Where did Domestication of Doves and Pigons Start?

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• Archaeological records suggest that  both pigeons and doves trace their 
• domestication back to around 5000 BC. Greek and Roman writings refer to 
• the selective breeding and housing of  pigeons in dove cotes (Levi, 1969), 
• which must represent one of man's first recorded attempts at intensive 
• animal production.  
• The hardy and prolific Columba livia has, through the centuries, given rise to 
• hundreds of breeds and varieties at  the hands of pigeon fanciers. These 
• exhibit a very wide range of sizes, shapes, forms, and behavioral 
• characteristics. By far the most numerous single group is that of the racing 
• homers, which express the characteristic homing and survival instincts 
• common to all pigeons, but not to doves. It is probable that this almost 
• complete lack of homing instinct, and its vulnerability to predation accounts 
• for the captive dove never having been as widely propagated and never 
• becoming established as a feral bird like the street pigeon. As a consequence, 
• doves have remained relatively unchanged by selection, with only the fawn 
• and white coloured varieties being commonly propagated, despite their grace 
• and the ease with which they can be maintained (Hollander, 1954).  In addition to the keeping of pigeons  for racing and for fancy, their young 
• (squabs) have long been raised for food. In the USA, a squab industry had 
• been established by the middle of the 19th century and still flourishes, 
• particularly in the southern states (Levi, 1969). To date, a large and viable 
• squab industry has not become established in Canada, although one seems 
• now to be developing on the west coast.