# Nutrition for Doves!!!



## Picollo30 (Oct 18, 2011)

hi guys 

my dove got tired of her seed diet, i've tried 3 different type of dove seed mix and she simply dont eat them, she tries to eat and swallow but she drops them.

i tried giving her brocolli and parsley and also bread crumbs and she does eat them.

is it ok to give her parsley i heard it was poisonous to birds? what about grit and the other stuff mentioned?

also why is she not eating seed food? 

thanks


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

To my knowledge, parsley is not toxic to birds, but there is a lot of "info" on-line saying it is.

I would be more concerned about why your dove has quit eating seeds. Have you checked the mouth and throat for canker? What do the poops look like. Is the bird drinking water. I would really be checking for canker if it were my bird.

Please get back to us about how your bird is doing and what you see or don't see in the mouth and throat.

Terry


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## Picollo30 (Oct 18, 2011)

TAWhatley her poops are fine,both stool and urates. she has been tested for canker,both beak and crop, she has nothing.

she eats bread, vegetables but not seeds, even the vet cant explain why, he suggested other foods so i decided to change her diet a little and it's working. 

so i'm here also asking for tips on what to give her: what more vegetables can i give her besides parsley or brocolli?


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

Picollo30 said:


> hi guys
> 
> my dove got tired of her seed diet, i've tried 3 different type of dove seed mix and she simply dont eat them, she tries to eat and swallow but she drops them.
> 
> ...


*Hi PICOLLO30, Have you been feeding grit to your dove? Birds need grit to grind up the food they eat * GEORGE


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Picollo30 said:


> TAWhatley her poops are fine,both stool and urates. she has been tested for canker,both beak and crop, she has nothing.
> 
> she eats bread, vegetables but not seeds, even the vet cant explain why, he suggested other foods so i decided to change her diet a little and it's working.
> 
> so i'm here also asking for tips on what to give her: what more vegetables can i give her besides parsley or brocolli?


I have never seen a dove refuse safflower seeds, what was his suggestions.?


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## Picollo30 (Oct 18, 2011)

spirit wings when my dove had an upper respiratory tract infection (treated with Azithromycin, Baytril was not working) my sister and i, we had to handfeed her Zupreem pellets (which she hated but needed), because she wouldnt eat and was very very weak and lost a lot of weight. she sneezes sometimes and i suspect some allergy caused by something in the house. 

Could it be that she got used to being handfed instead of eating by herself?

we even thought she had anorexia, what's strange is that she eats bread, she hates fruits (fig, apple, watermelon), eats vegetables but is very picky about the ones she likes (gave her brocolli and parsley and she ate those).

tried grit she picked some but lost interest rapidly. 

what other vegetables besides brocolli and parsley do doves like? i want to test some more stuff so i can give her while she doesnt eat the seed mix. do they eat boiled eggs (the white/ yellow part) ?

thanks for your help.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

You can trying scrambling an egg in the microwave (comes out kind of like a souffle). Offer little bits of that. Can also thaw frozen peas and frozen corn. Also can soak some high quality dog or cat kibble in water until almost soft and offer that.

Terry


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## Siobhan (Dec 21, 2010)

have you tried giving her the multicolored Zupreem pellets? Maggie loves those. She steals them from the parrots' dishes so I put some in her cage but she prefers to steal them. LOL Maybe the variety of colors will tempt your bird. If she's a dove and not a pigeon, you should get the smaller size, for budgies. Maggie likes the cockatiel size, but she's a pigeon. Maggie also steals the tiels' seed mix. She eats her own food, too. I haven't found any people food that she'll eat unless it's something I'm eating that she can steal. Put some other kinds of bird food in dishes here and there around the room and let your bird "find" them and maybe it will satisfy a need to forage.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I would put the dove grains and seeds in with her at all times esp with safflower seeds. when she gets tired of the other things she can go to it and perhaps rediscover her natural diet. my doves never like fruit and only greens and some shredded carrot. but those were not their main diet. if you leave the grains in there she may just go to them at some point, when she does lessen the bread and other things, except greens. I would add zupreme to the grain and seeds too.


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