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Ringneck Doves - Streptopelia Risoria Discussion

9K views 43 replies 19 participants last post by  wcooper 
#1 ·
We have a "surprise" Breed Of The Week today .. Ringneck Doves. The article is now available for viewing and discussion. You can read it here Ringneck Doves

Terry
 
#7 ·
really enjoyed the article as I'am a newish keeper of 5 white sweet doves, they are the best in house birds I have ever had. no squawking and screeching. they eat their feed out of a tupperware type dish with a lid, turned over with a hole cute out of it, no scatterd seed!, they like a hanging basket above the floor of their cage and sit and coddle over their little wooden replacement eggs. The coo is loud, but I only have one male so it is not bad as he sits on the nest alot with his gal. but even when he coos it is a pretty sound and not bothersome to us. mine came from someone that used them for magic shows, so they are calm and tame and not flighty, they let me pick them right up and are so easy going....I just love em!:)
 
#8 ·
Isn't it against the law in some places to keep certain doves unless one is a licensed rehabber? Thought I heard this someplace.

I was visiting a friend a few years ago and she had a pair of beautiful fawn colored Ringnecks come to visit. She said, "watch this!" and proceeded to feed them seeds from her hand. I was able to do the same thing! :D

We knew they were a pair because they happily mated in front of us on one of her chaise lounges. They, then, kept flying over to her potted plants. Since she didn't want them in her plants, she would get up and shoo them away. The minute she sat back down, back they flew!

Then, one flew to the roof above my head and LAUGHED! I had never heard one laugh before and just cracked up! Everytime I heard them, I don't know who was laughing more...them or me! It was almost as if they were laughing AT US! Bet they were...:rolleyes:

DELIGHTFUL BIRDS!!

Shi :)
 
#10 ·
I keep a flight of domestic ring necks (20 birds) and there is a small feral flock of another tye of dove who have taken up residence in the pine trees over my aviary. They eat what my birds toss out the cage walls for them. I am pretty sure they are in kahoots and I am feeding the whole lot of them:cool:
 
#12 ·
I don't know, mine seem to be a LOT more sensitive to the heat and cold than any of my pigeons. And thanks for the info, Terry! Whenever did you find the time to do that? I think you must have one of those things that the girl in Harry Potter had, where it turned back time and allowed you to be several places at once. :D
 
#13 ·
I Have A Pair Of Tangerine Doves. One Is Tangerine The Other One Is A Pearl Tangerine, Just Beautiful. They Are So Tame They Will Jump On Your Finger When You Go Inside The Aviary, I Am So Happy, I Bought A Pair Of American White Fantail Pigeons!!!!!!! (my First Pigeons).
 
#14 ·
Bought A Pair Of American White Fantail Pigeons!!!!!!! (my First Pigeons).
Congrats! I remember like 5 years ago, my grandpa had white fantails. But i am still not sure what kind they were. i believe they were a mix of american and indian. they had the body shape of indians without muffed feet. They looked just like the garden fantails they have in england. but they dont seem to have them here. but anyway, good luck with them!
 
#15 ·
Two Dove Stories

I see there haven't been many posts to this section so I thought I'd share a couple ringneck dove stories. I have a soft spot for doves and my affection for them has grown since we adopted our first rescued doves four years ago. We currently have 13 doves. We also have 80+ pigeons.

I've had two doves get out by accident on separate occasions and I got them both back! The first time was three years ago and I'd taken in three rescues, a pair and their young adult daughter, all tame. I was cleaning their small outdoor aviary when the youngster, a tangerine hen named Petra, accidentally slipped past me and flew off over our back fence. I was heartbroken, convinced I'd never see her again. But two hours later she came back, made her way under the patio cover and I found her sitting on top of her parents' cage. To my great relief she allowed me to just walk over and pick her up. She looked at me as if to say, "It's about time--I was getting hungry!"

Last month one of Petra's daughters, Hayden, escaped in a similar fashion. She disappeared. But that afternoon I heard the distinctive call of a ringneck in a tree on our street, so I knew it had to be her. Sure enough, she showed up the following afternoon. I first spotted her on the roof of the pigeon loft and from there she eventually made her way to her parents' cage on the patio. But unlike her mom, she was not tame enough for me to catch her. For two maddening days I would see her but was unable to get close to her. I took her family out of the cage and put them in a temporary cage, leaving Hayden's cage open. She would go in to eat and drink but when I tried to close the door she would fly out again.

I was in the process of tying a string to the door in an effort to trap her from a distance when disaster struck. Hayden had been hanging out on the patio near her family's temporary cage. A Cooper's hawk swooped in and perched on a beam extending from the patio, its eyes fixed on the doves in the cage. I chased him off and he went one way and Hayden flew off in the opposite direction like a bat out of hell. My heart sank. I was sure she would be too scared to come back for hours, if at all.

Not half an hour later I stepped out on the patio and to my amazement there was Hayden sitting on the back perch of her cage! I slammed the door shut with her safely inside. I guess she decided the world was a scary place and she'd better get to safety.

It amazes me that these two doves came back yet I've lost a number of pigeons that were either hatched here or had lived here for a long time. I guess the reason is that the pigeons flew farther away than the doves and were unable to find their way back. I certainly would never recommend free-flying doves, but I'm so happy I got both my girls back.

Hayden has shown no further desire to make a break for it. Here's a photo Hayden (left) sitting on the nest she shares with her sister, Hailey. They also have a younger brother, Dylan.
 

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#16 ·
great story! When I was a kid, I let two out on purpose...not knowing anything..they did come back and got in their cage, I "flew" them this way all summer. but of course it was stupid. they were a nice pair. now I have three white hens from a magician, he used them in his magic shows..poor things had clipped wings and were fed this old wild bird feed mix, they were in poor feather and not so white. now they are sparkling and smooth. I feed them harrison's high potency fine and it has been a huge improvement in there health. love the clay nest bowl you have. all three of my hens will share a basket, I put another in the cage, but they don't use it, I guess they prefer to be together. I need to take some pics of the lovelys...have tons of my pigeons but none of them....ummm. :)
 
#17 ·
Awww they're so cute. What luck that both Petra and Hayden came back, it's even more scary when they get out than when a pigeon does. I had mine get out when the little door stuck open on his cage (I slid the big door down and the little one stayed up). I heard him cooing soon after and recognized, as you said, the distinctive coo. He was at the other end of the yard with six of my outdoor cats under the tree! Luckily he stayed still for me to net him though he's not particularly tame, while not really skittish either. He was happy to get back to his big cage.

On a side note, if you find yourself in need of a young (under two) male RN, let me know as the above Ivan dove is my last dove left and I have no clue what I'm going to do with him over the winter. He is not enjoying his large cage and I obviously can't put him in with the pigeons. Right now he's with the little webbed-toed pijie that Jaye brought me but he's trying to get out of his cage all the time. I let him fly in a small tent every day but it's definitely not the ideal life. If you need a male I can bring him to you somehow. :) And thanks for starting a dove thread, they are such sweet little birds.
 
#18 ·
Great stories Cathy and MJ! Thank you for sharing with us. I, too, have ringneck doves .. about two dozen of them .. all rescues. They are totally delightful little birds! I've been lucky to not have any escapees, but I had two ringnecks land in my backyard yesterday which scared me as I thought some of mine had gotten out .. nope .. the two visitors were not mine. I set up a cage with food/water in the hopes they would go in, but they weren't having any of it. I know that they won't last too long on their own, so I hope they will continue to visit and will eventually allow me to catch them.

Terry
 
#19 · (Edited)
Thanks so much for your input, Spirit Wings, MJ and Terry. I really enjoy hearing other dove stories and hope there will be more. MJ I'm afraid I don't have room for another boy at present, but will keep an ear out. I'm involved in MickaCoo as a "dove advisor" and sometimes foster parent. Just last month we delivered two rescued doves to their new home in Cambria. What color is Ivan? I do know a lady who lives in the gold country and comes to SJ a few times a year. I believe she's willing to take more pieds and other colors but she doesn't really want more whites because she has so many of them. They have a big aviary and have taken in lots of needy doves. It's an excellent home. I think she'll be in the Bay Area in October, if you're interested.

I want a walk-in dove aviary in the worst way but our budget is tight right now and Steve isn't physically up to building another big structure for me. I want one because it would be a safer place for my doves than the individual small aviaries they currently occupy plus I could accommodate more rescues. At present I'm full up.

I have a rescued dove I got in August I believe is elderly judging from his looks and his quavery coo. You should hear him--sounds like something from "Tales from the Crypt." He's been vet-checked and is healthy, but the poor thing wound up at the shelter with no feathers at all from the back of his neck, across his shoulders, to the top of his tail. Now with good nutrition he's getting new feathers every day, but it will probably be months before he's fully feathered. Progress is slow and I think it's because he's old. He's beginning to molt his worn-looking flights and tailfeathers in addition to growing down feathers on his back, which is encouraging. We named him "Phoenix" because he's rising from the ashes, so to speak. Has anyone else seen a bird this bare?
 

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#22 ·
I spray him daily with an aloe vera-based product made especially for birds called Soother (made by HealX). It really seems to help. I don't know his history (he was at shelter #2 when I got him) but my best guess is that he was kept in a crowded cage and was picked on relentlessly by other doves and also that he was given inadequate nutrition since his remaining feathers are thin and brittle.

Here's a photo from last week and you can see the progress he has made. His poor tail is now covered in down, there are tiny down feathers coming in on his back and he's getting his characteristic ringneck "ring" back. He also has new pinfeathers on his head and breast.

I originally intended to foster him until another home was found for him, but he's clearly an old guy and has been through a lot so I don't have the heart to relocate him yet again.
 

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#26 ·
...my best guess is that he was kept in a crowded cage and was picked on relentlessly by other doves and also that he was given inadequate nutrition since his remaining feathers are thin and brittle.

Oww!! Poor guy!

Here's a photo from last week and you can see the progress he has made. His poor tail is now covered in down...

Adorable little rump fluff!

I originally intended to foster him until another home was found for him, but he's clearly an old guy and has been through a lot so I don't have the heart to relocate him yet again.
Thank you so much for being this bird's retirement home!
 
#31 ·
same happened to my bird when i let the bird out of their cage inside the house my mom opened the door and 1 flew out and i closed the door immediatley after... then i opened i ran around and i find it running around and i didn't do anything and she flew back weird lol
 
#32 ·
If I had to take a guess that little Dove was probley put in with pigeons--some fool thought they belonged together but then again in a cage full of other doves being picked on could very well be too. What a little charmer that dove it and I am so glad that you are taking such good care of it. I raised a Morning Dove one time that a young person found and let it loose before migration full grown and it came back to my house with three other morning doves just to look at my yard and made its noise and flew off now every year right before migration it visits and makes it noise and off it goes with it other morning dove friends and I say: Oh its migration time good luck little one. I have a special love in my heart for Doves---Thanks for everything you do for them...c.hert
 
#33 ·
That's a wonderful story, C. Hert! I love mourning doves and we enjoy seeing them in our yard.

I should update Phoenix's story because it's a happy one. :) He still has a bare patch on his back but he's much better than he was when he came. He molted and his new feathers are beautiful and smooth.

In November I briefly fostered 10 doves. When I picked them up from the shelter I took an extra one for me, a gorgeous little orange hen we named "Sedona." Phoenix was quite taken with her and immediately began coo-bowing to her. He was such a gentleman and never forced himself on her, but courted her relentlessly even though she showed no interest in him. None.

In December I finally found a new home for my grandma's old piano and so had room to buy a nice big cage to put in the living room for Phoenix and Sedona. I don't know if he'll ever get all his feathers back so I don't feel I can put him outdoors. I got a good deal on a big cage and both doves seemed happy with the space but Sedona was still immune to Phoenix's advances.

Finally a couple weeks ago Sedona began to return Phoenix's affection. I saw her preen his head and then one night they slept next to each other on the perch. I hung an old Easter basket in their cage and they spent all day in it, cooing and twitching their wings. Last week she laid eggs and Phoenix is very much the good husband, taking his full turn on the nest during the day. (Unfortunately I had to replace their eggs with fakes because we don't have room for four doves in the house.) If he could smile he would be beaming, he is so happy.
 

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