All of the birds that arrived this week so far have been entered in Wincompanion and can be viewed under our Breeders List, if you click on your Loft Name under the Breeders List and your birds are listed it means they arrived. I am sure we will get a few tomorrow which is Friday.
Still trying to identify the breeder whose birds arrived yesterday, from what I could read it said Masters of the Midway, however no such breeder exists. The three birds are FAMP 124, 102, and 109. If you know who this may be please tell them to contact us so we can get their birds properly assigned.
We have over 1,800 perch reservations and there are currently 535 birds in the loft. Last week arrivals are out in the aiviary looking out the loft, the birds that arrived this week are in the quarantine cages until next Tuesday when we assign chips and put them in the loft.
If we don't update before next week, everyone have a great weekend!
Rick & Olga
We processed a bunch of new birds today and there is one breeder's birds who we are not sure who they belong to. On the box it says Masters of the Midway, however there is no breeder signed up under that loft name and there is no loft name on Wincompanion under that loft name. We placed those birds under Monsters of the Midway Loft House of Dragons, this is the closest we could find. The birds are listed below.
FAMP 124
FAMP 102
FAMP 109
If you know who this breeder is, please send us a text at 254-247-9504 so we can get them assigned under the right breeder. I could not read the label, could not read the phone number, that is why I am asking for help.
VERY IMPORTANT, register before sending, put the loft name on top of the box preferably on the shipping label as the post office often times puts their labels over your loft names. Thanks in this matter.
One breeder sent 7 birds in a box designed for 3-4, only 4 birds survived. PLEASE, do not overcrowd your boxes! This breeder also taped up the top lid so tight no air could escape. It is not necessary to tape your boxes, pull all cardboard off of the vents and just zip tie the lid. The hot air can escape out the top of the lid, but not if you tape it up like Fort Knox.
Everyone have a good evening, looking forward to new arrivals in the morning!
All birds from last week had chips assigned yesterday and today was their 2nd day in the loft. They will get a whole week to look around and get familiar with looking out the loft, the following week they will be trap trained for 7 days, then we will settle them. We do it this way every year, week they arrive they are in quarantine cages, 1 week to look around the loft an play in the aiviaries, then 1 week of trap training before being let out for the first time.
We brought in 331 birds this week, none showed up today so that means everyone's birds arrived by Friday.
There are over 1,600 perches reserved so far and it is growing daily. Our goal was at least 2,000 birds this year, looks like we are going to surpass that.
For those new to the Apple Cup, please read below.
No money due with birds, $350 per bird after the 115 mile activation race hopefully early September and yes this includes the perch fee.
165, 200, 250, 300, and 375 mile races for average speed.
Please register before sending, if you can't figure it out send me a text at 254-247-9504 and I will get with you ASAP to help you register.
Mail on Mondays, Tuesday at the latest but Monday is preferred. Our post office is closed on Saturdays, do not risk your birds having to hang out in a post office over the weekend by shipping late in the week.
Put your loft name on top of the box, not inside the box on a note, not on the sides of the box, just right there on top of the box in bold letters.
Vaccinate for PMV at least 2 weeks before shipping.
Apple Cup
PO Box 313
Moxee, WA 98936
254-247-9504
If you have questions please send me a text with your Loft Name, I will call you if need be but 90% of the questions can be answered via text or in reading these updates which we do often.
Everyone have a great weekend!
We picked up 94 more birds today to add to the 200 we received yesterday. Please check our BREEDERS list above and search for your birds by breeder in the top left hand corner. If your birds are not listed then they have not arrived yet.
The new arrivals look great, lets hope it stays that way!
We received 50 boxes today with 200 birds within, a few local breeders dropped off.
If your birds arrived today they are entered on Wincompanion under our Breeders List on this site. If they are not listed this means we did not receive yours and will receive them most likely tomorrow or Friday.
Every single breeder who sent birds today entered before sending, most put their Loft Name on top of this box. We can not express how much we appreciate you doing just these two things, it saves us a tremendous amount of time not having to try to figure out where to assign your birds if you don't do these two things for us before sending.
We are quickly approaching 1,600 perch reservations, at the rate we are going we may just hit our goal of 2,500. Our goal is to get 2,000 activated this year!
Thanks everyone!
Our doors are open for accepting birds starting next week through the end of April. Please mail on Mondays, Tuesday at the latest, the USPS seemingly has gotten slower and slower over the last few years so do not risk your birds by shipping past Tuesday, Monday is best!
We have mentioned lately several times our shipping instructions, here is the short version for those of you reading our updates for the first time. Please, take a few minutes to read our previous updates as it will give you a clear picture of what we have going on here at the Apple Cup.
Vaccinate for PMV 2 or more weeks before sending.
Register on Wincompanion before sending.
Put your LOFT NAME on the top lid of the box in bold lettering, not on the sides of the box, not on a note within the box, right on top of the box please.
Mail on Monday, Tuesday at the latest and never after, again Monday is absolutely the best day to ship!
Do not send any money with the birds, $350 due per bird ONLY AFTER the activation race hopefully in early September.
Put your phone number on the shipping label. If you print your own shipping labels and do not have the phone number on the label then write it on the label.
Mail birds to the below address.
If you need more detailed information and it was not covered here then please read our other updates below, it was probably covered there. If there is a specific question not covered in our updates then send us a text at 254-247-9504 and we will get a response to you ASAP.
Everyone have a great day and good luck to those of you in one of the many late hatch races going on around the country!
Every year we get asked, what kind of pigeons do we recommend sending to the Apple Cup? The short answer is, send your best! Also, look through our archived results under the RESULTS tab and you can see what our speeds have been in AVG speed and on the final race, that in itself will give you some insight insofar as what you may feel you need to send here.
Below we shall list the year of the race, the first place AVG speed winner, and then the speed of the first bird on the final race.
2016 1252/1252
2017 1248/1421
2018 1395/1432
2019 1227/1409
2020 1514/1427
2021 1389/1369
2022 1372/1577
2023 1376/1543
8 year average, 1346 YPM in AVG Speed, 1428 YPM on the final race.
Hopefully the above information can be useful to those of you wondering what type of pigeon you feel you need to send here to succeed here.
We currently have over 1,200 birds reserved for this year, we are especting around 2,000 entered.
Remember, we are only accepting birds in March and April, the first day to put your birds in the mail is Monday March 4th, about 2 weeks away.
Please always mail on a Monday, Tuesday at the latest.
If dropping off birds do so on Wednesday or Thursday. This is when most of the birds arrive in the mail and we like to start all birds that arrive in a given week on meds on the same day, if birds are arriving all week long this is not achievable.
Vaccinate for PMV at least 14 days before sending, the vaccination we give them will act as a booster.
Register before you send, if you are having problems with this please send us a text at 254-247-9504 and we can assist you.
Put your Loft Name in big bold letters ON TOP OF THE BOX, on the shipping label is fine too.
If you have sick birds and you know you have sick birds, do not send them here or anywhere for that matter.
Yours truly is enjoying this little mini vacation we get every year between sending birds back and starting up again in March, Olga is back to doing taxes so it is nice and quiet around here during the day which I like.....but don't tell her I said that!
NO MONEY DUE WITH THE BIRDS WHEN YOU SEND THEM, $350 PER BIRD DUE ONLY AFTER THE ACTIVATION RACE. IF WE CAN NOT GET YOUR BIRDS THROUGH ACTIVATION YOU OWE NOTHING AND WE MAKE NOTHING!
5 races this year, 115 activation, then 165, 200, 250, 300, and 375 final race. We are hoping by extending out from our regular 350 mile final to a 375 mile final we should get closer to 8 hours on the wing which is what most of us want to truly test our birds.
Loft is being prepped for new birds, minor repairs and improvements, thus the life of a One Loft Race owner!
Hope all of you are having a great breeding season!
Already over 1,100 perches reserved, it is going to be a big race again so don't miss out!
We are accepting birds only 2 months just like last year, March and April, the earliest to ship is the first day in March which is March 4th.
Please vaccinate your birds for PMV 14-21 days before shipping here, our vaccination will act as a booster for your birds.
Finally getting some nice weather here and the ground has dried up. Today we are removing all of the pigeon poop from under the loft, inside the loft has already been cleaned and will be sprayed down with Virkon S several times before birds start to arrive.
Look forward to handling your new babies this year!
Time to get outside and shovel pigeon poop!
Everyone have a great week!
1099 MISC forms were sent electronically today to the IRS for those who won $600 or more last year, paper copies were mailed from the post office.
Remember, we are not accepting birds until the first week in March so please do not send us a suprise in the mail in February.
We are quickly approaching 1,000 perch reservations over the last 45 days since sign ups have been available. At the rate we are going we should hit 2500-3000 birds this year.....so don't miss out!
Do not send any $ with your birds, $350 total per bird only after the Activation Race.
There will be 5 races this year for AVG Speed, the 6th race is the activation race at 115 miles and is not part of AVG Speed. Activation race at 115 miles, then races 165, 200, 250, 300, and 375 mile final race. Our goal is to get 8 hours on the wing for the final race. If we fail to get 8 hours on the wing this year we may go to 400 next year as the final, we will make that determination after we finish this year's series.
We are accepting birds March and April ONLY, do not ship us birds in February. It is still going to be cold here next month with freezing temps and the ground is covered in snow today, next month is our month to get the loft ready for your new arrivals.
SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS
Vaccinate your birds for a minimum of PMV 2-3 weeks before sending your birds here, this is very, very important. When they arrive they will be given a booster shot for PMV.
Register for our race before shipping birds, when your birds arrive we need to know where to assign them. If you do not register before sending your birds then it can get very confusing for us especially if you have flown under several different loft names over the years in different races. PLEASE, register bfore sending!
Put your LOFT NAME in big bold letters on the lid of the box, you can also put it on your shipping label. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS!
Ship ONLY on Mondays and Tuesdays, preferably only on Mondays. This ensures that your birds will arrive in a timely manner and that most of birds arriving the week you ship yours arrive Wednesday or Thursday. We like to start birds that arrive in a given week on our medication program on the same day, if they are arriving all week this makes controlling health all the more difficult.
If dropping off birds please do so on Wednesdays or Thursdays for the same reason above, that being we like to start all birds in a given week on meds at the same time so they receive them the same amount of days before coming out of quarantine and being put in to the loft.
If your birds are not healthy, if you know they are not healthy, do not ship them to us!
We are only accepting birds March and April, the first day to put birds in the mail for the Apple Cup is Monday March 4th. The first day to drop off birds will be Wednesday the 6th.
Register First
Vaccinate for PMV 2-3 weeks before shipping
Ship on Mondays
Put your Loft Name in big BOLD letters on the lid of your box when shipping
Do not send any money with your birds
Do not overcrowd your birds
Use approved USPS shipping boxes that allow for good air flow
Use straw, pine needles, or big pine chips for shipping. Do not use fine pine shavings, it creates dust in the box and clogs up your birds nostrils and eyes.
If you have any questions, or if you are having a hard time registering, please send us a text at 254-247-9504. We only use email when it comes time to receive W-9 forms, this is not a means of communication for us.
We hope everyone is staying warm and that you have a great breeding season!
