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Living With Diamond Doves India and Peep Hatched 2000 and 1998 Photo taken 2005 Page Contents Life With a Flock of Diamond Doves Routines Taming Diamond Doves What You Can Expect From Tame Doves Human-Dove Bonding Bonding With a Single Male Bonding With a Single Female Diamond Dove Calls Exchanging Coos With Your Doves Mating Mating for Life Introducing New Birds Replacing One of the Doves of a Pair Providing a Mate for a Dove After it was Bonded on a Human Agitated Doves Fighting How to Catch a Dove and Return it to it's Cage Lost Tail Feathers Doves Lost in a Home Doves Lost Outside the Home References This page includes items that people often encounter when living with doves in their home.  This page was added in 2004 in response to questions that many people write in about that were not included in the other pages  These paragraphs are  based primarily on my personal experiences with my diamonds as well as ringnecks, zebras, and a few wild doves  If you refer to the references listed, you may find other (different) information about these same subjects. Life With a Flock of Diamond Doves After finding our first dove in our back yard, we purchased three more and thus started with two pairs and by the end of the first year we had several new pairs and their babies. By that time they were well use to us and a few of the birds were quite tame. Of course all the adults were busy incubating their eggs or raising their babies and that did not leave much time to interact with humans. However all of the birds had learned how to communicate with us if they felt their needs were not being provided for. Lack of seed or water would result in intensive cage rattling or in some cases pantomiming the pecking of seeds or drinking of water. If the water was stale, then the birds would fill the water bowl with all the rubbish laying around on the floor of their cage. If the paper towels on the floor had not been changed recently they would be ripped up in disgust. And if all else failed, they would put the strips of towel in the water cup leaving the edges hanging out so the remaining water in the cup would be siphoned out on to the cage floor. And of course if a human approached the cage their face would quickly turn red, and in a blink of the eye the cage would be cleaned, new floor paper would be put down, and new seed, water, and grit would be provided. And the diamonds would walk around with smug little smiles on their beaks. The motto of that part of the story is watch your birds carefully when you are around them. They will try to communicate in many ways - gently at first and later with more vigor. One of the ways that we used to start to obtain a closer relationship with the doves was to offer treats at my desk when part of the doves were given free flight time in the evening. Even though my desk was across the room from where the cages were located, all of the doves knew some doves were getting something good to eat. So I would open some cage doors and soon there were a small flock on my desk snacking on a half slice of wheat bread. Later when they were satisfied some would fly back to their cages and others would roll their wings under them and sit under the warmth of the desk lamp where they would stay until it was time for lights out. Since I was sitting at the desk working on the computer most of the time, the birds became used to being close to me. And if they wanted me to do something for them they learned to walk over to the keyboard and get between me and the monitor to get my attention.  Of course it was not always easy to figure what they wanted.  It could be a nail that was too long or a toe had hardened poop on it, or their beak needed trimming, or perhaps they had gotten some hair wrapped around their feet. To avoid problems between a male and a female incubating eggs, I did not open the doors of  these cages, because if a male leaves the cage, the female may become angry and attack him when he returns.  Routines From my observations, I believe it is important to doves to have fixed routines in their lives. This is easy to see as they will express frustration when their routine is broken.  For example if they are given free flight time in the evenings and one evening I am too busy for them, then they will pace back and forth in their cages while giving me the evil eye..  They learn when to expect their cage to be cleaned, when their water cup will be refilled, and when they will get a new seed supply.  They expect their lights to go on and off at the same time every day.  If they are allowed out of their cages in the evening, then they will expect to be allowed out every evening.  If you create a routine and then disregard it, they may well find a way to take revenge on you.  This example related to some visiting larger doves rather than diamonds.  On occasion I have provided treats of bread, string cheese, noodles, and other foods at my desk.  But it was not long before they determined that these treats should be given every day in the evening.  Soon the flock would arrive at my desk every evening looking for a treat.  If I did not respond by coming up with something for them, they would pace back and forth across my desk.  They quickly learned the sure way not to be ignored was to start walking back and forth across the keyboard.  So their treats quickly became a routine handout. But they had to develop a new strategy if I was not at the desk and the computer was turned off.  And that consisted of rearranging the loose papers on the desk, threatening to tear sheets out of my calendar, and if all else failed then they took to dumping papers and other objects on the floor. While all this can be funny to a human, to the birds it is very serious.  So to avoid stress in their life, it is best to keep to a set routine for normal activities and not to invent new activities that will be later taken as a routine when that was not your intention. Status Quo There is nothing that will upset birds than making changes in their environment.  The worst thing you can do is to move from one house to another.  That is almost as bad as moving from a breeder's aviary or a pet store cage into your your home.  The next worst thing is moving cages and furniture around even if it is only temporary.  In most cases this will cause doves sitting on eggs to abandon their nests.  If the move was only temporary they may get back on their eggs once everything has been restored.  If the the move is for several days - say the time necessary to paint a room then the eggs may be permanently abandoned.  I had a pair of doves that had a nest box outside the cage.  When I moved the nest box across the living room and placed it on top of a book case, they never went back.  As I proceeded to move all the bird cages across the room to expose a wall where some repairs were to be made, they flew round and round looking for their familiar perches.  In the end one and then the other of the two birds landed on my head. Vacations and long vehicle trips are also a problem though strangely enough my experience has been that while the birds do not like traveling by car, they are not that upset about it (with one exception).  And when we arrive at a destination and are able to set their cage up near a warm, sun lit window they actually seem happy.  However there are sometimes problems.  We took one little diamond dove hen who was a real pet on an 800 mile trip and then after a few days the return trip.  This bird did not like the view from the widows, and unless being held wanted to stay on the floor of the van we had rented.  While traveling the bird did not eat.  A few days after our return home, the bird died.  My conclusion is that while most doves will travel well by far, there are a few that will not. We have had a little experience with traveling with doves by airplane but in this case a ringneck dove was involved.  The bird did not seem to mind the trip at all and amused himself by doing bow coos at the inside of his carrier.  Although it was against the rules the bird was taken out of the carrier and hugged to quiet him.  I don't know what would have happened if he went flying while flying... Taming Diamond Doves To tame a diamond dove I feel the best place to start is in a small room that only has a few places where a bird can land and all these places can easily be reached.  The smaller the room the better, as the bird will have to fly slower and he will get tired faster.  Bathrooms are usually suitable although the mirror should be covered as well as any windows.  I then take the cage with a single bird into the bathroom, close the door, and let the bird out of the cage.  Usually the bird will fly around, become tired and then land.  Put your finger under his chest to try to get him to hop up on it.  He will probably fly away.  Keep trying, always moving slowly, and eventually he will not want to fly any more and will perch on your finger.  Try to bring him close to your face, continually turning him to maintain eye contact and talk to him in low soothing tones.  If he flies away repeat the process. Once he stays on your finger for several minutes you may try rewarding him with a soft piece if bread or other treat.  He might also appreciate a sip of water if he has spent much time flying. You may want to try this for somewhere around 10 minutes a day.  Try to do it the same time every day for a few weeks so the bird will expect to be spending that time with you.  I would suggest postponing taming if you can not spend ten minutes every day with the bird for two weeks or more.  An irregular schedule will make the bird wonder what you are trying to do. Another part of getting the bird to trust you is to keep him near you as much as possible.  At first I would  get a small cage (not his normal living cage as you do not want to more that one around.  His living cage is a home and he expects it to stay in the same place all the time.  If you you work at a desk or on a computer, you can place the cage near you.  From time to time you can offer treats.  You may have a water container in the cage but seeds are not necessary and may result in a mess on your desk. Then finally work up to the point where you can take the bird out of his cage and put him on a desk lamp that has an arm that will serve as a perch.  Our first diamond dove sat with me every night for about five months while I was doing homework for a night course I was taking at the time.  She was quiet and slept most of the time, but at around 11 pm she would coo, and that was the signal that she wanted some food and water and wanted to go back to her cage for the night.  I would take her to the kitchen and put her on the side of the sink while I got some seed out of the refrigerator and put it in my hand.  Then she would fly to my hand to eat the seed. Whatever arrangements you make to keep the bird close to you, remember the process takes time.  The bird need to develop a high level of trust in order not to be frightened by you and the things you do. What you can Expect From Tame Doves In time birds learn to really care for the person who is taking care of them. For example if you allow your doves out of their cage and then lay down to take a nap, they will become concerned as if they feel you were hurt or ill and may come and land on you and often sit there until you wake up. I have one dove that lands on me and actually goes to sleep herself, but if I sleep for more than an hour she walks up to my face and starts pecking at my lips or sometimes my ears in an attempt to wake me up. And of course she does just that.  Once I was in the kitchen doing something behind the refrigerator and I fell with a loud bang. The male dove that was out at the time flew to me in a flash and landed on my wrist while I was still on the floor, and looked into my face to see if I was all right. Since I have a flock of doves, I sometimes open the cages at night and then offer a treat at my desk, often a half of slice of wheat bread with some water in a large plastic bottle top. When they see me carry some food to the desk the whole flock follows me. Human Dove Bonding If you only keep a single dove then after a period of time the bird will probably bond on you.  Doves are very social and thus have a need to be close to a living being.  Indication that bonding has taken place are wing flicking and kissing.  If the dove shakes its wings when you approach and kisses (light, rapid pecking) your fingers and face when given the opportunity, then bonding has taken place. Bonding is usually sexual in nature.  If you have bonded with a male, the bird will make bow-coos for objects that belong to you.  Sometimes a male will do a bow coo for your fist and then mount your fist and and mate with it as if it were a female. Males can get loud with their bow coos, but if the dove finds a nesting site he may sit down for a while and do two notes nesting coos which are much quieter than bow coos.  If you have bonded with a female, she will soon be stimulated enough to lay eggs.  Thus you should provide her with a nest and nesting material and allow her to incubate these infertile eggs for the full term (14 days for diamonds, mourning doves, or ringnecks).  It is better to allow full term incubation because if you remove the eggs then she will lay another clutch in a few days.  Such a regime is not compatible with the the hen's long term health.  A hen that lays eggs every four or five ways will end up with a low level of calcium in her body and then may suffer from brittle bones and fractures. If she incubates the eggs for 14 days and a few more, and then gets off her nest and rests for a week or so she will only be laying a new clutch once every three weeks which is about what she would do in the wild. Bonding With a Single Male I purchased a male ringneck dove for my older niece in 1990 and after six months or the ringneck was bonded on her and became quite affectionate with her. Of course he would do loud bow coos for everything she owned. Within a year he was flying to her on command. An interesting aspect of this relationship was that if my two nieces were fighting with each other, he would come in defense of my older niece and start attacking my youngest niecer. But normally he got along well with everyone in the family.   Bonding With a Single Female I have a single female dove that has been bonded on me for about six years. Her life has developed into a predictable routine of showing a high level of affection for me for a week or so and then being so stimulated that she lays two infertile eggs and incubates them for 14 days and a few more. The best part was in the beginning when she figured she needed to convince me to bond on her. She used to spend much of her time sitting on my mouse pad with her chest feathers over hanging the keyboard. I would give her some bread or offer her some water from time to time and she gratefully accepted. Later I could call her with a long distance coo and hold my palm up and she would fly to me. And if I was out of the living room for two long she would call and if I did not answer she would come looking for me. This bird, like many, likes to be hugged. If something bad happened during her day (like a stranger came to visit me), she would need long hugs as visitors would always upset her. If another bird or human disturbed her, the immediate response would be to fly to the top of my head. Later when she was incubating her eggs, she had the tendency to stay on her eggs forever. So I developed a routine where I would take her off her nest four times a day (about every 5 or 6 hours when I was home) and take her to the bathroom and hold her over the commode so she could poop. When a dove has been sitting on their nest for some time, they hold their stools, and thus they can really be large. However, she could not pass her stool immediately so we developed a "flight pattern" where she would fly from my right hand to my left and then in a quick circular motion I would switch her back to my right hand and repeat the process three times. After that I would release her with my right hand and she flew three sides of a rectangle so she ended up flying toward me and landed on my finger which was then over the commode and she passed her stool immediately. Sometimes she flies a very precise pattern with perfect 90 degree turns and sometimes, perhaps when she is tired, she flies somewhat sloppily.  I have found that she is intelligent enough to try to fly a precise pattern with the only reward a verbal compliment.  I can sense her smile when I do compliment her after she has flown a precise pattern. After that she shakes her feathers out and sometimes does a couple of stretches and then I take her back to the living room where she flies to the food trays and water, eats, and then returns to her cage and nest on her own. I suppose if I could teach her this much I could probably teach her much more. But I have yet to think of anything else Now in 2008 she is ten years old and no longer lays eggs and our relationship has changed.  She dies not spend as much time with me any more but she does want a long hug every morning after I get up. Maintaining the Relationship With a Bonded Dove Like any relationship, one has to work at maintaining it if it is to last.  With a single dove, it is necessary to pay more attention to your dove's psychological needs as she or he has no one else to turn to if you are not being nice to him or her.  When you come in from being out for any period time go to his or her cage and greet him or her.  If possible take him or her out of the cage and give him or her a hug.  When you are about to leave for some time just before you go out try to express the fact to the bird that you are leaving.  Make an attempt to learn some of the dove's language and learn to imitate it.  This is not just the normal coos that you usually hear, but the almost inaudible sounds a male and female dove use to communicate when they are sitting beside each other.  Bonded doves will greet you when the first see you in the morning and they may even expect a hug at that time.  You might want to give your dove a treat in the evening just before you turn the lights out and go to bed. During the day if you are at home a bonded dove would like to be allowed out of their cage so they can be near you.  Many people that keep companion doves do not keep their doves in a cage at all, but I believe fro safety's sake you should always put your dove in their cage and fasten the door before you go out. Diamond Dove Calls After we had the birds a year they also became pretty noisy. As the sun comes up in the morning they start cooing as if they wanted to be sure the birds who lived on the other side of the mountain were still there. They do make a good alarm clock if you sleep nearby. Usually they will become quieter later in the day, but it is easy to get them started again if you can imitate their call. The males will also call to persuade their mates to come sit in the nest and there are often times they are ignored, so this monotonous calling seems to go on forever. You can terminate it by putting the female in the nest or by removing the male from it. However the solution is not a permanent one. These are the different diamond dove calls that my birds make. The normal long distance coo (5 notes) The answering coo (2 notes) Advertising Coo (usually 5 notes and often very loud - males only) Conversational coo (2 notes slurred together) Nesting Coo (2 notes slurred together along with wing shaking, done from an existing nest or what they perceive to a likely nest site. Usually done by the male but also done by the female) Alarm coo (one or more sharp little single note coos when something unusual has happened - like a door opening in another room or another strange sound of some kind). Bow Coo (loud single notes down while bowing and fanning the tail by males only) Affectionate coo (very quiet raspy coo used between members of a pair) used when arriving or departing, or for other conversation. The custom coo - a special coo taught to one or more doves by their owner - we taught one of our males an eight note coo back in the late 1980's and he is now our oldest bird and he still uses this unique coo. The other birds respond to him using the normal five note or two note coos. Exchanging Coos With Your Doves One thing it is interesting to do is to learn the various coos used by the diamonds and imitate them. First I would try cooing from another room where they could not see me. When I learned the long distance coo well enough to get a response, then I would go in the room where the cages were so they knew I was cooing at them and not another dove.. Since they were already familiar with my coos by then, they would answer me even when they could see the coos were not coming from another bird. Soon I could get at least one bird to hold a long conversation with me in five note and two note coos. Sometimes if I went into the room with the birds cage on a quiet afternoon and cooed the normal five note coo it would seem that all the birds would answer in unison if not on the same pitch then be quiet until I answered with a two note coo and then they would all respond again. This could go on for a minute or so then they would soon be cooing to each other and no longer waiting for my response. But it can be very impressive to a visitor. I have also found that the diamonds (and other doves) will respond to the sound of my voice by cooing at me. Mating People sometimes think that if you put a male and a female dove in a cage they will soon bond on each other, mate, and have babies. While this may happen, it may take some time before the birds decide that they do not have any other options and thus go ahead with their family. The first pair  we put together this way took six months before they decided to mate. Sometimes males can be very selective about who they will choose for mates. Several years ago we had a very handsome male that was living in a baby cage with about six other young birds including several females. He refused to bond with any of them and eventually they all ended up with other mates. Eventually he ended up in a cage by himself doing loud advertising coos much of the time perhaps thinking that some female over the next mountain would hear his calls. Then finally one of our old pairs raised a beautiful female with big red eyes. He watched her as she grew up and then decided that this was the one and after two years of waiting he finally started his family. He is now seven years old and his mate is five years and they have had a number of successful clutches. Sometimes we have found that a pair that has been together for some time no longer cuddles at night nor shows any interest in mating and making a nest.  The thought might be that they have somehow become incompatible.  Recently we had such a pair and allowed them to fly loose for a few days to see what would happen.  They established themselves in an open cage that housed two very old birds that spent their time on the cage floor.  After a few days they were once again cuddling at night and soon after they took nest material from a nest in another open cage and build themselves a nest in the empty nest box in their new cage.  Mating has taken place a few times and now the hen is in the nest. When such problems are encountered it would seem prudent to either move the existing cage to a new location or provide another cage.  The cage these birds selected had somewhat better lighting, was slightly larger, and was lower down providing a view of the other birds that was not available in the old cage. Mating for Life  There is a saying the doves mate for life which may be somewhat misleading. They say doves will mate for life unless something occurs that indicates the pair is incompatible or death or injury occurs to one of the pair. In real life that is not completely true. I have had males reject females when the female could not produce eggs and then trade back again when they found themselves incompatible with the second bird. Once a dove bonds with a human for some time, the it will not want to bond with another bird as longs as the human is present in the home. Also recognize that if you end up hand feeding a baby dove there is a good chance the bird will bond on you and then be unhappy if you provide him or her with a mate. Babies would bond on their parents except that after the babies are two weeks old or so, the parents will usually push the to independent by being a little mean to them. Introducing New Birds This section pertains to bringing new birds home that either will be house in separate cages or young birds which may be housed in a baby cage until they are older. The main consideration is the need for quarantine to protect you existing birds, the need for a stress reduction period, and an acquaintance period if new birds are to be installed in a cage with old birds. 1. Keep the new birds in a separate cage at some distance or preferably in a separate room from where the existing birds are located for one or perhaps two weeks. Observe the birds for any evidence of disease during this time. When cleaning bird cage or feeding the birds, always feed or clean the old birds first and then clean the new bird cage(s). It is important to treat the quarantine period seriously. I heard of someone that purchased a number of doves at a large well known dove show and brought them home and did not quarantine them. Not only did he loose the birds he purchased, that looked very fine at the bird show, but he also lost most of his original flock. 2. Also consider this as a stress reduction period as moving a bird always causes a high level of stress. Have the bird's cage ready before you return home. And then for the first week or two, only have one person approach the cage to provide food, water, and grit. Be sure the cage is located in a warm, quiet, draft free where there is little human or other pet traffic. Also be sure no one approaches the cage wearing bright colored clothing, especially reds, yellows and oranges. Also be careful about carrying large objects near the bird's cage. Something as benign as a guitar case can cause havoc. 3. Installing new birds in the same cage with old birds almost always causes problems. New birds will be considered intruders by the old birds and this may result in fighting. Replacing One of the Doves of a Pair Normally finding a new mate for a dove that has lost its mate can be a rather long and complicated process. This is the method I normally recommend.. But you may wish to take a shortcut and forgo the quarantine, stress reduction, and acquaintance periods described below. By doing so you would be taking some health risks and fighting could develop. If it fighting does occur, usually because the old bird perceives the new bird as an intruder.  In that case I would suggest that you back up and follow the method below, modifying it as you see fit. The worst aspect of it is that you will need two cages but one can be used as a baby cage later. 1. Purchase a dove of the appropriate sex that is at least four months old. Be sure you obtain a bird of the correct sex. See the section on sexing diamond doves on this web site. Remember it is almost impossible to sex young birds and many pet store owners do not know how to sex diamond doves. 2. Keep the bird in a separate cage at some distance from the original bird and any other birds you may have for one or possibly two weeks. Consider this a quarantine period. 3. Also consider this a stress reduction period as moving a bird always causes a high level of stress. Have the bird's cage ready before you return home with the bird and then for the first week only have one person approach the cage to provide food, water, and grit. Be sure the cage is located in a warm, quiet, draft free where there is little human or other pet traffic. Also be sure no one approaches the cage wearing bright colored clothing, especially reds, yellows and oranges. Be careful about carrying large objects near the bird's cage. Something as benign as a guitar case can cause havoc. 4. After one or two weeks, if the new bird appears healthy and appears to be relatively calm, then place the cages together for another week or more and observe the interaction between the two birds. If the male does bow coos toward the female and she acts interested then you can do one of the following: 5a. Allow both birds out of their cages in a closed room with windows and mirrors covered and watch their interaction. If the male follows the female, does bow coos, mounts her, and mates then they should be returned to the cage of the new birds, not the cage of the old bird. This should eliminate the possibility of the old bird feeling ownership of his or her cage and then treating the new bird as an intruder. If there is fighting of any kind then return the birds to their original cages, and continue these trial flights another day and keep repeating the process until they are able to live together without fighting. Have a nest box and nesting material ready for installation in their cage once they get along together inside the cage. 5b. Instead of allowing the birds out of their cages to get aquatinted, move the old bird into the new bird's cage and carefully observe the interaction between them. If fighting occurs then separate them and try again another day. Repeat as many times as necessary. A good indication that bonding has taken place is that at night the two birds will perch together and cuddle. Bow coos and even mating may not indicate a fully bonded pair. Males will do bow coos for any bird and sometime females will crouch and accept a male's mounting before she really develops a strong feeling for him. Providing a Mate for a Dove After it was Bonded on a Human Information I have about this process is in most cases it really does not work. Many people that write in have kept a single dove for a number of years feel that their bird has become lonely and they want to find a mate for it. Doves usually do not divorce their mate unless it dies or has somehow was lost, no matter if it is a bird of the opposite sex, a bird of the same sex, or a human. Perhaps the males will play around a little but they always seem to return home to their mate in the end. On the other hand I have never seen a female play around with other males. So my advice, if you think your dove is lonely, try to spend more quality time with him or her or at least give the bird the option of sitting with or on you while you are watching television, working at a computer, or reading a book. If you do not have the time to spend with the bird the only other solution might be to give the bird to someone else who has a bird with which it might mate, but don’t think about bring the new pair back to your home as your old bird will be torn between showing affection for his or her new mate and you. Agitated Doves Many things can cause doves to be agitated and to give the caretaker  the impression that the the birds are very wild when in reality there are certain things in the environment that can frighten the bird and once the item is removed the birds will be calm. Visitors Doves quickly learn to recognize their owner and eventually become quite comfortable having them place additional seed in the seed cup, change the water, attach a new cuttlebone to the cage, and perform other chores necessary for the the doves' welfare.  But they are always suspicious when there is something new in their environment.  However, if a pet that they are not accustom to seeing or a human visitor enters their room, then the doves will often end up thrashing about their cage doing considerable damage to their wing feathers and perhaps even damage to their body, particularly their head. To minimize the problem of a visitor, one answer I have found helpful when maintenance people or a bug-man enters the room, is to stand near the bird's cages and talk or coo to them.  Ask the visitor not to make any sudden or quick movements, and while the birds will remain tense they may not flutter around violently.  If the visitor is carrying an object, like a tool box, it would be best if he kept it behind his body as much as possible. When my niece comes over with her guitar case she has learned to carry it low, behind her, and to make no sudden movements with it. Breeders who keep large numbers of birds often wear a lab coat when they are working with their birds so they appear the same every day.  And when they have visitors they keep an extra lab coat for them.  I do not go to this extreme, but I have learned to wear clothing that appears the same when I am cleaning cages and to stay away from the cages when I have strange clothing on and I am wearing dark glasses. Bright Colored Clothing Another reason for using a lab coat is to cover up bright colored clothing.  If you or a visitor wears pink, red, or yellow clothing the birds will probably go absolutely wild.  When my niece comes over wearing such clothing we have learned that she needs to find some suitable garment that I have in my closet that will cover up the offending colors. Other Pets Other pets, particularly cats and dogs can be a problem if your are keeping doves.  And other birds can also be a problem. Recognize that just because you dove is locked in his or her cage she may not necessarily be safe.  People have written me concerning the ability of cats to kill a bird without even opening a cage.   And then some cats are smart enough to open some cages. I often have the problem of visitor's bring their dog or cat or bird in when they come to visit.  My first reaction is to return all birds to their cages and then to shut all cage door even those that I normally leave open.  If a cat or kitten is brought in to my apartment I insist that they are either held at all times or they are shut in the bedroom.  If someone brings in a parrot of any species, I also feel that my doves need to be confined to locked cages.  And these birds need to be watched as some, like lovebirds,  have the ability to open cages. One also has to be aware of roaming cats that become aware that you keep birds inside.  I have had a cat climb up on my window ledge, even when the window was closed, and terrorize my doves as their cage is near a window. I had another episode where a neighbor's cat learned that I had birds inside and one day waited in the open garage and went into the house while I was getting ready to leave.  I never saw her.  An hour later when I returned home a found the cat in our den trying to make high leaps to the top of the book case where our birds were kept at that time.  The birds were going crazy, thrashing about inside their cages, breaking their wing and tail feathers.  I grabbed the cat, none to gently, and she tore out of my hands and leaped out the open window breaking a hole in the screen! In closing this section let me me mention that  I have received many tragic messages from people who lost their doves as the result have not being very careful about protecting their doves from other pets.   Night Frights If you sleep far away from your birds so you can not hear them at night and then notice broken wing feathers and blood on the head and body, you may be having "night frights".  This happens when the bird is sleeping in a very dark environment and is frightened by some kind of noise or movement.  In the wild when a bird roosting in a tree or bush is frightened he will fly upward as fast as he can.  I can remember one mourning when I was walking to work before it was light and I passed close to a large leafy shrub and brushed the branches, the shrub seem to explode with whirring mourning doves flying mostly upward but also toward a nearby street light.  Of course if caged doves try that feat they will surely hurt themselves as they thrash against the cage bars. The solution as mentioned elsewhere on this site is to provide a night light of sufficient intensity that allows them to see their surroundings but is not so strong as to not permit them to sleep.  I use a 40 watt desk lamp on the far side of the room but many solutions are possible. Attempts at Communication Doves will often bang about their cage, flying from perch to perch, perch to nest, or perch to seed cup, shaking their cage and making quite a bid of noise in order to attract the owner's attention so he can resolve something that the doves perceive as a problem.  The source of their concern may be the lack of seed in a seed cup, an empty or dirty water cup, the lack for nesting material, some problem with the nest, or perhaps a baby that accidentally fell out of the nest (though  they can usually resolve that problem themselves).  Solve the problem and there will be peace and quiet. Desire to get out and fly Sometimes you will observe one of a pair doves, usually the male, flying in place in the center of the cage.  My experience has been that he is trying to tell you he needs to get out and do some real flying.  And once I open the cage door, the dove zooms out, and picks up speed and circles the living room several times and perches on top of a cage panting like he was permanently exhausted.  If hs mate is not incubating eggs or sitting on the baby she will usually come out and join him.  And sometimes they will chase each other from landing point to landing point. If the female does come out when she has eggs or babies, she will soon return to the cage and nest on her own accord and the male will soon follow. Before letting birds out for free flight, be sure all the doors in the room are closed,  mirrors and windows are covered, and other pets have been removed from the room. Parents Attacking Babies By the time babies are three weeks old, they are usually eating seed on their own and have mastered the fundamentals of flight and are ready to move on.  But often they continue to beg their parents for food and at night they enjoy cuddling with their father as the mother has probably already laid her next clutch and is incubating her new eggs.  Eventually the parents find it difficult to endure large babies, flapping their wings in the parents' faces, when they can just as well eat on their own.  This is usually when the parents start to attack the babies and it is when they need to be removed from the parent's cage before any harm is done.  It should be said that we have had some babies that were smart enough not to beg for food and these babies have stayed with their parents four weeks or more often helping to incubate the new eggs.  Eventually they get bored and want to go off on their own. Aggressive Males To be written Fighting Fighting among doves is rare but when it does occur it can easily result in serious wounds, particularly around the head and eyes.  There are many reasons for doves fighting and they are listed below.  But before you worry much about the cause, the birds need to be separated, perhaps by letting one out of the cage and keeping the other in for a short time or the rest of the day.  However if the fighting continues after the birds are returned together then a longer separation  and a second cage is required Unpaired Doves Placing two males together may or may not result in fighting.  Males tend to be territorial only when they have mates and when incubation is underway.  If fighting between two males housed together does occur probably the only solution would be to separate them permanently. One also has to be careful during periods of free flight as sometimes males will develop a certain level of animosity toward other males and severe fighting will occur.  I have three males that cannot be let out at the same time and one of these can never be let out with any other male or he will be attacked.  This is our only single male at the present but it may also be a result of the fact that this male, when younger, tried to mate with every male he encountered. Single females rarely fight and in fact I have never observed such fighting except when they managed to have eggs and were involved in incubation and then they are an absolute terror.  I have seen diamond hens attack a much larger bird such as a ringneck that intruded into their space. Here are some reasons males will attack females and females will attack males. Paired Doves Males attacking females The female refuses to allow mating. The female will not incubate the eggs The female will not feed her babies Females attacking males The male is not providing nesting material There is no food or water in the cage The male will not relieve the female during egg incubation The male leaves the cage when the female is incubating eggs or keeping the babies warm. If the cause of the fighting can be determined and it can be resolved by putting additional seed, clean water, grit, a new cuttlebone, or nesting material in the cage then the fighting will stop immediately.  In cases where the cause can not be determined or when a high level of anger has developed, I usually let one or both birds out so they can fly around (usually at very high speeds) until they tire themselves sufficient to forget their problem.  Usually within ten to thirty minutes they will be ready to return to their cage and will cuddle and make up. However sometimes the two birds will have to be separated.  Often we will will leave one, usually the female, in their cage and put the male in a baby cage until night and then return the male just after the lights go out.  They usually will not fight in the dark but they should be watched in the morning.  Other times separation has been required for several days. We had one pair where the male absolutely refused to sit on the nest.  The female put up with this unusual behavior for two years even though it was obvious that she was unhappy.  Then in the third year she attacked the male viciously.  We would put him on the nest but he would just get off and the fighting would begin again. So we separated the two for the rest of the day and returned them together at night.  The next morning the fighting would begin again.  So they were separated for a longer period of time which ended by being weeks while the female raised their babies on her own.  The male was returned after the babies had left the parents cage and they made up and mated and the female laid her two eggs.  And once again the fighting started.  This went on for two years and finally the female became resigned to the fact that her mate would never sit on the nest and they lived happily (?) ever after. How to Catch Doves and Return Them to Their Cage If you are going to let out doves to free fly, recognize that it may take some time to catch a non  cooperating dove and put him or her back in his cage.  The method is simple - walk calmly toward the dove and attempt to pick him up by putting your finger under his chest and lifting.  Unless the dove has already been tamed, it will fly away and eventually land somewhere else.  Walk calmly (do not hurry) toward the dove and again attempt to pick him up using your finger under his chest.  He will again fly.  Continue this effort until the dove becomes tired and does hop up on your finger and then take him back to the cage.  It will take time to reach the point where he is too tired to continue to fly, but take care not to frighten him by hurrying too fast, or he will find extra strength and prolong the process.  If the bird starts flying very rapidly and is panting between flights it would be best to leave alone and try again a little later. If you are running out of patience, then a faster alternative is to darken the room by pulling curtains across windows and turning off lights to the point where you can just see the bird yourself.  Then you should be able to pick up the bird if you do not use any sudden movements.  However, if the bird does become scared and flies in the dark, you should turn one light back on until the bird lands.  Then you can turn the light off and repeat the process Lost Tail Feathers When bird owners try to grab their birds, often their hand will often slide back to the tail feathers.  If the owner holds on to these feathers, often he will find himself holding a handful of feathers while the bird has left the vicinity looking more like a quail than a dove.  But serious damage has not be done,  Doves (and other birds) have the ability to release feathers as necessary to escape the clutches of a predator (or a bird owner).  These feathers will all grow back within four to six weeks. Doves Lost in the Home Diamond doves often become "lost" in people's homes if the bird's owner does not keep track of where their birds are when allowed out of the cage.  A loose dove that is frightened can easily fly into situations where it can not easily be found and sometimes can get into situations it can not get out of by itself.  My birds have gotten behind the books in a book case, on top of the clothes hanging in a clothes closet, crashed into wastepaper baskets they could not get out of, have fallen behind the kitchen stove requiring the stove to be pulled out, and have landed on top of ceiling light fixtures where you would never think of looking for them.  One bird even flew under a bed and then up on the cross supports where it could not be easily seen when looking under the bed.  And when birds get into dark situations they tend not to move. I keep a written list of possible locations so I will not overlook anything if I am faced with a lost bird.  Then I will "remember" to empty all waste baskets, look on the top of all ceiling light fixtures,  pull books out of book cases, and finally pull out the kitchen stove so I can see behind it. If you coo for the lost bird, sometimes he will answer or at least make some kind of noise to give you a clue as to where he is.  Sometimes I take the lost bird's mate around when I am searching for a missing bird.  There are times when the bird will hear something I do not hear, and then call and receive an answer. Just do not give up.  Birds do not disappear as you might think after spending hours looking for one. And they are really depending on your rescue! Doves Lost Outside the Home If a dove escapes out an open door or window and gets outside, do not assume it is gone forever.  Although doves may not want to return inside immediately, by the time it starts to get dark they would really like to be home.  The problem is they do not know how to get back inside. Usually an escaped dove will remain in the vicinity of its home and look for a way to get in.  It watches the humans who live there come and go out but it never manages to communicate with them during the short time the bird sees them and if the people exit or enter via a car in an attached garage the problem is even worse. Once we lost a male diamond who departed through an open garage door.  We went out and called and called for it but he did not respond.  Then three weeks later, one Saturday morning, the garage door was open and all of us were outside working in the front yard, and here comes a little gray dove calmly walking up the driveway ( I don't know why he was not flying as he was perfectly capable of flight as he later demonstrated).  As we stood there watching, the dove walked into the garage so my niece ran inside and closed the door.  She put her finger in front of the bird and it hopped up.  Amazingly, the bird was much heavier than when it had left. He was then happily reunited with his mate.  Afterwards the neighbors told us they had seen the bird flying around outside our house during that three week period that the bird was away.  If any of us had spent some time outside during those three weeks we probably would have seen the bird and if we had opened the garage door for a reasonable period of time he probably would have come inside. Here is another story about a returned escapee who managed to return although the subject of the story was  not a diamond.  I received a phone call late one evening in from my youngest niece (age 26) who was crying like a small child.  She had taken her Quaker parrot with clipped wings outside while she was cleaning her bird cages.  Since her wings were clipped, she did not believe the bird could fly as it definitely did not fly in the house.  But like a helicopter, hover climbs in still air require a considerable amount of power.  However given a headwind and terrain that allows a gradual increase in altitude, a climb can be made using much less power.  Thus the parrot headed into the wind and found it did not take much effort to take off and eventually reached the tops of the highest trees in the neighborhood much to my niece's amazement. By then it was getting dark, and despite my niece's calls, the bird showed no signs of making a return flight and was soon lost from sight as the light waned.  My niece called me and I told her the bird would soon settle down in the tree tops and would remain there until first light in the morning when she surely would try to return home.  I told her to go to bed and be very sure to get up before dawn and then stay outside and watch for the bird so it did not end up on the ground wondering what to do in that cat infested neighborhood where she lives. The next morning she did get up early but there were no signs of the bird.  She continued walking around the outside of the house calling and finally she heard a response but could not see the bird anywhere. The bird talks some so it was then able to screech "COME HERE!!!"   It was then obvious that the bird was on the other side of a seven foot fence in the back yard.  Apparently, the bird could not fly across the top of the fence in the still morning air and since my niece could not climb the fence, she got in a car and drove around to the street behind and found the bird perched on a small tree branch just higher than her head.  She pulled the branch down and the bird jumped to her hand.  After it was all over my daughter suggested that I remind readers not to give up if they lose a bird because birds really do want to get home as much as you want to find them.  But you have to be outside if you want the bird to make contact with you. Not all birds do well after leaving their home.  Some are so frightened they just fly off and then have no idea how to return to their home.  These might be newly purchased birds or birds that are going outside for the first time in their lives.  However, sometimes such birds are picked up by others and their return can be assisted by posting notices around the neighborhood or even advertising in a newspaper.  And even if they are not returned, they do have a chance of becoming someone else's pet.  In fact our first diamond dove was one that someone else lost and happened to wander into our back yard. Vacations Vacations are a problem, particularly if you can not take your birds with you.  Often it is difficult to find someone to take care of the birds and even if you do find someone they may not see reason to follow the instructions you provide.  Of course if you have a family member or relation that knows the birds then the outcome will usually be more favorable.  Over the years I have lost three birds while I was on vacation and have had several birds sustain injuries that would not have happened at home. References Brown, Danny, "Diamond Dove, Geopila cuneata", A Guide to Pigeons, Doves & Quail, Their Management, Care & Breeding, South Tweeds Heads, Australia: Australian Birdkeeper 1995, pp. 114-117 Gos, Michael W., Doves. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1989, p. 80-84 Naether, Carl A., Diamond Doves"  Chapter 7 of Raising Doves and Pigeons. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1979, pp. 94-99 Vriends, Matthew M., PhD., Doves, A Complete Pet Owner's Manual. Happauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series, Inc., 1994 , pp. 81-83   Questions or Comments? Contact me by clicking here ©2006-2008 - Helen White Helen White P. O. Box 367, Tallahassee, FL 32302-0367   Last revised on: October 2, 2008