CRC

 

 

 News and Updates
Jul-29-2020

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
The clock is having a little issue uploading at the moment, but there are 958 birds in last time I checked.  The birds enjoyed another loft fly today due to the heat.  Luckily, they are loft flying great and groups are all over the sky.  It is great to see them waiting excitedly for me to open the aviary doors to be let out in the morning.  
 
Today I took some time while the birds were out to clean under the loft and disinfect.  The birds have been going through 7 gallons of water while out on their loft fly.  I like to put water on the landing board to prevent them from going to the pond to drink and I get more wing time since they are well hydrated.  I continue to offer baths every few days, which they really enjoy in this heat.  They are enjoying the large aviaries and I see many of them basking in the sun even on these 100 degree afternoons.   
 
Road training is going well and I see more and more birds drinking out of the trailer on each toss.  Temperatures will start cooling a bit starting Friday/Saturday, so we will be back on the road then.  Wildfire season has started for us and we have had some smoke in the area but our air quality is still good.  I will continue with tossing in groups but will do a couple mass releases once we get out past 50 miles.  
 
Entry fees are not due until after the 150 mile activation race.  You are of course welcome to pay these early if you wish...check, money order, Zelle, or Paypal works.  Entry fees are refunded in full if your bird doesn't go to the 200 mile race.   
 
I hope this finds everyone well and are getting some time to enjoy this summer weather.
 
Lucas
Jul-21-2020
UPDATE

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
We are having another hot one today with 99 degrees here at the loft.  There are some birds that are reluctant to trap this afternoon.  I had two birds come in with broken legs today that hit wires and they were flapping on the landing board, thus scaring some of the birds from trapping.  Hopefully the rest will get brave enough to trap before dark.
 
Overall, the birds continue to fly great.  Most groups are learning to head straight home from road training and there aren't too many hanging out on the roof when I get home.  The birds have access to water on the trailer on every trainer, so they will be used to drinking when it comes to the races.  Birds continue to route well on loft fly days but I am noticing some of the groups are getting themselves into some trouble when they are out and about.  Several birds required stitches this past week.  
 
I'm going to proceed slowly with training this week.  It is going to be hot again tomorrow so we will loft fly and then look to be on the road Thursday and Friday.  There is plenty of time before the first race so no need to rush.  
 
I hope training is going well for those that are flying their own young bird teams and that everyone is well.
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
 
Jul-14-2020
TODAY'S TOSS

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
Today's toss took the birds over the mountain to our 19 mile spot.  This spot can be a bit of a challenge for the birds, since it is the first release they really have to navigate through the mountains and can't just rely on line of sight to the loft.  Most of the groups took off well and headed straight toward the pass, while a couple other groups would head towards the mountain and then turn back.  
 
As of 1pm we are still missing 72 birds, but they are still trickling in.  I'm hopeful that we will see a bunch more before the end of the day.   Birds are coming from every direction, some high, some sneaking in low....so there were probably a couple of groups that got harassed by the falcons.  Many of the birds learned a lot today.  
 
Fingers crossed we will see most of them back today.  Tomorrow I will loft fly and give these late birds a chance to recoup.
 
Lucas
Jul-11-2020
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Birds are out enjoying a loft fly this morning.   We had a good first week of road training with only a couple birds missing and a couple of stragglers. Birds are leaving the trailer on release well and are clearing between groups.  There are always birds that are slow to trap at this point in the game since they are used to loft flying for much more time than it takes them to get home and I like to keep them fat.  Those of you that are new to our race this year will find that I release in groups most of the time and will not do a mass/single release until after 50 miles.  Releasing in groups seems to help cut down on wire hits.   
 
Birds will loft fly tomorrow and then will be back on the road Monday.  I am happy with how the birds are doing and they seem to be taking to road training with no issues.  The new trailer is working well and there is plenty of space for a thousand plus birds.   It takes me about an hour and a half to load, scrape the loft, feed and water the birds before I get on the road each morning.  Trailer GPS is up and running and can be accessed via the "race info" tab on the website.  
 
Birds continue to get baths a couple times a week along with kale from the gardens.  They are looking great and seem to be a content flock of pigeons.  There are a few pairs of birds that have laid eggs in the corners of some sections that I have given wooden eggs to avoid continued laying...this tends to resolve itself once the training gets more intense.
 
Have a great weekend.
 
Lucas
Jun-29-2020
UPDATE

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
Birds continue to do well here at the loft.  The temperatures have cooled a bit this week and the birds have been taking advantage of the cooler mornings to get some great wing time.  The 10th flight is just over half way in and the birds are looking great.  The peregrine showed up this morning and definitely got the birds motivated.
 
The birds have been exiting the loft through the trailer, so they are used to loading and are ready to hit the road here shortly.  Appetites are great, especially with the cooler temperatures.  The wind has been a bit crazy here in the afternoons but subsides during the night and hasn't been picking up again until late morning.  I like to get the birds in before it hits 20mph to help prevent injuries.  
 
I like to run a missing report daily, so if there are any birds that didn't clock that day they are marked "missing"...if they do not clock the next day when I run the report then they are marked "lost".  
 
Birds are enjoying their kale from the garden a couple times a week and there are a few that go down and pick it themselves while out.  Primalac and Ropa B are two products that I continue to use religiously.  I will be transitioning the birds to the Kastle Performance Advantage once we start road training.
 
Take Care and have a great week!
 
Lucas
 
Jun-19-2020
UPDATE

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Birds are out enjoying another beautiful day here in Central Oregon.  The weather has been amazing with cool mornings, warm days, and a few  thunderstorms.   Great weather for flying pigeons.
 
Birds are continuing to stay healthy and are flying really well.  I have seen several collisions this past week when groups are coming together mid air resulting in injuries.  Birds are locked out for about 3-4 hours each day and are up and down off the loft all morning.  We are up on a hill and the red tailed hawks, eagles, and vultures tend to catch thermals nearby and keep the birds moving most of the morning.   The birds get called in late morning eat/drink and go to perch for a few hours to nap.  Twice a week I offer baths and greens to eat from the garden, which they love.  Appetites continue to be great and they continue to get as much as they want. 
 
The trailer has been attached to the loading aviary and the birds have been playing around and getting used to it.  Next week I will start making them exit the loft through the trailer for daily loft flying so every bird is used to loading.  Road training will likely start around the 5th or 6th of July.  
 
Thank you all that responded to the email last week asking for feedback on continuing email or just wincompanion updates.  Many breeders like the email so I will continue, but with that said if you do not want to receive emails just let me know and I can remove you from the list.
 
I hope everyone is well.
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
Jun-08-2020
HAPPY MONDAY

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Beautiful cool morning here at the loft with the birds out flying their laps.  Last Thursday I handled all the birds and pulled the 10th flight.  Birds all handled great with no visual signs of canker and all in great body condition.  I pulled one bird for observation that may have a pox lesion around his ear.  Birds finished up their respiratory treatment yesterday and are back on their normal Primalac supplement in the water.   
 
Birds continue to get offered baths twice a week and tend to spend most of their time out in the aviaries basking in the sun.  I am very happy with the expansion that was done over the winter and the birds seem to be content with lots of extra space.  Gardens are starting to produce some and the birds got to enjoy a bunch of kale after their fight yesterday....they do enjoy their greens.   
 
Have a great week
 
Lucas
May-31-2020
WEEKLY UPDATE

 

Good afternoon flyers,
 
Beautiful day here at the loft. Birds enjoyed a nice cool morning and took advantage of some clear skies. Yesterday we were very fortunate in that we did not sustain any damage from a severe storm that past through the area in the afternoon. Some of our neighboring communities didn’t fare so well and many buildings were lost to the high winds and hail.
 
Birds continue to fly well with a few injuries here and there due to collisions with each other. I have four birds on hold in the system that are either injured or unwell. The last group of birds joined the main flock and today was their first day out on the loft fly.
 
The birds started their first course of antibiotics (doxycycline and tylosin) for respiratory infection today. I was hearing a bit of sneezing at night and this is usually the time of year I do a routine treatment. I’ll pick a nice cool day this week to handle all the birds and pull the 10th flight. 
 
Trailer is ready to rock ‘n’ roll so I will be letting the birds go in and out of it at will so they can get comfortable. Road training usually starts around the first week of July.  
 
I hope this finds everyone well.
 
Take  Care
 
Lucas
 
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
May-23-2020
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Birds are out again today enjoying a beautiful sunny morning.  This morning was 34 degrees, so it was a bit chilly but didn't get cold enough to freeze my gardens :). This coming week should be starting a warm up with some day time highs near 80!  We all are looking forward to some summer weather.
 
Fortunately, for us the health of the birds continues to hold. Birds continue to go out every day possible and while they are out I scrape and disinfect the loft with Virkon.  I use the one gallon bullet drinkers and those are disinfected with bleach about every 12 hours.  Every night I like to go out and listen to the birds while they are sleeping and check for any respiratory distress.  I also check to make sure everyone is up on a perch and to see if there are any injured birds I have missed from the loft fly.  Fingers crossed I can keep ahead of any major health issues.  
 
Birds are flying great and I only have 15 more birds to add into the main flock this coming week.  The peregrines have visited the flock a couple times this week but haven't been successful, so the birds are learning.  Unfortunately, the falcons are something they have to get used to here since we have a lot of them to contend with.  
 
Birds continue to receive Primalac and Ropa B most days and Kaslte YB developer a couple times a week. I handle a few birds each day and the on those birds the 9th flight seems to be coming in nicely.  The 10th flight will be pulled the first week of June.   
 
I hope this finds everyone well!
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
May-10-2020
ENTRIES NOW CLOSED FOR 2020

Good Afternoon Flyers,

 
Bird were out again today and enjoyed the sunny warm weather.  I however, forgot to reconnect one of the pads on the clock and didn't catch it before letting them in.  I have noticed some birds piggy backing on clocking since they bombard the traps once opened.  This will resolve itself once we start training, but I will be adjusting the traps a bit.  
 
There were a couple breeders unable to ship replacements last week, so I will allow shipment of birds tomorrow for replacements only.  Saturday's loft flight is accurate and I have marked all birds that are missing.  If you see a bird missing that I didn't catch, please let me know.  The breeder list has been updated to reflect this years breeders in the race.
 
Overall, birds are doing well and are starting to get back in the air after pulling flights last week.  Main flock is receiving a canker treatment this week...first since the initial spartrix tablet on arrival.  This spring has been really dry for us and I usually tend not to see much canker.
 
Thank you all for the support and making it possible to reach my goal of 1000 birds this year!
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
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