Hey, I'm not talking about cooing during an act but cooing in general at home. The last doves I had were Barbary doves and we kept them in an aviary in the backyard. My parents woke up every morning to the sound of them cooing. It really annoyed them. Anyway, they were sadly killed when the dogs next door dug under our fence and under the aviary walls. I haven't gotten doves again since then. But I'm looking at getting more. What breed would you guys/girls recommend? Is there any way to prevent the cooing i.e breed of dove, etc...? And what Breed of doves is smaller, because I prefer the smaller dove look? Thanks everyone, in advance.
James

James, check out this topic already running about breeds.

HERE

There is no way to stop the cooing. It's what they do. I used to have 30 birds in my basement and while they cooed, it never bothered my wife or I at all. Now they are in my garage. I hear them but it's not annoying. It all depends on personal preferrence I think. Bob Sanders might have some insight about this since he has over 100 birds all the time.

Thanks Dave,

Lucy and I've just gone deaf. LOL!

Actually, the second most effective way of killing the cooing is total darkness. That will usually shut things down. But it takes very little light to get a contest going for who can be the loudest.

We live out in the country so it can get very dark. However, a full moon seldom goes unnoticed.

(The first most effective way is unreasonably hard on the dove. But for Lucy's geese, it's certainly worth considering!)

Bob
Magic By Sander

Cooing doves is certainly one of the hazards of the job. I can't offer any advice on how to stop them from cooing either, but I did come up with a way to help you get a little more sleep when you are touring and have to keep the doves in the hotel room with you. Our travel cage is a converted small dog carrier with a couple of perches and food and water dishes built in. I constructed a "cone of silence" to place over it at night. The "cone" is made out of a thin ply and the inside has sound deadening styrofoam glued to it. The top of the "cone" has an opening for the handle of the carrier and smaller air holes near the bottom of the "cone" allow for plenty of air ventilation. Also, the "cone" does not fit snuggly, but allows for about 1 1/2 " of space around the carrier. It doesn't kill all the noise, but it quiets it sufficiently so as not to be a nuisance to others staying in the hotel.

Good luck with yours.

Rob

My 10 year old daughter had 2 doves in her classroom that the teacher called "classroom pets" Everytime I went to that classroom, the cooing was there. I asked my daughter if it was distracting and she said "yes". All the kids complained about it but never to the teacher...they didn't want to hurt her feelings. I mentioned it during the parent teacher conference (while they were cooing loudly) and she looked at me like I WAS AN ALIEN. In her opinion, the kids loved them. She also felt the cooing was relaxing. I personally felt it was annoying and distracting. It's funny how 2 people can hear the same sound and have a different opinion. Do you think people mentally are able to "tune out" familiar noises they hear often? I stayed with a friend who lived near the freeway. I don't see how he can handle the noise all the time. When I inquired, his response was a genuine "what noise"?

Well I live on a highway and opposite the highway is a train track, my bedroom is at the front of the house. Whenever people come to stay, they're like "How can you sleep with all the cars and trains?" But it doesn't bother me the slightest. Interesting thoery.

James

The cooing time changes with the daylight hours during the year. I really grow to miss it more in the winter. Do you?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

How often do your doves coo? I have one dove and it coos non stop with 30 seconds between each coo fest. Is this normal for one dove?

I suppose that if you are a dove and busy with life, there's no limit. Sick doves don't coo. Love sick doves may be a different story. Even doves with a full nest coo.

Bob
Magic By Sander

I think it depends on what you call noise. At one time I had 31 birds in my basement but they never bothered me. The cooing stopped at night so sleeping was never a problem anyway. Now that they are in my garage, I very rarely hear them. They do most of their cooing during the day and mostly when they are ready to mate.

Bob is right though, the time of day changes with the light and time of year.

After a while, hearing doves cooing just makes you feel at home. My computer is in our library and from that desk, I can see the dove cages outside. It's better than TV!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

The cooing is the most beautiful music I know. They rate right along-side bob-white quail and whippoorwill songs. They make their "dove laugh" when when I am on the phone and callers accuse me of having a party and not inviting them!

The "cone of silence" Rob mentioned above is a very interesting concept. When I travel, my birds check into the hotels with me. Of course, the hotel never knows. I usually take them with me wherever I go or I cover them with a dark cloth if I have to leave them so they will not coo.

I have had the occasional errant coo while housekeeping was in my room and I always look up at the ceiling or outside the window and say "dang pigeons, nesting on the roof again."

The days are getting longer again and it's no secret to the doves. They are cooing more often and really putting some emotion into it. Do you think they know that the 14th is Valentines?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Sounds like you all have happy birds!!

My dove, a male, has not cooed since his female died several months ago. It is very sad indeed.

I found my birds coo when they want to mate. I came to this conclusion after my four birds paired up and had babies the cooing all but went away. The male was so busy sitting on the egg during the day and feeding the babies after they were born there was no time for mating. Unfortunately, my birds have had a little trouble producing viable off spring so now the cooing is back. I might suggest after the birds lay eggs replace them with fake ones this might keep the bird in the parenting cycle and not the mating cycle.

Ben

For awhile I was thinking of giving up dove magic because of the cooing alone. I'm in an apartment, so it was double the normal amount. Anywhoo... I figured with time, I would get used to it. ERR.. wrong.

Then one day my girlfriend came over (back when we first started seeing each other), and the bird started "laughing". This was when I was a dove magic rookie, so I had never heard it before. The thing wouldn't stop! I figured it was because he was a male, and my girlfriend was there. We laughed with the lil guy for hours. From then on it didn't bother me. They are so personable, and hilarious to watch.

When the noise starts to bother you, just look at them. They are in a world of their own. The male chases the female, while she ducks and dodges and runs away. Then one male tries to bully off the other with a puffed out chest. It's like Friday night at a bar in NYC!

Bob, you are so right when you say that are almost as entertaining as television.

Justin,

I'm not sure I wasn't watching doves coo before there was television!

(Dave won't admit it but he had doves when radio was invented!)LOL

Bob

See you at SEAM 2006.

HAHA. ah.. poor seasoned guys.

The site looks good Bob.. I can't wait.

Justin,

Now that I think about it. Dave said something about getting his doves from some guy named Noah that lived on a boat. Of course, I'm much too young to know for sure.

I will have to admit that I actually enjoy hearing my doves coo. Today was warm so they played in the water a while. Then they cooed until dark. Show offs!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander