# Can diamond doves learn tricks?



## SimSim (Jul 9, 2019)

Hello, everyone!
I am a new user and I'm here because I have a pair of questions about diamond doves I was hoping you could answer.
I currently own three budgerigars (small parakeets) and, even if I'm not planning to buy other birds for now, I am doing some research in case I had the chance to do so.

I was looking for pet birds that are from the same place as budgies (Australia) and interact with them in the wild.
I thought about zebra finches or Gouldian finches at first, but I found a lot of articles online that say that they can't learn tricks like budgies, other parakeets and parrots do.
And I would like to have a bird that could be able to do some simple tricks after being tamed.

Then, I read about diamond doves. Some online articles say that they can do tricks, others say they can only do basic tricks (like flying to their owners when called, or stepping up on their hands, but nothing else, I think even finches could be able to do these things) and others say they cannot.
So, I'm asking you: can diamond doves learn more complex tricks (turning around on a perch, going through a tube or a ring, for example... these are tricks that small parakeets like budgies can usually learn with no problem). 
Thanks in advance.


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## Ladygrey (Dec 10, 2016)

Hookbill Birds such as parrots and keets are very intelligent. 

Doves are intelligent to a point, but their survival is different, as a highly sought after prey animal , their instincts to survive take up a lot of their thoughts and reactions, so they do not learn tricks like hookbills can , but if determined and know what you are doing they probably do some simple things for food. 

Diamond doves still hold wild in them, but they are thought of as domesticated because someone bred them in captivity and put them in a cage, (personally I think they should of been left in the wild) , they do not act as domesticated as other birds, example ring neck doves are domesticated and may perish if released. 

For doves to react to food they have to hungry, I could of taught my birds ( domestic pigeons) to fly to me and land on me if I wanted, but I felt depriving them of food to be hungry enough to let their guard down , was not something I wanted to do and was happy just letting them be themselves and not a “trick pony” . Iam their guardian not their master. They would be doing it for food and not because they love me. 

Hookbills are like small children and can like affection and need attention, so with their intelligence, they can be trained, just like the ones you see at those shows. Crows are very intelligent too, it as a wild species they would only be captive if they were non releasable from an injury, not to be in the pet trade .


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## SimSim (Jul 9, 2019)

Thank you for your reply. 

So you are telling me that doves need to be hungry and without food to be tamed and taught to do basic tricks, right?
This would make them more similar to finches and canaries and different from hookbills.
It is not suggested, usually, to deprive parakeets and parrots of food to tame and train them (unless you are having a very hard time in doing so), it is only suggested to use food that they don't always eat but that they really like (for budgies you can use spray millet, for example).

If I need to starve diamond doves to get results, then I agree with you, it would be much better to let them be themselves.
Also, learning tricks is a way to keep parakeets and parrots mentally stimulated, something doves don't apparently need, at least not as much as smarter birds do.

Besides that, I think I would be happy even without training the dove, but I would like to have a relationship with them.
What I'm wondering is whether a diamond dove, if kept alone, could see a human as their companion, care for them and seek their company even if they have not been handraised, and be fine without other doves.
Not handraised hookbills can see their guardians as "friends" or even mates, and in this case they show affection and try to spend as much time with them as possible, and they are happy without their own kind.
Can diamond doves do the same? 
(I would not risk to handraise a diamond dove, as it is not a common pet bird and I have no experience with it, I would rather get a young dove, that would be easier to tame than an adult.)
I'm guessing by your reply that the answer is no, but there are conflicting opinions online. 

Thanks in advance!


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## Ladygrey (Dec 10, 2016)

SimSim said:


> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> So you are telling me that doves need to be hungry and without food to be tamed and taught to do basic tricks, right?
> This would make them more similar to finches and canaries and different from hookbills.
> ...


Specific to diamond doves , they are small birds on the wild side, they are also fragile in captivity . There could be an occasion where a diamond dove if raised from a young age could attach themselves to a human if they think they are their mate, but really doves and pigeons are not people birds, they tolerate us because we feed them. 
From what I said about my pigeons before, again.. 
To train pigeons they don’t have to be starving as you say, but very hungry , that is how they train homing pigeons how to use a trap door to get back in the loft , they are encouraged to go in the loft because food is awaiting them, and they are or have to be hungry to motivate the entry of the loft, that’s the only control keepers have over the birds. 

Personally I wouldn’t get diamond doves. One , they should not be in the pet industry. 
Two, they can be fragile and they are hard to treat if they get sick.
Three, they will not be your shoulder buddy like a hookbill would, just totally different type birds. They require a mate as having a companion is the big huge that fill the most parts of their life and they are naturally disposed to be with another dove, most are sold in pairs. I’m sorry they decided to sell them as pets.

A nice domestic pet bird that can be adorable and really like hanging with you is a cockatiel, if it is a young one, that would suit what traits you are wanting.


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## SimSim (Jul 9, 2019)

Okay.
Thank you so much for your help  I will look for something else, then. A cockatiel would be a good idea but for some reason, while there is a lot of footage online of wild budgies, diamond doves and Gouldian and zebra finches interacting with each other, there are no photos of wild budgies interacting with other Australian hookbills, including cockatiels, despite being known to live in the same habitats.

If I ever get doves or pigeons (not as pets, of course) I will definitely come back here. 
Goodbye! And best luck to you and your birds!


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## Shadowstar (2 mo ago)

My diamond dove does tricks for praise. It took me three years to teach him to come, recall, fetch (only really works with the cat ball and pom poms) and I even got him to attack whatever I point at. But he is a very old single bird. No I don't deprive him of food to get him to do these tricks. He freely feeds whenever he wants (I just keep his food bowl full all the time since it's getting harder to keep weight on him as he is getting older.). Currently we are working on barrel roll (in air) and spinning in a circle. They can be trained if you have a good bond with them and it's a constant thing to work on.


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