Birds are on lock down today in preparation for basketing. They are being hand examined and chip-checked. There were a few later arrivals and habitual late trappers (we will not name call) after we shut the computer off and left the loft yesterday morning. The official basketing list is what to look at later this evening.
We will put the clock in race mode and do a basketing list tonight - race is on for tomorrow Thursday 11/29. Light winds 5-10 SSE on one wind app, and other weather channels are calling for 5-10 SSW... so either a slight tail wind or light cross winds with 48 degrees at release and about 62 degrees on arrival.
Stay tuned....
Birds are looking much better ~!! Droppings have tightened up significantly. They flew from 1-1.5 hrs today so I know they are feeling good.
Tomorrow we will take them out on a 50-60 mile toss and evaluate when we want to have the 1st race.
Friday looks like rain, Saturday 15 mph headwinds/crosswinds; and Sunday iffy. So I will make the call whether to do Wednesday or Thursday as I do not want to have these birds sit around for another week ~!!
We have decided to postpone Sunday's 1st race for the following reasons.
After the blowhome activation race, we had several tosses and dropped a few birds since that activation toss.
We saw some abnormally loose droppings on return from both longer training and some birds seemed sluggish especially on the last toss. We think with a 90% confidence that it was due to a bad batch of supplements that we typically use on the days of basketing and return from the longer trainings. We also saw that the supplement had colored the water green today - when normally it should be yellow.
In the best interest of the birds - I have decided to let this flush out of their system first before we have our first race.
We are treating with Ropa natural oregano -based in the water for now , lightened up the feed and then will have 2 days of a Therapeutic Cleanser.
Hope this does not inconvenience anyone - but from my experience as one of the top handlers in the Arizona Federation - this is the best decision to do this as precautionary ! I would hate to start the series and then have to shut them down and then restart - we have seen in the 2018 OLRs what time-off does to the returns.
Thanks for your support -
Looks like all birds are being accounted for (paid or check is in the mail).
We will do a couple more tune-up tosses this week before the 1st race... and then it will be like clockwork unless we have a hard race in-between.
Best of luck ~~!
Arizona Classic Derby Update
Unpaid entries will BE SOLD this week ~~!!
If I have not heard from the breeders with unpaid entries by Tuesday 20th Nov - a list will be made available to the general public Tuesday night.
Due to the winds are kicking up in Arizona this week with a cold front and several unpaid entries - the schedule is now (+/- 1 day):
150 mile - Sunday Nov 25
200 mile - Wednesday Nov 28
250 mile - Monday Dec 3
300 mile - Sunday Dec 9
350 mile - Sunday Dec 16
1. ACTIVATION FEES of $300 are due per bird.
2. OPTIONAL $500 High Roller per bird - Winners will be paid 40/30/20/10 split (4 Top Average Speed positions).
3. Go to "BREEDERS" and click on your birds (we have updated the bird list for any "MISSING" birds).
4. Paypal option: PLEASE SELECT "FRIENDS AND FAMILY" so that we do not get a 3.5% charge
Paypal: stephenfurlonge@yahoo.com
Mail: Stephen Furlonge
965 E Desert Lane Gilbert AZ 85234
Phone (480) 215-4255
Activation race is now complete. We had a 10-12 mph tailwind.
We need to get wing time on these birds as 95% of the tosses have been easy.
As such, Birds WILL continue to be trained/conditioned while we collect the Entry fees until the 1st race Thanksgiving Day.
Any bird lost prior to 1st race basketing will be refunded.
There are also some unpaid perch fees that we have not heard from the breeders. Any unpaid perch/entry bird will be sold.
Best of luck in the series - Thanks for your support
Quick Note:
Looks like we lost power at some point today at the loft - We ran the birds out in the evening so that they could re-scan to make sure everyone was accounted for.
Best regards
We had 3 Harris hawks visit the loft yesterday. We are missing a couple of birds that we see flying around but will not come to the loft complex. We think they got at least one dropper as we are unable to identify from what's left. Needless to say, we had supervised loft flying this morning ~!!
All else is good - we are trying to get to that activation race later this week if the weather holds as beautiful as it has been.
Then we will need those activation funds to be sent in so we can have our 1st race the week of Thanksgiving. During that time, we will short toss the birds and cut the feed to get those vital trap training activities in....
Treading easy at 50 miles with all the OLR losses out there - we are paying CLOSE attention to training regimen, how long birds sit between races, poor OLR mismanagement due to weather related losses, wing time on birds vs loft flying, road miles, tailwind vs headwind choices, etc. We take note of the hightly successfull habits of the top 3 OLRs out there - and we look for avoidance factors for the ones that are not doing as well.
Once we get to the 75-90 toss, we will advise the date for an activation toss (single release) and send out request for entry fees. You will have roughly 10-14 days to get those entry fees in. During that time - we will restart at short tosses and condition the birds with repetitive tosses to get them in "race" mode. Right now they are in "homing" mode.
#1 - We believe we are using one of the best feed on the market (Versele Laga) - appropriately loading the birds protien/fats/carbs for the flights.
#2 - We keep sharp by being actively involved in 2018 local racing and have been racing OBs and YBs every season since 2003 (which gives us a heads-up as to what is happening on the local front with losses, abnormal weather and environmental factors such as earthquakes/K factor, smoke, heat, wind, rain, etc).
#3 - The birds dictate the schedule of when they are ready to race ~!
#4 - Once we start the 1st race - the 150-200 will happen fairly quickly unless it is a tough 150. Then 250-300-350 every 5-8 days in quick succession. These birds will not be allowed to sit around for 2 weeks between races..... That is our plan in theory.
Best of luck
Most of the last tosses so far have been slight tailwinds 5-15 mph .... yesterday was the first toss with a side wind of 10-15 mph SW. Race course is South East. Birds were clearly pushed a little north as expected on this course when we have those kinds of directional winds.
There are 3 birds that need bands - will have those done at next hand-inventory.
Best regards....
