Hi, I recently found a fledgling spotted dove. He/she is doing very well, eating and drinking water. My question is , I have the bird in a cage in my house. I live in Melbourne and it is extremely cold. Should I be keeping the dove in the warm like I am doing or should I be getting him use to the cold for when he is released. Thank you. Also if anyone has any other advice that might be helpful to me.
That's a good question and I'm not sure wether you should keep it warm or cold. If it shows any signs of being sick then you should keep it warm but I don't know about a healthy bird like yours.
Cheers, Owen.
Thankyou, Owen1 for your response to my question. I think I will call a Avian vet in the morning to see what they think. This little dove is getting stronger by the day. It won't be long before I can release him.
When are you planning to release the bird? I have noticed that the Spotted Doves where I live grow up very fast. I have rarely seen a fledgling. I would keep it in the warm until say a week before release. Then I would slowly put it in a cold area for increasing amounts of time for that week. On the other hand if the weather clears up (I live in Melbourne too so I doubt it but you never know) I would release the bird then. Sorry, but I don't know what you are going to do so I will say: there are two ways of releasing the bird, the recommended is to put the bird in a box and take far from your property and release it so it doesn't come back (this is what I was told when I had a homing Pigeon that had got tired, but it came back anyway) or if you are interested in looking after the bird release it into your yard and feed it oats or some grain and when it looks like it is living off your back, cut down the feed. Then stop feeding it altogether. Otherwise if it is sick I agree with Owen1. I think the vet is idea is a good one.