The last of the birds that are entered in the Apple Cup for 2022 were settled today. We will let them trap with the older birds for a few days and then we will run a COMPLETE inventory this weekend or early next week. Our appologies for not running a inventory last week but our youngest daughter just graduated and her older brother who lives in AL and older sister who is in TX along with her husband and our first grandchild were in town visiting.
Game plan is to start pulling flights next week, also checking chips to make sure they are assigned and working properly, lastly a health check. Once all flights are pulled we will just let them be pigeons, they will be forced out of the loft daily but not forced to fly. Once they are all flying well on their own again, maybe with a little flagging, we will start road training in August providing the NW fires are not too bad this year.
Olga and I celebrated our 20th anniversary a few days ago, without her support there would be no Apple Cup. I can not say there will be a Apple Cup 20 years from now, but certainly hope we get to celebrate a 40th anniversary together and many more after...
It has finally started to warm up here, birds seem to be enjoying it but yours truly sure wish it would drop back down in to the 60s and 70s. Ha Ha
Everyone have a great week!
Rick & Olga
Good morning fellow pigeon nuts!
Very busy week for us here with our youngest daughter graduating Saturday and her graduation party yesterday. Our oldest Billy flew in from Alabama and went back home this morning and our daughter and family from Texas are here and go back home Saturday. We have one grandaughter who is 2 years old, always nice to hold and spoil her. Really warms my heart to see my four girls together, wife, two daughters, and grandaughter all spending time together. One of these days we will probably end up back in Texas so we can all be close together again but the youngest who just graduated has a full ride scholarship between my military benefits which she will be using and the scholarships she earned for academics.
We settled another group today and moved the last group from the W end to the E end where they will be trap trained for 6-7 days. Depending upon how they are trapping and responding to the whistle before feeding will determine when the last group is settled but it definitely will be next week.
If we have time this week we will run a inventory which will include all birds EXCEPT the very last week's arrivals which started trap training this morning. If we do not have time then we will run a inventory next week which will include all birds in the loft.
Removed one bird today due to injury, life is good here at the Apple Cup and we can not wait to start training!
Our doors are officially closed, please do not send any more birds this year.
Our goal of reaching 2,500+ birds and 500 breeders was met, thanks to all of you who made that possible.
Next step is to get all of these birds settled which have yet to be settled, once trapping well for several days in a row we will pull the 9th and 10th flights, check chips, and do a health check. Once the flights grow completely back in and the birds are loft flying on their own we will start to train, hopefully this will be early August providing the weather and smoke cooperates. The last few years these NW summer fires have delayed our training, hopefully it will not be as bad as last year this year.
We are running a inventory today, it is gloomy with slight rain so the birds are coming in very slowly which is exactly what we want so we do not miss any while they walk across the scanning pads.
We got a bunch of birds today, so back to work processing our last arrivals for this year. If you sent birds this week and they arrived today please send us a text and we will respond after we are done processing new birds and that includes entering them on Wincompanion. Please check our breeder list on Wincompanion to see if your birds have already been entered there before contacting us.
It is going to be a huge race this year, I personally can not wait to start training!
Tomorrow is Memorial Day and the post office is closed, the very last day to mail birds for this year's race is Tuesday 31 May, do not mail after this date.
Mail birds to:
Apple Cup
PO Box 313
Moxee, WA 98936
254-247-9504
Please read previous updates for more information.
Everyone have a great Memorial Day weekend.
Hello current and future Apple Cup participants!
Next Monday the 30th is Memorial Day and the post office is closed, the very next day is the absolute last day to ship for this year's race which is Tuesday 31 May. Do not ship any birds past 31 May, any who are will be returned.
Birds continue to be loft flown daily and a new group is settled weekly which we did today. We will let these birds trap a few times with the others before running a inventory toward the end of the week or this weekend.
The very last birds next week will be settled in about 3 weeks from arrival as all new arrivals are. As soon as they are all settled we will get all of the birds flying good then take several days in a row to pull the 9th and 10th flights, check chips to make sure they are working and assigned properly, and lastly do a health check to include a look down the throat. Once the flights are completely regrown we will start road training in August.
We are currently sitting at 2,400 birds and about 500 breeders. It is going to be a big race this year, do not miss out!
Good evening everyone!
We been at it since 0530 this morning, never a dull moment running a One Loft Race.
We ran a inventory today, from my calculations we should have 1,768 on this inventory and at the time of typing this up we have 1,740 in the clock. We pulled just a few birds out of the loft since the last inventory due to health and injuries and there are about 20 sitting on the landing board which probably got spooked by a hawk today. There is 2 more hours before dark, most of these knuckleheads should go in, if they do not we will shut up the aiviary so nothing can harm them and when we get all of the birds out of the loft for their daily loft fly tomorrow these will clock in with the rest when we call them in to eat/drink.
Health is still unbelievable this year and from our calculations we are down very few from settling. We settle new groups every week that have been here for 3 weeks looking out the loft and the last 7 days prior to being liberated for the first time they have to go through a trap daily to get fed, believe me they catch on quick! We have found that by settling them as they come in they are much easier to get settled, if they sit too long the older birds go bat crazy the first few times out and this can spell big losses, especially if a hawk flys by their first or second time out of the loft.
We bought a new 20' long X 8.5' wide flatbed trailer which will be made in to a self loading trailer, when we get it done we will share with all of you.
It is still not too late to send birds for this year's race. We strongly encourage and prefer that you ship on Mondays, Tuesday at the latest so your birds do not get stuck in the post office over the weekend. Last day to ship is Tuesday the 31st of May, the day after Labor Day.
PLEASE, register before you send your birds and put your loft name on the box right above or on the shipping label. This makes it 10X easier for us to figure out where to assign your birds. If you do not register before sending then we have to try to do a Wincom search for you, if you have never entered a OLR then we have to register you ourselves. I probably spent a hour adding breeders today who had not registered first, or creating accounts, we simply do not have time to do this so please help us out.
We currently have over 450 breeders who have sent birds this year and over 2,300 birds so it looks like we will meet our goal of 2,500 pigeons for this year. Our goal is to get at least 2,000 through activation so there will be lots of prize $ for the final race!
Everyone have a great day, if you have questions please text as you will get the quickest response that way.
Good aftnoon Apple Cup participants and onlookers alike!
Today while processing new birds we decided to run a inventory after the loft was scraped, waterers disenfected, and fresh grit containers and feed trays filled. Most of the birds came in and then it started to rain, the birds out on top of the loft are enjoying the rain and are taking their sweet time coming through the traps. If you have birds unaccounted for which arrived prior to 3 weeks ago counting this week, please be patient as your birds are most likely out enjoying the raindrops.
Health is still great and losses due to settling is better than ever. If you follow us on Facebook and or read our updates, you will know that my sister Sheila is our secret to success this year as far as health goes. She works inside the loft 4 hours a day, picks up birds from the post office, without her we would never try to pull off a race of this size. So if you read this little sister, know that Olga and I truly love you and appreciate all that you do for the Apple Cup!
Tomorrow we pick up our new flatbed trailer which will be converted in to a pigeon hauler. The trailer is 8.5 feet wide X 20 feet long. We are going to have sections built on top of this trailer with openings at the back so when the trailer is backed up to the west end of the loft the birds will be able to walk in to the different levels and load themselves. The sides will drop down for releases and for cleaning.
We are over 2,200 birds now and all birds except the birds which arrived this week which are in quarentine, those which arrived last week and are on the west end of the loft looking out the aiviary, and those here on the east end of the loft which arrived week before last have been settled and are out flying. We have learned from experience that if you keep these OLR birds in too long and they get too strong on the wing, well then your settling losses are higher than if you settle new groups weekly and gradually.
We put out in updates that the last two days to ship are May 30th and 31st, the last Monday and Tuesday in May. May 30th is Memorial Day and the post office will be closed, therefore the VERY LAST DAY TO SHIP IS MAY 30th and this includes replacements!
Thank you, all of you for your great support this year!
Just to clarify, it is $250 a bird after the activation race and if your bird does not go to the first race and it was paid for then you will receive a refund.
We have received the same question several times a week, how are we making any money this year? It is simple, if you read the previous updates and our rules the only fees this year are $250 per bird after the activation race, $100 is our perch and $150 goes toward prizes. Our payout chart is based upon 1,000 birds and is $150,000 in prizes. We have over 2,000 birds in the loft and expect to be over 2,500 after we shut off intake which is the end of this month. Our goal is to get at least 80% through activation, which will mean $300,000 in prizes not $150,000 which our payout chart shows. The more birds activated, the bigger the prizes!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in your lives tomorrow!
Good afternoon fellow pigeon fanciers!
Today we ran a inventory to include a new group we settled Wednesday. Most of the birds came in but only about half clocked. A quick check of the pads and wiring to the pads found that one of the pads had come disconnected so all of the birds were put back out so they could scan in again. This should clear up any clocking questions on today's inventory. We will most likely run the inventory through tomorrow if we come up a bird or two missing that was on the last group settled on Wednesday.
We currently have over 2,000 birds on the property with all settled except the last 3 weeks arrivals. Week 1 birds go in to quarentine for a week, week 2 birds go to the west end of the loft for a week so they can look around out the aiviary, and week 3 birds are trap trained for a week before they are settled, then the whole process starts over again. Knock on wood, this method of settling seems to be working as we have lost very few due to settling and very few due to sickness.
We are accepting birds for 4 more weeks, please ship only on a Monday or Tuesday on the following dates.
May 9/10
May 16/17
May 23/24
May 30/31
We are definitely going to be over 2,500 birds this year, loft can hold 3,000.
No fees up front! After the activation race, which should be the weekend after Labor Day if the weather cooperates, fees are due which is $250 per bird. If a bird is lost after the activation race and paid for then you will receive a full refund.
Register before you send and please put your registered loft name on the box preferably on the shipping label. No need to contact us before shipping, just register and put your loft name on the shipping label, it is as easy as that.
Everyone have a great week.
Happy Sunday to everyone, hope all of you are having a great day!
We settled a new group today, after being out a hour a pair of Red Tail Hawks flew over the loft and scattered the birds. The hawk did not try to catch any, just spooked them. We will keep the clock on at least through tomorrow so if any birds do not trap in today we will trap them in late AM afer we have the loft cleaned and fresh water and feed waiting on them. If there are any out over night they will be pulled in when the mob that has already been settled is allowed to come out to fly for their morning exercise.
Yes we are still accepting birds, last days to ship will be May 30th/31st which is the last Monday and Tuesday in May.
There is no replacement period this year since there is no perch fee up front. If you do notice a bird missing, and there are very few this year, then by all means send a replacement if you like but not after the 31st of May.
