ive had both, and big differances whether you fly them or not are health/vigor, behavoir, as well hardiness. first, handling.. you really shouldnt grab hold or handle the actual white doves, as they are extreamily fragile and stress immensely easier than white homers or any pigeon ive encountured, and you can crack or crush an egg in a female very easily, as do the feathers come out and off every were very easily, and they can hurt themselvs worse if struggle due to not being used to being handled, and their skin even is very fragile as are tiny bones. watching them you will notice they make differant sounds, act totally differant, doves very picky and can require much more specific enriched smaller feed as they can choke or starve on feeds pigeons could thrive on. doves need grit, were pigeons all dont utilize but better to offer. doves usually white ringnecks will have a very fragile and light tiny boned and hardly if at all muscled body, make much more dust, and are highly allergenic because of this, as had when had doves four doves, and dozens of pigeons, and the smell, poop, dust, and constant feathers from the doves were much worse than all my pigeons put together. they were slow to get the idea of free flying and slow to find way back home, not predator savy at all, and had no idea how at all to survive at all, and constantly bashed into things at first, were the pigeons raised for show got the idea in days to weeks and reverted enough to be able to be left out alone, were doves took months. im not saying i didnt love my doves, but theyre very stupid and weak in that even as suseptable to poultry or wild bird illnesses as pigeons are, ringnecks are totally unable seeming to avoid coping, its just that theyre inbred mostly, and cant perch with much variation at first well, and have most of instinct removed, maybe to help with tameness or just laziness on part of breeders who just breed and sell bro sis together as pairs as they are great at pairing and raise squab so quick, im guessing no one cares as to losing dozen to hundred even or more for a white dove release, kept soley as small caged birds for only apperance, and mine were show birds. pigeons can be taught your area pretty quick and easy in a large open wire rabbit cage to stretch and watch, were doves need an aviary to build muscle, balance stamina, ability to grab variety of surfaces, ect and acclimation to weather. were homer breeders and keepers usually have more respect for their birds as far as athleticism and beauty of flying. ive heard of ringnecks dying in to large of a greenhouse or planted aviary from not being able to remember were the food and water was. lol i tried doing experiments of moving around dishes and the doves were not to keen or couldnt find them at all in even more than tiel cage at first.
the white turtle/ringneck doves though i found were supierier parents and fosters though, so that instinct is still there and in over drive, as seen them feeding babies of other species through bars of cages even when they cried for food, and would often foster baby finches and baby hookbills even to them.
the differances for a poultry person would be between bobwhite quail as pigeons, and courtnix quail as ringneck/ white turtle dove. though i had a flook guessing were had one line or courturnix quial that had as good of instincts as bobwhite and reared own babies as good as my bantams, for some reason, and i populated morristown with them. so anything is possible.
cages whole live when id gotten homers, and even show homers bred same way im guessing as ringnecks, are even hardier and naturally more heavily muscled and easier to acclimate to other conditions than just small display or show cages were used to when got.
