Good evening everyone!
We been at it since 0530 this morning, never a dull moment running a One Loft Race.
We ran a inventory today, from my calculations we should have 1,768 on this inventory and at the time of typing this up we have 1,740 in the clock. We pulled just a few birds out of the loft since the last inventory due to health and injuries and there are about 20 sitting on the landing board which probably got spooked by a hawk today. There is 2 more hours before dark, most of these knuckleheads should go in, if they do not we will shut up the aiviary so nothing can harm them and when we get all of the birds out of the loft for their daily loft fly tomorrow these will clock in with the rest when we call them in to eat/drink.
Health is still unbelievable this year and from our calculations we are down very few from settling. We settle new groups every week that have been here for 3 weeks looking out the loft and the last 7 days prior to being liberated for the first time they have to go through a trap daily to get fed, believe me they catch on quick! We have found that by settling them as they come in they are much easier to get settled, if they sit too long the older birds go bat crazy the first few times out and this can spell big losses, especially if a hawk flys by their first or second time out of the loft.
We bought a new 20' long X 8.5' wide flatbed trailer which will be made in to a self loading trailer, when we get it done we will share with all of you.
It is still not too late to send birds for this year's race. We strongly encourage and prefer that you ship on Mondays, Tuesday at the latest so your birds do not get stuck in the post office over the weekend. Last day to ship is Tuesday the 31st of May, the day after Labor Day.
PLEASE, register before you send your birds and put your loft name on the box right above or on the shipping label. This makes it 10X easier for us to figure out where to assign your birds. If you do not register before sending then we have to try to do a Wincom search for you, if you have never entered a OLR then we have to register you ourselves. I probably spent a hour adding breeders today who had not registered first, or creating accounts, we simply do not have time to do this so please help us out.
We currently have over 450 breeders who have sent birds this year and over 2,300 birds so it looks like we will meet our goal of 2,500 pigeons for this year. Our goal is to get at least 2,000 through activation so there will be lots of prize $ for the final race!
Everyone have a great day, if you have questions please text as you will get the quickest response that way.
254-247-9504
Rick & Olga
Good aftnoon Apple Cup participants and onlookers alike!
Today while processing new birds we decided to run a inventory after the loft was scraped, waterers disenfected, and fresh grit containers and feed trays filled. Most of the birds came in and then it started to rain, the birds out on top of the loft are enjoying the rain and are taking their sweet time coming through the traps. If you have birds unaccounted for which arrived prior to 3 weeks ago counting this week, please be patient as your birds are most likely out enjoying the raindrops.
Health is still great and losses due to settling is better than ever. If you follow us on Facebook and or read our updates, you will know that my sister Sheila is our secret to success this year as far as health goes. She works inside the loft 4 hours a day, picks up birds from the post office, without her we would never try to pull off a race of this size. So if you read this little sister, know that Olga and I truly love you and appreciate all that you do for the Apple Cup!
Tomorrow we pick up our new flatbed trailer which will be converted in to a pigeon hauler. The trailer is 8.5 feet wide X 20 feet long. We are going to have sections built on top of this trailer with openings at the back so when the trailer is backed up to the west end of the loft the birds will be able to walk in to the different levels and load themselves. The sides will drop down for releases and for cleaning.
We are over 2,200 birds now and all birds except the birds which arrived this week which are in quarentine, those which arrived last week and are on the west end of the loft looking out the aiviary, and those here on the east end of the loft which arrived week before last have been settled and are out flying. We have learned from experience that if you keep these OLR birds in too long and they get too strong on the wing, well then your settling losses are higher than if you settle new groups weekly and gradually.
We put out in updates that the last two days to ship are May 30th and 31st, the last Monday and Tuesday in May. May 30th is Memorial Day and the post office will be closed, therefore the VERY LAST DAY TO SHIP IS MAY 30th and this includes replacements!
Thank you, all of you for your great support this year!
Just to clarify, it is $250 a bird after the activation race and if your bird does not go to the first race and it was paid for then you will receive a refund.
We have received the same question several times a week, how are we making any money this year? It is simple, if you read the previous updates and our rules the only fees this year are $250 per bird after the activation race, $100 is our perch and $150 goes toward prizes. Our payout chart is based upon 1,000 birds and is $150,000 in prizes. We have over 2,000 birds in the loft and expect to be over 2,500 after we shut off intake which is the end of this month. Our goal is to get at least 80% through activation, which will mean $300,000 in prizes not $150,000 which our payout chart shows. The more birds activated, the bigger the prizes!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in your lives tomorrow!
Good afternoon fellow pigeon fanciers!
Today we ran a inventory to include a new group we settled Wednesday. Most of the birds came in but only about half clocked. A quick check of the pads and wiring to the pads found that one of the pads had come disconnected so all of the birds were put back out so they could scan in again. This should clear up any clocking questions on today's inventory. We will most likely run the inventory through tomorrow if we come up a bird or two missing that was on the last group settled on Wednesday.
We currently have over 2,000 birds on the property with all settled except the last 3 weeks arrivals. Week 1 birds go in to quarentine for a week, week 2 birds go to the west end of the loft for a week so they can look around out the aiviary, and week 3 birds are trap trained for a week before they are settled, then the whole process starts over again. Knock on wood, this method of settling seems to be working as we have lost very few due to settling and very few due to sickness.
We are accepting birds for 4 more weeks, please ship only on a Monday or Tuesday on the following dates.
May 9/10
May 16/17
May 23/24
May 30/31
We are definitely going to be over 2,500 birds this year, loft can hold 3,000.
No fees up front! After the activation race, which should be the weekend after Labor Day if the weather cooperates, fees are due which is $250 per bird. If a bird is lost after the activation race and paid for then you will receive a full refund.
Register before you send and please put your registered loft name on the box preferably on the shipping label. No need to contact us before shipping, just register and put your loft name on the shipping label, it is as easy as that.
Everyone have a great week.
Happy Sunday to everyone, hope all of you are having a great day!
We settled a new group today, after being out a hour a pair of Red Tail Hawks flew over the loft and scattered the birds. The hawk did not try to catch any, just spooked them. We will keep the clock on at least through tomorrow so if any birds do not trap in today we will trap them in late AM afer we have the loft cleaned and fresh water and feed waiting on them. If there are any out over night they will be pulled in when the mob that has already been settled is allowed to come out to fly for their morning exercise.
Yes we are still accepting birds, last days to ship will be May 30th/31st which is the last Monday and Tuesday in May.
There is no replacement period this year since there is no perch fee up front. If you do notice a bird missing, and there are very few this year, then by all means send a replacement if you like but not after the 31st of May.
Good afternoon everyone, hope everyone is having a great day!
Yesterday we settled a new group of 193 birds, about 30 minutes after the new birds were let out we had our first Cooper Hawk show up for the year. By the end of the day we were down 5 pigeons and today all are accounted for. Look at the inventory we started on April 14th, the clock has been running since so any birds which may of stayed out overnight have clocked in now.
We will mention this again because we keep getting asked the same questions, these are your shipping directions.
Register first.
The address to ship to is the PO Box address on our site under the Contact Us tab.
Put your loft name on the shipping label, not inside the box, not on the end of the box, right on the shipping label.
There is no reason to email us, call or text to let us know your birds are on the way. As long as you are registered before you send, put your loft name on the shipping label or right above it and only ship on a Monday or a Tuesday, that is all we need. There is no band list required, no forms, just register, put loft name on the box, and ship on Mon or Tue.
Too easy!
Accepting birds until the end of May, we are allowing you to mail on Monday May 30th and Tuesday May 31st if you need to.
Happy Easter everyone, hope everyone is having a great day.
Today we let out a new group that arrived 3 weeks ago counting this week's arrivals, 193 birds total. We forgot that the clock was still running from the last inventory on the 14th so the birds today clocked in on that inventory as well. There were 790 birds on the last inventory, adding the 193 who were let out for the first time today should bring the inventory up to 983. There are currently 978 that clocked in today after our first Cooper attack of the year, so we are down 5 birds. There are still a few birds out on the landing board and we will keep the clock running through tomorrow, hopefully we get everyone back.
Just wanted to give a explanation as to why the last inventory shows birds clocking in a few days ago then another group today.
Accepting birds through May 31st, we are allowing breeders to mail birds on Monday the 30th or Tuesday the 31st if you wish.
We have been asked more than once lately if we pull the 9th and 10th flights. After all birds have been settled around mid June, we will handle each pigeon individually checking chips and pulling the 9th and 10th flights as well as any damaged feathers. We are hoping that by the first of August we are road training and by the week after Labor Day we are having the activation race.
Everyone enjoy the rest of your day!
Thanks to everyone who sent birds this week, 160 more new birds and more probably arriving tomorrow!
364 breeders signed up so far and new breeders registering daily!
2,399 perch reservations thus far!
1,363 birds in the loft, all birds settled except last 3 weeks!
Expecting over 2,500 birds this year to start training!
Incredible, no unbelievable health this year, only 2 removed due to sickness and a few due to wing injuries!
6 races this year, optional 400 at the end!
Test your birds over mountains, ridgelines and hills, forest, desert, crossing the Columbia River, typical N to NW winds!
It takes a tough bird to win at the Apple Cup, do you have the right kinda bird!
When sending birds please put your loft name on the box and please register before sending. We STRONGLY suggest you only mail on Monday our Tuesday to preclude your birds getting stuck in the post office over the weekend.
Everyone have a great Easter Day weekend!
Today we are running a inventory of all of the birds except for the birds that have arrived yesterday and today, as well as the two weeks prior. The birds that arrived last week are at the far west end of the loft where they have access to the aviary for a week, the birds that arrived the week prior are trap training at the east end and are not part of this inventory.
We are having problems with our internet after we had a very strong wind storm a few days ago. We are using our loft assistant's phone as a mobile hot spot so we can connect to the internet to show you the live clocking. Our loft assistant will be leaving here shortly and taking her phone with her so the birds still out messing around will not show up on the inventory once signal is lost, however the clock will still record. Tomorrow, or if we can figure out how to connect our own phone today as a mobile hot spot, you will be able to see the rest of the birds clocking in At the time of writing this there are 750 birds in the clock and with the birds outside they should all be accounted for. Thus far we have only had 2 sick birds and a few removed due to injuries.
So if you have birds that should be on this inventory but are not showing up please be patient and please read this before calling.
Good afternoon everyone, hope everyone is having a great breeding season!
We have over 1,200 birds in the loft and have been averaging about 200 birds a week. We have advertised that we are accepting birds until 31 May, however you can still ship on 30 May which is a Monday and 31 May which is a Tuesday, but absolutely no birds shipped after 31 May please!
Looks like we are most definitely going to be the 2nd biggest race in the USA ths year behind our friends at the Hoosier. We were shooting for 2,000 this year but at the rate we are going we may hit 3,000. Our loft can hold 3,500 however we will probably limit it to 3,000 birds for this year so there is no overcrowding.
Health has been absolutely perfect this year, only 2 sick birds thus far and please let it stay this way!
We will run a inventory this week, it will be all birds except the last two weeks arrivals and the birds that arrive this week starting tomorrow.
If you plan on dropping off birds personally please drop them off of Wed or Thur, this is so all birds can start on meds at the same time.
Long day today, we put chips on all of the birds that arrive the week prior on Tuesdays so we can make room for arrivals in the holding cages where they are medicated before being put in the main loft.
Off to dinner with my loft assistant, without her I just do not believe we would be having the success that we are having this year.
