Baby doves

Question
Hi Stacie, this is Tricia. I must seem like a nuisance, but I have a problem. My baby doves are almost full grown and I had gone camping and left all of my doves care in a friend while I was gone. But when I came back I found one of the babies dead on the cage floor with all of the feathers on it's head gone, leaving a bloodied bald patch. Now I had noticed that the father would sometimes preen them violently or pick on them. I thought that maybe he killed that one chick because it was a male and a possible threat. But now he's going after the other one which I know is female. She tries to fight back but he over powers her. Is it normal for the father to kill or attack the chicks?

Answer
Hi Tricia,

I would remove the other chick and place it in its own cage. The father killing the one and continuing to pick on the other is a sign that he  wants them to leave and get out on their own. It is time to safely get the other out and place it in its own cage. They can be pretty territorial when it comes to nesting sites, and the parents may be getting ready to raise more babies.

Stacie