A few of the same questions we keep getting asked so felt we should address them here briefly.
Accepting birds through May 31st, 2021.
Shipping address is as follows:
Apple Cup
PO Box 313
Moxee, WA 98936
254-247-9504
Make checks out to Apple Cup if sending a check, put your loft name on the check. If paying via PayPal through our PAYMENTS tab on the left located on our home page, please put your loft name on the box on the address label, or on a note.
$100.00 per bird, no discounts. If your bird is lost BEFORE the first training toss, we will give you a free perch the very next year.
$300.00 entry fee due after the activation race and must be received before the first official race which will be held 7 days after the activation race.
400 mile optional race this year. After the final race you will have 7 days to get your $200.00 to us per bird, we will resume training with all birds going to the 400 miler after 7 days and hopefully have the 400 mile race 14 days after the 350 mile final race.
Health of the birds, knock on wood, is very very good this year. We have pulled 16 birds out of the loft this year and 8 of those were from two different breeders.
We will start running inventories shortly. We decided to change up the traps this year a bit and needed more cable which we now have. Once we have everything installed we will start running inventories, sorry for the delay.
It is not necessary to contact us to let us know you are shipping birds. Simply ship on a Monday, Tuesday at the latest, and follow the directions above and in other updates you can find below. However, if you have a specific question then by all means contact us. It is always best to text us, you will get the fastest answer that way.
The main two questions we get asked were addressed above, shipping address and are we still accepting birds. If you have any questions you have not seen addressed in our updates then by all means give us a call or text, again you will get the fastest answer if you text.
PLEASE, vaccinate your birds 3 weeks before shipping to us for a minimum PMV. When your birds arrive they will receive their booster for PMV and be treated first for bacterial diseases, secondly canker, then we will put your birds on a regular health regimen and only alter it as needed.
Most of all, do not overcrowd your birds and use only USPS approved shipping boxes.
Thanks everyone for your continued support, Olga and I really appreciate it!
Rick & Olga
We currently have 720 birds in the loft and 360 breeders signed up through the first 6 weeks with new breeders signing up daily, over 1,700 perches reserved thus far. We have 7 more weeks of accepting birds and took in 168 birds just this week. At this rate we will easily surpass our goal of starting with well over 1,500 birds when training begins and can hopefully get 1,500 birds activated which is what our payout is based upon.
Some feedback as to why we are continue to climb the ladder as one of the largest and most recognized One Loft Races in the USA.
Only OLR in USA which is clocking order only.
We train like crazy, most importantly between races and get the birds tuned up for the next race.
$100,000 GUARANTEE 1st prize on the final 350 mile race.
400 mile optional race, first time offered this year.
A tough course with N to NW winds racing from S to N, varried terrain consisting of hills, ridgelines, valleys, desert, forest, mountains, all of this and they still have to cross the Columbia River on the Columbia Gourge where cross winds are at times very strong.
We use only brand new shipping boxes when your birds are returned, all birds are shipped with dividers.
We had a excellent year in 2020 statistically, many who have entered or already sent birds have mentioned this so thanks for paying attention.
MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, VACCINATE YOUR BIRDS AT LEAST 21 DAYS BEFORE SHIPPING FOR PMV!
Join us for our 6th consecutive year of hosting the Apple Cup, you will not be disapointed!
Rick & Olga Mee
Good morning everyone from the Apple Cup! Olga and I hope all of you are enjoying your Easter weekend and that you are spending it with friends and family.
Birds continue to come in at a steady pace as do new breeders signing up daily. We currently have nearly 1,600 perch reservations and over 550 pigeons currently in the loft. It appears that we will meet our goal of 1,500+ pigeons this year.
The postal service continues to be late on deliveries this year. It is cool out for now, but as we get in to warmer months keep this in mind when you put your young birds in the box. The warmer it gets, the bigger the box you should use, or the fewer you put in each box sending.
It is not necessary to call, text, or email us before sending birds. Do the following and everything goes smoothly.
Sign up before sending. If you do not do this then we do not know where to assign your birds when they arrive.
Send ONLY on Monday or Tuesday, preferably on Monday.
Do not overcrowd your birds, worst thing you could possibly do.
Vaccinate at least 3 weeks before sending, do not vaccinate right before sticking them in the box.
If sending a check, put the check on the INSIDE of the box inside a plastic zip lock, not on the outside. Some of you put the check under the shipping label or sometimes in precarious places, making it nearly impossible to find unless you were the person placing it there. We burn all boxes when they arrive and will use only new boxes when we return your birds, so please do not play hide and seek with your check.
Put your loft name on the check if sending a check. If you pay via PayPal under our PAYMENTS tab, please put a note in the box that you have done so and put your loft name on the note or at least on the box. It gets confusing when birds arrive where the breeder has not registered, can not be found in Wincompanion by doing a search, especially if the breeder has never entered a One Loft Race.
Write legibly please, if we can not make out the phone number then we can not call if we have questons.
Please go to our breeder list and click on your Loft Name before contacting us to see if your birds arrived. We do not have time to check emails throughout the day especially when we are processing birds, or normally to pick up the phone. If you follow your tracking numbers, you will see when we pick up the birds, and I can guarantee that your birds will be entered in Wincompanion the evening that they arrive. We process in the morning, input them in to Wincompanion after all of the birds have been taken care of for the day. If you do not know how to track your birds through USPS.COM then text us at 254-247-9504, include your loft name, and we will let you know if your birds arrived or not.
Again, we are offering a optional 400 mile race 10-14 days after the conclusion of the final 350.
We are the only race in the USA which is pure clocking order!
$100,000 GUARANTEED 1st prize.
Lots of info below, please read our previous updates!
Happy Easter to all!
We will be offering a optional 400 mile race aproximately 14 days after the conclusion of the 350 mile race.
$200 per bird due 7 days after the conclusion of the 350 mile race, you pick the ones you want to enter.
All birds will begin to be mailed back after the 400 mile race.
The payout below is based upon 500 activated birds in the 400 mile race.
15% 1st $15,000
10% 2nd $10,000
9% 3rd $9,000
8% 4th $8,000
7% 5th $7,000
6% 6th $6,000
5% 7th $5,000
4% 8th $4,000
3% 9th $3,000
2% 10th $2,000
1% 11-25th $1,000
All prizes above will be adjusted up or down based upon how many birds are activated.
We currently have over 400 birds in the loft and should surpass 500 birds during our first month of intake. We are expecting 1,500-2,000 birds this year.
Last year we had 81% make it to the first race from 311 breeders entered, 304 had birds make it to the final race, 275 breeders completed the entire series which is 88.4%.
We are the ONLY race in the USA which is pure clocking order!
Very few races compare to the amount of training we conduct, especially between races.
Join us for our 6th consecutive year of hosting the Apple Cup, and our first year offering a optional 400 mile race.
Good Sunday morning everyone, hope your breeding is going great this year!
We currently have 300 breeders signed up for this year and nearly 1,400 perches already reserved. At this rate we are expecting 400 breeders and 2,000 pigeons. The loft can hold 2,500 pigeons so there will be no overcrowding. If we ever outgrow loft capacity we will simply add on to the west end of the loft to accomodate your birds.
We will be accepting birds and replacements through the end of May, no exceptions.
Most of you are not overcrowding your birds when you ship this year, keep it up!
Weather is awesome this time of year, not too cold, not too hot, perfect time to get your birds in the loft.
No need to contact us before sending birds. With the USPS being slower than normal this year, it is HIGHLY advisable to mail on Mondays, Tuesday at the latest. Most of you who have mailed on Mondays thus far are having your birds arrive on Wednesday, a few on Thursday. Please never mail past Tuesday within the USA if you want them to arrive before the weekend.
Thanks everyone for your continued support. It is going to be a huge race this year, do not miss out!
Contact info below on the flyer.
Please read this message and other messages below for additional information on the Apple Cup.
A few pointers on shipping.
We had one box this week arrive with half of the birds in the box dead on arrival. Please do not overcrowd your birds to save a few bucks on shipping.
The birds that arrived dead were shipped with fine pine shavings in the box. Pine shavings are fine if you have dividers in the box and the birds can not move around much, but with young birds moving around in the box without dividers they will stir up a dust storm within the box and the fine particles get in the bird's nostrils. Over the 6 years of doing this race we have had birds arrive dead in the box 3 times that we can remember, always in boxes overcrowded and on ground pine shavings. It is best to ship your birds with fresh straw or pine needles, they do not create dust and your bird's nostrils will not be full of particles at arrival.
We can not overemphasize the importance of vaccinating 2-3 weeks before you ship to us. When your birds arrive they get a vaccination for PMV. DVM Colin Walker stated that the first vaccination gives them 80% immunity, the booster gives 100% immunity.
One Loft Race fees are expensive everyone, and most who send have visions of having their birds up front once the races begin, especially on the final race where most of the prize money is to be had. The best way to give your birds the best chance possible of succeeding on race day is to vaccinate, use big boxes with just a few birds in each box, and ship them either with fresh straw or pine needles. We have had breeders in the past send 10 pigeons stuffed in a fortune cookee box with holes cut all over the box, box big enough for maybe 2-3 birds max. How the post office even accepts boxes like that is beyond us, they have no mesh over the cut out holes and are not approved by the USPS. STRONG RECOMMENDATION, use only USPS approved shipping boxes and only put a few birds in the box.
It is going to be a huge race this year everyone, do not miss out! Already 276 breeders registered and well over 1,300 perches reserved. It is only March and we accept birds and reservations up to the last day in May. The loft holds up to 2,500 birds. We will not reach that this year, but we are going to be much larger than we were last year which was 311 breeders and nearly 1,500 birds.
Back outside to take care of your birds.
Accepting birds starting this week through May.
Please vaccinate 2-3 weeks before sending.
Please do not overcrowd your boxes and please use USPS approved shipping boxes, preferably new ones. When we return your birds at the conclusion of the series we will ship your birds back in brand new boxes.
Perch fee is $100 per bird, enter as many as you like. If mailing a check with your birds please make sure you put your loft name on the check and that your check is protected by a plastic zip lock baggie. If you are part of a partnership or syndicate make sure you put the loft name on the box, also if you are paying for perch fees via our PayPal link which you can find under the PAYMENTS tab on the left side of our home page.
Last year we had 311 breeders register, 304 made it through activation and 304 made the final race. There are not many races who can compare last year!
Mail birds to the following:
