“The Gray Ones Are Smarter Than the White Ones”

Doug Graves © 2007

Only while standing in a pigeon coop would it be politically correct to say it, but pigeon entrepreneur Heather Barbosa says it without flinching. “The gray ones teach the white ones how to find their way home.” said Barbosa, “That’s because the gray ones are smarter than the white ones.” She says that, “Training the pigeons to find their way home is lots and lots of hard work.”
She starts them at one fourth of mile from home and lets them find their way back to the coop. After success at that she works them in a full circle at that distance. When she is satisfied that they have passed the test, she increases the distance gradually. They are capable of learning to return from over 300 miles away, but she only trains them to work within 30 miles of home.
With 60 birds, more or less, it is a lot of work to keep up with them and their needs. Besides training the pigeons, she gives them their anti-biotics, feeds and waters them, makes sure they have a roof over their heads and-- she is their secretary.
They need a secretary because these are busy birds. If Barbosa’s business plan works out they will be attending a funeral three to four days a week and a wedding every weekend. While, technically, they are proud pigeons, when they go to work they do it as doves.
The Bethlehem Township Zoning Board gave her official permission to keep the pigeons last week. This cleared the way to start her business. At weddings, a white “dove” represents the bride, and the one in the tuxedo represents the groom. Yes, a tuxedo. Most of her flock are white but one type of pigeon is naturally endowed with black wings on a white body. Add the little bow-tie and the result is a pretty good looking tuxedo.
For funerals, the release of one black “dove” is thought to represent the soul of the departed loved one. When released, it flys up and starts to circle, waiting for its mates. A second release of white birds represents the souls of long gone relatives and friends,returning as angels to escort their friend to “heaven.” “It can be a very warm and emotional time,” said Barbosa. Readers can find more information at Barbosa’s web site, www.sayitwithdoves.com.
While the number of birds involved in any given event is relatively small, Barbosa needs to keep a flock of over 50 to allow for the ones that might not be able to fly on a given day. For example, when molting their feathers, they get a day or so off.
They also get maternal or paternal leave because when the eggs hatch, mom and dad take turns keeping the chicks warm and fed.
Each bird wears loose fitting leg bands. One identifies the owner so that lost birds can be returned. Other bands act as “training records” keeping track of how far advanced the pigeon is in its training.
Heather Barbosa married into the pigeon business. As a child, her husband, Manny, kept gray pigeons as a hobby. Then after marriage, they found a home on Farmersville Road where the previous owner had kept chickens in a coop behind the house. After moving in, Barbosa came to like the idea of developing a business using the natural talent living out back.