Are You Thinking About Raising Doves?

So You Would Like to Add Doves to Your Collection?

I have received many questions from people who keep pigeons
about adding doves to their collections. So when I was asked if
I would be interested in writing an article for the Los Angeles
Pigeon Club, I thought this would be a great time to address
this topic.

Like many of you, I started keeping pigeons when I was very
young. My love and interests grew for the birds as did my desire
to keep different species. I raised Homers, Tumblers and Rollers
and learned that methods of keeping varied between these types
of pigeons. I also discovered that I had to provide differently
for the pheasants I added to my collection. Even more
differences were found when I wanted to add Ringneck doves,
Diamond doves and now the many species of Exotic doves to my
collection.  If you already have pigeons, you know the basic
needs in housing, feeding, watering, and possibly breeding your
birds. I will not attempt to detail each process from start to
finish. My goal here is to bring up points that I feel are
specific to the care and keeping of doves and how they may
differ from your present practices in keeping pigeons.

The biggest problem I find that people have when adding doves to
their collections is “Not Being Prepared” before the birds
arrive. If you are interested in adding doves, do some research
first. Talk to people who already keep the birds you think you
want. Yes, I said “think you want,” because you may change your
mind as you learn about the different species. Keep an open
mind. With all the species of doves out there, there is one that
will probably work well within your desires and abilities. Read
all you can about the birds you want. Learn about their behavior
in the wild and about their habits in captivity. I have found
that most people keeping doves are very willing to take the time
to help someone who shows an interest and willingness to learn.
Check as many sources as you can. No one is an expert,
especially when it comes to living things. By talking with and
reading many sources, you will find many tips and methods that
may work well for you and your situation.

Overall environment is probably the largest factor to deal with.
Know your area well, noting the extremes that temperatures can
reach, the amount of wind, rain and sun you can expect. Some of
the larger doves, like Ringnecks, Wood Pigeons and Australian
Crested doves, can tolerate freezing temperatures and harsher
weather. However, many of the dove species cannot. If you are
unable to provide protected or even heated areas for the colder
months, you will want to avoid the more delicate and less
cold-tolerant species. A good example in higher management
needed is in the raising of Cape or Masked doves. They are
originally from the arid regions of South Africa. Capes can be
fairly easy to keep as long as they are managed well. They are
not cold tolerant at all. The hens tend to be rather delicate
and a chill can harm them quickly. I have raised Capes for years
here in Maryland, but I must bring them indoors in the Fall and
cannot bring them back out until late Spring. I am fairly
successful in breeding Capes, but it takes much more management
and resources due to the environment in Maryland. In talking to
others around the country who raise Capes, I find even when I
have had a good year with mine, those living in more arid areas
are even more successful. Maryland is very humid through the
Summer. It seems the Cape dove does best in areas that are very
hot during the day and have low humidity. So, take into account
your overall environment, yearly temperatures, humidity,
rainfall, winds, and direct sunlight and your ability to alter
or manage these when researching the types of doves you would
like to keep.

Housing requirements can also be very different for doves. Where
many of the varieties of pigeon can be kept in the same coop,
many of the species of doves cannot. Some doves get along very
well while others can be very destructive to any other birds in
the same flight. I follow a few rules, which I have found to be
generally true. Species that live in different levels of the
environment tend to get along. For example, a ground dwelling
dove will generally get along with a dove that spends most of
its time in the trees. I also find doves from different regions
of the world often get along, where species from the same area
(often competing for the same resources) do not get along.

Construction is also a consideration. When I was flying Homers
and Tumblers, I had a single large door to my coop and cannot
remember a pigeon flying past me to escape. Do Not try this with
doves! If pigeons do escape, you often have a good chance that
it will stay in the area and allowing you a chance to catch it.
Though there are always exceptions, generally doves that escape
will fly away and not be able to survive for long in the wild. I
do not know of an exotic dove that can be free-flown and return
with any regularity. Some will say that Ringnecks can be
free-flown, but I have yet to see a successful program. Doves
can be very flighty and will fly upwards towards open light when
startled. I recommend building a Man-Trap into all of your
outdoor pens or buildings that will possibly have doves in them.
A Man-Trap is an enclosed area that you can walk into and
completely close behind you before you open the door to any area
holding birds. This way if a bird does get by you, it can go no
further than the Man-Trap and you can easily retrieve it. I have
even seen people build and use portable Man-Traps that they can
wheel to the entrance of the desired flight and enter safely. If
a Man-Trap is just not possible in your situation, I have found
that lower doors do much better to reduce escapes. Build doors
narrow and as low as possible that you can still stoop through.

Ceiling requirements can also be different for keeping doves.
The escape instinct of most doves is to fly up and away quickly.
Many dove keepers find that stretching a small holed plastic
netting about six inches or so below the ceiling of a coop or
the welded wire of a flight greatly reduces scalping and more
severe injuries from startled doves. Many doves also seek the
highest areas of a coop or flight to roost in. I have heard of
birds choosing to roost high and exposed to the elements rather
than low and under the cover. They do not always do what is best
for them when following instincts. Because of this, if the pen
has an open wire flight area as well as a covered area for
protection, it is better for the covered area to be taller
inside than the wire flight. Provide safe perches in the taller
areas or the birds may be putting themselves in awkward
positions to roost high. Looking at the lower level of your pen,
many doves spend a great deal of time during the day on the
ground, searching for seeds and bathing in the sun. Some species
even nest on the ground or very close to it. It is important to
provide clean, dry areas on the ground available to direct
sunlight for your doves. My last point on overall housing is on
plantings. I rarely see pigeon coops or flights planted with
live vegetation. With doves, having potted or planted vegetation
often means the difference between a successful program or not.
The plants serve a number of purposes with doves. They provide a
more natural surrounding, more variety in perches, greater sense
of security in cover to hide in and obstacles to slow down a
driving male.

With pigeons and doves being in the same family, they do eat
much of the same food. The size of the seeds often correlates
with the size of the birds. If you put a good quality pigeon mix
in front of smaller doves like Zebra or Diamond doves, the
larger peas and seeds will be left while the millet and grass
seeds will be gone. Research is still the key. It is important
to know the natural diet of the birds to be kept. But, it is
equally important to know what the birds have been eating at
their last home. It is often too great a shock for doves to
completely change their diet, especially when combined with the
stresses of changing environments and homes. Be sure to have the
last owner send feed along or tell you the last diet they were
fed. If you plan to switch diets, do it gradually over a period
of time. It has been proven that many doves do not need grit to
survive; however, many do seem to enjoy having it available.
Generally it is good to have a fine, starter sized grit
available at all times. I also like to mix a little fortified
red mineral salt in with the grit. Fresh water is a must at all
times. It is very helpful to know where they are used to finding
water in their last flights. Present water in as close to the
same area as possible. With new birds, I provide water in many
different areas of the coop or flight and gradually remove or
move the sources towards the final location. Many of the dove
species benefit from other forms of feed as well. I provide a
variety of soft foods. From time to time, I offer steamed rice,
cornbread, mealworms, chopped fresh vegetables and hard boiled
eggs crushed shell and all. They may not take to the varied
foods at first, but quickly learn to seek them. With some doves,
diet is very complex in comparison to feeding pigeons. The
digestive system of Fruit doves requires completely different
things to be prepared and fed. They are not set up for and
cannot digest a regular seed diet. These are very high
maintenance birds to keep and are not recommended for starters.

You will also need to approach breeding doves differently than
pigeons. Where many pigeons will breed together in a large coop
as long as nests are available and some territory can be
established, most doves will not. Very few of the doves will
breed in colonies unless very large areas are provided. Many
doves are not comfortable going into an exposed box or closed
compartment to nest. They often prefer open basket style nests
that are well hidden. They generally are poor nest builders, so
bowls or platforms with edges are very helpful. I try to provide
at least two nest sites per pair of birds in the flight. I
position the nest baskets in varied locations and heights
throughout the flight. It also seems more important to provide
some form of cover to help hide the nest location for doves. For
example, Golden-hearts tend to be difficult to get to nest,
incubate and raise the young without abandoning at some time. If
you visit a friend of mine that I find to be very successful at
raising these birds, you will wonder if there is any room left
in the Golden-heart’s flight for the birds. The flight is so
overgrown with vegetation, that it is wonder he ever sees the
birds. They surely must feel safe, secure and well hidden. They
breed and raise young for him on a regular basis. I also
mentioned previously that plantings and cover could be helpful
during breeding. In some species of doves, the male can be
rather aggressive, even harmful to the female. Cover and
obstacles can be helpful to the hen in escaping and hiding from
the male during this time. Some doves breed and raise very well
in captivity. For those that do not, setting up foster parent
pairs might be necessary. This added process should be taken
into account while looking into what doves to keep.

So, if you are currently successful at raising pigeons, chances
are you will also be so with doves. As long as you research the
types of doves that will best fit your situation and make a few
adjustments in your flights and management practices, you should
get great enjoyment from adding them to your collection.

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