# Ringneck Doves for Breeding AND Companionship?



## shadowdove23 (Jun 27, 2012)

Hello, everyone! I am new to the Pigeon-Talk forums. I am about three weeks away from purchasing one-two Ringneck Doves. Originally, I wanted to purchase two (one male and one female) so that they would breed. Through extensive research I have come to the conclusion that a pair of Ringneck Doves will be MUCH harder if not impossible to tame than just one Ringneck Dove. I would LOVE to breed these birds very much, but I believe an important part of ownership is being able to spend time with them, in a tamed sort of way (perched on finger, comes to you when called, etc.) If I purchased two for breeding, would it be impossible to tame them? I would be purchasing them from strombergschickens.com, they are not tame, hand-fed, or mated. About one year old or younger as well. I just want some advice on what to do. Is it is possible to own two and tame them well while also having them for breeding purposes, or should I just stick with one, and cancel my dream of breeding them for now? Please offer advice on taming as well. Thanks for all of your time, and I apologize for such a long post. P.S. Another reason I wanted both a male and female is because I am at school from 7:00am to 1:00pm, and I am usually busy during the weekends.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

First off I really suggest getting them from somewhere other than strombergs. Also, yes you can tame them even when there are two. It would be best to get them from a breeder who tames their birds or at least spends a good deal of time with them so they aren't so wild.


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## shadowdove23 (Jun 27, 2012)

Well, I found Stromberg's because not many breeders I have contacted have any Wild colored ones for sale. What's wrong with Stromberg's? Anyways, would it be difficult to tame both a male and female? Would it be a problem if I owned one and he was alone for the periods of time I mentioned?


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

shadowdove23 said:


> Hello, everyone! I am new to the Pigeon-Talk forums. I am about three weeks away from purchasing one-two Ringneck Doves. Originally, I wanted to purchase two (one male and one female) so that they would breed. Through extensive research I have come to the conclusion that a pair of Ringneck Doves will be MUCH harder if not impossible to tame than just one Ringneck Dove. I would LOVE to breed these birds very much, but I believe an important part of ownership is being able to spend time with them, in a tamed sort of way (perched on finger, comes to you when called, etc.) If I purchased two for breeding, would it be impossible to tame them? I would be purchasing them from strombergschickens.com, they are not tame, hand-fed, or mated. About one year old or younger as well. I just want some advice on what to do. Is it is possible to own two and tame them well while also having them for breeding purposes, or should I just stick with one, and cancel my dream of breeding them for now? Please offer advice on taming as well. Thanks for all of your time, and I apologize for such a long post. P.S. Another reason I wanted both a male and female is because I am at school from 7:00am to 1:00pm, and I am usually busy during the weekends.


*You could try advertising on Craigslist for a local breeder/owner. We found ours on Craigslist. A local man breeds ringnecks, and doesn't hand tame them, but we bought one that was very young...past hand feeding, but just barely, and he is as tame as they get. We're very new to birds in general, but from what I've read on here, it's easier to have one as a pet and have it very tame if it's not one of a pair, because they bond to YOU and not to the other bird.  Then, there's also the problem of telling what sex you are buying, as well. When you just buy two young birds, you can't be sure you'll be getting a pair...it might be two males or two females. There's no way to tell for sure short of DNA testing or if one of them lays an egg.
*


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

shadowdove23 said:


> Well, I found Stromberg's because not many breeders I have contacted have any Wild colored ones for sale. What's wrong with Stromberg's? Anyways, would it be difficult to tame both a male and female? Would it be a problem if I owned one and he was alone for the periods of time I mentioned?


Strombergs is expensive and you have no idea what you are getting until it gets to your house. I have wild types and blondes. I will see if I have any young ones for you. I sell mine for $10 each.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Also yes, you can have one for a while before you get the next one  Just when you do introduce them, don't stick them together right off the bat to avoid fighting.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I just checked and Strombergs has gone down quite a bit in the past several years. I still have my 2008 catalogue and plain white ringnecks were $75 per pair. Ivories were $115 per pair. I know show breeders who don't even sell their doves for that much. But at least now they are only $32.50 per bird....And their diamond doves used to be $80 per pair and up to $215 for the more rare colors. I can get the wild type ones for $30-40 per pair. It's just crazy. I didn't check to see how low they've dropped those now.

Anyway, I went outside to see what I have available, if you are interested. If not, I totally understand. I keep mine in a loft so they are not super tame but not bat crazy either. They are a little high strung at the moment due to hawks that often hang on the aviary. If you do decide you want one, two, or however many, I will put them in my breeding cages to work on calming them down to make taming more easy for you.

Here are 3 for sale. The middle one is a male and an earlier hatch from this year.








A young orange








Young blonde. The blonde pied on the left side is an older male from this year and also for sale.








Brother to the middle bird in the first picture....I think. They both look the same and are both males. I can't remember which one this is now LOL











I have no idea if there are any hens. I only know the 3 older hatches are males. The rest are only a few months old.


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## shadowdove23 (Jun 27, 2012)

Well, I am only interested in the wild colored ones, as mentioned above, and it looks like you have at least one. Do you band yours? PM me about ALL of the details, and I will get back to you.


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## shadowdove23 (Jun 27, 2012)

I also want to stress, as mentioned above, that the core of this question is simply should I purchase one bird, or two. I would love for them to be tame, but unfortunately that doesn't sound easy for a pair of birds, compared to a single one, but my concern is the lack of time to spend around he/she. I would have about 4-6 hours a day, depending on the day. Breeding sounds like an amazing idea, and a dream of mine, but perhaps one would be best for now.


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## Shadowringneck23 (Jul 5, 2012)

*Breeding and Companionship*

I would recommend you purchase a single male so that you do not have to worry about the removal of infertile eggs. You should become better experienced with Ringneck Doves before trying to breed them.


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