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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
I have two doves in a pretty large aviary, I thought they were two females as have never seen the male do the chest thing or coo,
two days ago one layed an egg on the floor - (did not have a nest) I did the mistake of putting the egg it in a shoe box when the dove wasnt on top of it , next day she laid a second egg on the original spot she laid her first, I bought a nest box and when I went in the avairy to put the nest box she did not move from the last egg she laid which was on the same floor /grass original spot. I slowly put the first egg from the shoe box close to her and 5 seconds later she put in underneath her with her beak - ox question is : the new nest box that I placed inside I don't think any of the two have gone in there - its a cockotail type - this was the biggest I found - will it work in the future ? can I have two females doves? what should I do? At this point I have not touched the eggs - she is still on top of two of them on and off, of course there is no way for her to carry the eggs to the nest box and I don't want to touch them - I'm wondering if they will hatch , or in the future will they use the nest box? MagicJac sorry for the typos - I'm in a bit of a rush ..but this questions are important. MagicJac |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Doves can give birth to unfertile eggs. You need a male and female to create life.
Check your birds. On method is the female has wider bones separation at the rear, above the exit area. Like > < to permit an egg to pass between them. The male will be closer together > < . If you know you do not have a male, then throw the eggs out. They will never hatch. |
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
In a mated pair of doves, both the male and the female help set the eggs. Typically, the male takes the day shift for 10AM-4PM. There are only two eggs to a clutch (nest). Often the female will have infertile eggs and no male.
Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
How long should I wait before I through them out ? and what about the question of the nest box?
I plan to bring in more doves since its a large aviary - this is also a tuff topic cause I know they will stat fighting . MagicJac |
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Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Let's take this in steps. First, a female can and will lay eggs whether or not a male is present. The difference being if no male is involved, the eggs will not hatch. As Bob said, the male will sit on the eggs from 10AM to 4PM. You can almost set our watch by that.
When you moved the egg, you should have placed the female parent on the egg in the nest box. Since you apparently did not, she will lay the next egg in the same spot. If you have two females, typically you would get 4 eggs but not always. The usual setting time is about 21 days. If you are not sure, there is no reason why you cannot leave the eggs in the nest for that period of time. If they haven't hatched by day 26, you have infertile eggs and they can be thrown away. In all my years of dove magic, I have never heard of the gendre test that Wmghegbli suggested concerning the bones being separated at the vent. The bone that will be different is the breast bone. Run you finger down the breast of the bird beginning at the neck. About chest level, if you have a female bird, the bone will split like a wish bone. This is where the female carries the egg most of the time and the split bone give her the space to do that. The bone will be straight if you have a male. Leave the nest box in the aviary with nesting material (not newspaper). When it's time for them to lay again, they will find the nest box. You shouldn't have any trouble with multiple birds in the same aviary. You said it was large but that doesn't tell us much. With plenty of room to excercise and move around, you have have multiple males in the cage. You can have as many females as you want in a single aviary.
Where the magic begins
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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
Awesome Dave - now the eggs are in the original spot - one dove lays on it throught the night , I work during day so will ask wife to check day time - should I leave them there and cover that top part of the cage for rain as it happened that she laid the egss in the uncovered part of the aviary - also will this make them lay eggs in the same floor spot in the future as oppose to the nest boxclosed box with hole for them to get in - like a cockotail nest box.
Jaime |
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Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Jaime, sounds like you moved the first egg from the nest back to where she layed it. I can't be sure but I would say at this point, since the egg has been moved several times, it most likely will not hatch. What I would do is remove and discard both eggs and let the cycle begin again.
As for the nest box, I've never seen a dove nest like you describe. Most boxes are just a bowl or box like a soup bowl filled with nesting material. Your doves may not want to crawl through a hole to get to the nest. I alsways used what they call a coop cup. They come in different sizes and you want the largest one you can find. They are actually metal bowls for food and water but they make an excellent nest. Fill the bowl with nesting material and place it in the aviary. They come with hanging brackets that allow you to attach the cup to the cage or aviary bars. Keep it elevated and away from the food and water dishes. When the time comes, your doves should find the nest on their own and abandon the place they used this time.
Where the magic begins
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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
Perfect Dave this is the advice I was looking for !
now what about me buying more doves like 2 or 4 more and putting them in the same avaiary - the fighting is what I'm refereing to. Thanks all for the help! Jaime |
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Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
I was uncertain of the sex of my doves also. I separated them into 2 pair, and each pair had their own cages. I placed a nesting box in the cage with the doves that I hoped would be my breeders. For a long, long time I would 2 eggs in the box. Of course they would take care of them and act just like good dove-parents-to-be should. They eggs would never hatch, but sometimes they would lay them in the dead of winter, so I wondered, and thought it it because of cold temperatures. I finally started thinking that both birds must be females. Anyway, each bird eventually laid 2 eggs near the same time, so when I had 4 eggs in the nest one morning I knew for sure that I had 2 females.
I was training the other pair, and I really did not want them to raise babies. As it turned out, they are both females too! I did get a male, and about a year after I put him in the cage with 2 of the females they had one egg to hatch. Unfortunately it was during winter and the baby dove died. Now that it is warm. I am hoping they will hatch some more soon so I can try to raise a couple from birth. Regan
Mister Mystery
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ThatsJustWrong! Special user My flying monkeys are perched on 629 Posts |
If you let them sit on the eggs for 26 days to determine they are not fertile, can you still eat them?
Seriously, though, our doves used to ignore the nest boxes, floor nests and coop cups that we put nesting material in and they laid their eggs in their food cup every time. When we gave them a new food cup and put nesting in the old one, they laid them in the new food cup. We started out with two pairs that the breeder sexed for us, even tagged them, so we could put the two females, Kate and Allie, in one cage and the two males, Bud and Lou, in another. Both pairs bred. It was a miracle in the days long before the gay marriage debate. And we learned an important lesson: Always give your birds a neutralm or feminine name. If Sally never lays an egg, she's just frigid. It Butch lays an egg, you look like an ass. Good luck with your breeding program. I really miss my doves!
Joe Leo
All entertainers can benefit from some help from an experienced stage director. How about you? www.MisfitMysteries.com |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-04-09 20:25, Dave Scribner wrote: Dave, as I recall, that is what Doug Collins a Breeder who sold me my dove told me. As I purchased 2 males from him, I could not verify the technique myself. |
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Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
Yes, William is correct about the 'vent' bones. However, it is difficult to discern the difference, even for an expert. I don't think anyone can use that method for sexing with 100% accuracy either. I think the only sure way to tell is with a blood test, but I have heard they are rather expensive.
Mister Mystery
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Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Yes, Doug was very knowledgeable about doves and I'm not disagreeing, just saying I had never heard of that method. The breast bone check is easier and once you get the feel of it, it's not difficult at all.
Where the magic begins
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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
Ok almost positive its two females doves - as only one of the doves lays on top of it all day and night. My wife says she feels bad for it - and I should take those eggs out and get two males doves.
Any tips? MagicJac |
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Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Now that your doves have started laying eggs, they will continue even without a male present. You can leave the eggs in the aviary for another week. The incubation period is about 21 days and you said they laid the egg on the 7th. If the egg hasn't hatched by the beginning of May, you can remove it. In just a few days, you will probably have another egg. Doves lay eggs in pairs, usually a few days apart.
Where the magic begins
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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
Yes but if two females doves - eggs are empty - have two doves and only one lays on top of it all day and night - isn't it a shared thing?
why my conclusion is I have two females - also never seen the male dance and never seen them in no type of action either. no Cooing as well. |
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Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
As Bob mentioned above, if you have a male and female dove, the male will sit on the eggs from 10 AM to 4 PM. They know what time it is believe it or not.
What I was trying to say was that it won't cause any harm to let the bird sit on the eggs, even if they are infertile. It's up to you whether or not you remove them. If you take the eggs away, at least one of the females will lay more eggs very soon.
Where the magic begins
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MagicJac Regular user 166 Posts |
Is there a way to look at the egg and put it in the light to see if there is something inside or just liquid - I think by this time if they are fertile there should be a bit of darkness inside?
MagicJac |
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RJE2 Veteran user 383 Posts |
I have never tried to candle one of our dove eggs, but it is not a difficult thing to do to a chicken egg.
Take one of the dove eggs and place the end of a powerful flashlight with about a 1/2" diameter lamp against against one side of the egg. Cup your hands around the egg and the end of the flashlight forming a kind of tube or tunnel to look through. Turn on the light and look for veins or an embryo/chick to see if anything is developing inside. |
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Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
My 2 females took turns setting on the eggs....no matter which one laid them. They acted just like a male/female pair. That is why I was so fooled for a long time. They were great parents....except their eggs wouldn't hatch. When they finally laid 2 eggs each close together, I realized they were both female.
When I finally got a male dove I turned him in with both of them....hoping he would choose the right one. The females continues to stay together and did not want anything to do with the male for a long time. He finally became forceful and selected one after about 7-8 months of being caged with them. He fought the other and showed that he meant business. They laid and hatched one egg last winter, but the baby died. They haven't hatched another since. I'm hoping they will during the warmer months this time. Doves can be very deceptive!!!
Mister Mystery
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