Message Pages

	News and Updates
	Jul-13-2024
GOOD MORNING Good Morning! Beautiful 80 degrees at 10am here at the loft and looks like we will get just over 100 degrees today. We have had some hot days this past week but the birds seem to be taking it all in stride. Birds are currently out enjoying their morning loft flight. There is a little smoke haze here that rolled in last night. There are several fires around but thankfully nothing close to us. The smoke that is here today is blowing in from a big fire to the north. Birds are doing well. Thursday and Friday the birds were loaded up in the morning and we did a very short toss from just over the hill on the south side. I am just taking it slow with this group and making sure the 10th flights get grown in well before we start moving out. These short tosses seem to give the birds confidence and helps to get them used to loading and moving down the road in the trailer. The least amount of stress on the birds the better. I will keep a close eye on the fires and smoke as we get on down the road. I always look forward to this time of year when road training starts. Hope everyone is surviving the heat! Take Care Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	Jul-03-2024
GOOD MORNING! Good Morning! Birds are out enjoying another beautiful day here in Central Oregon. Currently, 60 degrees with a high of 90 today. It is very common for us to have 30-40 degree swings from our daytime temperatures to our nighttime temperatures during the summer here in the high desert. I definitely enjoy the hot days of summer and the cool nights for sleeping. The birds are continuing to fly well for me on the loft flights. As a reminder, the 10th flight was pulled on June 12 and is almost halfway grown in. This week I am making sure all the birds exit the loft through the trailer, so they get used to loading and unloading. I am making sure all the birds get up off the loft a couple times each loft fly. 90 percent of the birds fly well on their own but I do have about 10 percent that are reluctant to get up and get going. Birds finished up a 7 day respiratory treatment on Sunday and should be ready to hit the road soon. The earliest I will start on the road is the end of next week. I want to make sure that the 10th flight is most of the way before we get going. I will start doing some very short tosses from the property early next week just to get them used to that process. Appetites are increasing a bit with the extended flying. Birds will get to enjoy a nice bath today and some fresh kale from the garden. I hope eveyone has a great rest of their week! Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	Jun-23-2024
GOOD MORNING! Good Morning! Beautiful 60 degree morning here in Central Oregon and the birds are out enjoying the cool morning skies. Weather has been beautiful and sunny with the last couple days reaching 90 degrees. The birds and I are definitely enjoying the warm summer weather. The birds have been doing great. They are doing exactly what they should be at this time of year. The majority are back flying well post 10th flight pulling with many small groups taking off in all directions most mornings. Next week, I will start pushing them a little to make sure they are all getting off the loft and getting some wing time. Birds enjoyed a bunch of kale yesterday and a nice bath in the heat of the day. Body molt is heavy in many of the birds, with feathers everywhere. Road training will most likely start around July 15th. In the meantime I will make sure all the birds are comfortable with the trailer and getting good air time. As long as the wind allows, I will also start giving the birds an open loft option in the late afternoons/early evenings. I will do a follow up respiratory treatment before we get on the road to make sure all the birds are ready to roll. Have a great week! Lucas Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	Jun-13-2024
GOOD MORNING Good Morning! Beautiful day here in Central Oregon. Birds are enjoying a free loft this morning and small flocks are flying well. Yesterday, I pulled the 10th flight on all the birds and did a hand scan to check chips. All chips are working correctly. Clock is on, so if any missing birds come back today I will be able to see and get them caught up and remove the 10th flight. Birds felt great. The 9th flight is most of the way in on the birds and body condition feels good. I did have one bird that was thinner that I like, so I will keep an eye on it. The next couple days I will allow the birds to just have free loft and not push them out. This will give them a chance to settle back in after having flights removed yesterday. Birds will enjoy a bath later this morning. Road training will start in about a month. The birds have been enjoying their time exploring the trailer and will begin having to load and go through the trailer in order to go out for loft flights this next week. I like to start this early and make this process as less stressful as possible for the birds. Take Care Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	Jun-07-2024
HAPPY FRIDAY! Good Afternoon! Beautiful summer day here in Central Oregon. Summer has finally arrived with some temperatures in the high 80s and beautiful sunshine. The birds and I are both loving the weather! I am very happy with how the birds have been flying. I have several large groups taking off in all directions and going sky high each morning. They are definitely learning a lot. I am noticing that we are dropping birds each day, which I have seen happen in the past when these large groups really get flying like this. I think some of these groups get themselves into a bit of trouble while routing. Health seems to be spot on and I haven't seen anything of concern as of late. The 9th flight is about 3/4 of the way grown in and many of the birds are starting to look like old birds. This next week I will pick a good day to do a hand scan and pull the 10th flight. I like to pull the 9th and 10th about a month apart..that way the birds can keep loft flying. I have been offering baths a couple times a week, which the birds love on these warm sunny days. Birds are slowly getting used to going in and out of the trailer. The birds have free access to the trailer and there are some birds that love to lounge in it most of the afternoon. Birds continue to get Primalac in the water most days and Ropa B in the water on the other days. I will be doing a follow up deworming with moxidectin tomorrow. I hope this finds everyone well! Have a great weekend. Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com
	May-27-2024
GOOD MORNING Good Morning! Looks like it is going to be another beautiful day here at the loft. Birds will get to go out and enjoy some loft fly time here shortly. Weather has been cool/sunny and today should get up to a lovely 80 degrees. Birds have been doing well and pulling the 9th flight didn't do much to slow them down. This last week they were able to get out every day. The youngest birds in the flock seem to have settled into the main flock and are getting used to the routine. This week we had visits from both the peregrine and prairie falcon, which tends to send birds everywhere. The red tailed hawks always keep the birds on their toes, but the birds are figuring them out. The trailer has been pressure washed and necessary maintenance/repairs have been done. I will be connecting the trailer to the loft this week and allowing the birds full access. The birds are always very inquisitive of the trailer and get used to it pretty quickly. Once they get accustomed then I will start sending them through the trailer to go out on their loft flights. Overall, the birds are doing well. I have seen a few mid air collisions and a few injuries with more groups getting up and doing their laps around the loft. The gardens have started producing greens and birds are definitely enjoying them a couple times a week. Beautiful time of year with everything leafed out and flowering. I hope this finds everyone well. Have a great week. Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	May-17-2024
HAND INVENTORY UPDATE Good Evening! Tuesday, I was able to complete the hand inventory of all the birds here at the loft along with pulling the 9th flight on all the birds, except the very youngest. The ones that were not ready to be pulled had theirs cut and will be pulled in about a month along with their 10th. Overall, the birds felt great. I was very pleased with how they are coming along. I did pull 3 birds out that were thinner than the rest and I will see how they respond to some TLC. I did notice more puffy eyes/eye colds this year than I have noticed in the past. I think this years weather, along with extended time in shipping has contributed to some respiratory distress. With all that said, I did not see any snotty noses or canker in any of the birds. I did start the birds on Vita King Respiratory Powder to help and as it is the usual time of year they get their first respiratory treatment. Wednesday the birds stayed in and enjoyed a nice bath. Today I gave them open loft in the morning and will do the same for the next few days. I will not run the clock since I will not be pushing all the birds out of the loft and inventory wouldn't be accurate. The last group is trap training and should be able to be out flying with the other early next week. Live clocking should resume at the same time. Take Care Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	May-14-2024
GOOD EVENING! Good Evening Breeders! The weather has been beautiful. The birds and I have been enjoying the warm sunny days. Birds are continuing to do well and fly more and more each day. Just a reminder that the acceptance period for all birds has passed. Tomorrow I will be doing a hand scan to check all chips, health, and pulling the 9th flight. There is still one more group of birds to trap train and settle next week. It will be a very busy day for me tomorrow, but it will be nice to handle all the birds and see how they are coming along. Thank you all for the support this year and sending some super birds! Take Care Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	May-05-2024
GOOD MORNING! Good Morning! It is a chilly 38 degrees this morning with rain here at the loft again and snow covering the surrounding hilltops. It has been a wet and cold start to May. The birds and I are looking forward to a warm up and dry out by the end of the week. Temperatures could be as high as 80 which would be a nice change for all of us. I will allow replacements to be sent out tomorrow for those that need to do so. As a reminder, I do not do credits or refunds on perch fees. Birds are staying in again today due to the weather, so please look at the last loft fly to see any missing birds. The last two weeks of birds are not on inventory as of yet. The hawks were terrible the other day when I settled the last group, so there were birds everywhere with birds coming back late yesterday and one this morning. The good news is that the birds are flying more and more each time they are out. I am starting to see some signs of a virus going through the main loft. I had to pull 4 birds out last week for being underweight and just doing poorly. This is pretty normal from what I have seen in past years with this many birds. Birds are currently getting a mix of cilantro, garlic, and lemon in the water to help mitigate transfer and maintain immunity. I have tried antibiotics in the past when dealing with these issues, with no success. I have had good success in using 1 bunch of cilantro, 2 cloves of garlic, and juice of half of a lemon blended to 5 gallons of water (changed at least twice daily). The change in the weather should also help. Cold and wet is never a good combination for bird health. Overall, the majority of birds are doing well. They continue to molt heavy and have good appetites during this cold weather. They are excited to get out of the loft when allowed and enjoy their time out exploring. Thank you all for sending birds this year! Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
	Apr-29-2024
LAST WEEK TO SHIP! Good Evening Breeders! This week is the last week to ship all birds. Please take a look at today's loft fly for any missing birds. Today's inventory includes all birds, except for the birds received last week. I will not accept birds after May 5th. Birds are doing well. I am getting more and more of them willing to get up and fly. The weather has been conducive to getting them out most days. Birds continue to receive Primalac or Ropa B in their water daily, along with Kastle YB developer on the feed a couple times a week. Night time temperatures are still chilly, so appetites are great. Birds enjoyed a bath this afternoon after most of them were back in the loft. I will start locking them out of the loft for longer amounts of time soon, but for right now I want the younger groups to get settled to the loft. Feel free to reach out with any questions. Have a great week! Lucas -- Lucas Cramer 503-510-2661 CrookedRiverChallenge.com Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac *and Ropa B*
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