Does anyone know what to feed a collared dove? (1 Viewer)

My seven year old daughter ran into the house shouting gibberish at me earlier. This is not unusual. However, it turned out that her story of "a bird sitting on top of another bird" was, in fact, the result of a smallish collared dove picking a fight with a sparrowhawk. The latter was apparently dismayed by my daughter's histrionics, and fled. I can't say I blame it.

So, there was a very dejected-looking collared dove left on my lawn. I think it's quite young, but it seems fully feathered ( a bit fluffy around the leg region - looks a bit like it's wearing a nappy) an it has its collar, so perpahs not all that young. I built a smallish fence from scrap wood to keep my dogs away from it, shoo'd off a couple of interested magpies, and left it to recover. It got to its feet, hopped into a border, and looked quite alert. When I checked back a bit later, it had gone. "Hooray!", thought I - granted, sparrowhawks have to eat, but I feel bad for the meals on an individual basis, so I wasn't sorry for the outcome.

Several hours later, my dog nearly nailed it as it popped out from behind a woodpile at the bottom end of my garden, having clearly gone for a little constitutional rather than taking to the air as I had thought. I put it on the trampoline for a bit, as it's got a safety net to prevent canine ingress. It fluttered about once or twice, then just went and sat in the shade. By this point, it was getting dark, and wasn't all that warm - and the neighbours' cats visit at night, when the dogs aren't on hand to keep things civil - so I felt obliged to box the thing up. It is currently in my (insulated and fairly warm) shed.


I don't really feed birds, aside from half coconuts full of seeds and fat in the winter. Perhaps I shouldn't have picked it up, but it had had all day to get its act together by that point. And in any case, I have now picked it up, so that ship has sailed.

What can I feed it? I don't think I'll be able to offload it to a wildlife place tomorrow - tomorrow being Sunday - so I'll have it until Monday, and it's got to eat. I've tried googling, but there's so much conflicting information - sweetcorn, peas, canned dogfood (?), etc. I don't have any actual birdfood. What can I substitute for now, just to keep the wolf from the door?

I've put a small bowl of very lightly salted water in its box, as instructed by my venerable St Tiggywinkles book. Is this correct?

Thanks!

I don't know if you still have the collared dove, but if you do, I advise you put it in the garden and let it go. I would offer fresh water to birds, not salted. The collared doves in our garden eat mixed seed.

Salt is the last thing I would offer a bird.

They don't have the equipment to handle it.

Sounds as if it has the beginnings of trichomonosis , if it starts throwing it s head back it is beyond help.

http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/

Regards

Malky

'allo - thanks for responding.

Firstly, salt. My St Tiggywinkles book suggests that when found, the bird is offered water with 4% dextrose and 0.18% sodium chloride. The salt is apparently important to maintain the electrolyte balance. Lacking any information to the contrary, I followed these instructions as best I was able.

Anyhow - I took the thing to a vet on Monday. Vet said; nothing broken, but it has a puncture wound to the leg, which may result in nerve damage (the leg was curled up underneath it at the time), and said it needed cage rest. Beyond that, the vet didn't seem overly interested, so I took the dove back away. It is currently residing in a largish wire half-tunnel at the bottom of my garden, with plenty of shade, shelter, things to perch on, fresh water, and wild bird seed. I'm letting it out every evening, while it can be supervised from a distance, to give it the chance to make its own way elsewhere. Until it can do that, I don't really feel comfortable just leaving it trudging around, as it will inevitably get eaten by a cat. Its leg seems much better.

Thanks for the link - reading it now.

Any further suggestions?

Thanks again!

Well done on the progress!

Perhaps some pigeon food?

I have heard the doves like cracked corn. Try putting some out in a dish (I use a plastic lid). I put mixed seed out for the mourning doves and they eat that. Good luck with your dove!

Dove: the saga continues

'allo. I still have it.

It's a very odd creature. Not fazed by my presence at all - to the point it seems perfectly content to be handled, and makes no effort to escape. It will ride around the garden perched on my finger. It *can* fly, at least short distances - it's done 8-10m to a tree stump at the top of my garden, but then it just sat there until I went and picked it back up.

I've moved it out of the tunnel, although the tunnel remains up for when I have to go out and leave it unsupervised. For now, it's in a bird-box I built, in a tree, at the far end of my garden.

For the moment, I'm shutting it in its box overnight, and letting it out during the day; it flutters over to the food I have out for it (Natural Trust all purpose mix, shelled sunflower seeds, and suet stuff with mealworm), and it eats and drinks with gusto. It seems alert and healthy, and its leg now seems absolutely fine. But it doesn't *do* anything - once it's eaten, it just sits on its branch, or on the perch bit at the front of its box, and observes.

People on another forum have suggested that it might be an escapee. Little as I want to deprive a possibly-wild creature of its liberty, I'm starting to wonder if life in an aviary somewhere might suit it better. I can't micromanage its existence forever.

Here he is!

I am not sure that a collared dove will be an escapee? I don't recommend an aviary at all. It is a wild bird. If it is perfectly well, I would just leave it to live a natural life. Don't shut it in a box at all, let it be free. Obviously you can continue to leave food and water out for it and other garden birds.