I have a pair of Mourning Doves (Boris and Natasha). I inherited them from my mother who had a stroke.
"AnyHOO," things are going okay, other than Boris cooing anywhere from 1-4am most nights. Sometimes for just a few minutes, and sometimes sporadically throughout all morning hours, prior to sunrise. And almost ALWAYS at 3am. I don't know what time zone Boris thinks he is in... but he is driving me nuts. I have tried speaking in soft tones to him, tried total and utter darkness in their cage. I have tried noise cancelling panels instead of a blanket to cover cage. I thought maybe he was hearing the cats walking around at night, and it was upsetting him. Doesn't matter, because nothing is working to keep him settled at night. Anyone who says doves have such a sweet and soothing sound, has not heard the same dove sentence 40 times in a row in the middle of the night.
The ONLY way he will stop, is if I put him in a pet carrier, cover him completely, and leave the carrier on my bed at night, while I finally get some sleep (and the cats are on the bed as well). What does he want from me? He doesn't seem settled and comfortable. He is always chasing Natasha and pecking during the day. He has already destroyed one of her eyes, so she doesn't see half the blows coming at her from him. Luckily, due to somewhat poor eyesight in dim lighting, many of his pecks go without contact. Occasionally they have to be separated, but you can tell they are a bonded pair. He is just constantly being aggressive with her. My perch! My water dish! My food dish! My nest! Mine mine mine!
Help!
"AnyHOO," things are going okay, other than Boris cooing anywhere from 1-4am most nights. Sometimes for just a few minutes, and sometimes sporadically throughout all morning hours, prior to sunrise. And almost ALWAYS at 3am. I don't know what time zone Boris thinks he is in... but he is driving me nuts. I have tried speaking in soft tones to him, tried total and utter darkness in their cage. I have tried noise cancelling panels instead of a blanket to cover cage. I thought maybe he was hearing the cats walking around at night, and it was upsetting him. Doesn't matter, because nothing is working to keep him settled at night. Anyone who says doves have such a sweet and soothing sound, has not heard the same dove sentence 40 times in a row in the middle of the night.
The ONLY way he will stop, is if I put him in a pet carrier, cover him completely, and leave the carrier on my bed at night, while I finally get some sleep (and the cats are on the bed as well). What does he want from me? He doesn't seem settled and comfortable. He is always chasing Natasha and pecking during the day. He has already destroyed one of her eyes, so she doesn't see half the blows coming at her from him. Luckily, due to somewhat poor eyesight in dim lighting, many of his pecks go without contact. Occasionally they have to be separated, but you can tell they are a bonded pair. He is just constantly being aggressive with her. My perch! My water dish! My food dish! My nest! Mine mine mine!
Help!