Raziel's New Girlfriend

[WingedCat]

I finally found a female dove for my male dove Raziel. He is a very happy man dove right now. Poor guy though, Kaytanna is making him work very hard for her affections.

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/7847/razkatana4pr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Kaytanna is the orange and white dove on the left (Tangerine dove) Raziel is the tan and white dove on the right.

Now what I need to know is 1) Can I encourage them to build their nest in a box so I don't mess it up when I clean the cage and 2) Do I give Kaytanna egg or just egg shells (cooked?) for extra calcium.

If I decide to keep them from having babies what can I use for fake eggs in the nest? I don't want to bring unwanted baby doves into the world.

[WingedCat]

Both doves are doing well, Raziel is the happiest I have ever seen him, this makes my heart sing because I know he was so lonely before we brought Kaytanna home.

There is a growing closeness between the two, but poor Raziel is still working his feathers off to win Kaytanna's full affections. They are now spending the nights sleeping next to each other instead of on opposite sides of the cage, Raziel can also be seen cleaning Kaytanna's feathers (Kaytanna never cleans his). It seems the male dove has to do all the work to win the female dove. :D

I finally broke down and emptied the bird bath since nither of them were using it except to poop in. After I emptied it Raziel decided it would make a good nest and started sitting in it during the day. I put some timothy hay in the "nest" and on the floor of the cage and Raziel has decided to start working on making it a nice comfy nest. I think Kaytanna is waiting for him to build her a nice home before she gives him her heart, so far it must not be meeting her expectations, though I have seen her sitting in the "nest" occasionally. Maybe she likes the nest, maybe she is just playing hard to get. :wink:

[thundersquirrel]

they look so sweet! one of my favorite things to watch in our backyard is the male mourning dove trying to woo the female. they puff out their chests, and strut, and hoot so temptingly, and the female flirts and then runs away, then flirts again. it's hilarious!

could you use smooth stones as eggs? you could paint them white, maybe. i don't think it would hurt the birds. how many eggs do they normally lay? if it's just one or two, you could keep them maybe. i love baby animals way too much, that's why i'll adopt a million cats when i get old enough. :laughter

[WingedCat]

I caught both of them sitting in the nest together this morning! :)

If these two decide to raise a family I am sure I can find them a home. There is a store in a town a small distance from me that sells fish, hamsters, guinea pigs etc. I'm sure they wouldn't mind be bringing in the babies for them to sell. I certainly don't want any money from them. My main goal was to make Raziel's life better. He couldn't be released to the wild due to his inability to fly, seeing him spend his life alone was sad. At least now, he may have to live in captivity, but he is no longer lonely.

Hehehe I'm a sucker for baby animals too, that is why I have too many cats!

[thundersquirrel]

i'm happy for the newlyweds. :dances:

i've always had a deep urge to either get way too many cats or get one of almost every domestic type of animal (dog, cat, ferret, iguana, snake, tarantula, some kind of rodent, horse, etc.). i think i prefer the latter...i'd just be afraid of them all eating each other. whoa i can't imagine where my wildlife biology will take me, though, and if i travel a lot i can't get that many pets. who knows?

[Anonymous]

Too early...

[Saviah Wildlife]

Too early...

Care to explain?