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After much research and thought, I am going to get myself some doves and work on a nice routine, i have seen so many bad dove acts but i really think it can be a beautiful thing so im here to make a good-un!

im really looking forward to this new challenge, (the first challenge was getting the missis on side lol)

does anyone else use doves in their act? what are your thought on it?

doves are easier to care for than many other birds i.e. parrots they are quiet most of the time with only soft cooing sometimes. It is best if you get them as a pair a male and a female they are happier this way. they are not as messyas some birds are. I named my first pair hocus and pocus. read about bird care online some types of people food can be deadly to birds as well as scented candles!! things you need to know about so do some research. I like using and seeing birds in a magic act . Have you seen Lance Burtons dove work? Awesome stuff. Best of Luck with your plans let us know how it turns out for you

Speak to Mike Danata as he travelled the world with his Dove act. Read about it on his web site.

I have something to add. If you don't want birds as pets with all the responsiblities that go along with that. Then don't put them in your act. Too often magicians do all this research on effects with animals but never on the animal itself. Never quite understood that. With that said and without really getting on my soapbox about animals and magic. Greg Frewin has a wonderful dove act, Shawn Farquhar also has a great act although I'm not sure if he is still doing doves. So, they can happen.

seymourmagic wrote: Have you seen Lance Burtons dove work? Awesome stuff. Best of Luck with your plans let us know how it turns out for you

yup, live in vegas just last month, and it was a joy to behold!

ive done a hell of a lot of research on doves and really want to go ahead with it, BUT,

They are bl**dy impossible to find!! i have been asking around everywhere, pet shops dont know where to get them, magicians who have them dont know or cant remember, am having a nightmare,

any ideas?

I have two doves from my stage days. They are retired now and living off of the cash that they generated during the time that they spent in my shows. When they tell you that doves have a life expectancy of 12 years, don't believe them...I'm positive that these two birds will outlive me.

Doves are gentle creatures by nature. And, quiet cooing? Not hardly. My doves are damn well loud. They wake me up at the crack of dawn with their cooing and "laughing." Yes, that's right, doves laugh.

Finding them really is difficult. I gave up on getting the classic white doves and went with a pair of African Mourning Doves. They have a black ring around their neck and one is an off white whilst the other is a light brown in color.

Doves are not easy to train. In the intelligence region, they are probably in the lower 5% of birds in general. However, once you become familiar with their habits, you can decide which of your birds will do the best job with any given trick. And that is the key.

I'm sorry that I can offer no help in where to find them. Personally, I went to a local pet shop and ordered mine. I got two older birds which weren't hand raised, so they were skittish, at best. After months of gentle handling, they became warmed to the idea of being in hand, but that didn't stop their desire to fly off at any given time that the spirit moved them. I found that one would willingly lay upside down on my open palm, but the other refused that fully (again, you have to observe their behavior and then figure out what you can get away with).

The problem is that society is becoming more and more against the use of animals in any kind of act. This is particularly a problem in the UK specifically and Europe in general.

A good site to look into purchasing doves at would be http://www.doveline.com/. You might want to send these folks an e-mail regarding where you could possibly buy doves in your area. If anyone knows, I would imagine that they will.

Mike.

I didn't mean to decieve anyone by saying that doves are quiet and only have soft cooing this was just the truth about my pair. I suppose any noise a dove could possibly screech out would be quiet in comparison to some of the extremely loud noises my umbrella cockatoo daisy can make. I thought that all doves were quiet naturally and that combined with being happy kept them quiet. Guess I was just lucky with mine in that aspect. I think it's a shame that society is looking down on magicians for having animals in their act. I love animals would not and could not hurt them I dont even let them be in discomfort. It's not like a dove is in a load for hours before a production only a few miniutes then it's back to paradise for the beloved pets. I hope it doesn't come to be in time that all animals are taken out of every act. I wouldn't be suprised but I would be dissapointed. see ya around

seymourmagic wrote:I didn't mean to decieve anyone by saying that doves are quiet and only have soft cooing this was just the truth about my pair. I suppose any noise a dove could possibly screech out would be quiet in comparison to some of the extremely loud noises my umbrella cockatoo daisy can make.

I apologize...I wasn't intending to indict your veracity. My doves are plainly loud creatures. Do yours have that laugh? That maniacal laughter that can send a chill down your spine?

Somehow, mine always seem to do their laugh when the situation is suited best and it's really rather comical.

Also, when my doves get to seriously cooing, they can carry on for a long, long time. They do coo quietly on occasion, but they can also get really carried away. They can be heard everywhere in my house when they get wound up and they do get wound up.

They are old, but they've never lost their verve for cooing to beat the band. And, they still give me eggs (I have two females). It is my understanding that laying eggs is a sign of health amongst doves, so whenever I have to pull eggs out of their cage, it just lets me know that I'm doing my job caring for them (and they are well past their prime). Both of them are no less than 15 years old.

So, again, my apologies for appearing to doubt your word. It's just that my doves really carry on and they are far from quiet!

Mike.

In response to your question

Do yours have that laugh? That maniacal laughter that can send a chill down your spine?

Not until I put them in a room with no other birds around
did I get the pleasure of hearing them laugh. Perhaps they were intimidated by my cockatoo and quaker parrot.
I was able to get the traditional white pair from a type of flea market for animals. The Lucusville animal trade show. in Ohio
My little green quaker parrot is equally as special to me and my act as the doves. He is better trained and can talk and thats fun for the specs to see. He says many things, one of the crowds favorites is "how much is that doggy in the window" then he barks twice it's cute.
He would sometimes leave messes on my jackets shoulder that wasn't so cute to me but specs think it's quite funny for some reason : : To be honest I had to ask my brother to explain to me what it meant when I read

"I apologize...I wasn't intending to indict your veracity"

He laughed a bit and having read this whole thread he said to put it in a way you can understand and going along with the topic "it meant he wasn't trying to ruffle your feathers" I laughed at that myself and thanked him.