CRC

 

 

 News and Updates
Jul-25-2021
Good Morning Breeders,
 
This morning was another beautiful morning with clear skies and the birds thoroughly enjoyed themselves on their loft flight.  The birds are flying great for me, both in training and at the loft.  Today is going to be another toasty afternoon in the high 90s.  We almost always cool down into the 50/60 range here at night...one of the many benefits of living in the high desert.  
 
Training has been going well for us, other than the wire hit injuries.  This week I saw a couple broken legs, injured wings, and several chest bruises.  Friday's toss had a group of birds that must have been hit by the falcons...the late groups came in sporadically and were really flighty. Road training will resume tomorrow as long as the smoke continues to stay away.  There are fires all around us, with the giant Bootleg fire south of us along our course.  Luckily, our air quality has been great here, so I will take advantage of it.
 
The birds will get a nice bath today and a bunch of kale from the garden.  Appetites continue to be great.  The molt is continuing well with lots of feathers everywhere. 
 
Have a great week!
 
Lucas
 
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Jul-10-2021
GOOD AFTERNOON!
Good Afternoon Breeders,
 
Birds were eager to get out and loft fly this morning in the cooler temperatures.  They are currently taking some well deserved baths this afternoon.  The first week of road training went well for the birds and they seem to be taking to it well.  Birds are loading easily into the trailer in the morning and exiting the trailer without any encouragement.  Groups tend to be leaving in a timely manner from release points and not getting too broken up on the way home.
 
Birds are eating well with the continued all you can eat buffet.  Primalac and Ropa B rotation in the water...health is great.  Birds are molting well with lots of new feathers coming in.  
 
Road training will continue tomorrow back at the 14 mile spot for a couple more tosses.  After the 14 mile release then we have to go on the other side of the mountain and that is when the birds have to use their navigation skills a bit more.  I like to road train most days of the week as long as the birds continue to do well.  There are a few birds that continue to trap in late...I do check those birds over and as long as I don't see any injuries or issues, they will continue to train.
 
GPS is always on during training/racing...the link can be found under the race info tab on the website 
 
Feel free to shoot me a message with any questions or concerns.
 
I hope everyone is having a great summer.
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
 
 
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Jun-21-2021
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Breeders,

 
Birds are out enjoying themselves this morning.  There is a large fire north of us providing a bit of smoke in the air for us this morning.  I am hoping we don't have a repeat of last years fire season, but either way we will get through it.  All part of flying in the west it seems.  
 
Birds are doing great.  They are flying well and are excited to get out each morning.  I like to lock them out for 3-4 hours each day and they are up and down off the loft all morning.  They are molting well and are enjoying a couple baths per week.  Birds are getting used to going in and out of the trailer...looks like I should start road training week of July 5th.
 
I have added some trap extenders on to the clocking pads to help with missing birds as they all try to pile into the loft...it has helped but we still have a few missing the pads.   This will resolve itself once we get on the road.  Clocking system has had some issues the last couple weeks but I think we have most of the kinks worked out now.  
 
Thank you all for your continued support and I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
Jun-07-2021
HAPPY MONDAY!

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Birds are out enjoying another chilly morning here in the high desert.  The temperatures last week were in the toasty 90s but this week we are back in the 50s, with chilly nights in the 30s.  The birds appetites have been great with the cooler temperatures, so I am continuing to give them as much as they want to eat.  
 
I am very happy with how the birds are flying and routing.  I am seeing larger groups head out of sight and come racing back in smaller groups from all directions.  Saturday I went through all the birds and pulled the 10th flight and checked over all health.  Weight on the birds is good and overall health seems great.  I'm hopeful that health is leveling out now that I am not adding any new birds to the flock.  The 9th flight is 90% in on most birds and the flock seems to be flying great today, even with pulling the 10th on Saturday.  Not much down time, which is good!
 
Topigeon continues to have some clocking issues that are being resolved through Wincompanion, so thank you for your patience while they the get it all worked out.
 
Road training will start around the first week of July.  The trailer will be attached to the aviaries this week allowing the birds to get well accustomed to it before we get on the road.
 
I hope this finds everyone well!
 
Lucas
 
 
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
May-28-2021
TOPIGEON ISSUES

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 

Just a heads up, we are having some clocking issues.  The data isn't being sent to wincompanion. Issue is being worked on.  I will continue to loft fly daily even if clock is not working. Should be resolved soon!

 

Lucas
May-22-2021
GOOD AFTERNOON!

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
The birds enjoyed another cool cloudy morning today.  The majority of birds are taking to the sky readily and flying well.  I have posted some videos to the FB page for your viewing pleasure.  The red tails have been keeping them on their toes and have been encouraging them to get up and go.  I have several small groups routing well each day. It can be a bit nerve wracking watching them though as these groups come together and inevitably a few collisions occur each day.
 
I am very frustrated with the health of the birds.  The majority of birds are continuing to do very well and are super healthy.  I however see waves of viral issues affect some breeders birds.  The birds affected just waste away to nothing and no medication seems to help pull them out of it.  I am hoping with my continued vigilance of disinfecting and pulling birds that are showing any symptoms of being unwell, that I can get them over this hump.  Health tends to stabilize now that no new birds are entering the racing loft.  I take pride in having a healthy loft and a good medication/vaccination program, so it is very disappointing to see birds fall ill.
 
Now that all the birds are together, the settling cage will be removed from the other trapping section, so this will help alleviate birds missing the clock.   Birds are eating very well with the cooler temperatures and it is always interesting to see how the food intake changes due to temperature change.  We should be back to normal warmer temperatures by the end of the month. 
 
I hope this finds everyone well.
 
Lucas
 
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
May-09-2021
GOOD AFTERNOON!

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
I hope everyone is getting to enjoy some family time today.  I am fortunate that my mother has been visiting for a few weeks, she has been a huge help getting everything done around the house and garden.  She has also been a great help with watching out for hawks during loft flights and entertaining the new pup.  Love that lady!
 
The latest group got to go out on the loft fly today for the first time.  I have some sitting out on the roof as I write this.  Main group is up flying well again, even with their 9th flight being pulled last week.  Overall, health seems to be holding well with a couple birds having to be pulled this week for dropping weight. Weather has been beautiful during the day but is still getting close to freezing at night.  There are still two groups that need to finish up their quarantine process before they join the main group.
 
DO NOT SHIP ANYMORE BIRDS!  RACE IS NOW CLOSED TO ALL ENTRIES, INCLUDING REPLACEMENTS!  I will not extend my date to receive birds.  Last week was the last week to send.  
 
Please remember to tape the bottom of your boxes.  I know I am done receiving birds, but I did have an empty box arrive last week that the bottom opened and the bird are MIA.
 
I hope this finds everyone well and I hope we can have another great season.  Thank you all for the support.
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
May-03-2021
LAST WEEK TO SHIP

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
This is the last week to ship all birds, including replacements.  I went through all the birds in the flying groups yesterday and pulled the 9th flight.  I also pulled any bird that wasn't a 100 percent in health and weight.
 
Please check your bird list...if you have any bird listed as "died", "inj", "hold", or "missing"...this is the time to replace.
 
This past week has been a bit of a roller coaster with hawks and overall bird health.  The majority of birds are in good weight and seem to be doing well.  I do have a bug moving through the main group of birds, which isn't that abnormal for me at this time with all the groups coming together.  The birds have the best of everything, so hopefully I can get them through without too many casualties.  I am continuing with daily Virkon disinfection and disinfecting drinkers.  The hawks have our number, whenever I let a new group out they are waiting in the wings.
 
I hope this finds everyone well.
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Apr-23-2021
HAPPY FRIDAY!

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
Today is another beautiful day here in the high desert and was the kick off to our old bird season.  Always a fun time of year with lots of racing and the OLR birds getting the hang of flying around the loft.  The weather has warmed a bit and we have had a few days up into the 70s, which the birds and I have enjoyed.
 
The main flock has been getting the hang of things and has been flying great around the loft.  I have had a few groups actually start routing a bit, which is always fun to see.  The hawks have been keeping the birds on their toes this year and have caught a few by surprise.  I am doing my best to keep them at bay but it seems once we get one moved on another takes its place.  This week I have seen several mid air collisions with groups going in opposite directions around the loft resulting in a few deaths and several injuries.  
 
Overall health seems to be good with a few birds falling ill and having to be pulled.  I continue my daily Virkon spraying of the loft and disinfecting drinkers twice daily.  The main flock has started their first canker treatment since their initial arrival.  The 9th flight will be pulled around May 1st which is coming up fast.  I have noticed that some birds have been missing the clock when the birds storm the trap...that will resolve itself once I move the settling cage from the other trapping section.  Any bird that I have to pull for injury or illness I will let you know...I will also continue to do weekly inventory and send emails with any missing birds.
 
May 4th will be the last day to ship prepaid birds or any replacements.  If you have prepaid perches and are unable to send birds just give me a shout and I am happy to refund.  
 
I am completely full for this season, so do not send birds if you are not prepaid!  
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Lucas
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Apr-12-2021
CLOSED TO NEW ENTRIES!

Good Evening Flyers,

 
Just a quick reminder that the loft is full to any new entries...Please do not send unless you are sending prepaid birds or replacements.  Replacements will be accepted through the first week of May.
 
I have gone through and updated any missing birds from this week's loft flights, so please check your bird lists. I have had to pull a few birds out of the main group and quarantine groups this past week due to illness and injuries.  I continue to disinfect drinkers and disinfect the loft with Virkon daily.  Birds are loft flying well and enjoying the beautiful sunny days.  Appetites continue to be great with night time temperatures still dropping below freezing.  
 
I will continue to post loft flights every time the birds are out on a loft fly.  I will mark birds missing weekly, but if you notice a bird missing that I don't mark....feel free to give me a shout.
 
Have a great week!
 
Lucas
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
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