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Old November 1st, 2005, 06:43 PM
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BullLover BullLover is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: In the crappiest province in the country
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amyrose
Now for my questions. Does anyone one out there know how I can tell if it is male or female? What is the life expectancy of a ringed turtle dove? What is a good why to temp Lovey to try new foods? Is there a better seed mix that I should get? Any special needs I should provide for?
We truly enjoy Lovey and want to do all we can for her. Any help you can send an ignorant new bird owner will be appreciated by us and Lovey
Now for some answers....

You have to have a blood test done to determine the sex of your bird. This can be done by drawing blood, or from a blood feather, but only a vet can provide this service. Or, the cheaper way.....You can wait and see if it lays an egg or not. If it's a boy, he won't lay at all.

Doves usually life about 10-15 years old in the wild, so you'd be looking around 15+ years.

Birds are pickey eaters. My guy doesn't like a lot of foods. There are special "bugs n' barries" that your guy would probably like. If he/she seems interested in it, then let him/her try it. Just try to keep away from caffine, salted foods, and don't lay heavily into dairy foods. I feed my guy yogurt and ice cream, but only once in a while. Also, in terms of veggies, try to stay away from iceburg lettuce and celery. They are mostly made up of water and often cause messy messes. The food that you are feeding is probably okay for her, I know that some petstores sell a "dove" food that you can mix with it to give her a little more variety. Try to give her grapes, or apple sauces, or something mushy. She will probably like that better than a piece of apple and other hard fruits.

One last thing, please make sure that your bird is caged when you aren't home and at night. Not only for your birds safety, but for yours too.

Hope this helps!
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Last edited by BullLover; November 3rd, 2005 at 12:05 PM. Reason: Added something in
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