[Coo-Coo Doves]

My pair of ringneck doves hatched 2 chicks a couple of weeks ago. I cleaned out their nest yesterday (and have cleaned it multiple times before that) and put fresh materials back in.

Today I noticed Nimbus (the female) pecking at some of the droppings from the chicks. At first I thought she was trying to get them out of the nest, but then she ate them. I watched very closely and she was definitely eating it, not just moving it around. Why would she do that?

I haven't seen Phoenix (the male) do it at all, just Nimbus. She has plenty of food in her dish, and lots of water. She seems to be eating normally too. I really don't want her to get sick or get her chicks sick by feeding them. How can I stop her from eating the droppings?

 

[Marina B]

Maybe she is trying to keep the nest clean. But by now the babies should be old enough to poop over the edge of the nest. If possible, remove the droppings before she gets to them.

 

[Coo-Coo Doves]

Okay, I cleaned the nest, but apparently Phoenix likes to perch on the edge of the nest at night, and he poops in the nest making it dirty again. I have a different nest basket that I'm going to put in with a much shorter ledge, and hopefully he won't perch there at night anymore. Ash and Ember (the babies) are starting to leave the nest every day, so that's definitely keeping it cleaner too.

 

[RussellO]

Im not an expert, but I have had a Dove pairs for 20 years and breed about 60 baby doves. I keep 8 RingNecks pets. I have seen Doves eating poop often. It will stop.

It is natural for Doves to spend 1/3 of the time perched and grooming, 1/3 time sleeping and a 1/3 of the time walking around pecking at the floor looking for food.

I found that the bigger the cage, the less likely they will peck on poop from the bottom. Also, smaller cages, it easy for them to reach the bottom and eat poop, larger cages have more height, and hence, Doves cannot reach the catch tray and eat from there..

 

[Coo-Coo Doves]

Okay thanks so much! I do have pretty small cage, but I let them out every day to exercise. I am hoping to get a larger cage for them soon.

 

[SilverFeral]

Okay thanks so much! I do have pretty small cage, but I let them out every day to exercise. I am hoping to get a larger cage for them soon.

Especially during nesting all birds need a boost in vitamins and minerals. Poop eating is a sign that something is lacking. You can try to provide additional supplements and see how it goes. When I had some pet pigeons nesting in home, and they had babies, I would clean the nest every day. Where I live there were these nest liners made from coconut fiber, I would just switch them every day until the babies were big enough and would not poop in nest any more. Some poop in nest is not a problem thou (I never had adult bird eat it tho), as in the first few days baby pigeons and doves will ingest some of the poop and it iwll help them develop good gut flora. But after that, as they grow and go in to poop machine phase, I would start to clean the nest.

 

[Coo-Coo Doves]

Okay, what supplements do you suggest? The seeds I feed my doves is kaytee dove food. For treats they really like corn. I also give them small grit in a separate dish (if I remember correctly the grit said it has calcium in it). I haven't seen her eating poop for a while now, and I clean the nest often. Now that the chicks are older (and starting to fly!) They don't sleep in the nest anymore... All 4 of my doves sleep perched on the edge of the nest, tails facing the inside of the nest. So now the only thing they use the nest for is pooping into.

 

[SilverFeral]

Okay, what supplements do you suggest? The seeds I feed my doves is kaytee dove food. For treats they really like corn. I also give them small grit in a separate dish (if I remember correctly the grit said it has calcium in it). I haven't seen her eating poop for a while now, and I clean the nest often. Now that the chicks are older (and starting to fly!) They don't sleep in the nest anymore... All 4 of my doves sleep perched on the edge of the nest, tails facing the inside of the nest. So now the only thing they use the nest for is pooping into.

I live in the Balkans so I don't know what will be available for you, maybe even better things that I have, but this is how I feed:

• seed mix for pigeons or doves (I think they should have corn always in food, it is great source of fat and in case of red corn, protein)
• "pigeon cake", which is a type of mineral bloc containing all minerals and microelements
• grit - combination of broken granite, clam shells and redstone - redstone is great for digestion, it is a type of clay
• vitamins, which I give in the morning using a seed covered with vitamins - birds in general do not like vitamins in water

All of these should be available every day, and birds will take more during nesting, you should notice them eating more of the mineral block. the only thing that is increased in vitamins for about 30%.

The cleaning of poop from the cage should be done daily anyway. It is not good to leave poop in for long. If it dries both you and them are breathing in poop dust, and if it is humid you risk nasty thing growing on the poop again that is dangerous both for you and your birds.

Finally you can offer many fruits and vegetables for doves. You can search a bit on line on what and how to present it to them. Sometimes they will not eat any of it, but sometimes they will graze like little cows

 

[Coo-Coo Doves]

Thanks so much! Their food has corn already in it, but they really seem to like the freeze dried corn I use as treats. I will definitely look into getting a mineral block for them!

When I just had Nimbus, I tried giving her fruits and veggies and she didn't care for them, but 'm going to try again. Maybe now that I have Phoenix, if he likes them he can encourage her to eat some lol.

 

[Coo-Coo Doves]

Good news, She has stopped eating her droppings, thank you all for your help!

Im not sure if Its possible but I can't figure out how to end the discussion