My dove has been plucking a lot of it's wing feathers. I don't know what the deal is, she doesn't seemed stressed nor not having feathers doesn't seem to bother her but it looks pretty bad alright. I don't really know why she is plucking herself to the extremes. What can be done to help prevent such feather loss?

p.s I know plucking is normal but this is extreme.

Have you checked the wings for lice and mites? Hold the dove and spread it's wing. Look very closely where the wing meets the body. If you don't see any bugs, there is a product available from pet shops that is especially designed to reduce pecking. It's a spray. Just be careful not to get it in his eyes.

Doves that are alone sometimes get bored and pecking results.

How many doves do you have? Only one?

-JoeJoe

About 10 years one of my doves did that too. He was pecking his chest. I washed it real good. I took him to a vet, still no luck. Someone I met wanted a dove. I gave her the dove with the 1 inch opened chest. Back then I did not know of that spray.

I once thought it was lice and mits so I bought the dove some antilice medicine that hangs from the tree, still didn't work. So I then decided to spend more time with the bird then usual, nothing. If it is bugs, what is the name for the spray?

Check the bird first. Look under the wings at the body and stroke the feather on the body opposite to their growth direction. If you see little black dots, then get mite and lice spray. If you don't see any dots, then get the pecking spray. It goes my many names. Just look in your pet shop and you'll see it.

In every case of feather plucking I've ever seen/heard ... it is either (a) medical, or (b) a bird in solitare. If you don't find bugs, then you should get a second dove.

Even if it is medical, you should still get a second bird - a bird living alone is cruel to the animal. If you want some kind of idea as to what that might be like for your bird, watch the movie "Castaway" and try to image that your bird is living the role of Tom Hanks. You can not give your bird enough attention, he needs someone with him 24/7/365 ... that is the way birds live.

-JoeJoe

Good advice, JoeJoe. I started with one and added another. Then I had 31. Doves are like that but they do need company for good mental health.

I was thinking about getting a second bird, but until I can find a big enough cage to house two doves, do you think a mirror might work? It worked before on a parakeet I once had?

The cage is big but not big enough for two medium sized birds to move around comfortably.

I'm still pretty new to dove magic, I've used rabbits and kittens in the past but they out grew the props as time passed.

A mirror will not help. Doves are not impressed with them at all. You need to get a real bird that they can react to. How big is your cage? A cage approximately 24" x 24" x 24" is fine for 2 birds.

I think it would work about as well as giving Tom Hanks a basketball. Mentally, it's just not a good thing ... not even for a parakeet.

You can try letting him out of his cage more often ... for the most part, I only cage my birds if I am not home. They like it that way. Most pet owners are afraid to let their birds roam free, but it's not that big of a deal ... I take down the curtains (so they don't perch on the rods) and put some shelves up for them to hang out on.

-JoeJoe

I don't have a problem with letting the bird fly where ever it pleases just for as long as I can see it, but the rest of the family hates the bird. none of the rooms in the house have ceiling fans but we do have a dog.

Is anybody opposed to the idea of letting a bird loose unsupervised for a few minutes? I once let my parakeet loose in my room with the door closed unsupervised for a few minutes until I felt the bird was confident enough for me to be in the room. From what JoeJoe said, it sounded that he lets his bird out even when he isn't supervising the animal. Is that a wise thing to do?

That is exactly what I do ... As to "wise", well ... I am not able to answer that. I just feel that it is "unwise" to jail a bird. A cage should feel like a home, not a jail they are forced to stay in.

My doves had a large table with a tall lip around it - several inches tall. I got it from a store, it was the kind of table you could throw merchandise on and the lip would keep it from falling off the table. I covered the table with gravel paper, and put their cage in the center. They rarely ever left the table, other than to sit next to me at the computer desk. They loved it. In fact, they were so well behaved at it I eventually left them out 24/7 and never had an issue.



My parakeets are another story ... they are flightly. I wouldn't leave them out unsupervised, but I would goto the bathroom while they are out of the cage. The important thing is to make sure you are aware of where they will go - where they will fly and where they will land. That there is nothing they will chew up (ie: an electrical cord).

I like to know where they are at all times. Think of them as a two year old child, you wouldn't leave a two year old at home alone ... but you might leave a two year old in their room playing with their toys while you are in the kitchen cooking dinner. Don't be afraid to let your bird out of the cage, let them enjoy life too ... put toys outside their cage for them to play with (not just inside their cage).



If you only have one bird, then I would assume that bird would be attached to you? You may want to keep her with you - like I do with Zoe my cockatoo. Zoe is on my shoulder most of the day, right now she is sitting on my leg. She perches on the shower rod when I take a bath. She sits on top of her cage while I cook for us. If I goto the bathroom, she comes with me (she is almost potty trained even, she will poop in the toilet on command 50% of the time).

Try letting her hang out with you more often, let her perch on your shoulder as you watch TV or use the computer. Bond with her. She may poop on you, I like to wear a second shirt - a button up, can just throw it over the shirt I am already wearing. I call them bird shirts. When they goto the bathroom on you, point it out ... put her on her cage ... let her see you wipe it off ... eventually, she will fly to her cage to do her thing.



When you have only one bird, the bird will basically "mate" with you. If it is a male, you may notice he makes coo'ing noises at you and dances for you. My girlfriend's African Grey tries to feed her by regeritating. Keep that in mind ... your bird doesn't see itself as a "pet" like a dog would. In the wild, mated birds are with each other 24/7 ... even when the female is sitting on eggs, the male is only a chirp away as he finds food. That is the level of attention that your bird needs.



If you can't give him that much attention, try to get a second bird the same age, and of opposite sex. There is the possiblity that they won't like each other, or that your first bird will try to defend her home, if she is bonded to you she may be jeolous of the new bird ... etc etc etc. Getting another bird opens a whole nother can of worms, but it would be my recommendation. No bird should ever be alone.

-JoeJoe

Okay I had this dove for about half a year. I was told that doves can be extremely territorial. so should I worry about the two doves having a death match when I'm not around?

I think I will slide a mirror into the cage for the time being. if it doesn't stop the plucking of the birds feathers, then I will save up some money for a second bird.

As long as they are not both males, you shouldn't have any problems. Males cannot live together in small spaces. Two females would be fine or a male and female. With a male and female though, you have to be ready for eggs.

JoeJoe,

How exactly can you tell the difference between a bird's sex? all I know about a gender of a bird is that male birds are more brightly colored and a lot bigger then females, well that was the case in parakeets.

"Now entering the ring: two male doves!....Lets get ready to rumble!"
sorry.. I had to do that.

The only absolute for sure way to tell the sex of a dove is to either have it examined by a vet which is expensive or wait for it to lay an egg.

This have been discussed many times here but there are many signs that may or may not be accurate. First, males are not any more brightly colored than a female. They look exactly the same.

Now, you can run your finger down the chest of the dove. You'll feel the breast bone. If it separates like a wish bone, chances are you have a female. That's where she keeps her eggs.

Males tend to coo and females tend to laugh but females coo as well.

A male will sit on the perch, raise itself up and bow while it is cooing. Again, I've seen females do this too.

If you get a male and a female dove and they lay an egg, you can tell which is the male and female by what time of day they sit on the nest. The male will sit on the egg from 10 AM to 4 PM and the female will be on it the rest of the time. You can set your watch by it.

Females tend to be a little bit smaller than males but it's sometimes difficult to tell.

My dove was the runt of the nest, he or she hardly makes a sound. If the dove does lay a egg, I know of several pet stores that will be pleased to take the hatchlings several months after they are born.
How many eggs does a normal dove lay? as soon as I get the money I will decide whether I will get another dove or not, I probably will because the bird pecks himself to the extreme, I know the bird doesn't have any bugs becuase I already checked and he or she doesn't seemed to be agitated, agitation is a good indicator that the animal has bugs, but this isn't the case.

When my dove does cry, I can hear it. if my dove makes a loud noise I always check to make sure everything is all right, just like JoeJoe posted earlier.
I make sure that the dove is kept in one room of the house when he or she is out of the cage.