Breeding Of Doves

Housing

• When deciding a home for your doves, make sure the area is spacious enough for them to flap their wings without hitting the walls. The size of an ideal shelter is about 6-feet wide and broad and 8-feet tall. Small species like the diamond dove are comfortable in rectangular cages, partially enclosed or box-type cages. Keep the cage in a brightly lit area away from direct sunlight. Facing the aviary to the south or southwest gives the birds a lot of daylight, which will facilitate breeding. Doves do well in normal room temperature with humidity levels ranging from 50 percent to 70 percent.

  You can provide flat shelves, regular perches or natural branches at a height for roosting and nest building. You can also keep some nest boxes and fit a rimmed platform 3 feet above the ground for keeping food and water. Ensure the flight area has plenty of space to fly and is equipped with a shallow pool for bathing. If your doves are free-flight birds with homing instincts, gift them a dovecote.

Sexing

• These birds are monogamous, though sometimes they may take to another mate. It is best to keep young doves together until they have their first molt so they can select their own compatible companion.

  For many species of doves the sex is not evident. Get a surgical probe, endoscopy or DNA test done to identify the genders. There are some doves species, such as Senegal doves, that have sexual dimorphism, wherein markings on the body help to distinguish the male from the female. For instance, a male Senegal dove can be distinguished from the female by the black spots around the neck, which are larger in size, and the color of the chest feathers are brighter than the female's.

Nest

• Wild doves build fragile nests using few twigs and leaves, grasses and roots. You may notice these on rocky ledges or in branches of trees or shrubs. Many times they re-dwell in other bird's nests. You can provide your doves a nesting platform or a shallow nest box, pan, or basket and fill it half with nesting materials such as grass hay, coconut fibers, and moss for smaller species and twigs, pieces of willow, birch, moss, and straw for larger species.

Egg Laying and Hatchlings

• The female dove lays two eggs, and both parents incubate them for 13 to 19 days taking turns. The hatchlings are usually a male and a female. For the first five days they are fed on crop milk, which is a mishmash of partially digested food and a curd-like matter from the parent's crop. Gradually solid food is introduced. In 12 to 20 days, the young doves will fledge. Keep lots of water for the parent doves when they are feeding their young ones.

Dove Breeding Problems

• Be careful to have birds of the same species in an aviary to discourage hybridization from cross-breeding of two species. Doves may get aggressive during breeding season to protect their territory. To avoid attacks, it is best to keep two pairs of the same species in different aviaries. Also ensure that you place brushes in corners or provide hiding spots for females, as few males end up chasing their mates, pecking unmercifully, which can cause deaths. If this does not help, separate the pair.