Laying an egg is a natural process of a dove that can be observed by the female dove when it feels ready to start laying eggs. The first time you see your dove begin to lay eggs, it will be either in the morning or evening. It is very interesting to watch the dove as it lays its eggs and then incubates them. But one question may arise in your mind how many eggs do doves lay? In the previous article, we discussed how baby doves look like with ages. In this article, we will discuss the number of eggs doves lay and also their average size.
When does a dove lay eggs?
Doves are very beautiful birds with long tails and wings. They have soft feathers which make them look like angels. Doves generally live for more than 10 years but they die within 2-3 months after mating. When a male dove mates with a female it usually stays near the nest for some days before leaving. This is because the male does not want to leave its mate alone during the nesting period. During the nesting period, the male dove will stay close to the female so that it can feed its while it is away from the nest. After mating, the male dove leaves the nest and goes back to its own territory.
The female dove starts to lay eggs only after it has mated with the male dove. It begins to lay eggs after 3 weeks of mating. At this stage, the female dove will feel hungry and wants to eat something. So, it looks for food outside the nest. While looking for food, it sometimes comes across other nests of other birds. If it finds another nest, it will try to find out if there is any food inside it. If it sees food inside the nest, it will take some food and bring it back to its nest. Then it will sit on top of the nest and wait for the male dove to return. Once the male returns, it will come into the nest and pick up the food that was brought by the female. It will carry the food back to the nest and give some of it to the female. This continues until all the food is used up. Now the female dove will start to lay eggs.
How many eggs do doves Lay?
Once the female dove starts to lay the eggs, it will continue to lay eggs every day. Generally, a female dove lays one or two eggs depending upon the weather, age and health conditions. A female dove will lay eggs at night and early morning hours. As soon as it finishes laying the eggs, it will go back to the nest and cover itself up. This helps the eggs to hatch properly.
Average Size Of Dove Eggs
The average size of a dove egg is 1/4 inch in diameter. The length of a dove egg varies according to the age of the dove. A young dove’s egg is smaller than an older dove’s egg. The weight of a dove egg ranges from 0.5-1 gram.
Incubation period
The incubation period is the time taken by a dove to hatch its eggs. The incubation period depends upon several factors such as temperature, humidity, and the size of the eggs. The incubation period for a dove egg is around 16 – 21 days. The temperature should be maintained between 98 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity must be kept between 50% – 55% and the eggs should be covered with a thin layer of paper.
Which month do doves lay their eggs?
Most of the doves lay their eggs in May or June. Some species of doves lay their eggs earlier in April and others later in July. In general, most doves lay eggs in spring and summer.
Conclusion
A mature bird can lay eggs to continue its lineage. The number of eggs varies from bird to bird. In this article, we discussed when a dove lay eggs and how many eggs they actually lay. We hope you enjoyed this article and get some new knowledge.
