# Considering a ringneck dove as a pet



## CinnamonBoyzMami (Apr 19, 2013)

Hello all! Im new here and came seeking info and advice from dove owners. I have been thinking about getting a young ringneck dove as a pet. i want to keep him indoors. The person that is giving it to me has nothing but good things to say about doves and keeping them as pets. I have done some research online and also see that ringneck doves are gentle and docile and have great pet potential. I would like to ask some questions and hope to get feedback from current dove owners.....first im wondering are they easy to keep as pets? Very messy? Are they easily tamed and do they bond to their owners? Do they like to be handled? And i guess my most important question is: Do they or can they spread disease to humans? Its a concern for me because i want to have it living indoors and i do have a 2 year old..any other advice or input is also welcomed! Thanks in advance!!


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

They are gentle.They are nice pets.My oldest dove lived to be 23 years old.My youngest dove passed away at the age of 18 years.


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## DeeDee's Mom (Dec 17, 2011)

Our ringneck dove, DeeDee, is a marvelous pet. He seems less messy than other birds I had when I was a child, and it's nice because even if they bite you, they CAN'T hurt you. They're a lot more intelligent than I'd ever have thought. DeeDee follows us around whenever he's out of the cage; believe it or not, he plays dolls with my 6-year-old granddaughter. He'll pick up a doll (the small ones), play with it, toss it off the table. He plays "tea party" with her, too, eating off tiny plates. He will chase her (on foot, with his funny birdie waddle), wings flapping, and laughing. He also loves to harass my granddaughter while she's painting, and will even grab the brush. Mostly, he tracks through the paint, leaving birdie prints.

I can't begin to tell you all the hilarious things that silly bird does, but we have become incredibly attached to him. He has even been known to fly down and join me in the bathtub...which is pretty hilarious.

He loves to be petted, and will even snuggle with us under a comforter, preening us the whole time. He's actually extremely spoiled. 

So, yes, they can be wonderful pets. You do have to keep up with cleaning up after them if you let them fly out of the cage. I do "poop patrol" every couple of days, cleaning up the various places where he poops...but he generally does it in the same places, so it's not too bad. Since their poop does tend to dry into hard little balls, it's really fairly easy to clean up. What doesn't come right up, I just spray a disinfecting household cleaner and wipe up.

The males, in particular CAN be pretty loud. DeeDee finds himself in a "time out" in the bathroom at least once a day, although we've found that if he gets too loud and doesn't respond to a "shhhh!", a spray of water in the face changes his mind about being too loud.

I think you'd enjoy having one. If you only have one, they do tend to bond with the owner more closely, I think, than if they have other doves about, but even with other doves around they can get fairly tame.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

A Ringneck Dove makes a great pet but, being a larger bird, they can be a little messy. So plan on changing the paper on the bottom of the cage and vacuuming around the outside of the cage, frequently - maybe daily. Also, I would get an air cleaner in the room you keep it in, since doves (like all pet birds) make some dust. But a dove is no messier than a small parrot.

Other tips, try to find a cage with a base that is a few inches high, so most of the mess stays inside the cage. Also, a cage with a large door in front that swings open is helpful, in getting your dove in and out of his cage. Lastly, doves like to feed on the floor of their cages so get a dish that can sit on the bottom of the cage and that will make your dove happy and reduce seed being flug out of the cage. Some cages come with a grate on the bottom but I tend to remove this for doves because they like to walk on the bottom of their cages.

A dove will appreciate cage free flight time outside of their cage. Hopefully, you don't have a cat and, if you have a dog, it can be put outside while the dove is out of the cage. I would get the dove to be hand-tame before you let it out of the cage. In fact, it is best to find a dove that is already tame, if you can. And as someone else said, a single female may be quieter than a single male.


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

I agree with Lefty07.


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## GregC (Apr 15, 2013)

Agree with everyone, my Jekyl lived 25 years and was a wonderful companion. We had to euthanize him last week due to declining health issues. We were never bothered by his cooing, and he greeted each morning with some crazy laughing sound he made when coming down from his top perch. He answered to his name and would give you a crazy look when called. Wonderful wonderful animals, you'll fall in love.


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## CinnamonBoyzMami (Apr 19, 2013)

Thank you everyone for your replies and advice. Greatly appreciated!!! I am convinced i want a dove for sure. Just wondering about the diseases tho... No one answered that question... Theres no diseases that my kids and i could catch from a dove right? A dove that will be living in our home.


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## Lefty07 (Dec 30, 2009)

I don't think you need to worry about diseases. Technically, there is bird flu but it is very rare and dove would have to have it first and it's basically unknown in the US. Other diseases like "parrot fever" psittacosis, which doves can get, are no longer dangerous to people like in the past because they can be cured with modern antibiotics - and that disease is quite rare also. Generally speaking though, it would be very unusual for your new dove to have any disease and even more unusual for it to be contageous to people. Just do the normal stuff, like keep the cage clean and wash hands after handling the dove.

But I would still recommend an air cleaner as the biggest health hazard with birds is airborn dust and a HEPA-filtered air cleaner, that you leave on all the time, can easily take care of that. Just make sure it doesn't blow return air on to your dove's cage as drafts are dangerous to all birds.

As far as allergies go, some experts are now saying that kids have fewer allergies if they are raised around pets because their immune system is better!


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

I don't think you need to worry about diseases.Just as Lefty07 mentions about hand washing & keeping dove's cage clean,clean water & food.Doves are gentle & make great pets for kids.


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