CRC

 

 

 News and Updates
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
Apr-07-2021
RACE IS NOW FULL!

Good Evening Flyers,

 
Race is now full and I will not be accepting any new entries.  Prepaid and replacement birds only after this week.  If we have spoken or your entries are in the mail you are golden.
 
The first couple groups of birds are taking to the air and figuring out how to fly as a flock.  We have had some cold nights but beautiful sunny days and the birds have been taking full advantage of the good weather.  There are currently just over 800 birds here at the loft and 405 loft flying with another 154 trap training as of today.  I pulled 5 birds this week out of a couple groups that weren't feeling well and ended up losing two of them...the others seem to be on the mend.  Overall, the flock seems to be in good health and are building immunity to each other's bugs.
 
There continues to be some delays with USPS shipping.  Please do your birds a favor and give them plenty of space in the shipping boxes.  I am seeing way too many birds arrive over packed and overheated.
 
Thank you all for your support.  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
Mar-29-2021
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers,

 
I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Beautiful sunny morning here at the loft...first two groups got to enjoy a quick loft fly this morning before being called in.  Winds are going to start to pick up again today.  Yesterday, the winds were a consistent 40mph all afternoon with gusts over 50mph...it has been a very windy spring.  
 
Birds are color coded with each week's birds given a different color piece of tape on their band...first group is red, second orange, third yellow....etc...down the rainbow.  This gives me a little bit of help identifying the groups and helps if I need to locate a particular pigeon.  
 
As usual, we have had a variety of raptors making themselves known to the youngsters.  The red tails stay high and try to panic the youngsters and will try to take them if they go for cover in the trees and sagebrush.  The prairie falcon made a visit the other day without success.  This morning a large coopers hawk female tried for a sneak attack around the back side of the loft.  There is a steep learning curve and they always need to stay vigilant.  
 
Please only ship Monday and Tuesday. I have had a couple boxes shipped on Wednesday that don't make it by Friday and then it is a big issue trying to get the birds over the weekend.  
 
Overall, health is good and birds are doing well.  Yellow group will be joining the main group at the end of this week.  I will loft fly daily as weather/wind permits.  There are almost 600 birds here at the loft and another 200 prepaid perches.  Please keep an eye on the numbers...if you plan on sending birds in April and haven't prepaid yet, I would suggest doing so to hold your spot.  
 
Have a great week!
 
Lucas
Mar-22-2021
HAPPY MONDAY!

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Beautiful sunny and windy morning here at the loft.  The winds here on the hill have been keeping me from releasing this first group of birds, but tomorrow morning looks like it is going to be perfect!  Fingers crossed!   
 
Currently, I have over 400 birds here at the loft with the first group ready to fly and the second group ready to join them at the end of the week.  I have had to pull 3 birds from the second group due to illness (all from the same breeder)...please make sure you are vaccinating and not over packing your boxes.  Overall, the birds are coming in healthy and in good condition...THANK YOU!!  
 
I have some space on my personal YB team if you anyone is interested in sending some birds to try. I have offered this in the past and will do the same...$115 perch fee, no entry fee, must have birds entered in the OLR and breeder retains ownership.  It looks like we will be flying the east course which is new to me but should be a good course.  Just give me a shout if interested.
 
Birds are eating great and getting Ropa B and Primalac in their water daily.  They love spending most of the day out in the aviaries and have been enjoying their twice weekly baths.  
 
Have a great week!
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Mar-13-2021
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Currently, 35 degrees sunny and warming up to a glorious 60 degrees today! I love the high desert with the crispy cool nights and sunny warm days.  This time of year is always great with all the nesting birds returning and plants starting to pop up.
 
It has been a busy first two weeks with 298 birds here at the loft.  The first group has been moved out of quarantine and are enjoying doing laps in the large aviaries on the south side of the loft.  This first group will be allowed to loft fly toward the end of next week and you will start to see some clocking on wincompanion.  Birds are looking good and taking all the transitions in stride.
 
The majority of birds have been arriving in good time and shape via USPS with a few boxes lagging behind.  Those birds that have to spend extra time in transit are given a little bit more TLC and seem to respond well.  Please make sure your babies are eating and drinking well on their own before they are shipped.  
 
I am looking forward to another great season and thank you all for the continued support!
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Feb-27-2021
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers,

 
Monday is the first day for me to start accepting birds and it looks to be perfect timing with weather improving and the post office accepting live animals.  Weather next week is going to be sunny with daytime temperatures in the 50/60 range.  Versele Laga feed and pellets arrived this past week and the quarantine loft is ready to receive birds.  
 
Shipping Reminders:
Please ship Monday or Tuesday as our post office is closed on Saturdays.
Give your babies plenty of space with a nice layer of bedding.
Make sure your babies have been vaccinated for PMV at least 2 weeks before arrival and are eating and drinking well on their own.
"New" one bird and three bird boxes from Horizon should not cost over $90 to ship from anywhere in the US.  
Please include payment with birds or prepay perches...this helps me immensely with the accounting/intake process.
DO NOT SHIP ME BIRDS WITH POX OR VISUAL CANKER LESIONS!
 
You are welcome to send me a message letting me know birds are on their way but it is not necessary...I will send a message with photo once birds have arrived.  If you don't hear from me within the allotted time of arrival, please get in touch so I can research that particular shipment. I pick up two shipments per day one in the early morning and then around 2 in the afternoon.
 
I am now accepting Apple Pay/Cash along with Venmo, Zelle, Paypal and of course cash, check, and money orders (paid to Lucas Cramer or Crooked River Challenge).
 
Shipping Address
 
1522 SE Grizzly RD
Madras OR 97741
503-510-2661
 
Any questions just give me a shout...Have a great weekend.  I am looking forward to seeing many of your birds next week.
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Feb-04-2021
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers,

 
It is beautiful and sunny here in Central Oregon with just a skim of ice on the pond this morning.  I just wanted to touch base and remind everyone that I will start taking birds this year the first week of March.  February is still cold for us and it can be tough on some of the birds arriving from warmer climates.
 
I had a couple of calls this week asking when is the best time to send birds.  March and April is the best time to send and that is the reason for the two month acceptance period.  I have pulled data from the last five years of the race and the average speed winner has always arrived in March.  The vast majority of money winners on the final race arrive in March and April...there are a couple outliers with some early May replacements also doing well.  I had originally thought when I started this race that February birds would excel due to their age and our early racing season, but data hasn't supported that theory.  
 
A bit more course data...First place average speed winners over the last five years have ranged from 1395-1466ypm.  Race speeds on this course are consistently between 1300-1500 ypm.  Birds race from South to North on our course and fly in the high desert with limited water availability.  Release point elevations are around 4,000' (home elevation is 2,500') and birds must go over mountains ranging in height from 7,800-8,000' on the 250, 300, and 350 mile race.  Winds are predominately out of the Northwest during our racing season but can vary significantly on this course due to mountains and desert.  
 
Reminder...please make sure to vaccinate for PMV at least 2 weeks before shipping babies.  I give one PMV and one Paratyphoid vaccination on arrival.
 
I hope breeding is going well for everyone!  Good Luck this year and feel free to give me a shout if you have any questions.

Lucas
 
Tax documents were sent out a couple weeks ago, if you haven't received yours and believe you need one please get in touch.
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Jan-07-2021
GOOD MORNING

Good Morning Flyers!

 
I hope this finds everyone well and that you were able to enjoy the holidays with some family.  The weather is beautiful here in Central Oregon this morning with sunny skies, snow covered mountains, and very mild temperatures.  My old bird team is out enjoying themselves and the first of my 2021 young bird team has just hatched...Perfect day for baths!
 
Welcome to all the new breeders that have signed up for the 2021 season.  I have updated the email list this morning, so that should be current...if you would like to be taken off or added to my email list please just let me know.  Prepayment of reservations have started to arrive and those payments have been added to the prepaid "PPD" bird list.  As a reminder, this is the only way to absolutely confirm reservations...with that said there is no immediate rush at this point to get payments in.  Payments can be made via money order, check, Zelle or Paypal.
 
Please make sure to read the RULES (also found under race info on homepage) before reserving perches.  Perch fees are the same this year at $115 per bird with no quantity discounts offered and entry fees are also the same at $450 per bird due after the 150 mile activation.  Same as last year a PMV vaccination is required at least 10-14 days before the birds arrive here at the loft.  New for 2021 is a sprint series option that will include the 4 longer trainers before the 200 mile race (further details in the rules)and as long as the weather holds a 400 mile race will be offered.  
 
I am looking forward to another successful season and fingers crossed we will have limited smoke issues this year.  Birds will start arriving at the loft the first week of March.
 
Please feel free to contact me with any questions!  Also, if anyone has any good information regarding live feed cameras please shoot me an email.
 
Wishing you all great success in 2021!
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B