At the end of a very grueling season, the old birds faced another tough race. This time, the pigeons were released at Châteauroux, and the winner came from Nijlen in the Antwerp region. Their top hen, "Lutje," was the fastest of the 1,874 old birds; she had been basketed while sitting on eggs. By the time she returned, the chicks had hatched, though her season is now effectively over.

An interesting anecdote is that Paul had lost interest in the final national races of the season; he had paired his hens with the intention of sending them to the last national race while they were rearing eight-day-old chicks. That race was scheduled for the coming weekend, but due to various schedule changes by the KBDB, he had nearly decided to discard all the eggs and turn off the lights. However, the hens had raced from Melun, and on Tuesday evening, he decided to send them to Quiévrain after all. The hen returned in good time, prompting the decision to basket her for the race—with the well-known result that followed.

These hens were raced on the widowhood system earlier in the season, and Paul had allowed them to raise a round of youngsters in December. Afterward, they were darkened from early March until April 20th. Subsequently, they were given extra light from the longest day of the year right up until tomorrow. That marks the end of the season for them; Paul is taking other old birds to Issoudun this coming Saturday.

The pigeons train once a day, but keeping them focused at the end of the season is difficult; that is why I sent them to Quiévrain—to keep them in the rhythm. Regarding nutrition, I use the Vanrobaeys F1, F2, and F3 mixtures; upon returning home, the birds receive the 100% F3 mix, and at basketing, I always provide a bit of 'candy mix' as a treat.

During the week, I combine Vanrobaeys Health Balance with Herbots Elite Pigeon, and I also provide Herbots Kondition Mix. Upon their return, they get Herbots vitamins in their drinking water, and protein powder mixed with Herbots '4 Oils' is added to their feed.

For health checks, I always visit Raf Herbots and follow his advice; this year, I am administering an individual pill against trichomoniasis every five weeks.

BE 25-6011505 Hen 
1 Nat Chateauroux 1.874 old birds
3 Noyon 1.130p
3 Noyon 1.099p
3 Noyon 129p
4 Noyon 4.899p
33 Toury 1.055p
257 Nat Bourges 9.070p

Arrival: 15:09:06 
Distance: 530.606 km 
Avg. Speed: 1281.35 m/min