DIAMOND DOVES

[animalobsessed]

Hello everyone! So, the next bird(s) i will be getting will be diamond doves! I have a couple of questions about them;

1. What do i feed them (i was thinking seeds and veggies daily, grit and water 24/7, and millet about once a week)
2. What nesting material do diamonds prefer?
3. Have y'all had success with taming diamond doves? (I want to at least to be able to hold them)
4.what kind of nest box do they prefer? Is a closed cockatiel nest box fine?

that's all the questions i have for now, thanks in advance!

[Sally]

animalobsessed I used to have Diamond Doves, and one of the most important things to remember about keeping them is that they need a rather large cage, as large as you can afford. They have a much larger wing span than your typical finch, so they need room to spread those wings. They also need a solid bottom to their cage, or to have a wire grate covered, as they spend a good deal of time on the bottom of the cage, and walking on wire is not good for their feet.

They are different from finches in that they do not hull their seed, so they need a grit in order to grind up the food. I used a good finch mix, others have mixed parakeet seed in with the finch. Mine liked egg food and some veggies, you have to experiment with the veggies.

A cockatiel nesting box would not be good for this species, as they like an open nest. I used to hang a small wicker basket with handle, like a small easter egg basket, and offered dried grasses for them to line their nest.

I never tried to tame mine, so I can't comment on that.

[Sheather]

Diamonds in my experience are entirely untamable, even babies I held every day for hours became too afraid of me to pick up as adults. They are a look and don't touch pet, even more than finches (I have tamed finches, but not diamond doves.)

They eat the same thing finches do but have little interest in green food.

They nest in any sort of open basket or cup with any material you provide that's long and thin. Sticks, straw, or shredded paper suits them. Mine were bad parents and abandoned most of their babies.

[animalobsessed]

So they wont allow you to even handle them?! I really want a bird i can hold and show off, maybe i would have better luck with handling if i got a ringneck dove..??

[Sheather]

You can hold ringneck doves, if you get a baby and socialize it.
Diamond doves are afraid of people. I have heard some people tame them, but I don't know how they could do it!

[Dave]

As Sally mentioned, they need grit. Not mineral grit, but something like chick grit which is small granite bits. Something hard and sharp that they use, in the gizzard, to grind seed.

And, as others have mentioned, they are really just small pigeons and they need room to fly.

[wildbird]

Diamond Doves would do best in an aviary. If you want a tame bird to hold, try a parrotlet or cockatiel.