All animals, whether human or bird, have to pay very close attention to what they’re feeding their babies. Babies generally don’t have the tools that adults have that will allow them to digest regular adult food.
If you’re taking care of a baby dove know that you can’t give them regular adult dove feed. So, what do baby doves eat?
In the wild parent, doves will feed their baby doves crop milk. This pale yellow, grey, beige or whiteish, cottage cheese-like substance gives the baby bird proteins, fat, antioxidants, antibodies and other helpful substances needed by the young bird. In captivity, baby doves can be fed a homemade crop milk substitute or a substitute formula
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What do baby doves eat?
Parent doves feed their babies crop milk. Crop milk has a high concentration of nutrients and is a secretion made by the crop of the parents and fed to the baby bird.
This milk contains more proteins and fats than human milk or cow milk but actually contains no calcium. It contains fat, protein, bacteria, antibodies and antioxidants and is a grey, beige, whitish or pale yellow colour.
They will only feed the baby crop milk for a few days then wean them off if it by incorporating other foods. Doves are mainly ground feeders, in the wild parent doves digest food before feeding it to their young.
A wide range of food can be found in the wild which includes; seeds, earthworms, snails and fruits.
In captivity, baby doves can be fed a homemade crop milk substitute or a substitute formula can be bought from the store.
It is not advisable to mix the formula with water before feeding it to the baby dove as most baby doves formula contain a suitable amount of moisture.
Do baby doves drink water?
Most parent birds give their babies food that contains water. Trying to force-feed a baby dove water might drown it because baby doves have their trachea and oesophagus are very close to each other.
Unlike baby birds, you can give adult birds water. Generally, birds will not drink water from a deep bowl because they are afraid they might fall in and drown.
So to make a bird drink water, you have to put the water in a shallow bowl so the bird can drink from the edge of the bowl.
What should you feed baby doves?
Baby doves need a lot of feedings in a day, also, you need to be very attentive when feeding these animals. These animals require a lot of nutrients, particularly proteins to help them grow.
In the wild, after they have been weaned off the crop milk, baby doves feed on insects because they contain high amounts of protein.
It is also very important to feed pet baby doves foods that contain lots of nutrients, ensure that these foods are also very moist e.g moist dog food, moistened dog biscuit, hard-boiled eggs and other high nutrient foods.
You can also feed them formulas recommended by a vet or a licensed wild bird rehabilitator.
Feeding baby doves with foods like bread can disturb the bird’s digestive system and cause its death. Note, do not feed birds milk because it is liquid and will pass through their trachea instead of the esophagus.
It is important to consult a vet or a licensed wild bird rehabilitator before feeding a baby dove so as not to cause accidents when feeding.
What should you not feed doves?
Avocado: This contains a persin which can kill doves and can kill other birds as well.
Caffeine: Just a little sip of caffeine can result in heart failure and death of the bird.
Chocolate: Birds love chocolate just as everybody does. Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine which can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and heart damage.
Salt: The intake of salt by doves can lead to thirst, dehydration and death for the doves.
It is important to consult a specialist before trying to feed a dove. Doves are very delicate and the feeding of these animals must not be done unsupervised.
Conclusion
In conclusion, baby doves, in the first few days of their lives, will be fed crop milk by their parents. After a few days, the parents will wean them off of this ‘milk’ and will start incorporating other foods into their diet.
If you have a baby dove in your care you can feed them homemade crop milk or crop milk from the store. They get their water from the crop milk and from the food they eat.
Feed them foods similar to what they would eat in the wild, avoid feeding them caffeine, avocado, salt and chocolate
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