How to Build Pens for White Doves

Caring for white doves starts before they even arrive. It takes some planning and hard work to build a pen for your white doves. The structure must be safe and secure to protect the white doves from predators and allow them to live and nest productively.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cement mix
• Chicken wire or netting
• Wooden or metallic studs
• Staple gun or wire
• Planks of wood
• Open top box or basket
• Straw or hay

1. Decide where to build the white dove pen. Don't place it too far away from your house so you can tend to your doves easily. Find a level piece of land and plot out an appropriate width and depth for the number of birds you have before you build. Keep in mind these birds enjoy being close to each other.

2. Pour a cement foundation that is 18 inches deep for the bottom of the dove pen. Put chicken wire and netting 18 inches deep into the dirt below the pen to keep rats, mice and other pests from getting into the pen from underneath.

3. Construct the four corners of the pen with strong wooden or metallic studs. Place them in the ground deep enough to produce a sound structure, secure them with cement.

4. Surround pen with netting that prevents the doves from getting out and outside pests from getting in. Use a staple gun or wire to fasten the netting to the posts. Make half of the pen a sturdy shelter that protects the doves from the weather using material that blocks sunlight, high winds, hail and rain.

5. Place an appropriate clear plastic or glass piece on the roof of the pen. This keeps birds of prey, cats and other pests from harming the doves from the top of the pen.

6. Place 6 or 8 inch wooden boards horizontally above the pen floor for perches. Provide nesting areas using wooden boxes with open tops or any kind of basket. Hang them in the sheltered area of the pen. Provide doves with straw or hay to line their nests.