Messy Doves?

[birdclaws]

Seeing if anyone can recommend some kind of feeder to help keep the doves seed in one place...I thought that the normal seed hopper would work, but somehow they keep managing to get all of the uneaten seed in to where the hulled seed goes?? So...I've been using a large terracotta dish on the cage floor. Every day I fill their seed up, I sit there and watch them come down and literally drag their beaks back and forth scattering seed everywhere. Luckily their cage has enough of a guard around it to keep it within the cage, but I'm tired of finding tons of uneaten seed when I clean their cage out. Can anyone recommend something?

[theblackbird]

My canaries used to do the same thing. One of the main causes of that is they simply don't like some of the mix that you are giving them. In short, they are digging out the seeds they don't like and only eating the ones they do.
I would suggest trying a different seed mix, or mixing your own to your doves eating preferences. Eg. Millet, cracked corn, wheat, milo, niger, buckwheat, sunflower, baked goods.... And experiment to see what they do enjoy more. I did this with my bird, and even though I have to mix it myself, she eats it and my problem has stopped.
If it wasn't the mix, I would say that your feeder is too small for the amount of birds you have, but by the sounds of it, it isn't.

Hope this solves your problem

[wellingtoncdm]

Can you use a grain instead of mixed seed as the bulk of the food?

[birdclaws]

My canaries used to do the same thing. One of the main causes of that is they simply don't like some of the mix that you are giving them. In short, they are digging out the seeds they don't like and only eating the ones they do.
I would suggest trying a different seed mix, or mixing your own to your doves eating preferences. Eg. Millet, cracked corn, wheat, milo, niger, buckwheat, sunflower, baked goods.... And experiment to see what they do enjoy more. I did this with my bird, and even though I have to mix it myself, she eats it and my problem has stopped.
If it wasn't the mix, I would say that your feeder is too small for the amount of birds you have, but by the sounds of it, it isn't.

Hope this solves your problem

I don't know if it's them being picky because the seeds just end up all over the place and then they go around to different corners of the cage to eat it. I've been mixing their seed myself using mostly white millet because it seems to be the seed they will eat the most of. It just seems that their actual style of eating is to put their beak down on the terracotta dish and take a bite while they swing their head across the seed. They do it with eggfood also...it just ends up all over the bottom of the cage.

I was thinking of getting something similar to a poultry waterer?

[wellingtoncdm]

They make galvenized chick feeder trays with holes in them.

[birdclaws]

I've got some experimenting to do...

[debbie276]

I've used poultry feeders before and they work great and come in all different sizes.
Here's a link for reference http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/poultryfeeders.html

[mayble]

What about something with deeper (taller?) sides - like an oversized cake pan or seedling tray? It might contain the seed better when they spread it around.
Thinking of doves and other ground feeders in the wild, they do seem to prefer their seed spread out - I've never seen doves or juncos eating from a pile of seed, even in a platform feeder, but they're all over it when it's scattered about.
Just a thought.

[jonvill]

Have you looked into what feeders pigeon breeders use?
Here's a link that might help:

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/feeders

[birdclaws]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking in to getting one of the pigeon type of feeders.

[Toddmin]

Doves will definitely do that. Mine do that all the time. I've tried seed and also grain, but they will still sift/sort it. I put it in a 12x24 plastic box container (with the lid removed, of course), like the image shown below. That way they will not scatter it everywhere.

[Nipper06]

I feed my doves (and all my birds) using plastic containers (like the one in the reply above). I put a smaller normal size food dish inside the plastic container, so they can fling the seeds as much as they want. But I don't just fill the big container with seed because it gets pooped on.

[Hilary]

I use those hooded ceramic feeders that are available for hookbills. My doves still scatter, but it's a lot better than when I used tray feeders.

[birdclaws]

I think I will get the plastic container to put the seed dish in and get one of the hooded ceramic dishes for their grit.
Thanks for all the suggestions!