Which is a better pet: a pigeon or a dove?

Question

If you could list the pros and cons of both, that would be great. I'm preparing to get either one of these birds, but I want to know which one might be better based on your comments/answers.

Answer 1

i would say a pigeon they r cute & long time ago they passed noted atleast i think they did... but if i could pick any bird i would pick ravens there my fave.'s:D

Answer 2

a pigeon homes in faster

Answer 3

Doves are widely popular as pets but it is true, they are messy. Doves are more tame then pigeons and easier to handle. Doves are hard to breed so you might want to get pigeons if you  plan to breed. Doves need a partner or they will get scared and lonely, and will nip and bite alot, and after awhile they will fluff up in a corner and, sadly, pass away. pigeons are easy to breed and don't need a partner to stay healthy, yet they are more aggressive. pigeons are also messy. pigeons do better with teens and adults, yet doves prefer younger humans. pigeons do better with other pets though. hope this helps!

Answer 4

i myself wouldnt want either of those cause i think birds like that should live in the wild unstead of being a pet . unless they r hurt or ssomethin. but dont change ur mind cause of me. if i had a get oone i would get a dove cause i think they r pretty. i really dont know birds, so i cant list some pro and cons

Answer 5

I would strongly suggest pigeons.

Here's a list of pros and cons on each.

Pigeons:

Pros:

- Hardier, less likely to get sick or die

- Homing instinct, more likely to survive if lost, will return to it's loft/cage (if outside) or home (if kept inside and gets out)

- 250+ breeds to choose from, more colors and patterns to choose from

- Very affectionate, mates for life

- Will dance and coo for you (more likely if male, but hens may as well)

- Very intelligent

- Easy to care for

- Can be kept in a loft outside and be flown, depending on the breed. Homing pigeons can be flown from many miles away and return to the loft, while Rollers will fly in kits (flocks) in circles around the loft in the air, doing backflips often in flight.

- Harmless. May give the the occasional wing slap or peck depending on how cocky the bird is or how much it likes to flirt with you, but it doesn't hurt I promise ;)

Cons:

- CAN be messy, as in may pick through seeds and shove some out on the floor of the cage

Doves:

Pros:

- Affectionate

- Easy to care for

- Mates for life, and if male may bow and coo for you

- Harmless. May give you the occasional 'wing slap' or small peck, but neither hurt, the most it may do is surprise you.

Cons:

- If gets outside, you might as well say goodbye. The chances of catching an escaped dove are slim, and the chances of it surviving in the wild are even more slim. They have no homing ability whatsoever.

- Messy. They pick through their food to find certain seeds they need and most may end up on the cage bottom (but then again, ALL birds are messy as far as food goes)

- A bit harder to tame unless young. Because of their small size, they are more panicky and timid by nature, so it's best to get as young as you can to tame it more quickly. With time and effort, even the oldest of doves can be tamed.

- The most popular doves you'll find for pets are the Ringneck Dove (your typical white dove, not pigeon, dove. these are not the birds released at weddings, funerals, etc. these are the small birds you may see in the display cages at those occasions though) and the Diamond Dove. Both have limited colors that won't cost you a fortune to get. There are exotic dove breeds, but they tend to cost a good bit.

- Aggressive at times. Believe it or not, they are very fiesty little birds. If you introduce a new bird, they may fight for long periods of time, chasing, pecking, slaping, and jumping on each other. All doves and pigeons have their own personality as we do, so they may react worse or better towards other birds. Pigeons may slap, peck, and chase each other at first, but normally they don't keep it up as much as doves.

Despite all the bad things I've said, either one makes a wonderful pet. If you think about it, many of the cons would go for any pet bird, be it a parrot or budgie, chicken or finch. I find their dancing and cooing lovely and a lot easier to handle than the often obnoxious squeals and whistles of parrots, parakeets, etc. Not to mention they don't bite. If kept in good health and happy, some live up to 30 years, most around 10-20 depending on the breed of pigeon or species of dove. I may seem biased and are towards pigeons, but I'm not trying to be. I'm giving you my own personal opinions along with the things I've noticed in my 6 years of having several breeds of pigeons (both flying and show), Ringneck Doves, and Diamond Doves. Pigeons have honestly been a lot more enjoyable for me, as well as many others I know, but everyone is different. Both are sweet birds and they aren't disease ridden despite popular belief. I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever one you choose :)

I would like you to check out this forum though, since you are planning on getting either a pigeon or dove.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums

Pigeon-Talk is not just for pigeons, but doves and other bird lovers as well. You can learn a lot that may come in handy in making your decision, and there's many people there to help if any emergency comes along with your bird.

Good luck and have fun with your new friend! :)

Becky (MaryOfExeter on Pigeon-Talk)

Edit: Reading the previous answers I would like to correct a few things. Yes, both CAN be hand raised. Both parents feed their young 'pigeon milk' or 'crop milk', which if needed be, can be substituted with Kaytee Formula. Many, many people have hand raised both pigeons and doves off of it and they grow up to be happy and healthy. Because no substitute can match the nutrition and immunty benefits of the real crop milk, the birds may not grow as fast or big as they would if they were fed by their parents. However, most catch up after they get on solid foods. Even if the bird was not hand raised, it can still easily be tamed. They are weaned at approximately 1 month, and as long as they still have the squeaky voice, they are definitely young enough to tame and get attached to you. Oh and you guys just come on over to Pigeon-Talk. We'll show you just how many pigeons have become very tame and affectionate - pets, just as much as parrots and budgies are. If raised in a loft with a lot of birds, they may not become as much of a pet....however...you give the bird the love and attention, and it will be a pet. Some members of the forum have pigeons that live indoors, and will follow them around at their feet, sometimes even un-tying their shoelaces and landing on their head, shoulder, or computer screen as they search the web.

Sorry, I just get tired of seeing so many people take false info as advice :|

Answer 6

Neither, they poo all over and smell funky.  As far as looks go though, I'd say Doves (but you need 2 of them).

Answer 7

There are many birds outside.  Do not cage animals.

Answer 8

Doves are really beautiful, while Pigeons are not.

Answer 9

Pigeons and Doves both mate for life (till one of the mates dies), it is not uncommon that the other mate will "mourn" it's self to death but they are not unknown for re-pairing (finding another mate when time has passed).

Both of these birds are not able to be hand raised as they require to be fed by their parents, especially within the first month.  Therefore they are not usually as tame and timid as many people wish they were.

They are not normally a bird that will sit on your shoulder, or that you can carry around like other birds that are hand fed and hand tamed.  They basically never loose the instinct to fly and be free and want to stay away from humans.

Both will CO and make very enjoyable noises and need regular cleaning on a daily basis.  

I would suggest learning about pigeon and dove diseases prior to owning one.

I used to raise pigeons and doves for many years, however, if I had it all to do over again, I would not.  They never become the "PET" you think they will.