Our lofts provide protection from inclement weather as well as these outside perch areas.
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Free Releases
Ohio Valley Dove Release is always looking for “philanthropic” opportunities. Our birds are very popular with the elderly and the very young. We do free releases at assisted living, pre-schools, daycare, and other facilities. Scout outings, certain festivals and other events also qualify for our free releases. We use these opportunities in the Athens, Ohio area to train our young birds. We start the birds out close to home so they can refine their homing instinct before taking longer flights with the more experienced birds.
Contact us if you think your event may qualify for our free services.
Contact us at 740/591-4244 or pete@ohiovalleydoves.com
Do the Birds Like It?
Some people worry that the birds may be just thrown out into the world, to fend for themselves in the wild. In fact there are some web sites out there that spread wrong information.
We are dove-keepers first, and we raise and love our birds. The presence of doves for your celebration is something that our birds are very comfortable with.
They live in small roosts in Southeast Ohio, and we take them out to different locations to train them. Back in olden times these type of doves (Rock Doves) were used as messenger pigeons. Messages would be wrapped around their legs, and they would be released, carrying messages back home!
From knights in the middle ages to explorers, the dove has been a friend to humanity. The birds love to fly. And for them, this is another chance to spread their wings and enjoy a flight home, and a special supper!
Training our Trusty Doves
The special White Doves we use are raised by hand in the hills of Southeast Ohio, and trained gradually to find their way home over dozens and even more than a hundred miles.
Every week we are out at a new location, a little further out, to help the doves learn to navigate with their amazing internal compass.
These photos are from a training release near Athens, Ohio.