How to Raise Baby Grey & White Ring Dove Birds

Hand-raising baby ring-neck doves, whether as pets or in wildlife rehabilitation, requires warmth, a clean living area for the birds, and proper feeding. There are three stages to bird development. During the "hatchling" phase, the bird is naked or has some fuzz and has not yet or may have just opened its eyes. "Nestlings" are bigger birds with eyes open, but still fuzzy rather than feathered. "Fledglings" are feathered and beginning to explore outside of the nest. The fledgling phase usually occurs after three to four weeks. If you, rather than the parent ring doves, are hand-raising the birds, you will have to provide care and feeding during all three stages.

Things You'll Need

  • Margarine tub
  • Shredded newspaper
  • Heat lamp or pad
  • Commercial hand-feeding formula
  • Syringe and tube
  • Large enclosure
  • Branches
  • Seed
  • Water
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Instructions

  1. Hatchlings and Nestlings

    • 1

      Make a "nest" out of a clean plastic margarine tub or bowl. Fill the nest 2/3 with shredded newspaper, to be changed daily.

    • 2

      Provide a heat lamp or heat pad. The warmth that the bird would normally receive from sleeping underneath its parent needs to be provided via a heat pad under the nest or a heat lamp over the nest.

    • 3

      Prepare a commercial mixture designed for hand-raising baby parrots. Simply add hot water and stir until the desired consistency is reached. Nestlings need a thin, gruel-like consistency. Heat the food to between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 4

      Feed the nestling by using a syringe and tube to release the mixture directly into the bird's crop. Gently open the bird's beak and stretch the neck upwards. Carefully insert the tube down the throat, avoiding the glottis at the base of the tongue, Release the food slowly. If the bird starts to spit up, remove the feeding tube immediately.

    • 5

      Feed two or three times daily, or whenever the crop has emptied. On average, a nestling will need about 5ml per feeding, or until the crop feels full and firm to the touch.

    Fledglings

    • 6

      Move fledglings from the nest into a large enough enclosure for the bird to walk, climb and flap its wings. Add branches for perching and climbing

    • 7

      Feed a thicker mixture. Fledglings will need about 15 ml per feeding.

    • 8

      Introduce seeds and a shallow water dish to the fledgling's enclosure

    • 9

      Slowly reduce hand-feeding once the bird is eating seeds.