Greetings, and can anyone ID these birds?

[TheSnipes]

Hi Pigeon People,

I sure wish I'd found this forum earlier! What an abundance of information. The only thing "negative" I might say is that now I have an idea how much I might have done wrong! Here's some background about my birds:

Last year I acquired two beautiful white doves who were nesting in a friend's indoor riding arena. Their flying around overhead was frightening the horses, so the owner wanted the birds collected and 'removed' humanely. This sort of thing fell to me since I have pet parrots. What that's got to do with doves, I have no idea - but in some people's heads, birds = me, so I got called in to help.

I wouldn't call the birds exactly tame but it was obvious they were not strangers to human handling, and I was able to easily collect them and housed them temporarily in an parrot cage in my garage. I built them a small flight and had them in that within a few days, and later a friend passed on a small 'coop' he'd kept pigeons in before his flock became too huge. I attached the two together to give them as much space as possible and did my best to provide proper food and shelter whilst pondering whether I ought to erect a simple pole-type dovecote and let nature take its course with them, letting them hang around if they wished or head for the wild blue yonder.

I felt bad about simply letting them go, unsure if they could manage on their own. They were obviously not wild birds, and we thought it likely they were let go as part of someone's outdoor wedding ceremony so I felt like I might be abandoning some poor 'pet' to face its doom in the wild if I just let them go...I was very indecisive so I ended up keeping them through the year.

The winter was unseasonably warm here (at first) and fooled a lot of things including my doves, who laid eggs in January. I live in Michigan, and baby birds in winter are NOT normal! I really went into a tailspin of worry over what would happen to those poor eggs. I put a heater under their coop because sure as shooting, soon as the eggs came along the temperature went through the floor. They had to incubate those eggs through the coldest temps of the winter. (I have no idea whether they really needed my help of course.)

Here's a URL for a little photo album with a few pics:
http://www.neptunetechnical.com/LJ/earlybird

Anyway, so glad to have found this forum with so much information my head is exploding, and I would love it if anyone could identify this particular type of bird? Does such a question make sense? I know nothing about keeping pigeons/doves other than bits I've googled in desperation. Mr. has a lovely grey tail while Mrs. is pure snow white, as is Jr., who I have decided is also a male - (based on all my vast experience, LOL!)

Now I've got to go and make a list of some of the things I need to hurry up and change. I welcome all tips and suggestions!

Thanks...

[mr squeaks]

Well, Snipes, you have certainly found your "pigeon home!" This forum has a wealth of information that I see you have already stated to find! ROFL

Your birds are BEAUTIFUL! Did only one baby hatch? What happened to the other one?

If you don't want any more babies, I'm sure you now know about "dummy" eggs!

WELCOME! Just jump right in...

Hugs and Scritches to all!

Shi & "mate" to Mr. Squeaks

[Reti]

You have three beautiful pigeons there and since they are white, I guess they were kept by someone as pets or for wedding releases, or whatever else.
You did the right thing in helping them out. Chances are they wouldn't have made it in the wild on their own.
The baby is very cute. Did only one egg hatch? What happened to the other one.

I am not sure what your question is. All three of your birds look happy and healthy, so you are doing something right.

BTW welcome to pigeon-talk.

Reti

[Lady Tarheel]

Welcome to the forum. I enjoyed reading about how you got your pigeons.

Although pigeons are technically doves, they are much larger than doves. Yours look like white racing pigeons that are used in wedding/funeral releases. We acquire some every now and then when they can't find their way back home. They are not used to fending for themselves and because of their white color are vulnerable to hawks.

I truly love a white pigeon. They are usually very sweet. Your little baby is so cute but I imagine it is pretty big by now. The parents did a good job raising it.

Thanks for posting and do stick around.

[TheSnipes]

Hello back to all of you and thanks for such friendly responses.

I guess the main thing I was curious about is/was are they doves, or pigeons, or what is the distinction, if there is one? I see that I had it backwards, I thought doves were pigeons but I see now from Lady Tarheel's reply it's the other way around. Now at least when people ask, I can answer!

There were two eggs, and you can't imagine my surprise when I peeked and saw a baby bird on the nest instead! It was already quite a bit larger than the eggs had been and also quite a bit larger than its deceased sibling which can be seen to the right in the baby pics. I've no idea what happened to that poor little one, if it could have been broken accidentally or even if the parents did it in deliberately, not wanting two at once - I really am completely ignorant about their habits. I was prepared to take these babies in if need be, but thank heaven the adults proved to be quite capable of raising little ones without my intervention, even under less than optimum circumstances. Only thing I did for them was provide some heat, and a flake of straw, when I became suspicious about all that cooing. That was a lucky call.

The baby at this time is indistinguishable from the female, except for its larger beak (bill?) and lighter pink legs/feet. I dubbed it a boy because of the bigger beak size. Also, I think I've heard it vocalizing, and have read where only males do that.

I've been idly interested in pigeons for a long time, but never had the time or inclination to pursue really learning about them even though I have a friend who's been willing to start me up with a pair or two (his are racers/tumblers). Sometimes things just happen whether you are ready or not. Anyway at this point I'm glad I kept them, especially now that they are three. I want to make sure I give them a good home, so I'm digesting as much here as I can. Definately LOTS to take in.

[Trees Gray]

Thank you for coming to the aid of these birds and providing them room and board.

They look like a delightful couple. Have they had any check ups with an avian vet or rehabber?

I'm sorry one of the babies died, I was a bit concerned about it, just wondering if there might be a health issue here....