At Last, A Happy Farewell

You may recall that I'd had two nests of baby Ringneck Doves hatched June 8, 10 and 11. I posted lots of blog updates on their growth. Well, all four of them grew up and were ready for new homes. I placed an ad with photos in the Want Ad Digest:

A week or two later, I hadn't had so much as an inquiry from that ad, so I place another ad in the online Albany Times Union. Yet another week or two went by without so much as an inquiry:

These first three photos, by the way, are of the two babies from nest #1, both of which hatched on June 8. They've certainly grown into lovely, graceful birds:

And this is one of the babies from nest #2, hatched June 11. It was born totally naked, a day later than its nest mate and never grew as well. But as it grew, I realized that it was a true albino with the "silky," fancy feathers. This was a special baby:

The albino baby not only lagged behind the others in growth rate, but was slow to feather out. When the parents stopped feeding the babies, this one balked and for a while, I thought it might not be able to become self sufficient. But it began eating and growing and all was well:

This is the other baby from nest #2, hatched on June 10. I think it's a female because it's long, lean and graceful:

Isn't she lovely?:

I was becoming desperate to find homes for these four babies and stopped at the Rensselaer Bird Center to ask about putting up a poster. I got talking to the owners and they agreed to take them and find them homes:

So I put all four baby doves into a small cage and drove them to the store one day after work. In case you've never been inside, this place is a bird lover's paradise:

They have birds, cages, feeds, treats, toys, perches, toys and much more:

These nice people put my four doves into a large cage with natural perches, high quality seed and grit and even a bird swing. One of the owners has a dove which uses a swing. And in case you're wondering, that is indeed a live African Gray perched outside the community flight enclosure. He has functions as one of the official greeters:

While my doves' new digs were being set up, I toured the store. It's truly an amazing place and even has a resident dog and cat:

One room appeared to be devoted to large Macaws:

And every bird had lots and lots of colorful toys:

This is a fascinating place for any animal lover, and their customers are all bird lovers. I've purchased birds there myself:

So the story of the four baby doves has a happy ending. They have gone to a bird paradise and should soon have new homes with people who love birds:

Baby Dove Update Numer 8. They're Almost Ready

Nest #2's babies are now 23 and 24 days old. Here's the 23 day old albino baby with its parents. Alas, it is growing and maturing slowly and lagging behind its sibling. Yet still it's thriving and learning to eat on its own:

And the 24 day old sibling with its albino nest mate. You can see the size difference. I was quite worried that the parents would cease feeding both of them before the albino was ready, but apparently all is well:

And the reason this baby is so different. Not only is it a true albino, but it's also a "silky" with fancy feathers:

It does, I admit, still have a bit of a homely vulture look:
Yet its 24 day old sibling has become a lovely, graceful dove:

The family from nest #1, the parents on the top perch and the 26 day old babies on the bottom perch:

This photo was used in the Want Ad Digest ad. I hope it brings in some phone calls:

I can honestly say that these babies are "hand tamed," not that that is a difficult thing with these naturally tame doves:

Baby Dove Update Number 7

I took these photos the other morning while cleaning out the bird cages. While it's apparent to me that these babies are going to be quite beautiful in the near future, I don't think they're quite ready yet for the "Want Ad Digest" photos. And that goes doubly for the ungainly little albino baby, shown here at 18 days old. He or she is growing, but slowly in spite of the parents' good feeding. And yet I still hope that in the end, he'll be the ugly duckling (doveling?) that turned into a beautiful "swan:"

The albino's nest mate at 19 days old is beginning to look like a real dove and is exhibiting a nice pied coloration. You can see the widening difference in size between the two babies:

Here's a rear view of the 19 day old baby Ringneck Dove:

The two babies from nest 1 are at this point 21 days old and looking more like real Ringneck Doves:

Their pied coloration is developing nicely. This is a relatively unusual and sought after color, so I am hopeful that someone will want these little beauties:

I believe I'll advertise them in one more week. At the rate they are growing, I'll be stuck with several more cages of doves if I don't find them a good home. But they're lovely colors and quite tame and accustomed to being handled, so I should think that they'll do well:

Baby Dove Update Number 6

I uncovered the bird cages one morning and was amazed to see that the 16 day old baby doves in nest #1 were perching with their parents and no longer occupying their nest. On the very next day, I saw them picking up seed off the floor of the cage. When I said that they grow rapidly, I really meant it!:

The two 16 day old babies from nest #1 are developing lovely pied coloration, though with with two different shades of brown. They are going to be stunning:

Here they are on their perch:

And in hand:

And now on to nest #2. The older, 14 day old baby is also becoming a pied, though with more delicate shading. The younger, 13 day old baby is apparently a true albino but appears to be healthy:

At 13 and 14 days of age they still have that homely squab look to them. I'm counting on them developing into lovely, graceful doves so that I can find them good homes:

Baby Dove Update Number 5

Well, I'll interrupt the travel posts for another baby dove update. These first two babies are from nest 2. They are, at this point, 9 and 10 days old as there was a delay of one day between their hatching. Just look at the size of those wings!:

You may recall that the second baby was born nearly naked and quite fragile looking. He (or she) lived and appears to be doing well enough, but is falling behind the growth of his nest mate. He is also quite shy and tries to hide his head beneath his sibling. But he is now developing white feathers:

I see some color on the bigger baby, so that one will likely be a pied. The smaller baby is still a mystery. Most white doves are not albinos, though at first glance they even have red eyes. I compared this baby to his white mother. Her eye has an orange iris with a black pupil. But this baby has pure pink eyes. I checked the internet and learned that one sign of a true albino chick is that they are born totally naked, without even baby fuzz. So it now appears that's what we have. I also learned that they tend to be less hardy than other doves and are prone to vision problems, especially if kept in bright sunlight. This baby should thrive as someone's pet, however. At least I'll hope so:

And here's all four babies from both nests. From top to bottom, they are 12 days old, 12 days old, 10 days old, 9 days old:

The 12 day old babies from nest 1 are now becoming little birds and beginning to show their colors. This one is becoming a fawn and white pied, a lovely dove some day:

The two babies from nest 1 are similar, but the dark patches on one of them are fawn, and on the other are a darker brown:

And they fill up the nest. Any day now they'll break out and begin roosting with their parents:

I find it fascinating to watch these babies with their rapid rates of growth and array of colors. Their parents are devoted and work tirelessly to get these youngsters out and on their own. It's a shame that they're not more popular pets than they are. I suppose their rapid reproduction rate and loud cooing are among the drawbacks to wider acceptance. Well, I'll keep you updated as the babies grow. It won't take long before they're all grown at the rate they're going:

Baby Dove Update Number 4

These babies are from nest #2, and were hatched one day apart. They are 6 and 7 days old in this photo:

The smaller, 6 day old baby is (thankfully) no longer naked and is now growing some feathers, all of them apparently white. He also has red eyes which is common to white doves. Most white doves with red eyes are not albinos according to everything I've read, but this baby seems different. Perhaps he (or she) is a true albino. He's also growing more slowly than the other babies:

Here's the little fellow with his red eyes. He is growing, but less rapidly than the other three babies:

Here's a comparison shot of babies from both nests. From top to bottom, they are 9, 7 and 6 days old:

And here's one of the 9 day old babies from nest #1. Both babies are clearly going to be pieds, though the pattern and exact color is not yet clear at this point:

This is nest #1, with two 9 day old babies. You can see that doves are not among the animals of the world which do not poop in their nests. In fact, they poop in it so much that I wonder if it holds some evolutionary value. Perhaps it helps keep the babies warm or repels lice(?):

It appears that though both babies in nest #1 will be pieds, they will have different colors for the darker patches. I'll keep you updated as they grow and mature. It is impossible to tell their gender at this age and, in fact, can be difficult even with adults: