# Pigeondb Good Purchase



## Rabbit (Aug 17, 2008)

Yesterday morning I purchased the program PIGEONDB for 8.95 and that was probably the best 8.95 I've spent in a long time. The program is super easy to use and I entered 28 birds very quickly and then coupled them to create pairs for this season 2011. Wow, I missed the boat on using this the last couple years. Its really nice to pull up all the birds in your loft in a list and just hit print and here they come. Anyone that doesnt have this should bite the bullet and spend the 9 bucks because its sure worth it. Rabbit


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## akbird (Apr 29, 2010)

Where can you buy this program?


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## Wingsonfire (Dec 22, 2009)

akbird said:


> Where can you buy this program?



http://www.pigeondb.com/ 

I think its the 8.95 for a yr and I went ahead and signed up for the lifetime membership for 65 dollars or so(that was my Christmas present to myself ), I cant remember the exact cost now... One nice thing about this program is that the site owner is here in the states, Georgetown TX. I did a domain search to get the info....


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## akbird (Apr 29, 2010)

When I go to that link all I get is a sign-in page.


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## Wingsonfire (Dec 22, 2009)

akbird said:


> When I go to that link all I get is a sign-in page.


You need to sign up and register, it is free to do so and you get a 30 day trial period, this is a database program, which means all info is kept online so there is no software to download.


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## First To Hatch (Jul 19, 2009)

Wow, that seems like a great program, I'll definitely be investing in it when I get my birds.


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## Freebird loft (Jul 17, 2009)

What happens if the domain goes away, you'll be out your money and records correct? I just use an excel sheet and keep all my records in folder on my desktop.


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## First To Hatch (Jul 19, 2009)

Freebird loft said:


> What happens if the domain goes away, you'll be out your money and records correct? I just use an excel sheet and keep all my records in folder on my desktop.


Thats why you shouldn't go with the life time membership...I'd just go with the year to year in my opinion...


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## ccccrnr (Jun 15, 2010)

either $9 or $65 sound very reasonable if it works well.

I tried writing my own breeding DB online, and I have many weeks full put into coding.


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## Rabbit (Aug 17, 2008)

I've noticed all the options on Pigeondb seem to have the option to print. I also thought about the possibility of something happening to the guy who owns it or the server. I like to keep hard copies of everything in notebook binders so this database even makes it easier to do that with the option to print everything. The really nice thing is it brings the birds together in the pedigrees for you so you dont have to do any research. Ofcourse I suppose you could just email the information to yourself because it has that option too. Rabbit


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## Paragon Loft (Jun 27, 2009)

hello guys this is agood program and the guy that runs it his name is gonzalo,if you need any help you send him a message and he gets back to you quick am using it and im loving it.


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

*PigeonDB.com and RollerDB.com*

Hello fellas. I found this thread today and thought I'd respond. I'm Gonzalo, I own both PigeonDB and RollerDB and I'm launching a couple of auction sites soon as well. 
As I read the thread I realized you had questions which are completely fair to ask. Yes, the program is all online. That is, you don't have to download anything. Just have the latest and greatest browser (I recommend and live by Google Chrome). I developed this system with cost and longevity in mind. I know that you are entrusting me with your records and as such, I have taken multiple redundant measures to ensure that data is always there. I run everything on cloud servers. Nothing is run from any one machine. So even if my system crashes, cloud servers don't. Occasionally I'll bring the site down for maintenance and upgrades, but your data is still secure. 

I have also incorporated an "export" feature. So let's say some day you want to leave the program, you can export everything to either an XML file or a CSV file, complete with pointers to your images.

Personally, I have no intention of ever stopping this. I am also working with a partner who knows the ins and outs of this system, so if anything ever happened to me, everything will continue to run. 

I'm also a life-long breeder. I have raised and flown roller pigeons since I was 12. I just started breeding and flying racing homers last year and I'm completely in love with them. I use my program daily. I love adding new enhancements to it when users let me know they need something. I've been a programmer for 20 years, graduate of Stanford University, Computer Science. This is my life blood. 

I hope you guys will join and get into it. The PigeonDB program is only about 1 year old. In the roller community, RollerDB is the de-facto program everyone is apparently using. Both of these sites are customized to their particular breed and I know them both well. 

Without going on and on, if you guys have any more concerns or questions, just shout at me here, or directly at [email protected].


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## Kastle Loft (May 7, 2008)

Gonzalo,

Thanks for your input here. Can you tell us what advantage your system has over Loftmanageronline? They both appear to be online databases customized to racing pigeons. I personally haven't done a direct comparison yet, but I figured you'd probably have a good idea  I'm an Apple guy, so I'm thrilled with this "cloud-based" option.

Also, is yours flash-based and will you ever be making it mobile (Apple) friendly? I've taken to inputting data directly in my iPhone since it's always in the loft with me. So having the ability to input it directly into the DB from my phone or iPad would be pretty sweet. I realize that you probably don't have enough upside to that to make it worthwhile, but thought I'd ask.


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks for asking. LoftManagerOnline.com, from what I can gleam using their demo, is completely flash based. There are problems with this approach. For one, it won't work from iPad or iPhone, as Apple, in their infinite wisdom, or short-sightedness, which ever side you want to take, has seen fit not to support flash. My approach is completely HTML/CSS/Javascript based. This means, for one, that it is faster. It works on any browser that supports the minimal CSS2 and HTML 4 requirements. 

From a feature perspective, adding features to LoftManagerOnline.com for it's developers is far more time intensive than it is for me. I used Ruby on Rails for the web app framework, so adding new features is a matter of minutes. I have been able to turn around new features in less than a day when members need them. 

On a feature per feature comparison, again, using only their Demo....
- We support breeding seasons, they don't.
- We support multiple pedigree formats, 4 and 5 generation, landscape and vertical, with an infinite number which I can add very easily.
- We have advanced analytics....breaking down your loft by family, sex, status and so forth. We build a graph of birth rates in your loft from the earliest to the last. We break down your birds into the most prolific sets. The stats go on and on, and we can always add more. 
- We support Mobile Devices. That is, if you have an account and you log in through an Ipad, Iphone, Android, Palm, or any other mobile device, our site formats itself to that device. I used this all the time in my loft or when I want to show someone a bird out on the road. I just bring them up on my Android phone and they are instantly impressed. 
- We allow you any number of images per pigeons, including eye pictures.
- We allow any number of videos to be associated with your pigeon. Any video you host on YouTube or Vimeo, can be linked to your record. 
- We let you send either a link or the full record to a pigeon to anyone with an email address. So let's say you sold a bird to John Smith, you can send him either a link to the public record, or you can send him the record with up to 4 generations of ancestry which he can then import into his own PigeonDB account.
- We have messaging between members.
- We have a members area, where you can see pigeons from other members who have chosen to make their records public. This is a very fun part of the app. You can spend hours here, looking at other people's records.

Here is an example of a pretty complete record on a pigeon I own. Click and you can navigate up and down as much as you want. This is a public record. You don't have to make your records public. 

http://pigeondb.com/share/pigeon/5454

http://rollerdb.com/share/pigeon/227

This is what the app looks like if you access it from your mobile device:









Lastly, I think my prices are much better. I haven't been able to find a price on his site. But I've heard from some folks that it's quite a bit higher than my LifeTime membership.



dstephenson said:


> Gonzalo,
> 
> Thanks for your input here. Can you tell us what advantage your system has over Loftmanageronline? They both appear to be online databases customized to racing pigeons. I personally haven't done a direct comparison yet, but I figured you'd probably have a good idea  I'm an Apple guy, so I'm thrilled with this "cloud-based" option.
> 
> Also, is yours flash-based and will you ever be making it mobile (Apple) friendly? I've taken to inputting data directly in my iPhone since it's always in the loft with me. So having the ability to input it directly into the DB from my phone or iPad would be pretty sweet. I realize that you probably don't have enough upside to that to make it worthwhile, but thought I'd ask.


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## Kastle Loft (May 7, 2008)

Great information, thanks Gonzalo! I'll surely take a close look.

Also, considering your response in the market so far, do you sense that this is a sustainable business for you? In other words, has the response been so good that you expect this to be around a good long time? Or conversely (if you're willing to share), has it been kinda slow and you're not sure there will be enough subscribers to continue with upgrades/improvements/support in the long-term future? I'm hearing you say that your own passion and drive is there, but my question revolves around the business aspect. I'm sure you can tell by the responses in this thread that we are a cautious bunch and don't want to get burned down the road.


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

Yes, it is sustainable. The product is profitable and will continue to be so for a long time to come. Given the capacity of the cloud servers vs their cost, I have substantial room to grow before I hit the next tier. In addition, I also build custom sites based on the same PigeonDB engine. These sites are very profitable as well, since I am re-branding the same software for personal use. 

Take a look at http://www.shawneecreekloft.com
http://www.littlereataloft.com
http://www.austinrollers.org
and I have a growing queue of professional breeders wanting their own site based on this software....

So in short, I would not worry about cost as it is becoming cheaper by the day to host. Not to mention the next couple of sites associated with this venture will also increase the bottom line. 

I can't talk specifics of course, since this is a private company. But, I will tell you that personal drive alone wouldn't cause me to build this system since it can be very consuming. I have taken precautions in the way I code to make everything scalable, intuitive, and easy to enhance. Because of this, the products are no burden to me whatsoever.

I hope this answers your questions. 



dstephenson said:


> Great information, thanks Gonzalo! I'll surely take a close look.
> 
> Also, considering your response in the market so far, do you sense that this is a sustainable business for you? In other words, has the response been so good that you expect this to be around a good long time? Or conversely (if you're willing to share), has it been kinda slow and you're not sure there will be enough subscribers to continue with upgrades/improvements/support in the long-term future? I'm hearing you say that your own passion and drive is there, but my question revolves around the business aspect. I'm sure you can tell by the responses in this thread that we are a cautious bunch and don't want to get burned down the road.


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## Kastle Loft (May 7, 2008)

> I hope this answers your questions.


Sure does, thanks! Looks like a great piece of software. I wish you the best of luck.


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## Wingsonfire (Dec 22, 2009)

gbanuelos said:


> Hello fellas. I found this thread today and thought I'd respond. I'm Gonzalo, I own both PigeonDB and RollerDB and I'm launching a couple of auction sites soon as well.
> As I read the thread I realized you had questions which are completely fair to ask. Yes, the program is all online. That is, you don't have to download anything. Just have the latest and greatest browser (I recommend and live by Google Chrome). I developed this system with cost and longevity in mind. I know that you are entrusting me with your records and as such, I have taken multiple redundant measures to ensure that data is always there. I run everything on cloud servers. Nothing is run from any one machine. So even if my system crashes, cloud servers don't. Occasionally I'll bring the site down for maintenance and upgrades, but your data is still secure.
> 
> I have also incorporated an "export" feature. So let's say some day you want to leave the program, you can export everything to either an XML file or a CSV file, complete with pointers to your images.
> ...


Thanks for the rundown on your programs Gonzalo, I have no regrets in purchasing the Lifetime Membership


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

Hello everyone. We have launched a couple of new Auction sites. Please take a look at them and start adding items. We promise to become the most visited and most advanced auction site for pigeons on the net. 

RollerPigeonBid.com
RacingPigeonBid.com


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## akbird (Apr 29, 2010)

These links don't seem to be working:

Take a look at http://www.shawneecreekloft.com
http://www.littlereataloft.com
http://www.austinrollers.org


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## g-pigeon (Aug 24, 2010)

I tried the program and liked it.can you somehow make it that we can keep a backup on our computers


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## suepahfly (Mar 19, 2010)

I've purchased or tried just about every program out there. When I found this one I KNEW this is the one that I would use forever. I've used a similar site for dogs for years but their "customer service" SUCKS. PIGEONDB has EXCELLENT response time to questions. I love that you want to keep improving it, that's comforting. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! I'm a customer for life.


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## Kastle Loft (May 7, 2008)

g-pigeon said:


> I tried the program and liked it.can you somehow make it that we can keep a backup on our computers


I THINK there is an option to export the database and download to your computer.


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

*Exporting in PigeonDB*

To export, go to My Account, then you'll see Export My Data. You'll get an option of a CSV or XML. XML is useful if you want a generic format for your data. There is practically no standard for data between any two pedigree programs. Exporting to XML is like exporting to a generic data model. Any other application who wishes to help you use their product should provide you with a way to import that data. I have imported data from other applications, including Hawkeye, by "scraping" their data through some User Interface manipulations, which are basically "hacking". Our product at least tries to play nice so you don't have to scrape our data, we give it to you in a neat format. 

You can also get a CSV file, which you can then open in Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice. 

Hope this helps.


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

dstephenson said:


> I THINK there is an option to export the database and download to your computer.


Thanks for trying out the program. We have a lot of new features in the works, including a translation to Chinese. Lots of breeders in other countries.


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## Kastle Loft (May 7, 2008)

Hey man I am loving the software. Very easy to use and I'm inputting birds on my phone while I'm in the loft banding them. Sure is tiresome to input all my old birds tho  but now that I'm caught up I won't need to do that anymore. I give it a thumbs up.


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## ccccrnr (Jun 15, 2010)

dstephenson said:


> Very easy to use and I'm inputting birds on my phone while I'm in the loft banding them. Sure is tiresome to input all my old birds tho  but now that I'm caught up I won't need to do that anymore. I give it a thumbs up.


that sounds pretty cool

I finally finished the breeding pedigree program I wrote myself for my loft.

Thank goodness I only have 6 breeders(3pair)
pigeon.carltonsara.com/search.shtml - lot of time and work for a plain site


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## gbanuelos (Jul 30, 2009)

Yep, enabling it for smartphones was a labor of love  There are still a lot of features to implement for the phone version, but it's great that everything is synchronized and you can show your birds to folks while you are at the shows, or anywhere else. 

A feature in the back-burner right now is enabling capture of GPS coords so you can go anywhere, release the birds, clock the exact time of release and exact GPS coords, so you know exactly where they were released from. So much stuff to build.....so little time! 

Let me know if there are any pressing features you really need in the phone version. It's a little rough right now but I can definitely use the feedback.



dstephenson said:


> Hey man I am loving the software. Very easy to use and I'm inputting birds on my phone while I'm in the loft banding them. Sure is tiresome to input all my old birds tho  but now that I'm caught up I won't need to do that anymore. I give it a thumbs up.


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