What type of weather can the doves withstand?
I live in Southern Ontario (Canada).

This morning around 7am it was 3* Celsius.
(don't know about the temp at night) Fall has
just started, how much longer till I need to
put my doves indoors? What temperature is too
low for them?

I believe this would be all of their first times
fully outdoors in the winter.

Here is my cage: http://www.markbaluk.com/cage
Is it possible just to insulate it with insulation foam
like this: http://www.cookingupculture.org/ai/images/foamular.jpg
and would that make it much warmer in the woodcage,
if I closed off the wire cage part off?

Thanks.

Hi Mark

I am over int he Uk and we get prety cold winters here too. My birds live out doors unless it gets a foot deep in snow. I have them in a shed attached to an avairy and you can always put a small heater inside.

The breeder that I got my birds from did say when I got them that they are VERY hardy birds, and I have found this to be correct. Obviously I think that common sense plays a big part in this, if you think it is too cold to leave them out, then bring them in. if you think you need winter insulation, then add it.

I am sure that you will get many replies to this, but these are my thoughts from my own experience.

hope this is a help.

Liam

Thanks for the comment Liam.

Mark, cold weather won't hurt your birds unless it really gets frigidly cold. You aviary looks very well prepared for colder weather. You might want to put a sheet of plastic or some type of cover over the front of it. The main thing is to be sure that they are not in a draft. You may want to move the aviary closer to the shed I see in your photos. As the weather gets colder, you'll have to check the water frequently. It will freeze and that's bad for the birds. I also noticed you have what looks like metal perches. You need to replace them or somehow cover them. The metal will get really cold and your birds feet will freeze. Use wood that is at least 2 inches wide so they spread their feet out and sit on them.

BTW, you doves are beautiful and you've done an outstanding job making the aviary.

Hi Dave,

What do you consider "really frigid weather"? I will cover up the chicken wire on the front for sure. Also, I do not have any metal perches, except for the water bowl... Everything is wooden.

Thanks for the compliments on the cage and the birds

Here in New Jersey, our temps have gone down to 15 to 20 degrees below zero and my birds have been fine. Again, it's the draft that they can't stand.

I looked at pics again and see why I thought you have metal perches. It was the lights coming through between the boards on your aviary. Looked like metal perches.

Great Advice Dave! - living here in the South, we don't really get too cold, but gets cold enough to worry about sometimes, so what I have done is taken a little plug-in heater from the garage, and attached it to the aviary, and plug it in to run during the evening times. Its on a timer, so it blows warm air into the area, and keeps the temperature around 70 degress during our so called "winter months". Get babies year round sometimes...*haha*

Doves are hearty, but you've got to keep them dry and away from the wind. My dove cote (see link in signature) has closed-sides for the winter and uses a lightbulb heating element to keep the temperature up and their water un-frozen.

Hi Gordon,

I have got the plans for you dove Cote. I kept my first 2 doves in it for about 6 moths till I built my avairy. It is very good and the plans are easy to follow too. I would highly recomend it.

Liam

That's a good idea, Gordon. In fact, I got your plans for a dove cote and built one quite awhile ago. When it gets extremely cold or we're expecting a real winter storm, I bring the birds into my garage which has a small space heater near the cages.

Thank you, Liam and Dave. I agree, even a part-time cote is well worth the effort. And bringing the birds inside during particularly bad weather is always an option. I can remember a few nights were I was worried about them--they did just fine--but I would have slept better had I brought them in.