I've read that hand raising a bird makes them a bit more tame and ever tempered. I know that hand raising a bird is hard and some people prefer letting the parents take care of that, but what I wanted to know is:
Does hand raising a pet pigeon or dove from birth help make them a bit more even tempered and calm or does it make things harder on the bird and the owner?
No jokes or wisecracks allowed!
Would like to know from someone who has done it before. I only want to know this for future usage
Thanks!
2006-09-06 13:17:36 · 11 answers · asked by Checkers- the -Wolf 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
I raise baby doves year round. Make sure someone shows you the correct feeding technique. Doves are different than parrots.
They become very sweet, even the wild ones. If you're going to keep it, by all means do it. I have over 30 in a large flight cage. I love going inside and having them land on me to cuddle.
2006-09-06 18:03:08 · answer #1 · answered by Lynn D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Accually pigeons and doves are very easy to tame up. Unlike pet birds like cockatiels, parrakeets, quakers and other birds people hand feed, a dove and pigeon will tame up in a day or 2 verses the other birds spoken of who sometimes never tame up as adults and most of the time have to be hand fed before being tamed at all. A dove or pigeon will accept your friendship faster then those we raise as pets. You can allow your dove and pigeon parents to raise their babies and tame the babies when ever you want to, because they accept you better and faster then home raised birds. Plus most pigeons can fly FREE once they are tamed up and kept in the area you want them to live in for about 8 weeks straight in a cage. After 8 weeks allow their cage door to be opened outside allowing them to fly free, then watch and wait. 99% of the time they will come sleep in the cage you just allowed them out of, simply go outside and close the cage door when they sleep and reopen it in the AM. They will always come back.
2006-09-14 14:04:54 · answer #2 · answered by reasonable-sale-lots 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't recommend hand feeding if you are inexperienced at this. You can very easily aspirate the bird and kill it. When the bird is eating on its own, as long as you spend time with it, it will bond to you and be tame with you. Keeping the bird socialized is important as well. Birds go through growing phases too, much like small children and teenagers and will misbehave, so you have to understand this will happen regardless of how they start out.
2006-09-14 15:20:39 · answer #3 · answered by DDav 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hand raising a bird will make it more tame. It will be used to being held, as long as you plan on keeping it and not putting it outside. If that was the case, then hand raising would definitely be bad for the bird.
2006-09-06 20:21:29 · answer #4 · answered by Sherry 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have hand raised many birds in my time, I used to breed parrots for a iving. It is very time consuming, especially when the first hatch. They need almost constant care round the clock. You have to feed them every 2 hours and make sure they are kept warm. If you leave them in the incubator you hatch the eggs in, thst will usually work for the first week or so, hen you have to move them to a bigger enclosure that is heat controled as well. It is not recommended, but I used reflector lamps and aquariums to raise many birds.
But there are many rewards. you have much sweeter birds that bond easilly with humans and are very loving pets.
2006-09-06 20:48:21 · answer #5 · answered by justmeinNC 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would not tame a pidgeon or a dove as its instintively a wild bird and it would be a shame to tame down its natural instincts.
But that is my opinion. Get a Parrot if you want to hand rear something.
2006-09-13 18:54:22 · answer #6 · answered by Wizzy Woman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Firstly let the parents do their bit at rearing them first so thet they can get taught what they may or may not eat, then take the baby away when it starts to get feathers, that way it will have the best of both worlds, but you might have to get a light to keep the little one warm at night, it is very difficult to rear them when small, I reared a little mossie who's parents died in a heat wave, and it is a very daunting task, but good luck
2006-09-07 06:17:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Instinct is in the provider, a bird needs to know the dangers of it's territory.Make it what it not meant to be, can only get it hurt in it's world,when it's turned loose.
2006-09-12 17:49:39 · answer #8 · answered by Rather be dead than red... 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i can take a bird give it love and handle and treat it with care and it will become tame and look forward to my company without rearing it and it becoming implanted onto me for life.
2006-09-14 15:45:15 · answer #9 · answered by barrie s 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
have done this with parrakeet's and small parrots, works well but if you try to bread them they will go back to wild behavior/hostility.
2006-09-13 16:29:39 · answer #10 · answered by scornedgypsy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋