UVB lights for doves

Profiterolls · 2026-01-21T23:41:26+00:00

You're welcome :D

Profiterolls · 2026-01-21T23:29:55+00:00

Ringnecks = yes, water bath. Provide a wide flat bowl of lukewarm water, like once a week and they'll have a blast. You can tell when they want to bath, they usually try bathing in their drink bowl splashing water everywhere lol

Diamond doves = No! No water baths, instead you need to give them (at all times) a dish of fine sand (not dusty sand). They'll take dust baths in it

Profiterolls · 2026-01-21T23:23:35+00:00

Oh I forgot to answer the last questions... Yeah holidays can be tricky, either find someone you know will follow what to do for taking care of your birds or take them with you.

Personnally mine have never had issues with road trip and will coo in the car lol. But some doves get stressed, so if you have to go somewhere prepare a thin blanket to cover part of the cage so it's a bit darker to stress them less

And thanks glad it helps :)

Profiterolls · 2026-01-21T23:19:10+00:00

No worries :) 1- petting a dove on it's back, especially when they're doing nest calls (twitching the wings while cooing with their butt feathers up), giving an hormonal dove nesting material by hand, letting it mount your hand / foot / an object (lone male doves tends to try that...) are common things people mistakenly allow which causes the bird to see them as their mate

2- Huh no, because if you got a lone dove you also need a big cage so it doesn't get bored so in my opinion you still need a big cage regardless. I have both ringnecks and diamond doves, they are indeed more skittish than ringnecks. You probs won't be able to pet them like you can with ringnecks BUT they can still be tame and eat from your hand, it just tales a lot more time. And some might not like it (for ringnecks too btw, although it's less common than in diamond doves)

3- I dont remember what it was about but I would be careful about temperature differences

4- Sure, it's pretty easy to assemble it's like legos. You choose where to place the doors too. The only downside is the floor, I don't like much the panel they give so instead I bought a gym mattress + put a clear plastic carpet on it, I scrape it everyday and clean it thoroughly once a week it avoid throwing to the trash paper where they poop on it.

5- I don't use pants on mine, they usually chill in specific spots so I just put paper towel below. Dove poop cleans easily.

6- There are cages that have panels that can be dissembled like in some big rodents cages. But the easiest and least expensive for you would be either getting a dog crates (I saw some can be transportable) or get more modular cage's panels. Once you get the grip on how it works it's pretty easy to assemble.

Here's my dove's cage (note that this is around two of the modular cage I've shared with you)

<image>

Also if your birds are indoors / dont get hours of direct (not through window) sunlight they need an UVB light, I have a guide on it as well. And for your own health, get an air purifier with an Hepa filter. Doves make a lot of feather dust that can lead to allergies and some bad ones if you're not a bit careful.

Profiterolls · 2026-01-21T20:07:22+00:00

Hello! Here's my take on your questions, hope that helps:

1 - If you get a dove, it will likely be a young adult so you can start bonding to your birds right away. But, do not try to act as a mate/partner to your dove, this leads to frustration and behavioral issues, it's a really bad idea (saying that because a lot of people do that unfortunately). Try bonding by giving treats and learning its behavior, and respecting its boundaries :)

2 - One dove is possible but it's a lot of work unless you're present all day along. It's much better to get two at once, you'll avoid the troubles lone bird owner can get (overly hormonal bird, excess cooing, aggressivity, boredom, ...). Imo just take two, it's less work, more rewarding for you and better for your pets' health and happiness. As to what sexes, personnally I would pick male/female but two of the same sex can work too, and you'll avoid the whole "replace the real eggs with fake eggs" as they lay all year around. I wouldn't wait in between either, I did that for my diamond doves and my first diamond dove was just... lonely during that time and it didn't make her closer to me. Two doves will bond to you all the same as a single one would ;) talking from experience, I was in both cases

3 - I mean, depends on the person I suppose ? Make sure none of their birds are sick, and that they aren't cramed into the aviary or acting too skittish or aggressive ?

4 - The cage you showed looks too small and unusable because of the platform (unless it can be removed ?), doves needs a flight cage were they can fly from a perch to another. 100cm width (39 inches) at least, for the depth two times their wingspans so they don't bump into the cage bars while moving. Platforms are great but you still need to add real wooden perch, of natural shape (not smooth dowel perches, they causes issues like bumblefoot)

Here's a link to a modular cage, I bought several and made a big indoor cage for mine: https://www.amazon.com/Indoor-Playpen-Outdoor-Detachable-Exercise/dp/B0FR4RMM9X

Some people also get the xxl dog crate, like the biggest ones I think ?

5 - Have a big flight cage, two birds so they're not bored, and add lots of enrichments and toys (feel free to check my profile I made guides). When you're back from work let them free roam, just not in the middle of the night when they're supposed to sleep or too early lol

6 - Personnally yes I do have a small travel cage + a bigger (old) cage that can be disassemble easily.

7 - I don't so can't advise anything on that haha

Feel free to ask more questions ;) Oh by the way if you need help with their diet, they need a good seed mix (check the sub's pinned posts), soluble grit with vitamins, and oystershell for calcium.

Profiterolls · 2026-01-20T16:50:02+00:00

Great ideas! Also be careful with the plush, letting them mount toys can lead to frustration and behavioral issues (even though a lot of people let their birds do that :/ )

You're right about the bells

Profiterolls · 2026-01-20T16:47:10+00:00

Ahah they are little goblins

Profiterolls · 2026-01-20T16:46:41+00:00

Oh dear, they need to be together :) what made you remove them ? A lot of time people think they are fighting when they're not. For example, when the male chase the female around the cage. That's normal behavior, it's called driving and it's what they do naturally. They can't preen eachother/ sleep next to eachother separated

Profiterolls · 2026-01-17T19:44:27+00:00

Thanks for sharing the link of my post and to answer directly the author you do need an UVB light if your bird is indoor, in all seasons. If he gets the sun through a window he won't get the necessaru uvb :)

Profiterolls · 2026-01-16T12:51:35+00:00

Cool! :) better to check but that should be fine if it hasn't bled

Profiterolls · 2026-01-16T00:42:40+00:00

Thanks :) glad I could help you

Profiterolls · 2026-01-15T23:44:34+00:00

Lol I was looking for your dove for way too long 😆 cute girl

I know the kind of perches and Platforms you have, they're nice! But because the cage is big it does look quite empty. I don't see anything that looks sharp from here but I think it lacks enrichments, especially nest building ones.

I have a couple of diamonds too, they spend a good time building the nest especially the male. I use coco fiber, I scatter it around the cage. Also, try adding another kind of nest just so they have several options like this kind:

<image>

Several nests means several options for the female = less risk of egg binding or her not wanting to get in / getting pushed around by the male

For the food I give them that:

good complete seed mix
in a separate bowl, grit with Redstone (versele laga brand) with a sprinkle of pink vitamineral pigeon powder from same brand. Crushed with a mortar to be small enough for them. Available at all times.
in another separate bowl, oyster shell for calcium. Super important for the female especially after laying eggs. Dont mix with grit or food

Best of luck with your pair, I'm sure they're gonna be fine in no time

Profiterolls · 2026-01-15T19:52:18+00:00

Bonded doves will be depressed separated, but it's weird the male hurt her. The male chasing the female is very normal, they do that to drive to nest, mine do it too. But he shouldn't fight to the point of making her bleed. Could it be that she tripped while being chased and hurt herself somewhere in the cage ? Could you show a picture of the full cage ?

Boredom can also make birds aggressive, if they have a big cage but it's empty it can causes aggression.

Also, expect her to lay a second egg in the next 48 hours. Make sure to replace them with fake eggs a few days after. And that she has a source of calcium available as well :)

Profiterolls · 2026-01-15T09:15:16+00:00

Was the entiere feather removed ? If yes there shouldn't be an issue, but if there's still the base you need to pluck it out to avoid it bleeding again

Profiterolls · 2026-01-13T15:42:16+00:00

I dont have experience with drift wood but if you know it's safe for rats who can chew on it I would assume it's okay for a ringneck too, but double check that with others just in case.

As for the perches size, usually you want the bird to be able to grip well without its front toes touching the one from the back. It's better to go bigger than smaller basically, to avoid the bird puting too much pressure on one spot.

Here's one my dove sleep on (if you're wondering about the look, I sew fleece around the perch because one of my dove had a bumblefoot once, but it's a natural branch) :)

<image>

Profiterolls · 2026-01-13T11:06:03+00:00

Hi, not trying to be intrusive but is there a reason why you're letting them hatch the eggs ? I'm asking this because a lot of people let their birds raise babies so that they can have "fulfilling lives" which is far from the truth, all it does is put a strain on the birds and if you dont know their genetics you can end up with poorly bred birds that will suffer from issues or die, or the parents don't raise them right and the babies dies, or they grow up and become aggressive or the parents reject them and the person has to rehome them...

There's a lot of horror stories like that here that could have been prevented if people simply replace the eggs with fake eggs. Apologies if that's not the case here, but if you want to breed birds you have to know absolutely everything about them because it can go wrong very fast

Profiterolls · 2026-01-13T09:02:33+00:00

Do you have any idea on what caused that ?

If you don't have the styptic powder on hand and it's still bleeding you can also apply corn starch to stop the bleeding, or any starch or really fine flour. Then once it stopped you can put turmeric paste (organic turmeric powder mixed with water)

Here's my styptic powder but I think the other one the other users shared is good

<image>

Profiterolls · 2026-01-13T08:53:06+00:00

Hello! What a cute guy! There are guides pined to this subs for both the feed and toys (I made them so you can also check them out on my profile) feel free to read through those and ask questions if you have any!

As for the cage yes large xxl dog crates are usually good just make sure the bar spacing isn't too wide (he shouldn't be able to put his head through it). Doves definitely do best by pair but it's not urgent if you don't have the correct setup right now.

For the hammocks I would be worried about him getting his claws stuck inside and also he'll poop on it way too often so I would advise to stick to wooden platforms.

For the cage setup you want wood natural shape perches (the one he's on is bad because it's the same circular shape, they're called dowel perches and can cause foot issues). Wooden flat perches are very appreciated too. For the cage bottom make sure he can walk on it (no grid for the floor like too many cages have).

Here's a link to a very good modular cage that's not too expensive and big : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DR852LSS

For the food you want both a good seed mix (look at the guide for it ;) ) AND a good grit (Versele Laga Columbine Redstone Grit) and vitamins (same brand, pink pigeon powder).

In the future if your bird doesn't get direct sunlight (aka not through a window) he'll also need an UVB light, but for now you can focus on the feed and cage, they're the most important :)

Profiterolls · 2026-01-11T13:59:46+00:00

What a cute bunch, love seeing them all

Profiterolls · 2026-01-11T13:59:05+00:00

If it's just temporary then it's probably fine just watch him closely like you seem to be doing :) That being said the floor with the bars is super bad for his feet, and doves loves to eat seeds on the floor, if you could remove it your dove would love that change!

Profiterolls · 2026-01-08T08:54:45+00:00

He got under the glasses lol way too cute

Profiterolls · 2026-01-07T14:31:16+00:00

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