Is it a Pigeon or a Dove?

[ronnie jo]

Hi guys,
I found a baby Pigeon or Dove.I would say it is about 15 days old. I looked at the sight that showed the day to day progress and she appears to be most like the 15 day old. On browsing and finding my way around your forum i have noticed that pictures of the babies seem quite big compared to the peoples hands. My baby can nestle comfortably in my hand with room to spare. I am starting to think she must be a Dove. I live in Australia (W.A. Perth) Her beak also seems to be narrower. As I write this letter I am thinking that if I can work out how to do it i will post a picture of her. Her name is "Cutie" which I think all you bird lovers out there would be able to relate to how she got her name. It was going to be "Cutie Pie" But I thought the PIE bit might give her a bit of a complex.LOL

[ronnie jo]

here is a picture of my "Cutie" Is she a pigeon or a dove. See how small she is in relation to my hand. Any ideas ????

[Reti]

The name Cutie suits her perfectly.
All I can tell you is, it is not a pigeon. I guess it is some sort of dove,
Hope other members will be more helpful.

Reti

[ronnie jo]

thankyou Reti,
I hope some one can be of help too

[cyro51]

Hi Ronni Jo,

Definitely a dove!

Can you send a copy to Mel at this address and ask for identification?

wild_rescue_au@bigpond.com

Even though she is not in Perth she is at least in Australia and a rehabber so can probably help.

I also think that Mel would be the best person to advise on what to feed and how much!

Cynthia

[ronnie jo]

Thanks Cynthia , I will do that.
Ronnie Jo

[bklowe]

Appears to be a mourning dove or similar dove species. She should be eating seed and drinking water on her own. Can she fly ?
A cardboard box with a towel on the bottom, a small spill resistent container for water, another for wildbird seed. You may have to " show " her the water by gently pushing her beak into the water .... watch her throat if she is drinking you will see a swallowing motion at the throat just under her beak. Doves and pigeons drink much the same as we do while other songbirds must take water into the beak and then tilt their head back to swallow. You can make her a perch with the cardboard base of a wire clothes hanger [ measure the space from on side of the box to the other then trim the round cardboard a little longer than that measurement then slide in to a height she can hop on, you can do the same with a branch or dowel .... just be sure it is not too thin for her to grasp. Keep the food & water at the opposite end of the box than her perch. Scatter a little seed around the base of the seed dish. Leave her alone for a bit then come back to see if there are signs she has eaten or watered. Also the perch should be far enough away from the end of the box so her tail is not touching it.

[ronnie jo]

hi bruce
thankyou for your advice. She doesn;t eat by herself. I have to feed her with a syringe. I feed her morning and night. At first she struggled alot with me feeding her. But now she takes it quite happily. I need to open her beak though. When i first started feeding her i fed her about 10ml 3 or 4 times a day. To try and encourage her to eat by herself i dropped it to morning and night . I think this is why she is accepting her feeds willingly.She is hungry. But still not eating seed by herself.She will drink if i dip her beak in the water. but no sign of her drinking by herself.
Thankyou for the tip on the BOX cage. I will need to do that as she grows bigger. She can fly but still has no control over where she is going and tends to fly into things rather than fly to something and land on it. She loves to have a bath as feed times can tend to get a bit messy. How will i know when the best time is to set her free? i was going to take her back to the area where she was found. There are alot of doves in that area. There are no trees in this area. But lots of cats.

[Ralph]

What are you feeding her? Are you giving her grit or oyster shell?

I found a baby mourning dove a few years ago and it was about her age. Mine was able to eat pigeon food right away. Try and place a little bowl with grit and water and let her miss one of your regular feedings. I believe she will start eating on her own. I kept mine in a rabbit cage in my living room for 2 years. Great pet as we bonded when he was young.

[ronnie jo]

hi ralph
I am feeding my dove finch seed mix and she is finally eating it. I am thinking of letting her free in the area that we found her next week. I am keeping my dove in a rabbit cage too. She is quite happy but i think she needs to be free to fly around .
Ronnie Jo

[Ralph]

Hi Ronnie jo,
I am glad she is eating regular food. Just make sure she has a little grit or oyster shell to go along with it.

My dove was fine in captivity for two years. But he was wild and always restless. Mourning doves will not breed with other doves as I tried by getting him a ring neck. I would recommend giving him to a rehabber so he knows what to do when set free. At least let him go in an area with a heavy population of doves. Good luck!!

Ralph