How often do you let you diamond doves hatch eggs?

[Lizzimumma84]

Hi, we have had diamond doves for about 6 months now. And we have just had our first babies. They are about 11 days old right now and my male is showing signs of wanting to go again. Do i let them breed and lay again or can i take the nest out after the fledglings leave it. And give the female a break. What should i do pls.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Males are always ready to go as far as I can tell, in most species....

I only raise chickens... but some will brood back to back to back to back forever if allowed. I won't allow it because at least for chickens their digestive system is slowed way down to accommodate less restroom breaks. They also spend less time moving around and preening so are more likely targets for other pests or parasites as well.

I consider this to be very taxing on the system and like them to have a chance to recover. Some will literally brood themselves to death. Hopefully dove aren't as bad.

Taking the nest out once they have fledged and giving her a break would probably be my choice. Horny males eager to spread their seed can bite it, until I'm ready. They are still treated well though with other enrichment opportunities as much as possible.

Chickens won't mate or lay again while they are actively brooding... but some species in nature do. I'm completely unfamiliar with Dove behavior. Hope you get more good answers... and congrats on your first babies!

 

[Lizzimumma84]

Thanks for your advice. I took the nest out and now even she is starting to build again in the damm seed dish lol. Bloody birds
P.S here is a pic of my babies

 

[jak2002003]

Cute babies. I keep diamond doves too.

They will keep breeding and nesting no matter what you do. They will even resort to nesting on the aviary / cage floor if no nesting basket or seed dishes are there!!!

However, it's not good for the hen to keep laying eggs and raising the babies over and over again, as it depletes her body of calcium and other nutrients and leads her to get sick and even die.

I don't let mine breed at all now unless I have someone wanting to buy some off me. The other reason is each pair need their own cage otherwise they will fight and pluck each other feathers out. You will have to get a separate cage for your to babies once they reach sexual maturity I am afraid. (They can kept in a flock only in a large aviary where they have space to set up their own territories).

To stop yours breeding all you have to do is find a couple of small white balls, stones, anything round and the size of the doves eggs.

Let the pair nest in the nesting box / basket and then once she has laid her eggs throw them away and replace them with the fake eggs.

They will happily brood them for the normal time, and then give up and start again.

Never just throw away the eggs and not replace with fake ones... because that will make the female keep laying more eggs each time a few days after. This will make her ill.

I don't know what you feed your doves but I found the following is a balanced diet for mine:

Mixed finch seed
Millet Spray
Seeding Wild grasses (just pick different kinds but be careful that they are free from chemicals and not from near a road). Can be ripe or green or dry... they like variety.
Canary egg food (Its yellow high protein crumbs... they like to eat this dry from a separate dish). I feed then when they are raising young or moulting as the extra protein helps them.
Bird minerals - Oyster Shell grit and canary / finch grit.
Crushed up Charcoal (this is usually in the cage bird grit anyway, but you can buy it separate if not. This helps them with digestion.

Mine also like taking a shower with a plant mist sprayer, or outside in their cage in a summer light rain shower. This keeps their feathers soft and neat. Be careful no cats are about... keep a close eye on them when they are outside.

They will also benefit from unfiltered UV light from the sun. Just take the cage outside on a nice day (make sure they have shade if needed).

Some people say they will eat finely chopped up vegetables, but I have never got mine to eat them.

When they are moulting feathers or raising young you can add a bird multi vitamin to the drinking water, but this is not really needed if you feed all the above things and I have not used vitamins for any of my birds for years as they get a varied diet.

Sorry for long post, hope some info will help you.

Enjoy you doves!!!

 

[biophiliac]

Cute babies. I keep diamond doves too.

They will keep breeding and nesting no matter what you do. They will even resort to nesting on the aviary / cage floor if no nesting basket or seed dishes are there!!!

However, it's not good for the hen to keep laying eggs and raising the babies over and over again, as it depletes her body of calcium and other nutrients and leads her to get sick and even die.

I don't let mine breed at all now unless I have someone wanting to buy some off me. The other reason is each pair need their own cage otherwise they will fight and pluck each other feathers out. You will have to get a separate cage for your to babies once they reach sexual maturity I am afraid. (They can kept in a flock only in a large aviary where they have space to set up their own territories).

To stop yours breeding all you have to do is find a couple of small white balls, stones, anything round and the size of the doves eggs.

Let the pair nest in the nesting box / basket and then once she has laid her eggs throw them away and replace them with the fake eggs.

They will happily brood them for the normal time, and then give up and start again.

Never just throw away the eggs and not replace with fake ones... because that will make the female keep laying more eggs each time a few days after. This will make her ill.

I don't know what you feed your doves but I found the following is a balanced diet for mine:

Mixed finch seed
Millet Spray
Seeding Wild grasses (just pick different kinds but be careful that they are free from chemicals and not from near a road). Can be ripe or green or dry... they like variety.
Canary egg food (Its yellow high protein crumbs... they like to eat this dry from a separate dish). I feed then when they are raising young or moulting as the extra protein helps them.
Bird minerals - Oyster Shell grit and canary / finch grit.
Crushed up Charcoal (this is usually in the cage bird grit anyway, but you can buy it separate if not. This helps them with digestion.

Mine also like taking a shower with a plant mist sprayer, or outside in their cage in a summer light rain shower. This keeps their feathers soft and neat. Be careful no cats are about... keep a close eye on them when they are outside.

They will also benefit from unfiltered UV light from the sun. Just take the cage outside on a nice day (make sure they have shade if needed).

Some people say they will eat finely chopped up vegetables, but I have never got mine to eat them.

When they are moulting feathers or raising young you can add a bird multi vitamin to the drinking water, but this is not really needed if you feed all the above things and I have not used vitamins for any of my birds for years as they get a varied diet.

Sorry for long post, hope some info will help you.

Enjoy you doves!!!

Great post! Thanks for sharing your knowledge of these birds. Except that they don't like to be in a flock, they sound a lot like pigeons.

 

[biophiliac]

View attachment 1544845 View attachment 1544846 Thanks for your advice. I took the nest out and now even she is starting to build again in the damm seed dish lol. Bloody birds
P.S here is a pic of my babies

They are just the cutest little things!



@KikisGirls - Can you bring the intro video?