How do the doves figure out where "home" is from so far away?
Apart from the thorough training given from birth, the birds are born with an instinct to find home. We train from the time the babies are just learning to fly. We start from just a few feet away and encourage the youngsters to fly back to their home, and gradually increase the distance (in every direction) until at the age of 2 years old, the birds can easily fly home from about 50 miles away.

Scientists to this day do not know exactly how this works, but the birds must be the right type of bird, in good health, and fit to fly the required distance.

Can I buy doves from a pet shop and release them?
No, you can't. Our birds are descended from the rock dove, and are a type of homing pigeon. It is cruel to take ringneck doves that don't have any homing abilities and toss them out into the elements. They will die. They don't know how to find water or feed or shelter, and quickly perish in the elements. It is a horrific death for such a gentle bird. Also, ringneck doves are not bred to fly the distances required. Only birds descended from the rock dove have a homing ability and the strength to travel the distance. They also must be trained to listen to this unique homing instinct, something that we work on every day until it becomes very easy for them.

Can the birds fly under any conditions?
Foul weather is dangerous to our birds. High winds, fog, and rain make it impossible for our doves to fly. We will not jeopardize the safety of our doves. If a deposit has been taken for your dove release and weather forbids the doves to fly, your deposit will be returned in full. No amount of money is worth losing our beloved, feathered friends. Not only are they our babies, they are an expensive investment.

Can I just pick up a dove or two, and release them at my event by myself?
Taking care of the doves is a full time job, and at your event it is our job to watch over them. Each dove release is not a sale of doves, but a full service dove release complete with a dove handler experienced in what is best for the doves. His or her sole job is to make sure that your dove release is a beautiful event. We never ship our birds for release outside our area, because the birds are not trained to fly home from unknown regions. Again, the safety of our birds is utmost in our minds.