I have a pair of Silky doves, which are excellent for magic because they cannot take off and fly. I use finch seed, supplemented with boiled egg, mixed veggies, and a touch of flax seed. I tried dove mix, but they leave so much uneaten. When they are moulting, I add vitamins to support their immune system. They get sunlight and fresh water daily.

What do you feed your doves?

Hello Autumn,

My doves like milo best but they also get a commercial Game Bird Breeder (not chicken feed.) Sometimes they get a little cracked corn. For some unknown reason my dove don't like wheat.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- Remember that doves are strictly seed eaters and don't eat insects like some fowl will.

In a pinch, mine will eat wild bird for they like parakeet mix. Like Autumn's birds, they leave a lot uneaten. The best mix I've found for my birds is Dove mix I found in the pet store. Not all stores carry it. They love that stuff. A 25 lb bag costs me about $20 but it last a long time because there's very little waste. I put a millet strip in the cage twice a week for a snack and they go wild.

Another seed they like for a snack is song bird food. It smells like licorice and they never waste any of it.

Arg, Bob. Don't mention insects...Dave will start in with his mealworm stories! Maybe Dave won't see this post!

Purina makes a 'dove' mix, somewhat like a small pellet and is well balanced. I fed my 14 doves this for many years without a one becoming ill. It comes in a 25lb. bag. An excellent treat is to mix their favorite seed with a small amount of peanutbutter. Roll into a small ball. They love it. The peanutbutter has the oil that will keep the plumage in good condition.
And YES... let them eat mealworms!!!

I read that Finch seed was not good for doves, as the sharp seeds can damage there insides. So when I had doves I chose the safer route.

My birds loved hulled sunflower seeds as well as millet. Don't forget to crush the egg shell for another form of grit and vitamins.

Get some worms in the yard, they like them as well. All the books say Meal Worms, but I never was able to find a worm called Meal Worm.

Good grit is the most important part of a doves diet. Being they are soft billed birds, they have to eat the seeds whole.

Fresh water daily is also most important. Clean their cage at least once a week as they eat their poop as well for vitamins.

Well I have tried much of what you have all suggested and hate it all.
too much work and too much mess

I switched to racing piegon food about 4 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did.

NO mess
No problems

dirt cheap and great for the doves
the pellet delivers all the nutrients they need.

no more picking through and finding they kicked out tons of food th at goes to waste.

sam

Too late. I saw the post and started salivating but just for you Autumn, I won't talk about them here.

You all torture me with thoughts of mealworms! AAAAaaaaaaargh!

Wmhegbli, your suggestions are all great and I will check out the finch seed warning! Don't want to hurt my doves innards. I found out something interesting about earthworms. You will never believe this but earthworms a parasite called Syngamus trachea, along with parasitic nematodes and other gnarly things. So I do not suggest you feed earthworms to doves. I have no idea about internal parasites within the [shiver-shiver-in-revulsion] mealworms. Ack.

Bill, the meal worm is the larva of a mealworm beattle. As they grow, they go through stages ending up as a beetle. They are typically about 2.5 cm in length and at maturity as a beetle, they are 1/5" long.

Autumn, I know you can't wait to read more about mealworms but they are used quite often by breeders and have no ill effects on doves. And in case you are interested, they can be mailed and are available through the internet.

I don't like the smell, dust, looks or price of commercially prepared feeds for doves. But we use it. Fortunately, I don't have to eat it. Most of my doves are about 20 years old. Apparently, that feed is a very slow way to kill them.

It does have things in it I can't spell. But they must survive it just fine. I do cheat and give them milo and even a fist of sand every now and then. In emergency on the road I have even fed them unpopped popcorn. (Stage lights must not be hot enough to make it pop!)

Actually, I do trust most of the commercial feed companies. The crumbles make more sense to me than the pellets for size. Perhaps they do know what they are doing. I know that I have never been a dove. (Bob Little HAS!) Where are his comments?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- Dave, worms are for fish. LOL! (Actually protein is protein. Most goes undigested.) Come see me and we'll fish for a while and then go get a steak!

I use them all the time for trout fishing. Here's a bit of an article about meal worms.

Millet spray is awesome and for all Birds! all my birds love it they eat it like crazy! I give my birds 1 sprig for the large birds and half for the smaller birds 1x daily as a treat! and it comes in different flavors! the moment I tear the bag open they start their cute little antics alerting me that they know and want it bad! its funny to watch!

My birds get a small plate of cut up fruits and vegies daily they also love the hard boiled egg and shell! the egg shell has the calcium in that most of my birds need!

How lucky we are that the Internet makes pigeon food available so much more easily. Back in the day when I started in Dove Magic, wild bird seed was pretty much the only thing that was easily obtainable. And as others have noted, it makes quite a mess.

When regualar dove seed doubled in price at my pet shops, I looked around for a substitute. I found, that grocery stores sell a product made by Hartz called Bonanza parakeet diet.

I get a 5 lb bag for $7.99 and it lasts my 10 birds about 2 weeks. We all know that doves tend to toss out the seeds they don't want and that creates a mess. My doves seem to like everything in this mix and there is almost no mess. They eat it all.