Ok, this is a little "non-parrot tale", I hope you guys don't mind.
Joey, my diamond dove, has become a little more comfortable around me. He's still flighty, and doesn't know how to step up (I wonder if that's something he will ever learn how to do), but he'll hang out on my bed with me while I'm on my laptop.
Lately, we've gone into this little routine where I'll have a millet spray near me, and I'll start to gently scratch it with my index finger, in a manner to make it seem like I'm "eating" it with my hand. It does convince him to eat, and also likes to try and peck right next to my finger.
I'll also coo to him, and he responds. He'll coo, and sometimes I'll respond. I've convinced him to fly to me using this several times, though he seldom ever lands near me (usually flies over, then turns around and flies back to wherever he was).
Not sure if what I'm doing is starting to convince him that I am a bird, or a person with bird-like habits. Doves are a naturally trusting species, but when I first got him, he was absolutely terrified of me. Though being the gentle things that doves are, it didn't take him long to realize I'm not bad. He's still pretty scared of my hands.
If he starts performing the courtship bow-coo, that might be when I become concerned.
(here's what it looks like to those who don't know)
In all seriousness, I'm still working on finding him a mate. My main concern is trying to tell the difference between male and female. The person who had him knew he was a male, but there aren't any breeders around here, and so I usually have to resort to pet stores, where more often than not, the employees don't know enough to tell the difference. I'm sure he'd be just as fine with another male, but I think he would probably prefer to have a lady for a roommate.
He might. I had a chicken who thought she was a dog. 24 hours after being hatched she came home with me. The dogs thought she was cute and stayed near her until she was old enough to go out and play.
liz wrote:He might. I had a chicken who thought she was a dog. 24 hours after being hatched she came home with me. The dogs thought she was cute and stayed near her until she was old enough to go out and play.
That is so cute! We once had a goat who thought she was a dog. (We used to have lots of goats) We raised her from a baby, and she stayed in the dogs yard of the night. She soon followed them around and dug holes with them :p And our male ducks either think they are human, or I am duck. I would love a dove or pidgeon I would try to train him to take messages back and forth,(I have always wanted one for this reason) he would be a grey male named dusty,, lol
And anthough she be little, she is fierce ~Shakespeare - Tilly & Shrek
Well, Chantilly, not all pigeons are able to carry messages back and forth, you know... Even racing or homing pigeons get lost (lots of them, as a matter of fact). And there are some that can't even fly well (like tumblers and rollers, for example).
And I agree with you, Jessi, a female would be better than a male for him. They are monogamous and mate for life so having a mate is pretty high up on the list when it comes to their happiness.
As much as I would prefer not to breed, a mate would be best for him. Besides, I can always make fake eggs, and my morals might be numbed after a few times of doing so. I'd try to think of it this way: "If I don't have to sell any birds, than those birds won't have to risk being in the hands of a neglectful owner."
Plus, I don't have a lot of space for too many more birds. Joey's cage is big enough for about one more diamond, and that's about it. I need to get him a better cage anyways, since the one I have is flimsy, hard to clean, and has an irremovable grated bottom (which in my opinion, is not the best option for doves).
Chantilly, I would be careful about that if I were you. Like Pajarita says, even homing pigeons get lost. They actually do quite often, and when that happens, they have very little chance of survival since they were domesticated, and their best chance at figuring out how to survive in the wild is if they join a flock of feral pigeons. Other than that, they usually either starve to death, or get eaten by a predator. Especially the release doves at weddings, since they stick out like a sore thumb with their white plumage. There's actually a rescue in San Fransisco called "Palomacy", that specifically takes in pigeons and doves. They've rescued racing and homing pigeons that would have otherwise died in the wild, and have a lot of information on that kind of thing.
But I digress.
Pigeons and doves are the most endearing things, in my opinion. A lot of people don't like them, but I think they're sweet. Larger pigeons can sometimes be very aggressive, but even they can be the sweetest things, when they're used to human interaction. The way they preen your hand is pretty funny, too. I once raised a dove that liked doing that all the time, to me.
(these two pigeons are disabled rescues, by the way. One is blind in one eye, and the other has permanent damage due to having paramyxovirosis as a baby, according to the owner)
Though sometimes, pigeons have their moments where they just want to peck the crap out of you. I think it's a territorial thing, but I don't know. Doves don't usually do this, since they're peaceful little things. They may get territorial during nesting season, when there's eggs for them to sit on, and I've seen some males fight, but usually they're calm little things.
I should probably shut up about how much I like pigeons and doves.
Joey has taken up Lucy's habit of being "too" curious. He likes to explore my room and peck at whatever he can find. Yesterday, he tried to fly up to the dreamcatcher I have hanging from the ceiling, but as soon as he realized he can't land on it, he flew to one of my posters. Before he realized he couldn't land on that though, he ended up crashing, and fell in the tiny space between my bed and the wall. Luckily he didn't get hurt, and walked out from under my bed like nothing happened. I really have to keep my eyes on him, because even with a bird-safe room, he manages to do things like that. So I wonder how much of him beginning to trust me has to do with watching Lucy, as they've been in the same room. He seems to like her, despite being different in every way. They've shared millet, and he's fairly calm whenever she's calm. Heck, Lucy helped me get him to eat from my hand, and while on my hand, when he wasn't very trusting. It could just be a flock thing though. I think he may have been raised in an aviary setting with little to no human interaction, so he's used to looking to other birds to see if something is safe or not. Luckily, Lucy is pretty good with other birds, and tolerates him pretty well.
Either way, he's a mischievous little thing, and a total clown. If I get a second one that might mean double the trouble, especially if she has that same level of curiosity. However, if he's happy, that's all that matters. I guess it might be good for me too. I've been experiencing what a friend of mine calls: "multiple bird syndrome", where you just want to add another bird to your flock, no matter how much you have.
liz wrote:He might. I had a chicken who thought she was a dog. 24 hours after being hatched she came home with me. The dogs thought she was cute and stayed near her until she was old enough to go out and play.
Your doves are adorable. For some reason I did not think of a dove as a companion bird until now.
I wanted to add that my chick lived in a cage with a trash bag box and a night light to keep her warm. My daughter's boxer took to her for some reason and would call the chick out of her box to visit with her. Chick Chick would then go to the dog and peck it on the nose. This became her greeting. Once she was big enough to let in the yard with the dogs, she tried to use this greeting on the others who would run for their lives from chicken fear. The still guarded her and stayed with her when she was outside.
Well, actually, Liz, although doves and pigeons are the sweetest and tamest things ever, they are not really companion birds because although the pet ones have no fear whatsoever of humans, they don't imprint to them, either.
Jessi, there is no need to worry about breeding them, all you have to do is get them fake eggs and replace them as they are laid. End of problem! They are happy and you don't have to worry about babies -which I would not recommend you allow, not even once. Pigeons and doves are not easy to place in good homes (even harder than parrots! people keep them in cages 24/7, the poor things!) and, as distasteful as it is, one always needs to keep in mind the possibility of rehoming.
Oh they're not mine, Liz. I just used that video as an example of how sweet they really can be. The only dove I have is Joey.
I think they imprint more than you give them credit for, Pajarita. They definitely take a little longer to take said imprint off, when you're raising and releasing a wild orphan (but IS possible when done correctly). Even after they've long grown and adapted to the wild life, they sometimes drop by for a visit I think it might be obvious by now that they do have the ability to recognize faces too (though that might be something a lot of birds can do). Despite the common misconception, pigeons and doves have shown a considerable amount of intelligence (not quite parrot level, but it's noticeable).
There are times where I would let Joey out every day for several weeks in a row, and in those times, he observes me and becomes less afraid of me over time. Then I would get busy sometimes, and not have time to let him out. The periods of times where it's like this vary greatly, but he doesn't lose what he learned in the slightest, and does not become more afraid of me. This could just be because he watches me from inside his cage, and that I still have "cooing conversations" with him, but I digress.
That's exactly what I plan on doing, is replacing eggs with fake eggs. I have no intention of breeding whatsoever (thought I made that clear in my last post, but I apologize if I didn't), and I can stand to use some birth control. I already know of people who would be very good to my birds (including Joey and future mate). Even in the chance that I don't have anyone to take them in, I know of some local bird groups, where there would be good owners who would happily take them in. I'm aware of the circumstances that may occur that will require me to rehome, and I assure you I am prepared.
Heck, I had a companion iguana. I didn't bother to cage him because he potty trained himself to paper. He came to me when I got home and stayed near me until bedtime. I doubt that he understood anything I said but he seemed to try.
Then again, I just love poultry birds. They're such comical little things.
I guess it might be good for me too. I've been experiencing what a friend of mine calls: "multiple bird syndrome", where you just want to add another bird to your flock, no matter how much you have.