About us

Karalyn Chapman has recognised the significance of the birds by starting her own business, The White Dove Company.

She sees the birds as a potent gesture of romanticism for couples seeking something different for their ceremony.

Not only that, The White Dove Company can be called upon for celebrations like birthdays and jubilees, or for memorials and funerals.

Interestingly, it was a sad occasion that sparked the idea for the company. 

Karalyn was in Auckland in 2005 to attend the funeral of her stillborn niece.  She felt the release of a dove would be a nice gesture but couldn’t find anyone in the city able to help out.  “It was a surprise because there are so many services available in Auckland.”  Still, she began to wonder about starting up such a company herself.  “I sat on the idea for a while thinking ‘would it pass.’ 

Last year I decided I needed to do something about it.”  She began by contacting pigeon racing clubs and bird breeders.  The bird fanciers she came across were extremely helpful, and through their contacts she ‘imported’ white homing pigeons from Auckland and Christchurch. 

The 10 parents have since bred babies and in time she hopes to have a group of 30 birds available for release.

Before adopting her avian workers Karalyn and husband Steve converted a garage to a loft in which to house the birds.  The loft is broken up into compartments.  Shutters lift up for light and ventilation, and in summer the birds bathe on platforms.

When the parent stock arrived their health was important but so too was their homing instinct.  Karalyn retrained them to recognise her New Plymouth property as their home.  The birds’ homing instinct is so strong they could have flown back to Christchurch given half a chance, she says. 

The training involved a series of releases that were successively further away.  “You take them five kilometres down the road and release them, the next time you go another five kilometres and so on.”
The trick is to teach them where their next meal is coming from.
“The ones that have been born here have been programmed to know this is home.  If you release them when they are hungry they will come back for food.”

As well as releasing homing pigeons, Karalyn keeps fantail pigeons.  They’re a daintier, prettier bird with a distinctive tail, but their purpose is purely aesthetic.  “Their homing ability is not so strong so we will be showing them off in a cage rather than releasing them.”  The time in the cage is kept to a minimum and they have their own area in the loft to move freely in.

Karalyn says feedback to her idea has been positive.  She did a trial run at the Welbourn School 75th jubilee in March and was thrilled with the response.

Releasing balloons is increasingly a popular gesture for special events; Karalyn points out that white dove releases are environmentally friendly because there’s no potential for them to block waterways or get caught in objects.

A former chef who dabbles in art & craft,photography and done a floristry course,Karalyn considers herself a creative person.  Keeping pigeons and using them to mark unique events is a venture she’s excited about.  “I’m passionate about this, about helping people express their feelings and unite them at special moments.”