HC
News and Updates
Aug-13-2022
TODAYS TRAINING TOSS
Today the birds were again released from 7 miles (same location as yesterday).  We start to basket birds on short tosses like this at 5:00 am.  Birds were then released at 9:00 am in perfect weather conditions.  The first groups of birds started to arrive about 9:20 and began clocking around 9:40.  It was around 10:30 we realized that  groups that had been released were missing.  We watched as singles and doubles of birds arrived all day.   I know everyone wants an explanation as to why this happened and we do not know.  This was not their first time on the trailer, it was not their first time off the property, and it was not their first time at this location.  We do know that the birds are healthy. 

Birds that have trapped after 1:30 pm today have been trapped into their own section for a little recovery time.  I am confident that we will see more birds tomorrow.  Birds continued to clock today steadily until the sun went down.  The plan is to train again tomorrow, however the late birds will be kept home and allowed to loft fly.  It has been a very long and frustrating day and evening. 

Thank you everyone for your patience with me today while waiting for an update regarding the toss today. 

Jim
 
 
Aug-10-2022
TRAINING HAS STARTED
As of Tuesday the birds have officially started road training.  We started out by going 2 miles from the loft.  From our release point you can see the loft clearly.  The birds took a bit of time circling and then heading home which is exactly what we expected them to do.  We took our time releasing only 8-10 baskets at a time and allowing them time to start to head home.  This morning (Wednesday) we went 3.5 miles from the loft, which the birds should be able to see the loft once they go up in the air.  The birds were much quicker to start to head home this morning as well. 

There will more than likely be a delay in the birds clocking as they are not used to coming in so early in the morning.  They have been allowed to stay out until usually 2:00 pm everyday, so this will be an adjustment and take a few days to get them to come into the loft once they get home.  

Our weather has finally cooled down with the temperatures dropping down into the mid 70's yesterday and today.  We expect to stay that way for the rest of the week which will be great for the birds.  Leading up to this week we have been in the 90's with very high humidity and several days of rain.  

If you follow us on Facebook we have posted a few videos the last few days of random birds in the loft as well as releases from the trailer and flying. 

We hope everyone has a great rest of the week and good luck to everyone that is flying in races throughout the country right now as well as here at the Hoosier Classic
Aug-04-2022
The birds have been doing well being released from the trailer on the property.  We have inched them back to the far end of the property so they are used the the truck moving.  Once they are released they immediately see the loft.  They have been doing very well with this process and we will begin moving them down the road either Sunday or Monday depending on the weather.  We will start with going 2 miles and move out from there.  The health of the birds is holding very well and we are happy with birds at this point.  

We have received several phone calls regarding the booking code for Blue Chip for the weekend of the race.  If you would like to book a room at the Blue Chip please use the following code 
HCIJ22C for reserving rooms.  
Room rates are as follows: (rates do not include tax or resort fees if applicable)
10/13 - $109 
10/14 - $189
10/15 - $209
10/16 - $109
10/17 - $99

As the Hoosier Classic will begin getting underway with training for the 2022 season, we want to wish all the other races and fanciers the best of luck for the season.  It's going to be an exciting season with so many great races, and they are all right here in North America!!
  
Jul-12-2022
JULY 12TH UPDATE

We have started to flag the pigeons as of yesterday and today.  Majority of the birds group up nicely, however we do have our fair share of birds reluctant to fly.  This will all change over the coming weeks.  Birds have been split into two groups.  Hopefully we see less accidents this way.  There have been several birds coming back in the evening and early morning as well.  

All birds were given a bath today and they continue to molt nicely.  Our plan is to continue with flagging daily and we will start to introduce the birds the the trailer for property releases next week.  

Jul-01-2022
CLOCKING UPDATE

Birds were out flying today.  We have a storm that is starting to roll in so we allowed the birds in an hour early and in the middle of that we noticed that not all the antennas were registering.  Some of the birds came in over those antennas which they will not clock.  Due to the storm coming in we will not push the birds back out to clock.  The birds are in and we will continue to leave the clock run tomorrow and the birds will be out loft flying tomorrow.  Anything that did not clock today will clock tomorrow. 

Jun-24-2022
JUNE 23RD UPDATE
The weather here at the Hoosier has been a bit of a roller coaster the past week or so.  We have had stretches of extremely hot weather and then will randomly get a cooler day.  We are expected to be back around the 90's tomorrow and Saturday.  

The birds have all started molting heavily and there are feathers every where.  The feathers are everywhere which is a good sign.  The birds that arrived from South Africa have been out the last 2 days for settling and have adjusted quickly to the loft.  We will continue to let the birds out daily (weather permitting) and will also reset the clock tomorrow (Friday).  

We will not begin to push the birds to fly until approximately the middle of July, as we want the younger birds to have all of their 9th & 10th flights back in.  We do have groups of birds that will take to flying close to the loft on their own when out.  

Our routine here is like a well oiled machine for now with the loft usually finished being cleaned by 9:00 am and fresh drinkers replenished.  We have started using the "Purple Rain" from Tony Cuevas this year and we really like the results of it.  We also continue to offer the birds minerals from Vita King Products, including the Jovati Mineral Grit.  We are extremely happy with the health of the birds this year.  All of the birds adjusted very well to the loft throughout the entire intake process.  

For now, birds will be allowed out daily if possible and we will reset the clock every 1-2 days to keep an accurate count of the birds. 

If you haven't already "LIKE" our Facebook page (Hoosier Classic Million Dollar One Loft Race) for videos and photos throughout the week
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May-31-2022
RACE IS CLOSED

A reminder that the Hoosier Classic for 2022 is now closed.  We will no longer accept replacements and we are not taking any new teams.  If you were unable to get birds in for the 2022 season, there is an option to compete with birds from the For Sale list.  There are currently over 150 birds on the For Sale List from many different fanciers.  Keep in mind that if you choose to compete in this manner, all prize and any potential auction money will be split 50/50 between the breeder and the buyer.  Any birds not going to auction will become the property of the buyer when the race is over.  

We thank everyone who has entered the Hoosier Classic for 2022 and look forward to a great season.  

May-23-2022
LAST WEEK TO SHIP BIRDS

This will be the last week to get replacements in for the 2022 season.  An updated clocking list has been posted as of yesterday.  We will run the birds over the antennas again today to pick up any birds that may have potentially missed the antennas.  

Please check your loft list to see if you are missing anything and get the birds replaced.  We have clocked every bird here except birds that arrived after the 23rd. 

Remember there are no refunds or credits for perch fees so it is best to replace anything that may be missing.  

 

If you have any questions please feel free to call the office 219-733-0011

Also, we will be doing a final import for Benzing soon.  IF you have corrections, loft name changes, etc., please let us know as soon as possible.  I do have a few correction/changes that I will be working on in the next few days. 

May-19-2022

There was a new inventory posted on Monday with another 83 birds clocking on Tuesday.   Please check this inventory to see if you have birds that need to be replaced.  There is only 1 week left to get replacements in.  We will work on getting another inventory done Friday or Saturday so breeders will be prepared to ship next week if needed. 

As a reminder we are no longer accepting new teams of birds.  Our general intake period is closed and we will only accept replacements next week.   Our main focus now will be maintaining good health on the younger birds while getting them settled and into a routine in the loft.  

Overall the health of all the birds is good and we continue to see the younger birds become more confident in trapping and being outside.  Our weather has stabilized for this time of year which is great for the birds.  Aside for some light rain yesterday we will have sunny skies and decently warm temperatures in the coming days.  

As a reminder, there are several fanciers that have not paid perch fees.  This is very frustrating and time consuming for us.  Perch fees are due when birds arrive.  We have reached out to several fanciers over the past week.  If you know you have not paid your perch fees you will have until June 1st to get them paid or birds will be listed For Sale.  Once birds are listed For Sale you will loose all rights and any potential prize money. 

Speaking of For Sale, there are currently 122 birds that have clocked on the inventory listed For Sale. 
Birds are available from Paul Daniel, Greek Connection, Marlee Doms, Wes Lamons, Pleasant Task Farms, Big Andy, Baldwin & Tilson, Gary Wartick, Sam Younan, Jesse Seguna, Champ Camp & Mark Mourton. 

There is also 3 Kits available with 5 birds from the following breeders (1 bird per breeder):
Greek Connection
Big Andy
Baldwin & Tilson
Lamons Family Loft
Jesse Seguna

Kits are $1000 for perch fees and then buyer is responsible for activation for any remaining birds.  Any prize & Auction money will be split between breeder & buyer. 

Send an email or call the office in the morning if you are interested in a kit. 

May-15-2022
 
Thank you to all who have sent birds for the 2022 season.  We are looking forward to a great series and wish all fanciers the best of luck. 

Today will be the last day that we are accepting new entries. There are a few fanciers that are dropping birds off today.  Please do not ship anymore birds unless they are replacements for an existing team.  

We will be doing an import with Benzing hopefully later tonight or tomorrow morning (Thank you to Eric Brown for always working with our schedules and changes), and will start to get complete lists for the most recent birds that arrived and will be moving out of quarantine. 

Our temperatures this past week were in the high 80’s to 90’s mid to late week and as of this morning we are back to the 70’s.  It looks like the weather will stabilize for this week with temperatures staying in the 70’s with 1-2 days of rain. 
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