[birding] Fw: doves

[Kaynor Heineck]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Kaynor Heineck 
To: Birding Willamette Valley 
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 9:18 AM
Subject: doves


re: the email to from the person who found the dove a week or two ago - I have my own story about that.

One day I found this lovely little white dove walking around looking rather bewildered (this was in Novato, California).  I picked her up and took her home.  After de-fleaing her and making sure she was well fed, etc., I thought she might be lonely.  (Actually, I didn't know if she was a she or he, but later found out, much to my repeated chagrin that she most definitely was a SHE!)  So, I went out and bought a ring necked (turtle) dove friend for her - who, guess what - turned out to be a HE!  (You can't tell.  And, by the way, he was brown.)  Well, clutches of babys followed, and what the hell does one DO with all these young turtle doves!  I kept finding homes for them, but THEY KEPT COMING.  Mind you, I already lived in a condo and had a pot-bellied pig, so I was pushing it!  The doves would hop on the pig's back and ride him in and out of the house!  It was crazy.  So, I thought (ever mindful of the poor doves' tender psychology) I'd "sterilize" the eggs and let the parents sit on them and stop the never-ending onslaught of baby doves.  So, I took the next clutch of eggs and stuck them in the freezer for 3 days thinking to turn those little puppies into frozen embroyos forever caught in suspended animation.  Wellllllll, guess what.  My "dead eggs" hatched!  Then I was all in a panic that I had created brain damaged baby doves and I would have to start some kind of charity foundation to care for them and make up for the horrible damage that I'd done!  But, the babys were just fine.  It was at that point that I put an add in the paper and found a dove breeder and unloaded the whole kit and kaboodle for free.  Dove nightmare over! Sooooo, let that be a warning to those who rescue cute little lost (tame) doves.  Let them be lonely!  (Or, maybe microwaved them - the eggs, not the doves!)

Kaynor Heineck
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