I have absolutely no idea what's gotten into me lately. One mention of a certain kind of bird rescue, and now I'm contemplating whether or not I should get two more birds.

There's a pigeon/dove rescue in San Fransisco, called "Palomacy", and recently, I was looking at some of the available birds, for curiosity's sake. I saw a pair of ringneck doves, named Bell and Reed. Now, some of you may remember me talking about a baby dove I was raising, that didn't make it to adulthood. A few may even remember me mentioning that I was looking for the smaller Diamond Dove species, at the bird expo I got Lucy from.

Well, I think it might moreso be the story behind Bell and Reed, that got me interested, rather than just wanting a dove or two. Bell came into their rescue, suffering from a condition called "torticollis", otherwise known as "stargazing". Torticollis is a directional disorientating condition, where the bird will hold their head in certain positions. It makes it hard for them to tell what is where, and would make daily tasks such as eating, much harder. Bell's torticollis would cause her to have panic attacks, where she would do somersaults that would hurt her and exhaust her.
You can read more about her story, here: http://www.pigeonrescue.org/2014/12/21/ ... g-problem/

However, Bell fought to recover. When she didn't have those panic attacks, she would self feed, and was responsive to her mate, Reed (who had to be in a cage separate from her, due to the panic attacks). With the help of one of her foster parents, she was able to recover beautifully. She's required a low ceiling in her cage, and a tent made from a small blanket, to give her a cozy dark spot, that keeps her calm, and reduces the number of panic attacks.
Here's the recovery update: http://www.pigeonrescue.org/2015/03/11/ ... -recovery/

But keep in mind that was written in march, and from then, she's gotten even better. Just the other day, The rescue posted a video on their instagram page, of her just happily cooing away
(Don't be alarmed by her stance. That's how the species stand when they coo).

I made a comment on the recovery blog, asking how she was doing, and one of the rescue staff actually replied. To make it even more tempting, she said:


I've yet to actually fill out the application. Adoption fee isn't that much ($10 per bird), though I have to keep in mind of vet costs and such, especially since Bell is a special needs bird, and would most likely need regular check-ups. I haven't even told my mom about the two doves. I feel like I already know what her answer will be, because her opinion of doves and pigeons is not a very good one.

Don't get me wrong though, I love my Lucy! She's such a character, and I don't think I could possibly think of giving her up, now that we're actually moving forward in the trusting process (we've come a pretty long way, too).

Though sometimes, I can't help but think about adopting them. What's wrong with me?

Nothing. Every dedicated bird owner has a wandering eye from time to time. It's not that we don't love our current birds, it's just something new.

It's called MBS - multiple bird syndrome. Because birds are like potato chips, you can't have just one. Most of the people in this group aren't old enough to remember that commercial lol.

We're about six weeks away from the big fall bird mart, so if the challenge of a special needs dove is too daunting, you should be able to find some ordinary-needs doves and other birds there.

I like the Super Pigeon outfit that some of the birds were wearing in the second link.

OMG!!! They're so ADORABLE!!! I would like to go visit, but unfortunately, I can't. Oh, and Jessi, I think you should totally wait for the super October bird-mart that's comming up!! I hope my uncle can buy me some stuff!!

They really are like potato chips. I have two, and here I am, thinking of getting another. Now I know how my mom got so into breeding birds.

That rescue also makes "pigeon pants", which work like flightsuits. They're basically diapers made for pigeons (doves are smaller and a more squirmy).

I might actually go to the upcoming bird expo, given if I have the time. Of course, if I were to get a dove, I would have to make some room for another cage. We have a small one, which might be ok for a Diamond dove, if I give it enough out of cage time. Being in college though, I wouldn't really be able to do that.

If I were to get a dove, I'll look to see if there are actually any diamond doves on sale (hopefully they wouldn't all be bought by the time I got there). If that idea's out, I would settle for a ringneck dove, or maybe one of the smaller pigeon breeds.

Carolyn, do you remember the guy who was next to you, selling doves and pigeons at the July bird mart? Do you know if he breeds doves regularly, or was he just getting rid of the last of his doves in his aviary? I know his doves weren't socialized, but it would at least be nice to know if there was a breeder available for if I don't get a space and cage ready in time for the bird expo.

Now there's just my mother... Not sure how I could convince her to let me get another bird, let alone a dove. Especially since we would have to make more room for a good sized cage. Can't put one in with Lucy. They would either bond closely to each other, then neither one would be interested in me, or Lucy would decide she doesn't want a dove for a cage-mate, and that would really stressful for the both of them (more so on the dove's end, since they're rather peaceful animals).

Can doves be trained like a parrot? Like, standing on your arm, flying back to you, sing, etc...???

Doves don't have the vocal abilities like parrots, but they can be trained to step up and fly to you. I'm sure they can learn a few tricks as well, though it may take time. Doves, while being pretty, are a bit... simple (pigeons are really the more intelligent of the two). Their anatomy will also prevent them to do certain tricks, such as waving (they can't lift their legs as high as parrots do).

From what I've read, they're easily tamable compared to some birds. It would depend on the individual, though. The process of taming a dove also seems different, from taming a parrot. I've actually used the method I read on Lucy, when letting her out of the cage a few times, so she could get used to stepping up for me while out of the cage. I think it would only work well for flighty birds, rather than aggressive birds, and Lucy was pretty flighty, back then (well she still is a little flighty, but she's getting better about it).

Actually, I wanted a dove as my first bird, but I could not find any in my area at the time, so I found my budgie Jail Bird instead.

Funny how that works out, huh Stephanie? I was looking for a dove, and ended up with Lucy.

I think it was meant to be, though. She displays so many similarities (behavior wise) to the baby dove I was raising. Completely different species, but such a similar personality. She's pretty unique on her own, as well, being the total clown that she is.

Doves are commonly sold at pet stores, here. I see diamond doves at petsmart, and ringneck doves at petco, when I go sometimes. Diamond doves are around 35-40 dollars though, at the PetSmart I go to, and I'm not so sure about the ringneck prices at Petco. I saw ringnecks for $5 at the last bird mart I went to. The guy really wanted to sell them, since he was doing all he could to convince me, even going on to suggest buying the dove along with Lucy, as a "friend".

The guy next to me was Flint Freeman. He was the one who actually rented the table, and I rented my space from him. He's a really nice guy, and I think his sales talk is aimed more at entertaining people than at actually selling birds. If I remember right his doves were two for $5 so they were a bargain. He's primarily an African ringneck breeder (they're actually the nominate species, not the IRN) but he has several other species too, something like 80 adult birds total. He gets some really pretty cockatiel babies but they aren't tame. He probably still has his dove and pigeon breeding pairs. He doesn't own a computer and isn't on the internet, but I expect to see him at the next bird club meeting and I'll try to remember to ask him if he still has any doves.

If a cockatiel is already bonded to you, it will usually stay bonded even if you add more birds to the flock. The new bird is a different matter, if it's not already bonded to humans in general it'll be a lot harder to get it to bond to you. Cockatiels can sometimes get along well with another species, but whether a cockatiel and a dove would get along well in the same cage all depends on their individual personalities. There's no way to know in advance whether it would work or not. If you want more birds and your mom won't approve a dove, you can always get another cockatiel lol. I have a couple of chicks who are major cuddle bugs - Simon is an insatiable scritchie ho. The woman who had bazillions at the summer bird mart will probably be back, and a few others besides.