# Hand-training a Dove..



## BitterCowgal (Jan 1, 2008)

My baby dove, Pipsqueak, is 19 days old today. He/She is no longer interested in the nest. In fact, Pip left the nest a couple nights ago and has refused to return to it since. He (I don't know gender so this is just wishful thinking) is still begging his parents for food. I haven't yet seen him sample any seed from the dish. I did notice that they no longer feed him as often. Is this signs of the weaning process? I took the nest out, gave it a good cleaning, replaced the hay with fresh and replaced it in it's usual spot in the cage. I'm not sure when/if the parents will lay again now that Pip no longer uses the nest or not but I figured I was better safe than sorry. 
Back on topic..I took Pip out of the cage on Jan. 17th to get some pictures. He wouldn't step up on his own so I picked him up with one hand, placed his feet on my finger, waited until he had a good grip and then let go with the other hand. I'm uncertain of how to train little Pip to 'step up'. The bird room is a small bedroom devoted to the birds. My doves, a Canary and a pair of Zebra Finches call it home. There is one solitary window covered with a blind. I'm a tad concerned that Pip may take off, slam into a wall and hurt himself once he's bigger and able to fly. He does little more than flap his wings and hop right now. Is this of grave concern if he is hand-trained and begins getting used to being outside of the cage at his young age? Should I clip his wings once he's able to fly? Both of Pip's parents are not exactly hand-tame. Sure they'll perch on your hand and let you pet them -inside the cage- but if you get them out they immediately take off. After having one of them slam into the wall once, I have not tried to bring them out of the cage since as I'm terrified they'll get fatally injured. I intend to expand their cage to insure they get enough exercise instead. I'd like to be sure that Pip and all of his future siblings are fully hand-tame, hand-trained and able to have out of cage time without worry. Also...where might I find a 'flight-suit' for him? I don't intend to get one until he's adult due to finances but if he's having free time out of cage, I sure don't want to have to scurry around after him cleaning up constantly...lol. 
Anyway, I'm posting to see if any of you have any advice or suggestions on how and when to begin hand-training this little one. I was figuring that the younger the better to begin handling, yes? 

Also...for the curious..hehe...here are the pictures I took on Jan. 17th. when he was 16 days old.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-020S-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-021S-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-022S-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-026S-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-028S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-029S-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-030S-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-031S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-032S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-033S.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BitterCowgal/Doves/MVC-034S.jpg
I go a little click happy with the camera...lol.  

Thanks for any replies.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Doves do bang into things when they are getting used to flying in a space they have not flown in before. They do clumsy things like misjudge a turn or height and fly into the ceiling.
I would suggest leaving the door of the cage open so they can decide for themselves if they would like to explore or not. If they let themselves out, the first flights around will be less frantic and they will not get hurt.

Make the baby dove a nest of his own. Doves like to have 2 nest boxes per pair. If there is only one, I can see how as a 'teenager' the little one doesn't feel like he has his own place.
The little dove will start flying sooner than you think. Make sure he has food on the floor of the cage to get to, down low for now. They like feeding off the floor.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Pip is a real beauty! 

Terry


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Heather, Pip is a doll baby. I know you can train a cockatiel to step on your finger by putting your finger against its chest and lightly nudging it to step up. It takes a while but he should get the hang of it.

Personally, I would let him stay out in the room a lot so he is familiar with it. At his young age, he is not as frightened as adult doves and should make himself right at home. After the adults see Pip moving around freely, they may realize that they have nothing to fear and come out on their own. Just be sure to pay them a lot of attention.

We have had some doves that really scared me with panic flying. They move so fast and seem to have no sense of where they're going. Other doves have shown no fear and don't panic - guess it just depends on age. We had a lovely little dove for almost 8 years and he was so tame that he never caused me any fear of hurting himself but I did worry that I might step on him sometimes so had to be really careful.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Two of my doves I have had from since they were babies, I hand raised them. They are super tame and will step up on my hand when i tell them to. I trained them since they were tiny babies and I spent a lot of time holding them and walking with them around the house perched on my hand.

Reti


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