doves and pigeons together?

[mountainstorm]

Can doves and pigeons be kept together? Or are the pigeons too agressive? I remember reading some posts about other birds in an aviary, but I can't quite remember all the details? And if they don't get along at first, might they learn to?

Thanks, Rach

[LokotaLoft]

i think its a bad idea myself as pigeons can easily kill a dove and they will if they feel the need

[philodice]

Do not do it. For a comparison with behavior on how doves act vs pigeons, see my videos.

Ebil and bad. (I love him anyway)



Gentle and sweet.

[LokotaLoft]

yes ebil and bad come to my mind too

[philodice]

You know the show "American Gladiator"? Glacier is the name of one of the really big and tough guys that rolls right over the little normal guys.
Glacier knocks them off perches, steps on them, rolls them around, beaks them, bites them. Or he would do all those things if I didn't stop him.

[maryjane]

From personal experience, I would say in general it is a bad idea. But there are always exceptions. I currently house my dove with a few pigeons: my extra-small pigeons, my beakless, gentle-mannered Satinette male, and very young pigeons who aren't ready for the "big bird" aviary. My dove still insists on harassing pigeons who get too close to him. The particular pigeons in with him just ignore him, but I keep a very close eye on them throughout the day.

Doves seem to get that single-mindedness where it's just "I will MAKE you leave my area" and no matter what warning the pigeon gives, the dove just doesn't seem to get it. My first pigeon, Gonzo, scalped two doves and I lost them both, before I knew about keeping them separate, many years ago. I was devastated!! So it really depends on the personality of the dove(s) and pigeon(s) you want to keep together, and if you think your pigeon is mild-mannered and gentle enough, and your dove is not aggressive and bossy, then under close supervision you could try it. Good luck, hope this helps some.

[Dezirrae]

I would have to agree that in general it's not a good idea to house them together... especially if the housing spacing is on the small side. That said - one of my pigeon's is pretty mellow and did fine for many months with my two ringneck doves in a fairly large sized room. But add my other pigeon to the mix and forget it! After discovering his hormone's, Hope got very aggressive towards the doves (might be that they are both female ). But in any case - after seeing the aggression I won't let them in even a large room together any longer. And there was one instance where the two doves "ganged up" on Pidge (the mellow female) - knocking her off a perch and generally wing-slapping the heck out of her. So I've now decided that unless I'm actually "in" the room with them, I keep them separated.