CRC
News and Updates
Feb-21-2023
GOOD MORNING!
Good Morning Breeders!
 
One week away from the start of our season.  I'm glad I don't have birds here yet, our low temperatures will be in the single digits later this week.  Next week looks like it will be back to normal weather for the arrival of the first birds.  Lofts have been pressure washed and disinfected and are ready for the birds.  
 
Thank you all for considering Crooked River Challenge to race this year!  This will be season number 8 for CRC, which is hard to believe...Big thank you to those that have supported this race from the beginning!
 
Feel free to shoot me a text or email with tracking information on your shipment if you would like.  I will send a text when birds arrive to confirm arrival, so be sure to have your name and phone number on your shipment.  Perch fees are required with bird arrival, unless prepaid (makes accounting much easier on my end).  Birds are immediately chipped and entered into wincompanion upon arrival.  
 
Please reach out with any questions.
 
Take Care 
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Jan-28-2023
GOOD MORNING!
Good Morning Breeders!
 
Beautiful sunny morning here at the loft.  Less than 5 weeks away from receiving our first birds for the 2023 season!  Breeders are welcome to start sending birds on Monday February 27th.
 
Welcome to all the new breeders signing up for this year's race! Thank you to all of those breeders that continue to support the Crooked River Challenge.
 
Thank you to Primalac and Ropa B for the continued support of our race, they have been with us from the beginning.  These are some of the best products available for keeping pigeons healthy!
 
Vaccines arrived last week from Siegels and our pallet of minerals and pellets will be arriving from Jedds next week.  
 
Please be sure to vaccinate youngsters at least two weeks for PMV before shipping.  I like to see birds arrive that are eating and drinking well on their own and are able to fly up to a top perch.  When birds arrive they go into a quarantine 6'x12' loft/section with 30 other birds, so important to have PMV vaccination and eating/drinking well.  
 
Take care and good luck to those with birds in races today.  Feel free to reach out with any questions.
 
Lucas

 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Jan-01-2023
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!

 

Wishing everyone happiness and success in 2023!  Happy Breeding!

I am looking forward to handling the new crop of youngsters in March.

 

Take Care.  Lucas
Nov-20-2022
2023 INFORMATION UPDATED
Good Morning Breeders!  
 
Chilly 12 degrees this morning but the sun is shining.  I have updated the website with the 2023 information and rules.  Not much has changed going into this next season. Please make sure and read through the rules and get in touch with any questions. Here are a couple of changes to keep in mind when planning your breeding. Everyone is of course welcome to reserve perches for next season...Please do not prepay perch  fees until after January 1st.

"Perch Fee:  $150 per Bird (non refundable). Breeders that send 6 or more birds may send ONE backup bird." (Not one backup per 6 birds)

"All birds will have their 9th flight pulled around May 15th and 10th flight around June 15th."

 
Accepting birds March 1st through May 1st.  Please band with official bands AU, IF, CU, MEX...etc.
 
Average speed....6 years out of the 7...the average speed winner has arrived here at the loft in March, since that is usually a significant payout, it is something to keep in mind.  
 
I hope everyone will be able to spend time with friends and family this next week!  I am beyond thankful for the continued support going into the eight year of the Crooked River Challenge!
 
Take Care and as always reach out with any questions.
 
Lucas
 
 
 --
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Oct-29-2022
LAST BIRD SHIPMENTS 10/31
Good Morning Breeders,
 
I hope this email finds you all well.  I was able to ship out 165 boxes this week, so most of you were able to get your birds.  I have another 30 boxes or so to ship Monday.  
 
I can only assume, those I haven't heard from do not want their birds returned.  
 
This next week I will be cleaning/pressure washing and prepping the loft to get a new coat of paint.  I'm hopeful there may still be a couple warm days in November to get it painted.
 
 
Thank you all again for another successful year!  I will be updating race information and webpage for the 2023 season in November.  

Take Care
 
Lucas
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Oct-19-2022
SHIPPING INFO
Good Morning Breeders,
 
I will ship birds back starting on the 24th.  Birds will be returned using the 2 and 3 bird horizon boxes with dividers.  Please let me know if you want birds returned or not.  I will try and get the majority of birds out next week and the last week to ship will be the 31st.
 
I will be sorting birds Friday, so please let me know by tomorrow.  
 
Shipping prices
1bird $65
2birds $70
3birds $80
Shipping fees can be deducted from winnings.  No birds will be shipped without payment being received. 
 
Due to accounting/taxes I am not able to hold perch fees to 2023. 
 
I will start sending checks out this week.  Please send current W9 forms for those that won over $600.
 
I encourage breeders to give feedback on what they liked, disliked, and what they would like to see in future races.  Next month I will be creating rules for the 2023 race, so if you'd like to see any changes, please email.  
 
Thank you all again!!  Good luck with the races coming up.
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Oct-15-2022
CONGRATULATIONS!
Big Congratulations to all the winners in this year's races!  Yesterday was a good challenging race with some wind and heat. I'm proud of these birds, they put on a lot of miles this year (1,475 race miles and 1,600 training miles).  I'm happy to see many birds returning this morning.
 
Congratulations!
 
367 Mile Winners
1st Ganus Family 
2nd Ionut Contra
3rd Kolvenbag & Sons
4th Family Loft
 
200-367 Mile Average Speed Winners
1st Family Loft
2nd Osty Loft
3rd Blue Sierra
4th Van-Robins
5th Ganus Family Loft
 
Overall Average Speed Winner
1st Family Loft
2nd Osty Loft
*3rd Van-Robins $5,000 Winner
*only birds activated in sprint series were eligible for prize money.
 
There will be no 400 mile race...the weather is changing next week and it will be challenging to find a window to get a good race.
 
I will ship birds back starting on the 24th.  Birds will be returned using the 2 and 3 bird boxes from horizon with dividers.  Please let me know if you want birds returned or not.
Shipping prices
1bird $65
2birds $70
3birds $80
Shipping fees can be deducted from winnings.  
 
Due to accounting/taxes I am not able to hold perch fees to 2023. 
 
I will start sending checks out this week.  Please send current W9 forms for those that won over $600.
 
I encourage breeders to give feedback on what they liked, disliked, and what they would like to see in future races.  Next month I will be creating rules for the 2023 race, so if you'd like to see any changes, please email.  
 
Thank you all for the support!  I really do appreciate you all for making this race possible.
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Oct-13-2022
FINAL RACE TOMORROW!
Good Morning Breeder!
 
Looks like tomorrow will be a good day to have the final 367 mile race.  Smoke is off the course and the wind forecast looks like it will keep it to the west.
 
Birds will likely be released around 7:45 tomorrow morning from south of Fernley, NV.  Temperature at release looks to be 50-55 degrees and a 2mph wind out of the NW.  Temperature at the loft will be around 80 degrees with a 5mph out of the NW gusting to 12mph.  Sunny for the entire course and variable winds out of North and North east sustained 4-5mph gusting to 12mph.  Temperatures along the course look to be 60 through the morning and then low 70s and not getting to 80 until close to home.  
 
Lunch will be available around 1:30.  
 
Good Luck to all!  Should be a good race tomorrow!
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Oct-11-2022
FINAL RACE UPDATE
Good Morning Breeders!
 
Birds are out enjoying a beautiful morning here at the loft.  Birds are looking good.  They have been giving me some good wing time and appetites are great with the cool evening temperatures.  We have been getting down into the 40s at night with day time highs of 80.  
 
Smoke has moved back on to the course, so I am keeping a close eye on it.  Friday looks like it will be pretty much the same weather as last week.  I will make a final decision on Thursday if the race will happen or not.
 
Please let me know if you are planning to attend the final on Friday, so I can plan accordingly for food.  Patrick will be here holding down the fort and making sure everything is taken care of.  Food will be served around 1:30 or 2.  Everyone is welcome to show up around 1.  Please bring a chair and shade if needed...it will be warm in the sun.  
 
I will confirm race day on Thursday. 
 
Take Care
 
Lucas
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
Oct-08-2022
300 MILE UPDATE

Good Morning Breeders!

 
Big Congratulations to the breeders with the 8 birds on the drop yesterday!
  
Congratulations to Tim Lucas's family for having the first bird in the clock, not an easy accomplishment!
 
Congratulations to Hylek Race team for taking second and Arvin's Loft coming in third.
 
The top birds pushed through the wind and heat yesterday to claim the top prizes.  Lots of birds came home with muddy feet and later in the day, which tells me they went down in the hottest part of the day.  82 degrees isn't really that hot for us, but we haven't been training/racing in the heat much this year.  This morning is 42 degrees and these temperature swings can be hard when racing these longer distances.  
 
The moon was close to full last night...there were several birds that came home in the dark.  One bird just after 11pm!  I always leave a trapping section open with a light on during races just for those birds.
 
I think we will see a bunch more birds back today.  As long as the weather is good I will loft fly Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...road train Wednesday and final 350 on Friday.  
 
Congratulations to all the winners...300 miles is a long ways!
 
Have a great weekend and good luck to all in the races!
 
Lucas
 
 
--
Lucas Cramer
503-510-2661
 
Crooked River Challenge is a proud user of Primalac, Topigeon clocking system, and Ropa B
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