Good morning all.
Not much going on in my pigeon world today. We are deep into the most miserable time of the year here in Phoenix -- monsoon , humidity , and lot's of heat. The birds are just hanging around and going through their moult. All flights that needed to be pulled are done and coming back in on schedule. I have recently spoke a little bit about a film project that was filmed here last year. This film is being produced to give the public some insight on what our sport is all about, and why we do it. The main intent is to promote our sport and let people know just how much we love our birds and what it takes to do what we do. These film production people have been absolutely awesome. They have filmed from pre-conception right up to and including the Grand Canyon Classic 2021. The film has some great insight about our sport and some of the wonderful people that are associated with our sport.This is not just another film about pigeons. This movie is as much about the people, and their families and friends as it is about birds. It is about making the average person become aware of what our sport is really about.
The production team has literally filmed hundreds of hours of film with myself and the Phoenix Sportsman Club while getting an in depth look at our sport. Right now the film is in post production and coming along nicely. All involved are excited to be able to present a film of this level to the world.
More in the Future
Bob
Good morning all !
The birds are locked down and we are waiting for the Pox to move on past. Soon we will vaccinate for Rota Virus & PMV. Any 1st flights have been pulled on those needing to be pulled. It has been disgustingly hot and humid. Now we wait for nature to take it's course. I'm sure all will be well with my feathered friends.
Your Friend,
Hey Everybody,
I will be cutting flights flights on our feathered friends this morning. I will be checking what flight they are on now and based on a race date of December 3rd will be cutting flights accordingly. The idea is to have all birds with as close to a full wing on race day as possible. Any birds that have dropped thier 3rd flight will get thier 9th & 10th cut.2nd flights will get thier 8th & 9th cut.1st flights will not get cut at all.I always cut flights a week early to allow them to dry out before pulling. I will only pull one flight ,then wait until it's half way in before pulling the last one.I will be feeding our special moulting mix that I formulated and have made up by Baden Feed in Canada. I also do some other special things to help with nutrition during this very stressful time in thier young lives,
We will chat later this week,
Happy Day Friends,
It's a balmy 115 degrees today here in Phoenix. The birds flew for all of 15 minutes today before they quite. Can't say that I blame them one bit. I plan on open loft later today and putting out the bath pans for them. This will be a love of home day for them. I am sure they will enjoy this immensley. What seems strange to me is having to use bath pans at all. In 30 years at this location we have never required bath pans. I would open hole the loft and within minutes the pool would be full of pigeons. My wife didn't appreciate this to much because she is the one to take care of the pool. The birds would puff up thier crops, open thier wings and float around the pool like a bunch of ducks. When they finish they jump out,land on thier board and dry off. All very amusing to watch.On a different note, from March of 2021 untill December of 2021 our club has been involved in a very special production of a 90 minute film promoting our sport ,our club, and the Grand Canyon Classic Race. We will chat more about this at a later time.
Thanks for your support,
Bob & Mike
Dear Friends,
The birds have been flying well up until this week.Summer in Phoenix has arrived with a bang. Last week the birds had been flying for over an hour. This week temps have been 110 degrees or better with this weekend expected to top 114 degrees. We will be lucky if they take a half dozen or so laps around the loft. This is a yearly occurance in Phoenix. These birds will quit flying now until the temps start falling in the mornings. This won't happen until September. We will be cutting flights soon and starting our maintenance programs in the next few weeks. I will keep you updated on what we are doing as we get it done. As always if you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me. I really don't mind speaking with my friends !
Have a Great Day !
Birds are starting to come in now. They look really great ! We are looking forward to a great season. We encourage you to call with any questions you might have about our race course, or what you can expect for normal speeds.We love to meet and talk to new people. We wish all a wonderful and sucessful breeding season. Best to All, Bob & Mike
My name is Bob French and I have been racing pigeons for over 40 years. I flew for 10 years in the Boston Concourse before moving to my current location here in Glendale,Arizona.
I have been running the Grand Canyon Classic Futurity race for the Phoenix Sporstman Club for 23 years now. I have been asked many times by people participating in this race when was I going to change the format to a One Loft Race. I finally have the time where I can devote 100% of my time to this project. Starting in 2022 my son Michael and myself will be hosting the Grand Canyon Classic One Loft Race.
We plan on flying from the due North. This has been a really great course for our club over the years. We will be flying over the Grand Canyon 3 different times. The main event will be from Richfield, Utah, a 350 mile race. These birds will be released from an elevation of approximately 7,000 feet above sea level, they will fly about 200 miles and then have to negotiate the Grand Canyon. No easy task for these birds! From here they will have about 150 miles left to get home. This is a really good test for your birds. Do your birds have what it takes ? On a really good day with favorable winds we can manage speeds of 1500 ypm or better. On an average day they will be 1400 ypm or less. We will usually get birds on the day.
My goal is to give every bird the attention it deserves. This is one reason I have restricted the total number of entries to 240 birds.We feel that this is a very reasonable number for the loft as well as us. I do not believe in over crowding my loft for any reason. I will give my attention to keeping the birds healthy and very well trained. You can believe that these birds will know thier way home when it's time. All birds remain the property of the breeder and will be shipped back at the owners expense after the race.
We hope you you will like this concept of limited partiocipation. Our goal is for all those participating to send thier very best and may the best bird win! We hope you will give us the chance to prove that your birds have what it takes to fly over one of our World's best natural wonders,The Grand Canyon! Come compete against the best !
Thanks for now,
