What to feed baby turtle doves
Baby Mourning Doves: Caring for and Feeding Abandoned Dove Babies
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You step outside to get the mail and you find a baby bird in your driveway—what do you do? Should you leave it, rescue it, try and put it back in its nest?
It can be nerve-wracking finding a baby bird on the ground and wondering what the best option is, especially since not all species can be treated the same.
Here are a few tips to prepare you for that day:
Step 1: don’t panic
Step 2: read this article
Here, you’ll learn all about baby Mourning Doves and how to care and feed them if they’re abandoned. It’ll be just a little more information in your pocket, should you ever be in this situation.
Let’s dive in!
Baby Mourning Doves are called squabs or chicks.
When they are just hatchlings and a few days old, their bodies are covered in patchy, yellowish down. The down is very thin and you can still see their naked bodies. Their bills are dark, as well as their faces, and their eyes will be closed. At this point, they are only a few inches long.
Around 7-ish days, the squab’s eyes will be open and will be dark. They also will have started to get in some pin feathers. These look just like the shaft of a feather without the barbs. They will lay in a relatively ordered fashion. You’ll also still see the scraggly, yellowish down poking up around the pin feathers, which makes the nestling look pretty frazzled and messy! They will have almost doubled in weight and size.
Around 12 days, the Mourning dove will be a fully feathered fluffball. It’s feathers will be a slaty brown color. They will have grown so much that they will be larger than your palm. At this size and age, the babies will be about ready to leave the nest and take flight for the first time!
What do baby mourning doves eat?
Unlike many other baby birds, little doves don’t gape—the mouth wide open, begging for food behavior.
When they’re hungry they will root around. The parents provide “crop milk” to their babies.
Crop milk (also known as pigeon milk) is a semi-solid excretion that is made by the sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop.
The crop is a thin-walled, sac-like food-storage chamber that extends off the esophagus and is normally part of the digestive system. Food can be stored here quickly while the bird is foraging in the open and allows the bird to go back into a secluded area to digest. Most birds have crops, but not all make crop milk.
As said before, the crop is normally part of the digestive system, but it shifts its function to milk production just a day or two prior to the eggs’ hatching. This is believed to be caused by hormonal changes. During that time, the parents may stop eating entirely so there is no seed in the crop. Brand new hatchlings aren’t able to digest seed yet, so this is for the better! After several days of feeding crop milk to the babies, the hormone levels taper off and the crop no longer produces as much milk.
By this time, the squabs are able to digest regurgitated seeds from mom and dad.
Crop milk is nutrient-dense and contains more protein and fats than human or cow milk. It also has immune-building properties with antioxidants and antibodies from the parent.
Both parents can produce crop milk, so both are able to feed their babies. This is done by opening their mouths wide and allowing the squab to stick their little heads in and suck it up through their bills like a straw. This is important to keep in mind if having to hand feed baby doves, as sucking is their natural instinct and the safest way for them to eat.
Crop milk substitute
If you find a squab that needs rescuing (we’ll talk about how to determine this in the next section) chances are you’re going to need to make a homemade crop milk substitute or purchase a formula.
A great formula substitute is RoudyBush Squab diet. Yes—there are pictures of parrots on it. Don’t worry, it can be used for baby doves, too.
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The only potential issue with this is it will need to be ordered online and might take a day or two to arrive. If it’s likely you’ll be hand-rearing the baby for a few weeks, this is a good option.
Another substitute is Kaytee Exact Handfeeding Formula which is available at pet stores. Some reviewers say this formula doesn’t offer the babies as well of a nutritional panel as RoudyBush, and the birds are often below the curve for weight. If it’s a matter of life or death for a squab, this is better than nothing.
A last option if you don’t have access to a pet store and need it immediately is homemade formula using baby cereal. Make it more runny if the baby is wee little and gradually thicken it up as they get bigger. A good test is to see how quickly their crop empties. If it empties too quickly, start to thicken it up.
How often do baby mourning doves need feeding?
Brand new babies will need to be fed more often than older squabs. The younger doves will also eat formula that is more watered down. All feedings should occur within a 12-hour span.
- 0-4 days old: 5 feedings per day
- 5-7 days old: 4 feedings per day
- 8-14 days old: 3 feedings per day
- Fledgling: seeds
The safest way to feed a baby dove is by pouring the formula onto a tablespoon and letting them suck it up. Remember earlier when I said to keep their straw-sucking instincts in mind? If food is poured into their mouths, they may aspirate by trying to suck while you’re pouring or dropping it in.
So it’s best to let them take the lead and let them slurp it up themselves!
Does the baby mourning dove need to be rescued?
A few different factors go into the response to this situation.
The first step in deciding if a baby dove needs rescued is by determining what stage of growth it’s in. The second is analyzing what the situation is while keeping its growth stage in mind. For example, a 2-day old baby found in the driveway vs a 14 day old found in the driveway will have different solutions!
Baby dove growth stages
Stage 1: unfeathered
Unfeathered babies are roughly 0-6 days old. This early in the brooding stage, it’s unusual to find babies out of the nest, but not impossible.
One reason a baby might be out is if the entire nest was blown over or knocked down. Wind, predators, or weather can all knock a nest loose.
Babies can also be found on the ground if the parents perceive it to be defective in some way and decide to remove it from the nest.
Babies this young cannot be left on the ground!
At this point in their life, they are too young and too naked to keep themselves warm. If a baby is found, it needs to be warmed up immediately. This can be done using a heating pad on the low setting or using electronics that heat up and are warm to the touch, such as laptops or game systems. A little heat goes a long way for them, and this is the first priority.
While the baby is warming up, see if the nest can be located. If the nest turns out to be blown over, see if it can be put back securely so it won’t fall again. If it can’t, find a new place for it that isn’t entirely out in the open and won’t get drenched when it rains.
Once the baby warms up, put it back in the nest and watch for the parents to come back to it. If they do, you’re good to go. If not, the baby might need hand-reared.
If the baby you find is not from a blown over nest and was kicked out by its parents, it will need to be hand-reared with a crop milk substitute, at least for a few days.
After a few days of feeding, put it back in the nest and see if the parents take care of it. If they kick it out again, it will need hand-reared until it’s old enough to survive on its own.
If it turns out that you have to hand-rear the baby for a while, a makeshift nest box will be needed with either a fake nest inside or nesting material like straw. A heat lamp is the best option to keep the baby warm, so your heating pad doesn’t get dirty.
Stage two: partially feathered
Partially feathered babies are roughly 7 days old to fledging age (12-15 days old).
At this age the babies are far enough along that the parents probably didn’t kick them out, so if a baby is found on the ground, it’s almost always from nest failure. This is actually a good thing because there’s a better chance the parents will take back over when the nest is fixed.
As with the younger babies, get these squabs warmed up. Once they’re warm, investigate the nest situation.
It either fell in a storm or broke apart because it was poorly constructed.
If it only fell, try and secure it as mentioned before. If the nest is found to be broken or falling apart, a new one will be needed. You can buy fake nests from a craft store, or make one. Don’t be afraid to make them, there are online tutorials to show you how!
Once the old or new nest is up, put the baby inside and wait for the parents to come. If they don’t come by nightfall, bring the baby in for the night and then return them again in the morning. If the parents still don’t come back, by the afternoon or evening, the baby will need to be hand-reared and kept in a nest box with heat.
Stage three: fully feathered
Fully feathered babies are fledgling age (12-15 days, give or take) and are nearly self-sufficient. If one of these babies is found on the ground, it doesn’t need to be returned to a nest. Actually, it’s highly possible that this baby just took its first flight from its nest to the ground!
Babies at this age are still being monitored from afar and fed by their parents.
The best thing you can do for this little one is to leave it be. Of course, there are exceptions.
If the fledgling is in a high traffic area, like a driveway or close to a road or sidewalk, move it somewhere more relaxed. Don’t move it across town, because the parents are still caring for it, just move it a few feet away to safety.
If the fledgling doesn’t try to run away from you when you approach it and it appears cold to the touch and lethargic, it might not be getting fed by mom and dad. You can gently palpate the crop to feel if there’s food inside. If there is, the bird might have an injury or may be sick, in which case it’s best to call a wildlife rehabilitator. If there isn’t anything in the crop, the bird might just need a meal. Some mashed bird seed might help it out.
In conclusion
Helping out a baby bird can seem daunting, but with the right information, you can do it safely and confidently. If you’re still unsure, you can always call a rehabilitation center to see if they can take the baby in!
Also check out: Gift Ideas for bird watchers guide.
Credits
Chaifetz, T. (2017, September 26). How to Determine the Age of a Mourning Dove Hatchling. Retrieved 2020, from https://animals.mom.me/how-to-determine-the-age-of-a-mourning-dove-hatchling-12452713.html
Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., & Wheye, D. (1988). Bird Milk. Retrieved 2020, from https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Bird_Milk.html
Mayntz, M. (2019). Do Birds Produce Milk for Their Young? Retrieved 2020, from https://www.thespruce.com/glossary-definition-of-crop-milk-385209
Mihaylo, K. (2017, August 11). How to Care for a Baby Mourning Dove. Retrieved 2020, from https://animals.mom.me/care-baby-mourning-dove-6968.html
Sebastiani, J. (2012, April 26). Baby Birds: A Dove Story. Retrieved 2020, from http://blog.delawarenaturesociety.org/2011/11/10/baby-birds-a-dove-story/
White, H. (2014). Mourning Dove. Retrieved 2020, from http://www.diamonddove.info/bird13%20Mourning.htm
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What Do Mourning Doves Eat?
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↓ Continue Reading To See This Amazing Video
Many people have heard the sorrowful wooing calls and hoots of the mourning dove.
After all, they have a wide range that includes all of Central and North America. Although its hoot is often confused for an owl’s, the mourning dove is a very different sort of bird that is easily recognized by its distinct silhouette and the fact that they often appear in pairs.
The foods mourning doves eat also separates them from owls and other birds. You will not see a mourning dove swoop down to catch a field mouse.
What do mourning doves eat? Let’s take a look at what you can put out in your yard to entice mourning doves to come back and fill your terrace with song.
What Foods Do Mourning Doves Eat?
Mourning doves are granivores and prefer seeds©A-Z-Animals.com
Mourning doves eat seeds since they are granivores, preferring seeds to any other foods. They will also consume grains, some fruits, herbs, and wild grasses. They prefer to eat foods that are on the ground that are easy to obtain. They’re also very opportunistic eaters, consuming some foods that are only seasonally available.
Mourning doves prefer to linger in areas where there is a greater level of food diversity. Remember, these birds mate for life, so they need consistent food for each member of the pair.
A List of Foods Mourning Doves Eat
Mourning doves will forage for food on the ground©Tom Cantaffa/Shutterstock.com
Although mourning doves are granivores and seeds make up almost all their diet, they eat many different foods. Here are many of the specific foods that mourning doves consume regularly:
- Peanuts
- Corn
- Millet
- Buckwheat
- Rye
- Pine nuts
- Foxtail
- Sunflower seeds
- Canary grass
- Wheat
- Safflower
- Rapeseed
- Witchgrass
Interestingly, mourning doves tend to favor sunflower seeds and other foods that they can see without having to scratch the ground for it. Another point of interest is that these birds tend to choose foods based on their size.
For example, studies showed that mourning doves prefer shorter and narrower corn seeds so they have the easiest experience foraging.
Although it is an exceedingly rare occurrence, mourning doves have been observed eating other foods when their favored foods are not plentiful. These birds occasionally eat insects to bolster their diet, but they will almost always prefer to eat seeds.
How Do Mourning Doves Forage for Food?
A mourning dove foraging and feeding©Brooke Bowdren/Shutterstock.com
This species has interesting foraging behaviors. They spend a lot of time on the ground looking for food, but these birds are not known for scratching the earth and trying to find something to eat. These birds prefer to look on the ground and seek directly visible food.
Like some other birds, mourning doves will feed while they’re on the ground, filling their crop. This pouch at the front of their neck can store food and begin the process of digestion. Frequently, mourning doves will fill their crop and then retreat to a safer location where they can digest their food in peace.
Their crop is also where adult birds produce crop milk, a substance fed to the young.
What Foods Do Mourning Doves Eat in the Winter?
Mourning doves are less selective in the winter©iStock.com/SteveByland
Mourning doves, like many other birds, start to migrate south in the autumn months. Some of the birds leave for warmer states in the U.S. while others go farther south to Mexico and Central America.
Does their diet change during fall and winter? What do mourning doves eat during these colder months?
During the fall, these birds have been observed eating foxtail millet in southern states, and they also forage around recently harvested cornfields.
In the winter months, mourning doves will continue to forage for their normally desired foods. The migration to warmer climates often supplies them with plentiful foraging opportunities. Not all of these birds migrate, though.
Some birds stay relatively close to their breeding grounds throughout the winter, where they will forage, become less active, and feed on their preferred foods or secondary foods when their first choices not available.
What Do Baby Mourning Doves Eat?
Mourning dove parents forgo seeds for the first weeks of their young’s life©petritzaa/Shutterstock.com
Baby mourning doves exclusively eat crop milk for the first week of their lives. Both male and female adult birds can make this substance in their crops, the esophageal pouch where they store food and begin the process of digestion.
Crop milk is made from cells of the crop lining, providing necessary protein and fats to the baby birds. While producing and feeding their babies, the birds cannot eat seeds because the young birds are not prepared to digest them.
In the second and third weeks of life, baby birds eat partially digested seeds from their parents. After that, they are prepared to forage for seeds on their own.
Mourning Dove Predators
Domestic cats will hunt birds for sport©iStock.com/FediushkinaElena
Unlike other birds that will eat out of hanging feeders or catch their food and take off, the mourning dove eats while rather stationary on the ground.
While foraging, these birds are in tremendous danger from their predators.
Among the most common predators are:
- Domesticated cats
- Diurnal birds of prey like hawks and falcons
- Snakes
- Racoons
- Possums
These creatures prey upon the mourning doves, especially the young ones. If you see these birds in your yard, try to keep your pet cats inside so the birds can feed in peace.
Mourning doves eat seeds from various plants throughout the year, and you might see one eating fruit or the stray insect from time to time. They are tremendous foragers that take what is available without digging through the dirt, even if it puts them in danger from some common predators.
Their broad range of suitable foods, even if they’re mostly seeds, makes them capable of living in many different locations throughout the Western Hemisphere. If you look and listen for them, the chances are good that you will discover this species near you.
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Gorlinka - all about the nature of birds, as well as their keeping and breeding!
Turtledoves or, more correctly, turtle doves are birds of the Pigeon family, which, apart from belonging to the family, have nothing to do with pigeons.
They are often called small, forest or wild pigeons, and they are offered to care for these birds when breeding at home, as for pigeons. The dove (lat. Streptopelia turtur) is not a reduced dove, but a completely independent bird unit (by the way, it is very vulnerable in nature). The turtledove population is rapidly declining.
Gorlinka is an ideal feathered pet
Content of Article
- 1 What kind of poultry - Gorlitsa
- 2 Description and characteristics
- 2.1 There are many virtues, there are two
- 2.2 dignity
- 2.3 Prices for cells
- 2.4 2.4 Disadvantages
- 3 Making a Turtle Dove Housing
- 3.1 How to Set Up a Turtle Dove Cage - Step by Step Instructions
- 3.1.1 Step 1: Select Material
- 3.1.2 Step 2. Construction
- 3.1.3 Step 3. Perches
- 3.1.4 Step 4. Feeders and drinkers
- 3.1.5 Step 5. Bathhouse
- 3.1.6 Step 6. Bedding
3.
2 Other accommodation options - 3.1 How to Set Up a Turtle Dove Cage - Step by Step Instructions
- 4.1 Bird food prices
- 5.1 How to determine the sex of turtledoves?
- 5.2 Prices for an ovoscope for the diagnosis of eggs
- 5.3 Mating, nesting, incubation
- 5.4 Nest for throat - step -by -step instruction
- 5.4.1 Step 1. Nest base
- 5.4.2 Step 2. Material for building a nest
- 5.4.3 Step 3. STATE
- 5.5 DOBITALS
What kind of birds - turtledoves
All over the world, turtledoves have long and firmly taken first place in popularity on the "charts" of domestic feathered pets. They are inferior to parrots and canaries. These birds are very decorative and have a curious nature that makes their breeding interesting and not boring. In Russia, turtledoves, unfortunately, are not as popular as pigeons.
But the trend is changing to increase, and more and more people are getting these wonderful birds. Caring for them is not burdensome (considered in a professional environment as care of medium complexity).
Turtle dove attractive bird that does not require special care
Turtle doves in their genus include several species:
By the way. For home breeding, due to its high decorativeness and good adaptation to captivity, the laughing dove is most often chosen. These birds make unimaginably varied sounds, sometimes similar to human laughter.
Description and characteristics
In appearance, the dove is difficult to confuse with its "relative" dove or other pigeons. The bird without selection and improvement of pedigree exterior qualities has a highly decorative appearance. Closer in appearance to the pigeons are common doves. The most interesting look: diamond turtledove, laughing, Siberian, ringed.
The diamond turtledove is especially unusual.
The size of different bird species varies. Siberian refers to large representatives, 45 cm long (15 cm - tail) and weighing 200 g. The body of small laughers usually does not exceed 26 cm in length, plus 11-13 cm tail. Their weight is 130 g. The diamond turtledove is more compact - 22 cm body length, 7-8 cm tail and weight - 120 g.
As for the colors of these birds, here nature obviously did not get bored, and tried to use the most diverse palette. You will not find bright colors in the plumage of turtledoves, but all shades of beige, dove, gray, fawn, white, sand, black, blue are presented in the most unimaginable combinations.
Turtle doves have the most diverse colors
Many advantages, two disadvantages
Turtle doves have many advantages, in their totality they are simply ideal birds for breeding. There are only two drawbacks.
Advantages
- Birds, as already noted, are unpretentious. Just feed them. Doves are not subject to frequent diseases.
- Gorlinka is easy to breed. They are assiduous in nests, chicks are nursed carefully. They are even used by zoologists to feed small pigeon-like chicks that have fallen out of their nests in the wild.
Turtle doves are very caring parents
- Birds are calm, have a high resistance to stress.
- It is possible to breed turtledoves both in an aviary way and in cages with the same success.
- Gorlinkas are great for keeping indoors, but they can also live in outdoor conditions, and in the South of Russia even in winter.
Doves can be kept even at home
- These birds quickly become tame and trainable, while becoming attached to the owner, especially chicks born at room content. They are very fond of taking various delicacies from human hands, for example, apple or pear seeds.
Gorlinkas love to take different treats from their hands
- They do not bite or destroy cages, utensils, feeding utensils and other care products.
They do not scatter food, do not peel the grains, but eat them whole. Garbage is produced much less than other domestic birds. - Birds are absolutely not dangerous, even a small child will never peck on the finger.
Doves never show aggression
- Turtle doves are very beautiful creatures. Their decorative appearance is worthy of admiration, and the content in the apartment will definitely decorate and enliven the interior.
- And most importantly, these small birds have an abyss of charm, radiate positive energy and cheerfulness, demonstrate an amazing will to live and joy about their existence.
These cute creatures will bring joy and positive mood into the house
Prices for bird cages
Bird cages
Disadvantages
. But if the turtledove is frightened, she will beat against the cage or aviary, and almost completely injure herself to a greater or lesser extent.
The same can happen if you let your pets fly around the apartment.
Frightened, they begin to rush around the room with great speed and with unexpected swiftness, they can hit glass, walls and furniture.
Frightened turtledoves can cripple themselves
With laughing turtledoves, situations of fear rarely occur, but the more dangerous and unexpected they are, and the more deplorable the consequences can be. The owners need to be careful, and with aviary farm breeding of turtledoves, it is undesirable to settle them in the same aviary with pigeons, even medium-sized decorative breeds, such as peacock pigeons.
The second disadvantage is considered by many to be cooing. Say, they are too big "talkers". In fairness, it is worth noting that these birds laugh, chirp, coo, sigh, mumble, walk and produce various sounds loudly. Therefore, people with unstable sleep or insomnia, as well as those who cannot tolerate the presence of constant background noise, are not recommended to start turtledoves in an apartment with a small area and poor soundproofing of rooms.
Turtle doves are very noisy birds
Housing for turtledoves
If you are going to breed these birds, you need to take care of where to keep them.
By the way. The turtle dove can live comfortably in a compact 60x60 cm cage. All she needs is a place to periodically flap her wings. And in such a cage there is where to spread the wings, not even one turtledove, but two.
Birds should preferably be housed in pairs. Even if you do not intend to breed turtledoves at home, a pair can be made up of two males or two females. How to distinguish a female turtledove from a male, the conversation will go further. For now, it is enough to remember that for a childless pair of turtledoves or a pair of turtledoves with offspring, a cage with minimum sides of 60x60 cm and a height of half a meter is enough.
Turtledoves in a cage - photo
How to equip a cage for turtledoves - step by step instructions
Step 1.
Choosing the material It is best to make a cage from wire or a frame covered with wire mesh. In a wire mesh, the cell size can be no more than 1.5x1.5 cm. A welded wire cage can have cells ranging in size from 2.5x3 cm to 2.5x5 cm. A mesh, metal or plastic, is fine.
The first step is to choose the material for cage
Important! The gap between the rods or the size of the cells in the cages must be either less than 1.5 cm or more than 3 cm. This is a very serious requirement, non-compliance with which can lead to the death of birds. Moreover, if you make the space between the bars more than 5 cm, the bird can simply fly out. But if the distance is in the range between 1.5 and 3 cm, she will periodically stick her head in there and one day she will jam it there.
Step 2: Build
You will need a pallet with sides slightly larger than the intended dimensions of the cage, preferably wood, but it can be any material (or a shallow box).
A frame is attached to the pallet with screws (if it is also wooden, if the pallet is metal, the frame and mesh can be welded to it). The mesh is pulled over the frame and fixed.
Second step, frame is attached to the pallet with sides
Tip. It is possible to partially use plexiglass in the construction of the cage, and instead of rods, use thin wooden sticks or slats, for example, a glazing bead with a semicircular section inside.
Doors preferably hinged to the sides or upwards, with furniture hinges and a secure latch.
Swing Door
Step 3 Perches
How to hang the perches is a point to pay attention to. More can fit in a large cage. In a small one, two are enough (for two birds). Between them and the roof of the cage, a distance of at least 25 cm is left to leave room for the bird to flap its wings.
This means that in a cage 50 cm high, the perch will be located exactly in the middle, relative to the vertical.
They are not located in the horizontal plane in the center. It is best to fix parallel to the sidewalls at a distance of 15-20 cm from them so that the birds do not rub their plumage against the bars. The best perches are made of round wooden sticks with a diameter of about 2.5 centimeters. Naturally, they should be smoothly polished.
Perches are best made from wood
Step 4. Feeders and drinkers
They must not be placed under the perches, otherwise bird droppings will get into them. The best place is the front wall of the cage. Feeders themselves can be made from plastic bottles or bought ready-made at a pet store. It is also recommended to purchase autodrinkers for turtledoves.
Step four, install feeders and drinkers
Step 5. Bathhouse
In addition to drinking bowls for turtle doves, if possible, arrange a bathhouse in the cage. They are very fond of bathing and always keep their paws and feathers clean when possible. A flat container with sides of about 5 cm is enough, slightly larger than the bird's body.
The bath water needs to be changed frequently.
You can make a bath yourself or buy a ready-made one
Step 6. Bedding
It remains only to lay the bedding, and you can populate the “laughing new settlers”. There are no problems at all with this issue when keeping turtledoves. The best bedding for the bottom of any cage is a newspaper folded in several layers. At the folds, the layers need to be cut to make separate sheets. When cleaning, the top sheet is removed, the bedding remains clean.
Bedding can be made from newspaper
By the way. Of course, it is necessary to do wet cleaning and disinfection of turtledove cages, but these fairly clean birds need a general sanitary day no more than once every two months. They are put in a carrier (or released to fly). The cage is washed with bleach, rinsed thoroughly and dried. Inventory, drinkers, feeders need to be washed every week.
Other accommodation options
Once the turtledoves' minimum housing needs have been met, other accommodation options may be considered that offer more space.
Large turtledove cage
Suitable cages for turtledoves:
- bird, medium and large:
- for chinchillas and rabbits;
- for domestic rodents;
- for puppies/kittens.
It is enough to equip them as described above and cover the bottom with paper.
If you plan to keep turtledoves in an outdoor aviary or inside a poultry house, you can choose the material for the walls and roof at your discretion, as long as it meets the necessary parameters. The floor in the aviary can also be made by anyone (you should not just fill it with concrete). But if the floor is moisture-permeable, it is necessary to pour drainage under it. And if not, ensure the flow of water and cover it with sand and sawdust, which will have to be changed often. Water should not remain on the floor of the enclosure - it will become a source of dangerous diseases. The most environmentally friendly is a floor made of wooden planks with drainage underneath.
Just make sure that it is not damaged by rodents who want to taste bird food.
Doves are also suitable for outdoor keeping, in an aviary
How to feed turtledoves
Feeding turtledoves is quite simple. The diet for the seasons at home does not differ much. The basis is a combination of feed, where protein is 14% and fat is 4%, with carbohydrate grain mixtures. In winter, you can increase the protein, but less than 18%.
There are many mixtures for turtle doves from foreign manufacturers, but they are quite expensive and not easy to obtain without interruption.
Dove mix
Pigeon granulated feed is in principle suitable. But the size of the granules is important in it. Turtle doves simply cannot swallow pellets.
Important! Doves should not be given bread and products of their dried bread (crackers, bread rolls), this also applies to muffins.
The diet generally consists of grains, granules, additives, greens, vegetables, fruits, berries (especially birds love elderberry), and cheese (Cheddar is preferred, but any hard variety will do).
Vitamins are added to grain mixtures, and not only during periods of molting or mating, but constantly.
Any hard cheese can be added to the diet of turtledoves
Birds that live in the house and do not “walk” on the street do not receive enough sunlight (glass, as you know, does not transmit the entire spectrum). They need mineral and vitamin baits to make up for this deficiency. You can use complexes for small decorative breeds of pigeons.
Vitamin supplement for ornamental pigeons
Fish oil
The feature already mentioned is that turtledoves do not peel the grain, they eat it together with the shell, like parrots. They just need to be given gastrolith (fine gravel) and mineral supplements. Then the digestion of feed is better, and the birds are healthier. Fractions of gastroliths are taken according to the average grain size in the feed mixture.
Important! Doves should have round-the-clock access to fresh and clean water. They can live without food for three days, but without water they cannot live even one.
Especially in the heat of summer, even a few hours without water can be fatal.
Access to water is very important for the turtledove
Of the grains that are part of the feed mixtures, birds prefer millet and crushed wheat with oatmeal (oats should be shelled). Also crushed are given: rice, buckwheat, corn and pearl barley. The norm of feed for one bird is up to one and a half tablespoons per day. Food must be in the feeder at all times.
Basic diet
| Component | Norm (%) |
|---|---|
| Millet (red and yellow 1/2 each) | 50 |
| Barley | 5 |
| Corn | 7 |
| Buckwheat | 7 |
| Sunflower seed (small) | 3 |
| Rice | 3 |
| Chickpeas | 5 |
| Wheat | 20 |
Enhanced diet
| Component | Norm (%) |
|---|---|
| Red millet | 25 |
| Yellow millet | 10 |
| Wheat | 15 |
| Corn | 5 |
| Sorghum | 15 |
| Buckwheat | 5 |
| Canary grass | 10 |
| Chickpeas | 4 |
| Oats | 5 |
| Safflower | 2 |
| Flax (seed) | 2 |
| Rape (seed) | 2 |
In addition to the grain diet, vegetables, fruits, herbs, cut into pieces no larger than 4 mm:
By the way.
The tastes of different turtledoves are different. Some may like legumes, others won't eat them at all. You will see what birds prefer - they eat their favorite food from the feeder first.
Animal protein must be present in the diet of turtledoves, especially during the laying period. Fat-free cottage cheese and hard-boiled eggs are ideal. They are given, alternating, daily, a teaspoon per bird.
During the laying period, low-fat cottage cheese and hard-boiled eggs should be added to the diet of turtledoves.
Bird food prices.
Bird food. But the main question that is asked to "Uncle Google" not only by novice poultry farmers, but also by experienced ones, is the following.
How to determine the sex of a dove?
The answer is no. In any case, it is almost impossible to visually do this. There is a joke among those who professionally breed turtledoves, it says that another turtledove can determine the sex of a turtledove, but she can also be wrong.
Turtle turtles are good parents, but it is very difficult to determine the sex of the bird
- Feel the pelvic bones, holding the bird in a “column” (in females they are softer, but not so much as to catch this difference).
- Listen to the cooing, assuming that the sounds are made by the male (female doves perfectly and often imitate the cooing of males with or without reason).
- Observe the bows of a bird (in most birds, males bow to females, but turtledoves do the same, bowing to each other without exception).
These methods are not 100% guaranteed. Slightly more effective is the difference in pitch, frequency, and strength of the cooing sound. But this is already the privilege of poultry farmers with many years of experience, vast experience and a good ear for music.
You can determine the sex by listening to the cooing of birds, but in order to distinguish between the tonality of males and females, you need to be quite an experienced poultry breeder
word to the seller or wait for the fallow period.
And then there are three possible scenarios.
- You got a pair of males - chicks, and you shouldn't even expect eggs from them.
- You got a pair of females - one day they will lay four eggs, but the eggs will be "empty" (for obvious reasons), unfertilized. But they can become excellent nursemaids for the chicks of other pigeons.
- Everything worked out. The female laid two eggs, and chicks hatched from them.
By the way. The turtledove egg retains the viability of the embryo for 6 days, so you can take (buy) it from other poultry farmers and put it on a female from a same-sex couple.
The turtledove egg keeps the embryo viable for 6 days
Prices for an ovoscope for egg diagnostics
Ovoscope
Mating, nesting, incubation 9 months.
If you decide to mate two birds for offspring, provide them with a nest base. In the case of aviary keeping of numerous birds, provide a nest for each intended pair.
For mating turtledoves need nests
In aviaries it is not always easy to find out which of the birds formed a family and which remained alone. Watch for turtledoves.
Before mating, each of the males takes a fancy to the nest, settles in it and starts cooing invitingly, attracting the female. From time to time he goes out into the enclosure to look after the female if she is not in a hurry to mate. The male bows and coos until the female agrees to go with him to the nest. There they begin to mate, but before that, a “romantic dinner” follows - the male feeds his girlfriend from his beak, and a “prelude” in the form of affectionate sorting out the feathers on the partner’s head. It is impossible not to be touched by these birds at the time of their mating games.
At the time of courtship games, turtledoves can sort out feathers on each other's heads
Turtledoves mate for several days until the female lays the first egg. But the parents begin to finally incubate the chicks when, after the first, sometimes with a daily interval, a second egg appears.
That's when the turtledoves-parents, replacing each other, begin to incubate offspring.
Nest for turtledoves - step by step instructions
Step 1. Nest base
Its size must be at least 12x20 cm. The height of the sides is 7 cm. Any material can be used. It can be a bowl, box, oval, rectangular or square, box.
Nest base
Step 2. Nest building material
What is suitable for filling the nest with birds. You can take straw or hay, dried grass (field). The length of the blades of grass (straws) should be about 12 cm.
Rigid rods, branches, even thin ones. Ropes or twine. Paper cut into strips.
Step 3 Installation
Attach the nest securely inside the cage or aviary. If there are several nests, place them at a distance and at different heights. Birds accept ready-made nests willingly, supplementing them with straw and feathers to their taste.
The birds themselves will add to the nest to their taste
And even if you did not have time to track the fallowing process, and the female laid the egg in the feeder or on the litter, you just need to transfer it to the nest so that the parents take their places and start hatching, which will last about two weeks.
Feeding the chicks
The chicks hatched safely, and now the happy parents alternately feed them goiter "milk". Then they add undigested grains to it, gradually, in small portions.
Turtle dove feeding her chick
Tip. A week after the appearance of the chicks, the daily feed and drinking ration of the parents should be increased by half.
At the age of three weeks, the chicks can already leave the nest, and at four weeks old they can be separated from their parents, after making sure that they can peck and drink on their own. Doves are calm, peaceful birds. They can get along with the chicks, even if the mating happened again, and they sat down to hatch their younger "brothers" and "sisters". Therefore, if the size of the cage allows, it is not at all necessary to plant chicks of one month of age.
Turtle doves get along well with chicks in the same cage
Turtle doves live up to 20 years. So when you get a pair of these amazing birds, get ready for the fact that their breeding is a long-term hobby.
However, according to all the poultry farmers who live with turtledoves, it is impossible not to get carried away and love them.
Video - Laughing turtledoves
Useful information Turtledoves
The pigeon family currently has about 300 species. In addition to the rock dove, familiar to cities, most members of the family live in wooded areas, mainly in tropical rainforests.
The family includes two groups - pigeons and doves, widely distributed throughout the world.
Interesting turtledoves living in Australia and Southeast Asia belong to the genus striped or ground doves ( Geopelia ).
These are small-sized pigeons with a body length of up to 20 cm and a weight of 50 g.
They build open flat nests in trees at a low height.
The genus includes 5 species, of which hawks are represented in our zoo complex ( G. striata ) and diamond turtledove ( G. cuneata ).
Hawk turtledove , or zebra dove lives on the islands of South Asia and in the northern part of Australia, where it inhabits tropical forests and shrubs near water bodies.
This is a small bird - up to 25 cm, characterized by a light gray color with a bluish tint. A characteristic feature is the dark transverse streaks, creating a kind of "hawk" pattern. The middle of the chest is pinkish with a lilac tint, on the stomach this color gradually turns into white. The beak is grayish-brown with a bluish tint at the base, the legs are meat-colored.
Diamond dove in the home is more common than hawk.
Differs in brownish-brown plumage; head and chest are ash gray.
There are small white spots on the wings. The ring around the eyes is bright orange. In nature, it is found in Australia in near-water forests and bushes. They spend most of their time on the ground looking for food or basking in the sun. They lead a pair or flock lifestyle.
For keeping and breeding turtledoves, cages from 1 meter in length and 70-80 cm in height are needed. A large number of shelves and perches should be provided. In larger aviaries, birds can be kept in groups, but this may affect breeding success.
Turtle doves are very thermophilic and during hot hours, when other birds take cover in the shade, they remain to bask in the sun. It is recommended to pour sand at the bottom of the cage, which heats up well and retains temperature for a long time. In addition, turtledoves do not use water for bathing, but clean their feathers with sand.
A good feature for home keeping turtledoves is their relative calm. These are less noisy birds compared to parrots and finches.
