# How often do doves lay eggs?



## TofuTheDove (Oct 4, 2013)

My almost three years old dove laid her first egg around mid-March, and she experience prolapsed oviduct when she laid the egg. Took her to the vet within hours and now almost two weeks later it looks like Tofu(my dove) made full recovery and is acting completely normal now. And she did not lay another egg after the incident. 

My question is, how often do doves lay egg? I'm going away for about two weeks in mid-April and while I can find someone to take care of Tofu, I don't think he will be able to handle emergency situations like the prolapsed oviduct if it happens again.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

that depends on how much stimulation the dove is getting..if she see someone as her mate and is being petted and held and talked to by that someone she may want to lay more. usually with a mate a dove will or can lay every three weeks or four. usually after they give up sitting the egg/s. having fakes for the them to sit is a must to slow down the laying...they will lay more when they figure out the fakes are duds so to speak, but at least she will be taking a break from laying more eggs.. with her being a lone dove she can keep her own to sit if you want. or she may not be interested in sitting so that could become a problem if you interact with her because then she will be stimulated to lay. IMO I think lone doves need a mate and go the natural cycle of keeping house, just use fake eggs for hatch control.. two hens can be companions as well and they sit their eggs together.


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## Picollo30 (Oct 18, 2011)

tofu as spirit wings said it really depends on the attention she's getting from you. fortunately mine hasnt laid an egg since september, till then it was almost daily. she was getting exhausted and her calcium reserves depleted at an alarming rate. 

i dont know if it's because she sleeps more or due to moving to a bigger house, but now she stays in my room and hasnt laid a single egg and she's healthier than she was before. 

control the hours of light she has and reduce peting when you notice she starts cooing and shaking her feathers as soon as she sees you. give her liquid calcium or in powder mixed with her seeds just in case she decides to start laying. 

from what i've noticed there's usually an interval of a day between laying. also if you notice she poops less it's because she is about to lay an egg. egg laying can be very dangerous because the egg might become stuck if the bird doesnt enough strenght to release it (calcium depletion).


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