Doves make interesting pets. I received my first dove from my friend Christine. She works at a pet store which got in two mistreated white doves. They sold one and she gave the more beat up one, which we named Brutto to me, so that I could take care of it. She also gave me a big tower cage(highly recommended for doves) and the food and vitamins. Doves eat a mix of cockatiel, canary, wild mix and parakeet food, along with fruits, cereals, legumes, and meal worms. This dove was very scared when we took him home so we left him alone for a couple of days. He soon calmed down and started cooing. I then discovered that doves could be used as a wake up call. As soon as the sun came up Brutto started making a strange sound "do-do-de-do." He also made a growling sound that kind of sounded like "cut it out." Because this guy was making all this racket we decided that he must be lonely, so we got him a female. We paid twenty dollars for a gray ring-neck dove that cooed more softly and seemed to be attached to a louder male, hoping it was indeed a female. We named this one Bella and brought her home to her new home. As soon as we got her in the cage, Brutto started his "do-do-de-do" followed by his "cut it out." He also started chasing her around bobbing his head. She did not like this at all and made a pathetic wining cooing sound. This chasing went on for a while and Brutto started with some other crazy antics to get her attention. Besides the bobbing and "do-do-de-do", now with out the "cut it out" which is probably a hostile call, he started leaning over and, keeping his wings closed, crossing the tips of his wings quickly. It has been 3 days and they are now sitting on the perch side by side but when he starts his noise and dance she runs away. I have read that doves mate for life, so it might have been a mistake to separate Bella and her mate. Hopefully she comes around, just in case I’ll be putting twigs in the cage for them to make a nest with. Other than that I am keeping a blanket over them and the window shades drawn so that I can sleep later than six o’clock.
***************** Bella and Brutto are getting along great. They have been mating and Bella laid two sets of eggs. I put a little dog dish in the cage for them to nest in and they have been putting the twigs in it and using it. Brutto sat on the first egg that Bella laid buy Bella would not go near it. After she laid the second egg she started nesting. They took turns sitting on the egg until Brutto stepped on and broke it. Then they started mating again. Bella laid a single egg first and ignored it while Brutto sat on it half the day. Then she laid the second and they started alternating again. Hopefully this one hatches. Brutto still makes his dododedo sound but we have started squirt gun training to keep our sanity.
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One egg did hatch and the proud parents took turns feeding the baby chick. I named the chick Prince because of all the attention he got. I took over a month for him to become weined and the parents started building a nest and mating again, halfway through the process.