6.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

Sorry if I told you things you already knew. I was just trying to cover everything, in case you were not a previous bird owner.


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## RockPigeon<3er (Aug 2, 2012)

Oh no problem. It's better to be thorough then feel like you've left something out ^^ but I have had birds so I at least know a little, so I'm at least not a complete noob. Thanks for all the help though &#55357;&#56842;


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## LisaNewTumbler (Jun 24, 2013)

Hey, they look lovely 

Just a quick note on the foot stamping. To me it is usually a sign that something is itching/tickling them. So I'd have them checked for any external parasites.

Its likely they'd be grooming quite a bit, esp the tail if they did have mites. Also you can look at the feathers they drop and check for damage and bite marks, which would indicate that they have mites.

It may not be the case, but it is something to check for, if they do it often


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