DOVE PREPARATION
The Roost has been preparing commercial dove fields for over twenty years and since the mid 70's many changes have occurred that make it ever more difficult to provide quality shoots for our customers. The following is a discussion of some of these changes and The Roost's strategics that have evolved as a response to these changes.

AGRICULTURALLY SPEAKING
At the beginning all you had to do to have a great shoot was to disk a few acres of prairie ground, seed it with some wheat two weeks before the seasoned opened and be there. Try that now and you will most likely be disappointed if not arrested. There's little doubt that dove populations in our area (West Central Alabama) have declined. Changes in farming practices have eliminated many of the naturally occurring dove feeds. These feeds are critical to dove populations because many of these occur early season when the "crops' seeds" aren't available. The farms themselves have changed over the years becoming ever bigger with larger fields, extremely efficient harvest equipment and much less crop diversity. These trends lend themselves to a feast or famine situation for doves with the famine side of the equation further limiting dove populations.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Over the years, the downward spiral in dove numbers has not gone unnoticed by our State or Federal agencies. As migratory bird hunters, we are all familiar with the HIP program (Hunter Information Program). This federal program was initiated in part to discover information relative to dove harvest and any effect hunting pressure may have on population trends in our area. As a result of some of these discoveries Alabama adopted the federal recommendations-eliminating dove hunting over top sewed wheat.

ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING
This one legal change has effected every dove hunter in the state directly in his pocketbook. Whether or not this legislation will have a positive impact on dove population is debatable; however, there is no doubt it has tripled the cost of preparing a legal dove field. Private sector hunters have always born the financial burden of conservation and so it is in this case. Hopefully this legislation will pay off in larger and more reproductive dove populations in the future

COMPETITION FACTOR
Until such time we are still faced with lower dove numbers and ever increasing competition for these doves by joining landowners. Twenty years ago on opening day, you wouldn't hear another "shoot" in any direction. These days, you hear them in every direction. Also, the harvest of large corn crop monocultures in the black belt around the opening of dove season further complicates the situation by scattering doves over thousands of acres. The bottom line is that it's more expensive to hold them and a lot easier to loose them than it used to be

As the dynamics of the "dove equation" changed through the years, The Roost strategies focused on the basics.

BASIC BIOLOGY
Field site selection depends on dove bioenergetics more than any other considerations. In this case bioenergetics relates to how much energy a dove uses in his effect to feed versus how much energy it receives while feeding. I always try to choose fields as close to the leafing-resting areas as possible. All things being equal, these fields will be more attractive and hold doves longer because they are "biologically" more efficient The choice of seed to hold doves with is critical. All seeds are not created nutritionally equal and the nutritional requirements of doves change as they mature. I was once asked to name my top three choices of seed for early season dove feed and my answer was simple - Wheat, Wheat and Wheat. There are many other factors to consider in choosing a field, however, these two considerations are most important.

BASIC ECONOMICS
As discussed earlier, legal changes certainly affected the economics of preparing dove fields in Alabama. The Roost approached this situation like any other Red Blooded American Business and threw piles of money at the problem. We bought tractors, discs, seeders and cultipackers. Then we prayed for rain and hoped the insects would not hit us, in an effort to pass these additional costs on to our customers, we found that you could buy a good elk hunt for about the same price. So what to do? Lucky for us, our lodge is one mile from the Mississippi state line. Mississippi still allows dove hunters to hunt over top sewed wheat, and we eventually shifted seventy five percent of our business to our neighboring state. We still prepare dove fields in Alabama and incorporated these fields into a "Bona-Fide" agricultural effort. These crops are grown for grain or hay and doves are often a by product of these processes. The financial return from these cash crops help offset the cost of our fields and make our dove hunts more affordable.

COMPETITION FACTOR
Moving the majority of our hunts to Mississippi did not eliminate competition for the birds. The best approach is not to rely on any one field. Prepare as many fields as you can afford, in as many different areas as possible. Make an effort to keep the fields away from property lines and don't wait too late to start your field preparation. The Roost starts some fields as early as June. Remember that it is not illegal to feed doves in pre-season. However, all fields must be legal a minimum of ten days prior to your hunts. Always check with your local authorities about the details of preparing a legal dove field.

Call Ken Dyson for reservations: 205-373-3147