HC

 

 

 News and Updates
Jul-03-2024
HAND INVENTORY COMPLETE

The hand inventory/chip check of all birds was completed today.  We came across a few birds that needed to have a few adjustments to their band letters such as the band needing to be changed from AU to IF.  Any AU ARPU bands that were not issued from the AU directly with the copyright marker on the band, will be listed as US in our system.  All of the birds handled very well and we are happy with the way they are coming along.  Tomorrow we will resume regular clocking of the birds and begin to push them to fly a little longer everyday. 

We also had 7 birds that were found with either a missing chip ring or a non working one.  Those birds have had the rings replaced and are as follows:

TBW 24009 - Two-Be Won Loft
PHA 5302635 - 3J Connection II
Frank 49 - Francisco Hernandez
LAPU 415 - MBM Loft
TIAN 116 - Tian Loft
ISL 511 - Hilltop Loft 2
DAC 91 - Aleman Loft

We also wanted to Thank Mike Parish for bringing a bird back to us that was found by one of his local 4H members about 40 miles south of us.  The bird is in decent condition and will be back flying with the rest of the birds in about a week.  And finally we received a call today for another bird that was found 100 miles away and we will be having it shipped back to us.  

We hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July holiday! 
Jul-01-2024
Today we started an inventory to check all the birds chip rings to ensure they are working correctly as well as treat them individually for external parasites.  This process will take approximately 3 days.  During this time we will not be clocking live.  We got through about 1100 of the birds today and will continue first thing in the morning tomorrow.  While doing the inventory we are still going to keep the birds on their feeding schedule, allowing them to eat at 2:00 pm.  Since we are close to pushing the birds to fly everyday we do not want to interfere with their schedules to much.  This of course limits our time for scanning everyday but we think it is important to not stress them more than necessary.  Our temperatures are in the 70's - mid 80's the early part of this week so it is a good time to get this done.  We are going to push to have this done by Wednesday.  

The birds have been flying very well on their own right out of the loft every morning.  We had some very hot days the past week, especially Saturday and the birds were being let out earlier to allow them to fly before it got to hot.  The health is also fantastic and we are very happy with how things are progressing this year.  

We will update again once we get the hand inventory completed and what the plan moving forward will be for beginning to push the birds to fly. 
Jun-17-2024
JUNE 17TH UPDATE
The heat has arrived here in Indiana and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere for at least a week. Temperatures were in the 90's today and look to stay that way through next week.  The birds continue to loft fly daily and we have moved up the time to 6:00 am that they are let out of the loft to try to get some flying in before it gets to warm.  We are not forcing the birds to fly, however we see more and more groups flying longer and further.  There are usually several birds that come home late evening or a few the next morning. 

The health of the birds is very good and the birds have a good strong moult going on right now.  There are piles of feathers every day in the loft.  Birds are still being fed the Beyers Vandenabeele mix with a variety of minerals including Jovati Grit.  Three days a week they are getting Bio-Pro added to their feed with Jovati Garlic Oil. 
A dropping analysis was done late last week to test for cocci and worms.  The test was performed by Dr. K's office and the results were negative (see attached results).    We will be running the birds through a treatment for respiratory for a week as we get closer to really encouraging them to fly for a longer length of time. 
Loft flying will continue the rest of this week, and we should have the loading ramp completed by Thursday.  The frame/chute that the trailer will back up to is completed and the birds have been being let out of the loft through it.  The actual ramp that will adjust to each level should be completed by Thursday and we will begin allowing the birds to explore the trailer and exit for loft flying through it. 

Have a great week everyone and try to stay cool if you are being effected by this heat wave. 
 
Birds exiting the loft through the new loading chute for the trailer
Jun-10-2024
JUNE LOFT UPDATE

Things are quiet at the Hoosier Loft right now.  It is that time of the year when the birds are allowed out of the loft daily but are not being forced to fly.  This does not make for much excitement around here, but the birds are very healthy and are in a good routine. They go out of the loft daily and listen very well when it is time to come in for feeding.  They know the whistle means it's feeding time and there is not much hesitation in coming in.  
We have started construction of the loading ramp for the trailer.  Once completed we will start to allow the birds onto the trailer using the loading ramp.  Doing this for several weeks before they are actually going to be on the trailer for training should help acclimate them to it and not be so stressful on them. 

The weather has been quite cool the last 2 days and the birds definitely enjoy it.  We're sure the heat will be coming soon, in the meantime we continue to enjoy the comfortable temperatures for the next several days.  

The birds continue to be fed Beyers Vandenabeele Premium Mix, as well as being offered Jovati Mineral Grit daily.  2-3 times a week they are given the new "Bio-Pro" probiotic from Vita King mixed onto their feed, and fresh water daily.

We hope everyone has a great week. 
May-30-2024
We are excited to announce that the new trailer was brought home to the loft today.  This trailer will make loading the birds for training much easier and eliminate stress of loading as well.  

Thank you to Ioris Brito, Pedro Diaz, and Tony Cuevas for all of your help, videos, pictures in the early stages of this. They were a big help in providing the fabricator with visuals of what we were trying to achieve.  And a huge Thank You to Wyatt Troutner of Troutner Custom Solutions for taking on this project with no real knowledge of the racing pigeon industry.  We are extremely happy with the outcome. 

We will begin the construction of the loading ramps early next week and once completed we will allow the birds to explore the ramps and trailer to let them get acclimated to it.  
New Self  Loading Trailer
May-25-2024
MAY 24TH UPDATE
Last week was officially the end of our intake for the 2024 season.  We would like to Thank Everyone that chose to participate in the Hoosier Classic 2024 Season.   We have 4393 birds entered in the system for this season. 
The health of the birds this year has been fantastic.  We have treated as a precaution for respiratory due to the excessive amount of rain we have had the last few weeks.  The birds are now currently being treated for Canker and will finish that course of treatment early next week.  

The new additions to the aviary's has made the process of doing inventories much easier and allows for daily clocking.  We have allowed the birds to clock everyday since May 9th.  There is still a group that needs to be settled and that should be done by next week.  They are quickly learning the traps and we are very happy with the progress of the birds this year.  We will now be in the "boring" part of the season where there is not much going on with the birds except allowing them out daily and allowing them to fly at their own will.   

We will be able to pick up the trailer next week and we are excited to get that back to the loft.  We will be allowing the birds to venture on it and exit off of it to fly.  Allowing them to do this now will make for a much easier task of loading for training when the time comes.  

We hope everyone enjoys the Memorial Day weekend. 
Video of the birds May 23rd & 24th 
 
May-18-2024
END OF INTAKE & PERCH FEES DUE

Just a reminder that today was the last day to enter birds or send replacements for the 2024 season.  

We want to Thank Everyone who has chosen to participate in the Hoosier Classic this year and look forward to a great season.  Please remember that we will not pick a final race date until after activation.  This will allow us to provide the birds with the best training and race dates to benefit them.  

PLEASE NOTE..Unpaid perch fees are due now.  Failure to pay perch fees by Monday will result in the birds becoming property of the Hoosier Classic for Non Payment.  Any birds not paid for by Monday 5/20/2024 will be moved to For Sale.  Birds sold are not returnable.  Payments can be made via the PayPal Links on our website or by credit card over the phone by calling the office at 219-733-0011. 
Processing fees apply to both of these options.  Paypal does not allow Friends & Family as we are marked as a business, so if you plan to use PayPal, please use the links on our website. 
May-13-2024
A reminder that this is the last week to ship birds for the 2024 season, including replacements.  We encourage everyone to please check the inventories to see if you have a bird that needs to be replaced.  If you are unsure, please feel free to email or call the office and we can help you.  We will continue to do inventories so please pay close attention early this week to allow time to ship if needed.   

Also, any unpaid perches need to be paid by Friday as well.  Perch fees that have not been paid will have the birds moved to For Sale.  Perch fees were due upon arrival.  We contacted many fanciers last week regarding payments.  If you did not respond, please do so this week.  
May-10-2024
MAY 10TH UPDATE
1 Week Left To Get In!
$1,200,000 in GUARANTEED PRIZES

We currently have over 4000 birds here at the loft.  We would like to Thank Everyone who has chosen to participate in the Hoosier Classic Race again this year.

The health of the birds is very good and holding well.  All birds have received 2 vaccines, 1 for PMV and 1 for PMV/Rota, as well as a Pox Vaccine.  Currently the birds are being fed Beyers molting mix and given several tuples of minerals including their favorite, "Jovati Mineral Grit."   Three days a week birds are given "Bio-Pro" probiotics on their feed.  We have noticed giving probiotics in the water the birds tend to not drink as much during warmer weather.  We are very pleased with the results of the "Bio-Pro" since adding it to our feeding program. 

Birds continue to go out daily.  After a new group is out of the loft three times they are then merged with the older groups of birds.  

We continue to do daily inventories for fanciers to monitor any replacements that may be needed.  Next week, May 13th -17th will be the last week to send in new entries as well as replacements.  Please continue to check the inventories to get those replacements in if needed. 
Remember perch fees are non refundable and credits are not given for perch fees either, so take advantage of sending replacements. 
 
We received some updated pictures of the new trailer this morning and it is looking good.  The doors for the levels themselves, as well as the cleaning doors have been added.  It is coming together nicely and should be a lot less stress on the birds for loading and training. 




Finally, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Randy Walz, Zephyr Loft.  Randy passed away this past weekend.  He was a true gentleman and always a pleasure to talk to.  Randy won the Hoosier Classic in 2021 having 1 of 6 birds on the drop that year.  He will be greatly missed.  Please keep his family and friends in your prayers as they embark on life without Randy.  

 

 
May-01-2024
Happy Wednesday!!  We have had around 100 birds delivered today between the post office and breeders delivering birds.  

We have had a few fanciers call and ask if they could send birds after the 10th of May.  Several breeders need just a few extra days on their youngsters to ship them.  With that said, we have decided to allow birds to enter until May 17th, just 1 week later, and this will also allow for anyone to continue to send replacements for any birds that may be missing.  Please continue to watch the inventories to see if you are missing anything that will need replacing.  

There are several birds that have not had their perch fees paid for either.   If you have unpaid perches, they will need to be paid by the 17th.  We will begin contacting breeders by phone this week to get fees paid.  Perch fees were due upon arrival. 

If anyone has any questions please feel free to
contact our office 219-733-0011
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