Diamond Doves are a highly sexed bird, with much of their behavior centered on their mate and reproducing. Within favorable conditions, they reproduce readily in captivity. Many factors can effect proper breeding, therefore requiring your close attention for a successful breeding program. The factors include the size of the cage, design and placement of the cage, light provided, nutrition provided, health of the birds, compatibility of the birds, routine and genetics. Doves do not need to reproduce in order to survive themselves. Therefore, if there is anything out of balance or stressing the birds, one of the first things to go wrong will be reproduction. I say this not to scare you away from Diamond Dove breeding. Actually Diamond Doves are fairly easy to provide for and breed readily in captivity.

Diamond Doves can be selectively paired or allowed to select for themselves. Once paired, Diamond Doves are monogamous meaning they would prefer to remain paired for life. If divided and paired with another, it is best to keep the pair isolated until a set of young is produced. Rarely are two birds simply incompatible; however this does happen. Ideally, each mated pair should be kept separately to avoid problems like fighting among the males and sharing the same nest by the females. However, they will breed and generally get along with more than one pair in a pen if adequate space is provided. When I put more than one pair to a pen, I select pairs differing in color. This helps in identifying the young produced from the pairs and in record keeping. Diamond Doves will breed all year if allowed to. I do not recommend this. It is best to allow them to nest from early spring through mid summer. Then take away the nests, nesting material and shorten the light period. If necessary, separate the males from the females or combine the pairs in a large common flight for them to rest and molt. This practice will help in the health and longevity of your birds.

Diamond Doves are poor nest builders, therefore I recommend placing some form of bowl or basket into the cage. I prefer woven wicker Canary nests or wire kitchen strainers about 4" in diameter. Diamond Doves prefer a bowl or platform versus an enclosed box to nest in. In a cage, place the nests in an upper back corner and conceal it a little with greens or cloth. In a flight, place the nests from 3 feet high up to 6 feet high, protected from the elements and partially concealed. Also, provide clean dry pine needles or natural grasses as nesting material. During the breeding season, lighting should be set at 14 to 16 hour days, and nutrition should be high in calcium with supplements provided. Producing and raising babies is hard on the parent's resources, so we must provide them what is needed to stay strong and replenish.

In the process of selection and mating, the male will display to the hen by puffing his chest, bowing his head towards the ground, pointing his tail upward and spreading the tail feathers and cooing, often repeating this quickly a number of times. This is to attract the hen and lure her to his chosen nest site. He will often hop from the nest site to the hen and back during his display. He will even try to drive the hen to the chosen nest site. Once she is agreeable, she will join him in the nest. The pair will be seen "billing and cooing" as they get to know one another. This is a preening or nuzzling of each other around the head with their beaks. Sometimes this even leads to the exchange of food as if feeding young. He will continue to display to her as they build a crude nest together. Mating will take place several times by the male resting on the female's back, leaning back and flapping the wings as they breed. Shortly after, two white eggs are laid, usually about a day or so apart. Incubation does not start until the second egg is laid with both sexes sharing in the incubation. The male incubates from mid-morning until about mid-afternoon. The hen incubates the remainder of the time. Hatching takes place approximately 14 days later. The young are completely dependent on the parents. The parents will remove the eggshells from the nest. This is a good sign that the chicks have hatched without disturbing the parents. Be sure to record the hatch date. Both parents share in the care of the young, feeding rich "pigeon milk" which they regurgitate. Gradually this mixture increases in whole seed content as the young grow. One of the worst things for newly hatched young is getting chilled. Avoid disturbing the parents. You do not want them off of the nest for long periods of time. If the young get chilled or are abandoned, put them under a light and try heating them to 85 degrees or so. Once warm, you can try reintroducing them to the parents or hand feeding them yourself. Hand feeding is rather difficult. Many hand-feeding formulas are available on the market; however the process is too involved to detail here. My best advice is before you are faced with this task, find someone experienced in hand feeding and learn from their experience. Growing quickly, the young can fly at about 12 days old and leave the nest shortly thereafter. The parents will continue to feed and protect the young, but quickly shift their attentions towards the next breeding. The young can be left with the parents as long as they do not interfere with subsequent nesting. Although difficult, the sexes of the young can usually begin to be determined at about 8 weeks by watching behavior and the coloring of the second molting. They are capable of breeding at 4 to 5 months. It is possible for a good breeding pair to raise six or so clutches in a season.

Keeping in mind all the things that must go right for young to be produced and be provided for as they grow, it truly amazes me how often the process works and two healthy birds are produced. Things can and do go wrong. Many factors can affect the process either singly or in combination. Each of the factors has been discussed within this series of articles. In trying to determine the cause of problems, go through the factors in breeding and check that each is provided for adequately. If this happens, there are a few options. You can try to hand feed the chicks as mentioned previously. It is also possible to foster the eggs or chicks to other parents. For this to work, the eggs or chicks under the prospective foster parents must be close to the same stage of development as the ones to be introduced. The foster parents should also be a well-established pair proven to be good parents. Young or newly paired birds will often go through the motions a few times, producing eggs that are either infertile or simply do not catch. The eggs can be checked for development by candling them at about 4-5 days old. Gently remove an egg and shine a small, bright light behind it. If the egg is developing, small blood vessels will be seen at this stage. Check them a few times. Clear eggs can be discarded and the parents will resume the process, often within a week or so. Sometimes the chicks do hatch but are not cared for or are abandoned by the parents

It is very important to keep detailed records on your Diamond Doves. This starts with obtaining a record or pedigree on the birds you purchase. This is often not available, but if we continue to ask, hopefully it will become standard practice. In your records include Type, Sex, Band #, Hatch Date or Where you got them, Parents Pedigree (if possible), Health, Pairings, Offspring Produced, and Who Sold To & When. Band all the Diamond Doves you raise with seamless metal bands (available through most Dove Clubs and Supply Companies.) I band mine at 5-7 days old using a size "K" or "L" band. Bands too small can cause serious injury as the doves grow.
In order to understand the colors of Diamond Doves, you need a basic understanding of genetics. Professor Garrie Landry graciously provided the following explanation. Colors, and for that matter, all characteristics are dictated by genes. Genes are represented in pairs of chromosomes. Half of each pair of chromosomes comes from the father, the other half from the mother. If both halves or parts of the pair of chromosomes are identical, the gene is said to be homozygous, or "pure" for that gene. If the portions of the pair are different, the gene is said to be heterozygous, or "split" for that gene. It is the interaction of the two chromosomes that determines which one will be expressed in the individual bird. The gene that is expressed is called a "dominant" gene. A dominant gene is expressed even when found on only one of the chromosomes, therefore being expressed in both the homozygous (pure) and the heterozygous (split) condition. The gene whose action is blocked or suppressed is called a "recessive" gene. A recessive gene must be present on both chromosomes to be expressed. If present on only one chromosome, it will not be expressed. For every recessive gene, there is a dominant counterpart. A sex-linked gene is only associated with the sex chromosomes. Currently, we have no evidence of sex-linked coloring or mutations in Diamond Doves. The dimorphism (color variation) between the male and female of a mutation is not linked to the sex chromosomes. When working with one gene, or one mutation, the term monohybrid applies. Working with two genes or mutations, dihybrid applies; and with three, trihybrid applies. The monohybrid or "root" colors or mutations of Diamond Doves include Blue or Wild Type, Silver, Cinnamon, Brilliant, Yellow, Pied and White Tail. The dihybrid colors or mutations include Ocher, Peach, Blue Pied and the White Tails (and Laced White Tail varieties) including Blue White Tail, Silver White Tail, Cinnamon White Tail, Brilliant White Tail and Yellow White Tail. The trihybrid colors or mutations include Blue White Tail Pied and the Snow-White. In Diamond Doves dominance can also be seen in "single and double factor" as in the White Rump, White Tail and Laced White Tail. In single factor dominance, the dominant characteristic is expressed but to a lesser degree when present on only one chromosome, as in the White Rump and some White Tail varieties that produce White Rumps and White Tails. In double factor dominance, the characteristic is expressed all of the time and in a stronger manner when present on both chromosomes, as in some White Tails that produce only other White Tails and Laced White Tails and the Laced White Tails themselves.

Understanding the colors of the Diamond Doves and the genetics of the colors and their combinations is involved and dynamic. Some combinations work well and produce obvious results. Some combinations produce results totally unexpected, while others produce inferior birds, either weak or very slow to reproduce. I have written a book, Diamond Doves, A Guide to Colors and Care, that details the Diamond Dove colors bred today, their combinations and effects. The book is available through the A.D.A. if you are interested in learning more about the topic.

In this five part series of articles I have discussed Diamond Doves, their behavior, preparing for and selecting them, housing and feeding them, as well as their breeding and genetics. I hope you have enjoyed the information I have presented and that it has helped further your understanding of Diamond Doves or sparked an interest in adding this fantastic little dove to your collection.

Jeff Downing