ringneck dove health

Question
I am new at raising ringneck doves,as I rescued a mating pair from less than favorable conditions. They were in good health, and already have raised one youngin successfully. The adolescent is still in the cage with the parents and are already sitting on a new clutch. My question is that my while one dove sits on the nest the other two are sitting on the bottom of the cage, not on a perch, is this ok? I heard birds don't sit on the bottom of their cages unless something is wrong. I try to keep the bottom as clean as I can.

Answer
Hi, Bobbie,

What kind of perch(es) do you have in their cage?  Doves have 3 toes forward, 1 toe back (different from parrots), thus, they don't particularly care for round perches.  They prefer a flat perch, such as a 2x2 or 2x3, something around this size where they can stand flat on the perch instead of curling their toes around a round perch.  With 1 toe back, this makes it difficult for them to hold on to a round perch or a perch that isn't wide enough.  With an adolescent still in the cage, the other bird may prefer to sit on the cage bottom with the youngster.  This is OK as long as they aren't exposed to their feces, rotten feed, etc.    

Sitting on the cage bottom mainly pertains to parrots, who prefer perches (or other birds that have 2 toes forward and 2 toes back).  It is common for doves/pigeons to remain on the bottom of cage or whatever if they aren't comfortable, feel stable enough with round perches or flat perches that aren't wide enough where their feet can stand flat.

Chrys