Does anyone keep white garden doves (pigeons)?

Question

I had 4, and then 2 of them had babies, so had 6, but in the last 2 months i have lost 3. One today. I am very sad and think it might be a sparrowhawk. Can anyone suggest anything to keep hawks away?

Thanks for answering Jason.You poor thing - horrible experiences you've had. I dont think you should let them out of the net at only 3 weeks, its not long enough. They recommend 6 weeks minimum to 8 weeks. I did 6 weeks and they stayed. Please reconsider. You will be so upset if they fly off.

Thanks Dotr - that answer might help Jason too. Jason, dont let them out the net til the babies are hatched and able to feed themselves. When i let mine out, they all flew away for a day, and was so worried they wouldnt come back and feed the babies. It was so worrying. I opened the net at 7.30 am - they flew away and the babies starved til 6pm when they came back. Dont let that happen to you!

Answer 1

Try a garden owl (from walmart) on top the coop. the piegeons will get used to it. Also think about getting multi-colored tiplets rollers or homing pidgeons. They do tricks as they fly. If u get alot of crows the hawks generally leave the area so they don't have to compete w/them.

Answer 2

I keep doves. I just started about two months ago. I keep them in a dovecote with a frame i made around it covered in strawberry net. The first four i bought lasted 1 week before something got in and killed and ate one each night. Every morning when i woke up i found another corpse - horrible! I then bought 4 more and made it more secure and they have all lived. They will have been in the netting for three weeks tomorrow so am due to remove the netting in the morning and hope that they choose to stay. I have noticed a couple of sparrowhawks in the area recently and am worried that they are waiting there chance to get hold of my doves. It will be a shame as 1 of my pairs has just laid eggs. How long have you had yours for? - Jason

Answer 3

so sorry to hear about your Doves, when I lived in London I had white Doves, they are so nice , And like you we started off with the same about, we had trouble to , but not with other bird´s with cat´s , so we had to keep them in for a couple off week´s before letting them out again , but I always stayed in the garden whilst they were free,Suggest some thing to keep the hawks away . If you have some old CD´S , string them and hang them near the place you keep your doves, the sun reflecting on the Cd´s might just scare them away, sorry cant be more help

Answer 4

We do not keep them, we do have several who will show up for some crumbs and bird food we throw out at this time of the year....
There are pigeons and these doves nesting in the hay barn near us. The owner kills them though....rats of the sky he calls them. But they sure are pretty..