unusual bird in brooder

[portmead]

Last week when I was at work the farmer came in with a young collared dove fully feathered apart from the tail which is still webbed it was hopping about the barn but his cats had their eyes on it so he gave it to me to deal with ,I tried to ring the local bird rescue with no luck so as a last resort I put it in with my 12 two week old chicks in the brooder ,I was expecting it to die from shock but after 5 days it still seems really happy and is pecking some grain ,not sure how I will tell when it is ready to fly as not much room for that in the brooder !

 

[Anonymous]

Our cat brought in a young dove and, like yours, it didn't die from shock. My husband made it a make shift nest in one of trees and miraculously the parents came back to feed it. I think it took about 3 weeks before it could fly but it was so rewarding to see it surviving.

 

[Lordcluck]

It's amazing to think that only some fifty years ago or so, there were no Collared Doves in the UK at all, and when they first arrived here, it caused a furore amongst the Nation's Twitchers, and they flocked to catch a glimpse of this ' Rare' and wonderful new species!!
Now they are Everywhere, literally!! i've fostered the odd youngster under Fancy pigeons before, and released them once they were old enough to fend for themselves.
Lately, i've spotted some rather unusually coloured ones in my area, some are dappled with white, and others are a russet colour. I'm wondering if they are the result of interbreeding with escaped Barbary Doves. These are the African variation on ' our' collared doves, and have been bred in captivity as ' Magician's doves' for centuries. they are virtually domestic, and come in all manner of colours.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm really surprised that only 50 years ago they were rare! :shock: Even though they are now common I think they are lovely birds~ it is nice that they are fairly tame. I also love thae Goldfinches;we have loads in our garden as we put out the niger seed for them.