Racing Pigeons

Award winning Goldstar Racing Loft, winner of the AU National Loft of the Year
picture contest 2003 Big Loft Category
Picture taken by G. Goeken in July 1999.

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This site is dedicated to the sport & hobby of racing and breeding
Racing Homing Pigeons! This site updated 4/20/12
Breeders for sale - - - - SOLD OUT! I may have a SPECIAL pair or two call if interested.

Young bird kits sold out for now------ There will not any YB kits until late May only if you pre-order them!

Goldstar Racing Loft was actually founded in 1973 but the strain is more than 3/4 century old. The birds, a strain I have named and developed over the
last 38+ years in my loft had been bred in part by the late Gene Goldschmidt of St. Louis Mo. The combination of his decades of breeding and
several key birds I blended into them over the years has created a family of birds I call the "Goldstars". The Goldstars are a quality breed of birds
which excel at the distance and or on hard weather races as well as any distance race from any direction. Everyone who obtains them wins with them
and observes how smart these birds are in racing home or just in the loft. Not only smart they are some of the most beautiful birds you will ever handle.
Read on and check out all the pages on the site. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Goldstar Racing & Breeding Lofts

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Above are photos of my old loft (before we moved) where I bred and raced birds for 35 years. Left is a newer photo of the old loft taken 2007. Goldstar
birds are now flying (and winning) in Hawaii, Taiwan, Texas, Delaware, Washington, Oregon, Florida, North & South Carolina, California, Connecticut, Arkansas,
Louisiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, Nevada, Utah, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Indiana, and other states. Including Mexico City, Mexico
and now the Philippines. If you want beautiful, smart birds that when races at all distances (especially long hard races) and want to win shows as well try some of
these Goldstar birds. You will love them!!!!!!!

This site is for the purpose of promoting the sport of Racing Pigeons. We want to show everyone our beautiful birds, the lofts and express the
enjoyment we have in caring for these wonderful creatures. For those of you that do not know, THIS is the ultimate hobby.
It involves not only caring for a living thing but much more, such as in interacting with fellow fanciers in pigeon shows and competing in races. In order
to do these things there is much more involved than simply "caring" for them. There are club memberships, meetings, outings, visiting, auctions, and a
whole list of other happenings that will keep you busy all year long outside of just caring for the birds at home.   However, the efforts of this hobby
include loft building and re-modeling, breeding the birds which can involve hours of studying which birds to mate together (if you so desire).   Feeding
the birds, giving supplements, cleaning, banding babies and settling them to the loft not to mention training them to home and to race home all this is
only a pittance of this hobby.
There is so much to learn about these wonderful birds! They are individuals that are extremely smart and all have their own unique personality. Even
after 35+ years I am amazed by the birds and learn something new about them and working with them all the time.    People in my life have came and
gone but once you acquire the love for these birds and this hobby you instantly have many brothers (and sisters) as you will feel that kinship with other
people who enjoy the same thing, which is the BIRDS.
For those people who are not involved in a pigeon hobby, especially in the Racing of them, you have no idea what
you are missing!   It is unexplainable the excitement and satisfaction we get from this sport and the birds. I feel I am
the luckiest guy in the world to know this and enjoy this hobby and that I was born to do this, and thankful for it.

Here (left) is a picture of the inside of the OB flying loft. Against the north wall is 15 hand made nest boxes.
  I made the boxes myself custom made to fit etc. Each box has a second shelve for the birds to start
another round of eggs in. Of course I only let them raise one round (or one baby) prior to race season.
After this they fly to wood eggs
There are now 3 more nest boxes on the south wall. This gives me 18 boxes or an old bird team of 36
birds.

I still have more work to do in this loft like putting a vent near the floor in front of the loft.   This is what I will
do for more ventilation in the OB loft. I also need to make the loft more easy to catch the birds in. It has
too much open space so it is hard to catch the birds right now.
I am sure my yearling's next year will be less wild in this loft as well.    I have had as many as 15 Ybs in my
lap as I sit on the floor feeding them by hand. They seem much tamer than the late hatches I spent no time
with.   Get the hint, spend time with your birds and watch them. Especially when they are 30 to 60 days old.
Handle all of them every day!

At the right is our Goldstar racing loft. Picture taken July 2011.   Notice the pond in back of it
now. I had it dug last summer and now is full and stocked. You see, when the birds come home
from a race they can get a drink before they trap in. This way it gives others a chance to beat
these great Goldstar birds (LOL the problem is it is true and I do have a trapping problem from time
to time). The loft in total is 24' x 8' plus an 8 x 10 breeder loft in the back. The young bird section
is on the left and old birds in the middle with a small hall way storage on the right. One big
advantage to this loft is having one landing board & trap instead of two. I no longer have to re-train
the YBs to the OB board and trap. There is a box inside where I can direct them to either loft. I
have learned over the years that having only one drop hole for the birds is the best way to go when
racing OBs around here.   This loft is more than 28" off the ground. High and dry is better for sure.
The roof is slanted front instead of back so I can see the birds. Other buildings are far enough
away that they will land on the loft (mostly). The aviaries are all 1 x 1 welded wire which is perfect
for pigeons.    I have over 60+ YB perches but my normal team will only be 50 birds to start. The
roof is white metal with insulation R board under it so as not to transfer heat or cold into the loft.
Even when it is very hot out it stays nice inside. I am still perfecting it & landscaping it so it will get
better with time.

"Superior Long Distance Racing Pigeons"
(read on to see why they deserve this title)

Loft news and update: Around the Goldstar Loft. =====>(4/20/12):    Sorry for the lack of updates but I have had some
medical issues of my own that have drug me down.   Anyhow I did get 6 tosses on the birds before the first race. Three at about
10-miles and 3 at about 25-miles (all different spots). I sent twenty to the first race (175-miles) only lost one and did fair with my first
three birds. However, it was a short blow home race and the west side had a big wind advantage. Yesterday they went to a 60-mile toss
thanks to a buddy that took them for me.   I hope to send mostly all new birds back tot he 2nd 175. The next 2 weeks after that is the
220-mile races.   We should start to do better as the races get longer.   I have always used the short races to condition the birds for the
longer races.   Having moved not long ago we are still building an old bird team and it is starting to look much better. I still need a
couple years more to do what I need to do to really compete in the 600.

YOUNG BIRD Racing Season 2011:
Our last race was 265-miles for us. We got 3 on the drop in 4 hrs 23 minutes, then one every minute or two and within about 30-minutes all but 2 birds
were home. On the 3rd race (220 for us) we had one in the top 10% and 5 more in the top 20% (we got 6 on the drop) On the first 200 we got 2 then
they hit like rain drops for a while & took 3rd, 4th, 10th, 12th, 14th, and 15th, all in the top 10%. We had 17 of the top 28 birds in the race so not bad
(over 50% on the sheet were Goldstars).   On our first race, a 150, we took 4th, 5th, 8th, 13th, 14th and 16th (all were in the top 10%. We had 12
birds of the 32 birds home in the top 20% of the club (better than anyone else). The guys are out of birds, but not us, we just don't lose many Goldstars!
Remember, one of the secrets of racing young birds is to control them with feed management. Fat pigeons do not race well so keep them lean & in
shape. However, you must give them supplements (but do not OD them or it will take them down and out of competition).
Old bird races: On our last race series of the OB season on 6/24 was a two race deal with one being from Ok City (about 500-miles) and the other from Shamrock, TX (630-mi).   We got 6-OK
City day birds (twice as many as other club members). By the way, got MORE DAY BIRDS than any other loft.    Four of these 6 birds were in the top 10% of the Combine, or 20% of the birds
clocked in the first 20 places in the Combine, were Goldstars.
In the first 500 we flew there were only 5 day birds in our club, 18 in the Combine and we got two of them. At 95 degrees they did fantastic considering we are one of the furtherest lofts at
527-miles (9 out of 10 birds home and most were yearling's with limited experience!!!!) We ended up with 4 birds in the first 23 home in the Combine! (so that is almost 20% of the birds in
the entire combine were Goldstars!),
If you want to have FUN watching your birds score at the top of the sheet (especially on long hard races) you might try some of these Goldstar birds!

These are pictures of my Goldstar young
birds from the race team in taken 8/21/2011.
(still in training & before any races).

These are not only beautiful birds they are
superbly smart and very calm birds. Most all
eat out of my hand and climb all over me as I
sit on the loft floor and feed them every day
about 5 PM for their evening snack.

They do not get lost and they can fly ALL
DAY. Excellent at 400-miles as young birds
(won Average speed and Champ Loft with
them in Young Bird 2010 racing) and they are
great at 500 & 600-miles as old birds.

Below is another from 2011 YB team.

Here is what you will find on this website.
1. Pictures of lofts inside and out plus pictures of our racing pigeons.
2. Race records of our birds in club and Combine competition.
3. Hints and tips on health care of the birds, breeding, training and racing techniques.
4. History of the Goldstar birds and how they came about.
5. Testimonials of others who have had success with the Goldstar birds.
6. Pigeons and other items available for sale.
7. Info on how to contact me plus links to the AU and the IF.
Many have told me that this is one of the most informative pigeon sites on the Internet -
Thank you all for your positive comments about the site and the birds!