# I adopted a dove!



## PhelanVelvel (Jun 12, 2017)

Hey guys, I recently adopted a ringneck dove from a lady who needed to rehome her. The lady told me the dove (named "Kojak") was a rescue whom she adopted about eight years ago, and that she is about ten years old. She said that Kojak (and here's the reason for her name) is bald because she was picked on by other birds in the aviary before being adopted.

Another macaw is in my future, but not until I can afford one, and I felt far too lonely without a bird friend to call my own, even among all my other animals. So, I gave this little one a new home and abated my sadness all at once.

I have a couple of questions for you lovely pigeon people. If she has been eating the Kaytee dove blend for the past eight years without access to grit, and I am switching her onto Harrison's pellets, does she need grit now to clear her system of any seed hull buildup, or would the damage already have been done? Should I expect her to have any health problems in the future from eating seeds without access to grit? I've watched her eat and noticed that she likes to pick out the pellet-type food from the blend anyway, so (*touch wood*) I don't foresee a difficult transition from seeds to pellets.

By the way, whoever mentioned on here that doves love shredded cheese...THANK YOU. It's definitely an invaluable motivator. I've tried hand-feeding her a number of things, but it's mainly the cheese that catches her eye and gets her excited, now that she's tasted it.

She is getting a lot more comfortable with stepping up, but she has had to learn that I'm not going to grab her. Her instinct is to flinch when I approach her with my hand--not because her previous owner did anything mean to her, but because her previous owner assumed that she enjoyed being held and cuddled. Clearly she is bracing herself for the inevitable "cuddles", lol.

She has a great disposition, though. She's pretty inquisitive and even flies when she wants to get somewhere, though her landings leave much to be desired. Sometimes she thinks she knows where she wants to go, then gets tired and kind of tumbles down if she can't figure out the landing. At least, that's how she flies in the bedroom. If it's downstairs, where she has a lot more space to just land on the floor, she's fine with landing. She flies super slowly and almost hovers in place like a helicopter, I guess because she's used to being in the cage. I like that she's exploring, though. I was afraid she might be really timid and kind of vacant after all that time she's spent just kind of chilling in a cage. I'm trying to show her there's more to life than that. Just yesterday she was perched on the edge of my plate, eating my food. 

Oh yeah, I'm quickly realising the need for "pigeon pants", lol. She poops far more often and more indiscriminately than the parrots. >__>


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

What a lovely bird! Congrats!


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## Yonah (Feb 11, 2017)

Congrats! 
I didn't know about the cheese either. I'll have to try that. 

Let us know how the pigeon pants work. I was thinking of doing the same for my doves.


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## SRSeedBurners (Jul 22, 2015)

Pigeons and parrots...that's what I have too!


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## PhelanVelvel (Jun 12, 2017)

cwebster said:


> What a lovely bird! Congrats!


Thanks! We refer to her as "a very rare vulture-pigeon", lol.



Yonah said:


> Congrats!
> I didn't know about the cheese either. I'll have to try that.
> 
> Let us know how the pigeon pants work. I was thinking of doing the same for my doves.


I want to get this one specifically: https://www.etsy.com/listing/496350555/lily-pad-garden-pigeon-pants?ref=shop_home_feat_1

You do have to give measurements so that she can make one that will fit your bird. The default size is made to fit homing/racing pigeons. I'll probably worry about getting Kojak an Aviator before the pants, though.



SRSeedBurners said:


> Pigeons and parrots...that's what I have too!


Haha, awesome! I'm trying to save up for my next macaw. I hope by that time Kojak likes me more and we can all chill together. Right now she is like a random city pigeon who found its way into the house, pecking about on the floor and hurrying just out of range of you when you get close...lol. Fortunately the cheese makes her forget any misgivings.


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