“Our Nick isn't here,” Roger begins. “He's on holiday in Turkey, so you'll have to make do with me. Over the past few years we certainly haven't had any reason to complain about the performances of our pigeons. KBDB National Ace Pigeons, KBDB Championships, and now we've added a third national victory to our record. And if the predictions are correct, we are once again in an excellent position to achieve another top ranking in the KBDB Championships. But we'll have to wait and see because, at this very moment (Saturday, July 4, late afternoon), I am still missing three of my top hens. They are important pigeons that are expected to earn valuable championship points. Hopefully they will return soon.”

System

Our 2026 racing team originally consisted of 42 pigeons. In the meantime, a number have been lost in competition or removed through selection, leaving us with 23 racers. Both cocks and hens have permanent partners that stay at home. Perhaps that is the motivation they need upon returning—having something to fly home for. During the winter, the old racing hens are paired to our best widowhood cocks and they raise one round of youngsters. This allows us to obtain breeding results from our best racers more quickly while they are still competing. We make sure, however, that the hens do not lay a second clutch, and they return to the aviary once the youngsters are 14 days old. The yearlings are not bred from, mainly because of the long darkening period used for the young birds and because the racing season continues until September.

After the breeding period we resume the daily exercise routine, although the training sessions are never extremely demanding or particularly long. We are already satisfied if our pigeons stay airborne for half an hour. For that reason, we let them exercise twice a day during April, and once they start racing the middle-distance events we reduce this to one daily training session. The most important thing is that the pigeons receive proper preparation and sufficient training without overexerting themselves.

The hens are darkened from March 1 until three weeks before Bourges I. We do not apply this system to the widowhood cocks. During the day, the cocks can choose between their loft and an aviary. The hens spend the day in an aviary and, when they come inside, they are placed in their resting loft where they have individual nest boxes and rollers on the floor to prevent them from pairing with each other. Only during very hot weather do we allow the hens to choose freely between the resting loft and the aviary, as the aviary can otherwise become too warm. Both aviaries are only open at the front to prevent draughts.

Since 2021 we have been using the Aidi feeding mixtures, with which we are extremely satisfied. During the racing season, our pigeons receive Vliegmix 1, 2 or 3 throughout the week. From the middle-distance races onwards, the hens receive Girl Power, with Vliegmix 3 added on the final day before basketing. The same mixture is also fed immediately after their return from a race.

For medical supervision we always have our pigeons checked by Dr. Mariën. We use his Condition Powder every week and his Condition Syrup once a month. During the racing season the pigeons receive the well-known yellow drops on their feed every Sunday. Upon returning from a race, they always receive Belgasol from Belgica De Weerd. As additional supplements during the week, we mainly use Health Elixir or Condition Booster from Aidi.

BE24-6097503
1st National Sancoins 9,582 old birds

Distance: 489km
Velocity: 1,382 m/m

Stefan Mertens