Hi everyone, yesterday my husband and I went into a small mom and pop petstore and saw they had a very beautiful tangerine pearled ringneck dove. The bird had a green legband on, not the plastic kind it was actually an aluminum band obviously put on by the breeder. The bird looked pretty alert and didn't have ruffled feathers or anything but I noticed it seemed to swallow an awful lot, I also noticed that it went over and took a drink and seemed to cough up a bit of the water. I was wondering what could cause a dove to swallow alot more then usual and also to cough after drinking? I wasn't sure if it was something I should bring to the attention of the pet store owner or if it was nothing to worry about. I know wild doves and pigeons are prone to having canker and I wasn't sure if that's what was wrong with this bird or not? how common is canker in doves that are raised from a breeder? Please let me know if that dove's behavior is something I should alert the pet shop owner about. Thanks so much!

Usually the birds are checked for Canker, but one never knows.
There also could have been something caught in his throat, Best to alert the petshop owner when seeing things like this..
Arty

Thanks so much for the reply Arty. The store is close to our house so I think i'm going to go over there this morning and see if the bird is still having swallowing issues. The owner yesterday said the poor bird had been there for almost a year for sale, I believe they were asking only $17.99 for it and it really was a pretty bird, I can't believe it's been for sale for so long. I didn't realize they were usually checked for canker, do you mean they are checked at the breeder's aviary by the breeder themself? Is canker common in ringneck doves? We were actually thinking of asking the store if they just wanted to give the dove to us being they've had it for so long but I was unsure as to what to be careful of disease wise with a dove raised by a breeder. I wasn't sure if paramoxyvirus and pox was of concern and also the concern of canker. Regardless the bird would be quarantined but I wasn't sure how much of a risk there was with those diseases.

I don't know that I would go as far as stating Common, When I check birds here one thing I check for is Canker, most don't have it, few do...
I can't believe the bird has been there that long, but it does sound like there's something lodged into the birds throat (maybe) but this does warrant a look into.
Good breeders check all there birds and have them vacinated before selling.
Doves that come my way are re-homed right away as I have Pigeons here, and they beat up Doves.
Thats a fair price for that little bird, I bet if one tried they could maybe buy the bird even cheaper, a little one that pretty ought not be sitting in a petshop.....Sad...
Is this the little one?

Thanks Arty
I'm going to go over there today and see if it's still having issues and talk with the owner. I will post later on if it's still swallowing alot and what the owner says if it is. Thanks again.

Hi Arty sorry didn't see the picture before now. Yes it's that color exactly but the bird's wings are like that of a pearled cockatiel, they are scalloped in white, really beautiful bird. I am leaving here to go over there within the next hour and will report back. Thanks again

Well I went over to the pet store and saw the bird, it didn't appear to be swallowing alot anymore and was acting normal so i'm thinking maybe he just had something caught in his throat yesterday?? They offered the bird to me for the amount they paid for it which is $10.00. I told them I would let them know either way tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest as I do have to talk with my husband about adding a new bird to our home. The bird is definately a male as while I was watching it he kept bending down and cooing loudly with his throat puffed up. They said if I can't take the bird they will simply contact the breeder he came from and ask for the breeder to take the bird back. I'm not sure if he would be better off back with the breeder or here with us. I'm assuming the breeder has large flights or aviaries and here we have large cages but no aviaries to place him in. We could build one but it would of course take several weeks at least to come up with the funds and materials to do so. What do you all think I should do?

I was hoping they knew the sex, just a heads up, Males doves coo alot, mine cooed even during the night time, So this will be something to concider, there coo isn't loud but can be heard...if that makes sense.
I knew they would come down on the price.
Doves can live to be 16-17 years old in captivity, as with all birds he will need time out of cage to stretch the wings, an outdoor aviary won't be needed, but the bird will need out of cage time.
Return to breeder/ I honestly don't like the sound of that, they have had the bird for over a years time, I really don't know how the breeder will respond to taking the bird back.
I sure hope you are able to provide a home for this little bird, never hurts to pray.
I also wish I had the funds, I would take the bird rather than let the breeder get a hold of him...
Arty

I'm a bad one to ask. I have a strong feeling that at some point, a dove will enter my life. I'd jump on it.

I am going to do my best to convince my husband to let me get the dove. I also don't like the sound of the bird going back to the breeder. Most likely the breeder won't want the bird back, who knows if that person is still even raising birds or how they are treated there. I have a cage that's 2 x 4 ft. would that be large enough? Hubby should be home within the next hour or so and I will talk to him and let you know if I can bring him home or not!!! If my husband does say yes, would he be lonely by himself? Would he prefer to have a female friend? i'm assuming that two male doves would fight.