# Best calcium supplement for dove laying too many eggs?



## Trish in Dallas (Jun 5, 2012)

Hi all, 
I have a female mourning dove who just turned one year old. She has bonded to me very strongly and is laying eggs like crazy. Since March 25 she has laid 10 eggs, two at a time, about once a week. She doesn't sit on them, and lays more even if I keep the eggs in the nest. So far the eggs look good with no rings or irregularities, but this CAN'T be good for her. I've tried not petting her, taking away her nest basket, replacing the real eggs with fake ones, and still she lays eggs. She's completely bonded to me, following me around, twitching, cooing, etc. and will pace back and forth in her cage if she sees or hears me, so I've tried to keep my distance and only let her out once a day to exercise.
How can I get her to stop laying, or at least slow down? And is there a particular calcium supplement I could get that is best for this situation? I've supplemented her pellets and seed with an egg-protein mix and a powdered vitamin supplement (she only gets direct sun on weekends when I take the cage outside) and have a high calcium grit that she eats a lot, but am concerned for her health. Any recommendations for a good supplement? I'm thinking a liquid might be better since she HAS to drink... 
How unhealthy is it for a dove to lay this many eggs? I really don't want to stress her out by taking her to the vet for hormone shots if I can avoid it. So far, she's her normal, perky, twitching, cooing self. I don't want that to change. Please help! Thank you.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

I would use a liquid calcium supplement such as is available from online stores like Foys, Jedds and Siegels among others. Provided it has Calcium + Vitamin D3 it doesn't much matter what the trade name is.

The egg laying sounds extreme to me, but I don't know what kind of dove you have. Could well be worth getting an avian vet opinion on it, if nothing else.


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## Trish in Dallas (Jun 5, 2012)

*Calcium supplement is on the way!*

John, thank you for your reply. I ordered a liquid calcium/D3 supplement made by Calcivet that got high ratings. Rooh is a mourning dove, which complicates things a little because I'm not supposed to have her. I'm doing my best to keep my distance from her, but if she hasn't stopped laying eggs in a couple of weeks I'm going to find a good avian vet. You're right - I think 10 eggs is a bit much.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

An avian vet by law may not treat her, vets are not supposed to treat them as pets,as they are a protected bird, as you know, unless you find one that is willing to overlook the law. So be careful, they may make you relinquish her to them and put her down if nonreleasable.


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## Trish in Dallas (Jun 5, 2012)

*YIKES! Thank you for the heads-up!*

Spirit Wings, thank you for the warning! I'm trying not to imagine what would happen if a vet tried to keep Rooh... it's not pretty! It wouldn't be fair to ask anyone to overlook a law, so I'll probably avoid the vet's office entirely.


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