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 last updated 3/4/10
Don't forget to send a deposit in for a kit of young birds hatching soon! (to be shipped - April or May)
Note: Kits are limited and 5 kits have already been spoken for!!!!!

Please visit all pages of this site to see more bird and loft pictures!
Please check the Other Info page about our club Special YB money race "4 on 44 Average Speed Challenge"
ONLY 11 team slots left!
Goldstar Racing Loft was actually founded in 1973 but the strain is more than half a century old.  It wasn't until 1995 they began winning
consistently for us at the distance.  In fact, that year, when it all came together, we won 7 of the Combine average speed awards in old birds
alone.  The birds, a strain I have named and developed over the last 37+ 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.  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 where I bred and raced birds for 35 years.  Left is a newer photo of the old loft taken 2007.  The birds as
well as us enjoyed the goldfish pond/waterfall in front of the YB Loft.   I hope to get the new loft at the house we moved to in similar
landscape one of these years.

Goldstar birds are now flying (and winning) in Hawaii, Taiwan, Texas, Delaware, Washington, Oregon, Florida, North & South Carolina,
California, Arkansas, Louisiana,  Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, Nevada, Utah, Ohio, New Jersey, New York,  
Indiana, and other states.  Including Mexico City, Mexico.
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 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.  Look at the YB loft (left side of loft) in the picture above.  
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 40 days old.  Handle all of them every day!
At the right is the NEW Goldstar racing loft.  New Picture taken
July 2009.   A little over a year now so we continue to make it
better and decorate it as well.   As you can see we have put a
large clock by the landing board so my birds can see what time
they get home.  Also Gold Star for decoration.   The loft in total
is 24' x 8' at this time (now with 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 will 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 24" 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.    MY YB perches are made of 1 x 6's and are 12 x 12
with dividers 2 " up from the bottom.  I have over 60 YB
perches but my normal team will only be 50 birds. 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 much to my surprise.  I am still perfecting it
& landscaping it so it will get better with time.
"Superior Long Distance Racing Pigeons"  
Loft news and update:  Around the Goldstar Loft.  

Now March 4th, and the weather is much better and back to normal finally (near 50).   The eggs should start hatching any day now.   It looks
like a dry time as well which is good because we are way too wet now.  I have been able to give the birds a couple hours of loft flying time
each day.   The cocks are ready to start training anytime now.   I will start them out at 5 miles and go several times before jumping them
another direction and more miles.   It looks like the races will start the second weekend in April, which is not far off.  
So far no hawk problems!  Almost every pair on the race team has eggs so this is good and I should be able to get them on wood eggs
before any races start.  Being cold I have not been out there that much to keep the birds under control.  Meaning some pairs are claiming 2
nest boxes leaving some pair looking at the floor to nest.  This is BAD and I will fix this problem by training them to have only one nest box.
I know it is in their nature but my boxes are large and have 2 places to put nest bowls but still they want another location.  

I will be racing young birds this year, not because I really want to but to help the club out.  We have a YB money race that is very interesting.  
You should check it out under the "Other Info" button (page) on this site.  One fellow said it is the BEST concept he can image as far as
money races go.  (low fee's, and a refund if your bird does not go to the first race, 4-races plus average speed prizes)!  Check it out!

However, young bird racing, especially on the long end, is a waste of time when trying to compete for prizes.  This could be rectified by the
Combine flying other courses on different years or every other week or something.  We have at least 5 major highways leaving the area in
all directions so it would be easy.  However, narrow mindedness, selfishness, fear of losing birds, and pure stupidity of some Combine
members prevents this from happening.   The AU is a wonderful organization but they should express a desire for more fair competition.  
The lack of the ability to compete for those outside of the drag area is damaging the sport here in this locale (simply because of one
direction racing).  When one has no chance to win a young bird race and he has no hope to, then why keep up the sport?   It is fun to win and
it is fun to TRY to win but after years of never getting close they give it up.    Myself, I love the birds and the long races and breeding superior
long distance pigeons.   However, mistakenly some fellows think they have to win YB races before they can move on and enjoy old birds
and long races.  They are mistaken, just train the young birds, test the yearling's, and watch the two and three year olds win the long races (if
you have quality racing pigeons that is).   You DO NOT have to race young birds to do good on the long races with older and more mature
birds.
Here are a couple pictures
of some of my Goldstar
young birds from the race
team in 09.  

These are not only beautiful
birds they are superbly
smart and very calm birds.  I
was within inches of them
on the landing board.

They do not get lost and
they can fly ALL DAY LONG.

Excellent at 400-miles as
young birds and 600-mile as
old birds.