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Can dove's breed with pigeons??

64K views 62 replies 22 participants last post by  bigsteve1239 
#1 ·
Hi, i was just wondering if doves can breed with pigeons? When i was looking for pigeons, i found doves also and just wondered if you could breed doves with pigeons!

Thanks!

pigeonkeeper
 
#2 ·
It is possible pigeon person but pigeons do have a larger wing span and their beaks are larger not to mention that pigeons are a bit larger peiod, and it can be a threat to a dove but have been know to co-exist.

I found a post that member Luis O posted related to this:


...I want you and everyone else to know that once your pigeon becomes of breeding age you might want to seperate him from the doves, that is of course if you don't want him and a dove raising babies. They can reproduce together. The resulting babies are infertile for the most part and some can be extremely beautiful. Its just something to think about if it hasn't been mentioned to you already.

Take Care!

Luis
 
#5 ·
It's possible like everyone else has said. IF anyone would like to try experimenting with this, I would strongly suggest breeding the ringneck to a smaller sized pigeon. Like rollers, tumblers, and figuritas for example. I wouldn't trust putting a homer-sized or larger pigeon with any doves. In fact, the only hybrids I've seen were pictures of roller x ringnecks. They were very pretty :D I think it said it produced all sterile females and fertile males or something like that (can't remember, but I'm almost sure it said one or the other in the offspring WERE fertile at least sometimes. Or maybe it said they produced only males or only females, being sterile either way).
 
#6 ·
Roller Ringneck probably most common hybrid

I knew a guy who used to use Chinese Owls and Ringnecks. The choice of Roller is just that they are fairly small and fairly common. As far as I know, all young are male and sterile. I have never actually seen a female or a fertile male hybrid.

So....this begs to question, There are two eggs and one is always male and one female. What happens to female hybrids? Is there a lethal gene linked to this cross?

Has anyone ever had two babies born to a pigeon dove cross? I'd like to know as these are intersting and beautiful birds but if lethal genes are involved, maybe this isn't such a good practice.

Bill
 
#8 · (Edited)
...There are two eggs and one is always male and one female...
Hi Bill,

I was once told flat out that this is a "old wives' tale". I don't think I like that term very much...

Anyway, so I looked into it and and here's what "a master", Dr. Wilmer J.Miller, has to say:

" ... 50% chance of a male and a female in a clutch. 25% chance of both males, and 25% chance of both females. This is the approximation theoretically expected. Some species deviate by a small percentage from this, but ringnecks have not had several thousand analyzed for such a deviation. .... ""

I don't know how often two babies are born to a pigeon dove cross in the same clutch, though.

Best wishes,
Carol
 
#9 ·
Hi CAROL, I was just going to post the INTRENATIONAL SOCIETY web site but see that you have already posted it this is a very good site and the list of hybrids is very impressive and as you said some of these hybrids are fertile.It seems to me that there has been more research done on the subject then most of us know about I will be going back to this site from time to time.There may be genes that genetical might be very intresting.For one the color green in the wild doves and pigeons very intresting. ..GEORGE;)
 
#10 ·
My first set of hybrids were both males; both exhibited exactly the same "male" behaviors, especially the up and down bow/cooing such as doves do. My second pair seem to be male and female, and the female did lay eggs, but they did not hatch. These were her first eggs so I don't know if it's due to infertility, of lack of skills in egg-sitting since she is young. :p
 
#12 ·
My first set of hybrids were both males...
MaryJane, I've been wanting to tell you that I absolutely love the looks of your first hybrids, so much so that I keep their photo in my inbox just to look at them from time to time. If you have any other pics of them online anywhere, I'd love to know where they are !
And if anyone wants to see who I mean, they're pictured here:
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=273963&postcount=11

Best wishes,
Carol
 
#13 ·
Thank you, Carol....they were very special little guys! I am sad to say that is the only picture I have of them. They made this funny "whonk whonk hooo whonk" sound and bowed up and down as doves do, like they were trying to make the dove sound but it came out half pigeon. :p They were both very friendly and spent all their time together, they were like siamese twins. I wish I had more pictures to offer you but I'm glad you enjoy that one.
 
#16 ·
HI BILL, I have had two of the same sex in the nest with both sexes and I wish that I would have kept some good records. I had one case where there were two hens.(1124&1125) Both these hens seemed to produce in every other clutch two cocks. I was not into genetics at the time and just did not keep track I could kick myself now. you know there are many times that many breeders of racing birds will get some thing that is odd to them that they consider useless for racing and we all know that this odd ball will be eliminated, these odd balls may be carring genetic traits never seen before, that would help us better understand the pigeon. by the way I have posted a question on EMBER on the genetic group take a look you may have the anwser. ..........GEORGE;)
 
#17 ·
Bill,
It's very accurate. You can prove it for yourself by setting up some sex-linked matings. The easiest one in most lofts is to mate a blue cock to an ash-red hen. All the young hens will be blues and all the young cocks will be ash-reds. If you do enough matings and check the young, you will see that Hollander's numbers are accurate.

Another easy sex-linked mating in a lot of lofts is to take dilute cock X any non-dilute hen. All the normal colored birds will be cocks and all the dilute birds will be hens. Again, just check the numbers.

Sex-linked matings are fun because you can tell from the nest which are cocks and which are hens and don't have to hang onto them till they grow up if you don't need them.

(As George noted, you will have some pairs where the sex-ratios are skewed one way or the other -- just like some human parents have 7 or 8 sons or daughters but overall the numbers come out accurately.)
 
#19 ·
Yup, I know all about sex linkage



I have always used sex-linked matings for various reasons and it makes sexing easy, as long as the babies are from the actual parents that hatch them. Pigeons are known for about a 20% infidelity rate.

Sex linkage however, has nothing to do with the outcome of males and females, just color.

Bill
 
#20 ·
HI, this is pigeonkeeper. I was just wondering if they can live with each other?? I'm planning to get a pair soon and just wanted to make sure.

Thanks!!
 
#21 ·
Not the best companions

The size difference makes doves defensive toward pigeons. They really are best kept separate.

Yes, they can interbreed but these things need to be watched very closely to insure that they are able to get along.

They have different demeanors from one another. You might see a number of hybrids from these cross matings but these are somewhat iffy situations that are best left to the most experienced pigeon and dove keepers.

Bill
 
#23 ·
The size difference makes doves defensive toward pigeons. They really are best kept separate.

Yes, they can interbreed but these things need to be watched very closely to insure that they are able to get along.

They have different demeanors from one another. You might see a number of hybrids from these cross matings but these are somewhat iffy situations that are best left to the most experienced pigeon and dove keepers.

Bill
I completely agree (speaking as an experienced pigeon/dove keeper:p). Generally doves and pigeons don't get along well; and when some of them do, the other ones don't. It ends up with the doves being bullied, scalped, and even killed, unfortunately. Even some of my nicest male pigeons are dove-haters. And the doves do tend to be really defensive with the larger pigeons. Of course there are always exceptions. But I would advise keeping either doves or pigeons, or if you keep both, make sure they're in separate aviaries for best results. :D
 
#22 ·
yes, i don't think i want to breed pigeons and doves. just to risky. but i think they look awesome!!
 
#24 ·
thanks!! i like doves, but i don't think i would breed them with pigeons
 
#25 ·
My two cents' worth...

In my loft, I have a pair of ring-neck doves housed with my homers (someone gave the doves to me as a gift)

Originally, the doves were quite skittish of the pigeons and didn't stand their ground. Recently though, (since it is spring) the doves have started to stand up to the pigeons, and defend their territory well.

The male dove jumps on the pigeons' backs and ferociously pecks at their heads. He wins most of the time against the much bigger (and more aggressive) homer males. I have seen no reason not to keep them together.

Hybridizing them is not on the cards right now, since the doves are paired already, but who knows, maybe when they breed I can try with the offspring.
 
#27 ·
spirit wings....you really should protect the young doves from the pigeons...[/QUOTE said:
I whole heartedly agree!
Unfortunately too many keepers have found out through tragedy, that if a larger pigeon becomes threatened territorially or is hormonally triggered, it can kill a dove easily. Though there are extraordinary exceptions (usually involving bonding between the birds of differing species), when doves and pigeons are kept communally, death or mutilation all too often eventually occurs.
Best wishes,
Carol
 
#28 ·
Not usually a good mix the way we do it here

In Europe, you will see very large aviaries that are shared by only a few birds and they will mix doves, pigeons and sometimes even other types of birds. These large facilities are always heavily planted, like gardens and never crowded. In this way, the birds can be fine but they need room to get away from each other and to hide if necessary. In the US, we are less likely to give the birds the room that they need to get along this way and are best kept separated.

Bill
 
#31 ·
ive come across seeming hybrids, were feral or recently seemed strayed pigeons took up with pet doves, but rarely see them in wilder pigeons, and mourning doves (if at all). it is usually around pet stores or areas with high pet traffic, pairs are usually banded, so wondering if maybe exotics, but ones never seen in pet stores (well once seen the peocock looking kind of pigeon in and exotic small store, but that was rare, as most just ringnecks, diamands, and used to see fantail pigeons).
 
#37 ·
right, just saying it's somthing to think about, like me I'm not going to race, or do any competing with my birds at all so that part don't matter so much to me, it's like a big genetic experiment to me to figure out how to make diffrent colored birds. I just like watching them weather there flying loose or in the pen.
 
#38 ·
First off I know old post but it got me to thinking when I read it. The stock pigeon was not hybridized with anything other than rock pigeon/common pigeon. Then the doves to pigeon were mostly sterile while dove to dove was fertile. I do not see how this will get new colors in pigeons. Being raised around tropical fish most hybrids are totally frowned apon. For example a flme back cichlid and ruby green cichlid are close cousins from different parts of lake victoria and are easily crossed. The fertile offspring maybe mis IDed and bred to one of the original lines. These species can no longer be imported and the flame back is endangered. So you end up destroying a species in captivity that we cn no longer get. Now guppy molly hybrids are not easy to make and are actually thought of as exotic and wanted by some. The sterile offspring will not harm the population. So I lean toward no hybrids of the doves. Breeding different types of pigeons which all descended from the rock pigeon though is a have fun type thing.
 
#39 ·
that's kinda strange, I'm kinda just thinking out loud in a way, I whas saying if you could make pigeons that wer colored like some doves you could make some cool stuff, however I don't think in my next 50 good years I have left (mabe) I could ever figure out enough stuff to get that far were I would have to go that far outside the box of reality
 
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