Breeding Pet Doves

General Care of Pet Doves

Before breeding doves it is important to know about their general care.

Doves require shelter from the wind and rain, particularly if nesting is going to be encouraged, in areas where temperatures fall below freezing they should be brought indoors at those colder times of the year. Doves should be feed a special dove mix, although can be fed seed for smaller birds, or even hen layer ration. Doves should have small grit, and fresh water, including a shallow bowl for bathing. Calcium supplements should be given for those who are encouraged to lay.

They enjoy having plenty of flight space and ideally should be housed in an outdoor aviary that is at least 6 ft x 6 ft x 6ft, and has plenty of branches and places to land. These should be of different diameters, natural branches work well, doves will often prefer large branches to smaller ones. In the winter a cage that is 2 ft x 2 ft x 3 ft will be fine for one pair of doves kept indoors. They prefer a longer cage to a taller one.

2010, the second egg never did hatch

Breeding Doves

If a person is interested in breeding doves they should either select a proven pair, or several young birds and allow them to pair up on their own. If bought from a reliable breeder they will be sexed already as this is not something easily done. As a general rule when you only have two birds is that if you have no eggs, you probably have two males, if you have four eggs, you probably have two females.

2010, a little while later

Doves can breed at 6 months of age, but may not be ready to be parents this early, so it is best to wait until they are 9 months of age.

Set up a covered nesting area for them, ideally bedded with straw, pine needles, or grass clippings (only if no chemicals are used on the lawn).

Typically the pair will mate and lay one, or two eggs, and then the pair will begin to sit on them to incubate them for hatching. Some breeders note the female will sit on the eggs from early evening to late morning, and both take turns sitting on the eggs in the day.

After 14 – 16 days one, or both, of the eggs will hatch. The parents will feed the hatchling with “crop” milk, this being digested and regurgitated food. If the eggs are not hatching it is best not to handle them as human interference nearly always results in problems, rather let nature run its course, and be aware that not every egg will hatch. If an egg is unhatched after 20 days it should be removed.

The baby is the top one, you will note the different sized branches, at night the birds usually went to the top (thicker) branch so they could tuck their feet under their bodies for warmth.

By the time a young dove is 5 weeks of age it can be removed from its parents, although you may prefer to leave it with them until it is 8 weeks of age.

The birds in these photos are Ringneck Doves.

Other Reading

Why are my Chicken Eggs Not Hatching?

How Chicken Eggs are Formed

More Information on Doves as Pets

Keeping and Raising Pet Call Ducks

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