Emerald Dove Husbandry Manual - Nswfmpa.org

Jennifer Brown ● Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica ● Husbandry manual
should b e undertaken in the spring months (pers com C am, 2010). The amount of
calcium should be increased in the diet as well to help supplement the calcium that will
be t aken f rom t he f emale when sh e st arts producing her eggs.
The am ount o f f ood t he an imals are g iven in their d aily r ation
should also be increased and stay increased until the chicks are
fledging. The amount by which to increase the diet is learned by
trial and error as each animal is different but without enough food
mating may not be successful (pers com Cam, 2010) so it is better
to error on the side of caution.
10.12 Incubation Period:
The emerald dove has a recorded 14 day incubation period in
captivity and observed in the wild (Higgens et al. 1996)
Fig 10. 8: E merald Dove
clutch (blog spot, 2006)
Fig 10.9: An older juvenile (Myer et al, 2008)
10.13 Clutch Size:
Records indicate that the clutch size for the Emerald
Dove is 2 eggs (Higgens et al. 1996).
10.14 Age at Fledging:
In captivity the age of fledging was o nce recorded at 3
weeks b ut it h as b een o bserved at 5 week s i n the wi ld
(Higgens et al. 1996), t he d ifference i n r esults c an b e
assumed to be that the captive breeding pair was under
closer scrutiny than the wild breeding pair.
10.15 Age of Removal from Parents:
Once f ledglings are f ree flying young t here h ave b een
reports of the young still receiving food off their parents (Higgens et al. 1996). Due to this
it is unwise to separate young from their parents just after they have become free flying
young.
The Emerald dove goes through its first molt to get rid of its juvenile feathers and gains its
immature plumage at the age of 3months. It has been determined that it is at this point
that it becomes a young adult and can safely and much more easily be removed from
its parents without causing any undue harm to the individual (Higgens et al. 1996).
10.16 Growth and Development:
According to Higgens et al. (1996):
• Chicks are born semi-altricial and nidicolous meaning they stay in their nest. They
are covered in a sparse yellow down.
• 3 to 4 days after hatching, quills of primaries, secondaries and rectrices start to
appear
• 7-8 days t he h ead, n eck an d b ack a re b are wi th w ings c ompletely f eathered
but the p lumes h ave emerged only a l ittle, t he l ower t ail-coverts an d rec trices
48