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Re: Silly questiuon from an inexperienced breeder.

Posted by Stacy on 5/04/05
(6) Comments
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    They are white ringnecks, I think. They do not have a skin patch
    around the eye, it's all feather.

    Funny, the first egg was soft shelled- the second egg they laid
    feels harder today... Am I just mistaken that they are soft
    shelled? I candled the one they laid three days ago, and their is a
    good sized yolk, however their is a marbled look to them. The first
    egg she laid three days ago felt soft and plyable, when I candled
    them today they both look and feel harder.

    Am I going crazy... o_0*

    On 5/03/05, Michael L wrote:
    > On 5/03/05, Stacy wrote:
    >
    >>
    >> Anywho, I have a pair of doves that have tried to mate. the
    >> female laid eggs, but it seemed to early (less then three-four
    >> days) for them to be fertile. My issue is they are soft shelled.
    >>
    >> This worries me- I have had this pair for only a couple weeks,
    >> and I am afraid that they have not had enough calcium. Is there
    >> a way to get them back on track, or should I just let them chew
    >> their cuttlebones and keep offering them eggs?
    >>
    >> I just want it to be too much or too late, and I can hardly
    >> find any e-reading to help me with this problem, and others.
    >> What do they eat other then seeds? Can they eat the same people
    >> food that parrots can (veggies, whole grain bread, onions,
    >> everything but the avacodo)?
    >>
    >> I am concerned about this because of my inexperience with this
    >> type of bird.
    >
    > Stacy,
    > Soft shelled eggs are a sure sign that the hen is lacking in
    > calcium. There are a couple of things you can provide to make it
    > better.
    > First there are foods that are rich in calcium such as broccoli,
    > kale, collards, mustard and turnip greens. If you chop these
    > fine they will usually eat them.
    > Cuttlebone isn't good in it's natural state because doves usually
    > won't eat it from the hard piece. You can scrape it over any of
    > the soft foods that you feed them as it will stick to these foods
    > and be taken in that way. Putting it over seed is worthless as
    > it falls to the bottom of the dish.
    > You can also grind the egg shells from hard cooked eggs and blend
    > them right back into the chopped eggs.
    > Another easy way is to provide a calcium supplement right into
    > the drinking water. A favorite of mine is Calciboost from the
    > Birdcare Company.
    > Also, mineral grit and oyster shell should be available at all
    > times as doves need this to help digest their food.
    > You mention onion...that is not a food that is recommended for
    > any bird. But the whole grain bread and veggies are great.
    > Are these the ringneck doves or are they diamond?
    >
    > Michael L