Loft Log 07/06/2008

I have an updated inventory list on the web site.  I will be doing a new inventory in another week or so.

http://home.comcast.net/~edrenckh/Pigeons/2008/BirdInventory-2008.htm

If you will be changing your email address, please let me know so that I can get you back on my mailing list.

The birds are shaping up nicely.  Most of the birds have completed their body molt and are looking pretty sleek.  I shortened the day by a couple more hours to help clean up some of the birds.  The younger ones were not as complete as the older birds, but they should be OK for the race.  That is another advantage of having an older bird; the molt seems to go better.  The lights are now on from 3 PM to 9 PM.

All of the birds have been vaccinated for PMV upon arrival in MN and Pox and paratyphoid a couple of weeks ago at my loft.  I vaccinate in the leg, so I have no losses from accidental stabs to the spine.

They are starting to fly nicely, but still look a bit like popcorn in the sky.  I hope to have them flying in a flock in a few more flights.  It took a bit to get them settled, but I have most of the birds still and hawks really haven’t been a problem.  I see hawks periodically when I have the pigeons flying, but they have not attacked the birds at the loft.  I suspect that hawks have killed a bird or two already in the air, but not at the loft.

Most of the birds are still in my loft from the last inventory, but they have been flying quite a bit more.  I had an issue with a bird that landed in the fenced portion of my yard a few weeks ago.  The dogs were pretty observant and promptly caught it.  The fence is about 125 feet from the lofts, but when birds are looking for a place to land I have seen them land in the yard.  Usually about one bird per year does this.  While I do not like to admit any mistakes on my part, I will let you know exactly what has happened to your birds, even if it does not make me look as well.

If the birds land on the neighboring building, I have a bucket full of tennis balls that I use to get them off the roof.  This works well and after a few times the birds never think about landing there.  The bird that I removed last month was one that refused to come back to the loft, and was out for several days.  So far, I do not see any bums in this group.

I will be putting another feed order together soon.  As much as I feel bad about any bird that is lost, and the accompanying entry fees associated with it, I can assure you that my expenses are well in excess of many entry fees.  I am not complaining, but I am just doing my best to get as many birds to the race as I can.  If I notify you that I have lost your bird, for whatever reason, please do not feel that I have not worked as hard as I could have to get it to the race.

I hope to have the birds on a fairly normal light schedule in a couple of weeks, depending on how the loft flying continues to shape up.  Currently, I have to fly the birds in the evening, and it is a bit warmer.  The birds do not fly as well as they will when I change the light to fly them in the morning.  As soon as the loft is opened up for the full day, morning flights and evening flights will be the order of the day.  I hope they will route by the end of July.

The work continues to get easier.  Now the birds do not have to be crated everyday and flown back to the loft.  It just a matter of kicking them out and making them fly.  As soon as I get on regular lights, no more closing up the loft every night.  The road training is work, but not too bad.  As soon as they are ready to train, it is a joy to see them come back from the toss and the effort spent getting to that point doesn’t seems so bad.

Once again, I thank you for your trust in me as a handler for the 2008 American Racing Pigeon Union Convention Race!