Pulderbos:  Bourges national old birds is already the 4th national victory out of the impressive career of Andre Roodhooft from Pulderbos. His first national victory dates from 2012, when he got the fastest racer from Gueret. Two seasons later, in 2014, he got a double shot on La Souterraine and won both 1st National against 18,588 youngsters as 1st National against 3,184 old pigeons and look, three seasons later it is bingo again and also almost a double shot again as he also won the 2nd National Bourges against 12,488 year birds.

“LADY SHYNE”

Introducing Andre Roodhooft to the international pigeon world is equal to introducing Ronaldo, Neymar or Messi to the international football world. Andre, the multiple king and emperor of the Union of Antwerp, doesn’t need any introduction. During decades his top pigeons are being highlighted in several articles.
That’s why we limit this article to his national victory out of Bourges. This victory was won by a beautiful blue hen “Lady Shyne” (B15-6175349). “Lady Shine” is a late youngster from September 2015 and was only trained onto 10km for a few times. Afterwards she got a ticket direction aviary and stayed there until the end of March 2016. After this stay “Lady Shyne” was being placed in between the young pigeons and raced together with the youngster the entire program. Despite few experience she showed herself a few times with a. o. : 2nd Gien 220b. – 3rd Souppes 816b. and 60th Souppes 1,017b. . Enough proof of quality and “Lady Shyne” survived the selection. 
This season she wasn’t, obviously, in between the youngsters anymore, but got her place in the 20-headed hens team.  

PREPARATION

The hens were being coupled in January and could raise a couple of youngsters. ‘This is the first year that I breed with my hens’, explains Andre, ‘the reason is that on my breeding loft some older pigeons didn’t perform during the winter breeding and I was afraid didn’t have enough youngsters, so I let the racing hens breed. You see that in the end, it doesn’t make that big of a difference.’ When the youngsters were about 15 days old, the ladies were being removed from the loft and the cocks could raise the youngsters on their own. The hens went back into the aviaries. There wasn’t a real second coupling before the season. The hens came together with their cocks on to the loft for only about 2 days.

SYSTEM

If possible, my hens train twice a day. I like them to train very well, as the ones who train well, eat well and the ones who eat well, perform well. That’s why I will, when the youngsters are being separated, let the old and yearling hens train together with the young hens. The youngsters take the old ones in to their ‘trainings enthusiasm’. 

In a matter of feeding, Andre, has full confidence in the quality mixtures of Natural. He works with the mixtures Sport, Super Diet and Nutripower which will be enriched with peanuts and candy mixture. A lot of this happens by feeling and by experience. 
Andre likes to give a few side products as fresh garlic, apple vinegar + Naturaline, oregano oil, lecithin oil, Blitzform and probiotics from different companies. 
He tries to keep the medical cupboard as much closed as possible. In Spring the pigeons are being vaccinated against paramyxo and paratyphus. About 2 weeks before the start of the season they got a cure against tricho. That’s it normally, but Andre likes to point out that whenever he thinks the results are going to go down, he will give them a cure against head diseases with either Ornisol or Belga Tai (De Weerdt). In the season of 2017 this has been done twice already. 

Andre… congratulation on your 4th national victory…please do enjoy it fully ! 

B15-6175349 : 1st NATIONAL BOURGES 8,340 OLD BIRDS

Stefan Mertens