Senegal doves (PMV Paramixo Virus discussion)

Senegal Doves are non stop in motion and it is not easy to take picture of them. I took oportunity while these two were playing nesting game today.

They are very sweet Plamenh - I have never seen one in reality. They are tiny - half the size of a normal pigeon?

They are smaller than Collared doves, bit bigger than sparrow, I would say 1/4 of the pigeon. Their weight is 90~120 grams.

They are beautiful birds Plamenh! Thanks for the pictures. Can I use one on the front of their album cover? Seriously, I'm glad to see what a Senegal dove looks like.

Naunnie wrote:

They are beautiful birds Plamenh! Thanks for the pictures. Can I use one on the front of their album cover? Seriously, I'm glad to see what a Senegal dove looks like.

Sure you can use any picture you want. I'm glad you like them.

They are very pretty.

I love the way they are cuddled up close. Are these two a pair or do they huddle up like that 'cos they're shy?

Janet

Great pictures, plamenh.
They sure are pretty little doves and the pigeon is quite striking.

Many for shring them with us.

Are they nervous and flighty like Collared Doves?

CDs can sometimes be a nightmare if just one is spooked by a human

I didn't know Senegal doves were even smaller than collared doves. They're so pretty! Thanks for posting the photos.

Senegals are very flighty birds. They do not like sudden movements and if you try to approach them they run. Even baby Senegal dove is good flyer.
On the other side they are really cheeky birds. They will knock on the window if you are late with feeding, while pigeons wait patiently. They will land on the back of the pigeon in the melee for food and get the seed under his beak. They will take opportunity to get in the loft the moment you leave door open (in ten and hundreds) not one or two.
As pigeons they mate for life. Unlike pigeons they do not leave youngsters once out of the nest. In the beginning I was thinking that young baby is abandoned because is sitting on one place, not moving. I was trying to catch them (babies) and help them. Usually they will fly away. Five minutes later it would come back on the same spot. Then I saw that parents come to feed it.
Once there was a big storm and I saw baby dove sitting drenched on the rain. I took it in, warmed it and fed. Next morning when I was preparing to feed it, baby managed to escape through open window and it went to the very same spot in the garden where it was previous day. Minute later adult dove came to feed it.
These two on the picture are PMV survivors. They cannot fly and as I have them for more then a year, they are tame. Both are females as their egg production is really high. Once they managed 6 eggs in a week.
On one occasion I managed somehow to leave cage door open (I can swear I closed it) while I was cleaning. Cage was outside in the garden and they escaped. I found them minutes later gorging on young broccoli leafs in the veggie spot. They didn’t try to escape from me or anything just hanging on their leafs like little bulldogs, with innocent faces, while I was carrying them back to the cage. (that’s why I call them The Bandits).

Sounds like your feral flock keeps you busy. That's interesting about the Doves.

The two in the picture sould like 2 more little characters.

That is very interesting about the doves. plamenh.

These days they are bit quiet, surely another series of eggs are comming

plamenh wrote:

These days they are bit quiet, surely another series of eggs are comming

And the circle of love continues.

This week production

Nice looking eggs. Did they all come form those little Doves? Do they seem to notice that you have replaced them with wooden ones?

Strange thing is that these two produce more than 4 eggs together. They are hens both and eggs are not fertile. They lay them and do not sit on them at all.

That's unusual. How often do they lay?

Every second week. I have them for a while and there was no eggs for long time. Since I mated another pair of Senegals and cock is cooing like mad these two started laying. Other pair produces 2 eggs every third to fourth week. They sit on the dummies and act normally.

Am I remembering correctly that these 2 are PMV survivors?

Do they lay thier eggs in a nest?

Not allways in the nest. 2 of the eggs were in the nest, 3 on the side. I have impression that they lay at the same time. Maybe they need second nest in the cage.

What I'm wondering is if there is any correlation between the excessive egg laying , lack of interest in laying and PMV ?

It may be. In every other aspect, they act normally, they preen each other, snuggle together, they even pretend to sit on the eggs, but away from eggs. Who knows PMV affects nervous system so one cannot know what goes in their heads. My other PMV hens sit on the eggs normally. I have another pair of Senegal doves who are too young to produce eggs so I’ll check their behavior once they start. They are PMV survivors too.

Tell me this, plamenh...are there symptoms you associate with PMV besides the neurological symptoms?