Fred Dukker ‘The racing teacher’.
Intro
Fred Dukker from the Netherlands had a marvelous season. He was 3rd general champion of the strong combine “The Westland”. The last 3 races of the year he even won the first price in this combine and with a bit of luck he even was the fastest on these last three races of the national section no. 12 or as we say the federation "The Kuststrook". The last race his pigeon kept on flying, lost the first price by 6 seconds and won the third price in the federation. So 6 seconds away from a Hatrick in the federation!!!
Fred Dukker is pigeon fancier since he was 13 years old. He started in 1977.
After 4 years of racing with different results he went over to Leo van Rijn and bought there a few pigeons you even now can find in the pedigrees. Over the years he learned the fanciing of Leo van Rijn. Also the most pigeons have this origin. This resulted in winning the un-nominated general championchip of "The Kuststrook" in 1993.
Again in 2006 Fred won the nominated general championchip of "The Kuststrook" .
Fred races in the club "De Hoogvliegers" in De Lier where he also lives. The club has 28 members including the strong combination van Rijn-Meeder. Fred starts the saeson with 40 old birds played on total widdowhood and with 55 youngsters. Later on the middle distance races he boxes 20 old birds and maximum 10 on the long distance races.
Over the last 3 years Fred was the general champion of his club.
The village of De Lier is situated in the wellknown region "The Westland" between Den Hage and Rotterdam. This is a famous region for its glasshouses with production of vegetables, cutflowers and potplants. There is one secondairy school especially for this profession and Fred is teaching there.
In combine "The Westland" are 12 clubs; in a 10 Km radius in which 250 lofts are competing weekly. Averaging a birdage of about 4.000 birds!
The next step is the national section no. 12 or as we say the federation "The Kuststrook" , three combines averaging 10.000 birds weekly in a 30 Km radius.
A few results over the last two years (2006 and 2007):
Station Distance Birds Prizes
Duffel 99 km 2.103 p 8, 11, 27, 34, 70, 85 (18 in race/12 prices)
Duffel 99 km 1.953 p 3, 11, 61, 62, 64, 74, 93, 95 (33/22)
Strombeek 120 km 1.881 p 1, 3, 28, 38, 43, 47 etc (18/14)
Strombeek 120 km 2.300 p 2, 5, 7, etc (24/15)
Auby Les D 192 km 1.930 p 1, 7, 9, 20, 22, 25, 41, 43, 50 etc (30/20)
Auby Les D 192 km 1.710 p 4, 20, 21, 62, 65, 76 etc (18/12)
Arras 213 km 7.527 p 10, 12, 16, 27, 58, 60, 80 etc (66/31)
Arras 213 km 1.926 p 2, 3, 30, 42, 46, 54 etc (28/16)
Peronne 246 km 1.518 p 1, 3, 7, 13, 17, 26, 28, 36, 37, 40, etc (28/24)
Peronne 246 km 1.512 p 2, 10, 58, 59, 60, 77, 92, 97 etc (20/15)
Peronne 246 km 1.529 p 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 15, 24, 25, 28, 40, 41,etc (30/23)
Morlincourt 282 km 1.134 p 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 17, 27, 28, 29, 30 etc (20/20)
Morlincourt 282 km 1.186 p 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 14, 20, 21,22,23,39 etc 28/23)
Breuil L Vert 317 km 2.421 p 11, 14, 25, 26, 36, 62, 98 etc (20/10)
Chantilly 334 km 2.500 p 4, 19, 32, 35, 61, 86 (20/9)
Championships
In ‘The Westland’ 1st Un-nominated 4st nominated
natour jong 1st Un-nominated 1st nominated
generaal 3rd Un-nominated 6th nominated
Ace birds; general 10th
natour young 1st, 6th, gth, 10th
natour old 2nd, 7th,8th
Breeding.
Fred starts pairing up all his birds the 15th of december. Fred trys to pair his pigeons a little bit inbred like nice x cousin or uncle x nice or halvebrother x halvesister.
He has 18 couples in his raceteam and 15 couples of breeders. The eggs of 12 couples of the breeders are put under a part of the race team. There are mostly 6 pairs in the raceteam from which he also keeps one round of eggs. The 12 couples breeders come on eggs for the second time and breed them out. On this way he has a lot of youngsters in a short time.
One youngster from each nest in the raceloft goes with the hen’s to the youngster loft on an age of 14 days. After 10 days the other youngsters are also placed in this loft and the hen’s then go to the run. The straw from the year before is on the floor in the youngsterloft untill they are 35 days old. Then it will be refreshed. On this way Fred hope’s that the pigeons get a little bit of resistence against diseases.
6 Couples of breeders stay for a third and fourth round of youngsters. These youngsters can be placed in a different part in the youngsterloft or will be given away for a ticket or sold.
Racing old pigeons
In the second part of March Fred puts the hen’s and cock’s from the racing team and 9 couples from the breeders together. Hereby the breedinghens are paired with a good racing cock and the breedingcock’s are paired up with a good racing hen. On this way his racing team has for 50% always a partner at home. That’s a better stimulance for them to be motivated through the season to come home fast. He does this with the older birds and the best youngsters. After they have eggs for 5 days they will be taken away and then the widdowhood starts. The racing cock’s stay in the loft in which they have been breeding, the breeding cock’s and hen’s go to 2 different runs and the racing hen’s go to the loft where the 9 breeders where placed on. In this loft they have a small place to sit on before each broodloft.
During the season on boxing day he sometimes put’s for 5 minutes a breeding hen in the broodloft, where she was breeding in december. The hen that has now ownes this broodloft since March goes fighting with the ‘ intruder’. This gives also an extra stimulation to come home fast.
Before the first race he brings them away 2 or 3 times at a distance of 20 miles. Every boxing day the hen’s and cocks stay together for 20 minutes.
On the race day they stay together the whole day after arriving and on long distance races sometimes untill the next morning.
He trains the birds once a day in the afternoon for an hour and uses the flag to keep them in the air. From the longest day till the end of the season in september he starts lightning from 6.00 o’clock till 22.00 o’clock. At the end of the season the birds may come on eggs for the last 5 races in august and september, called natour. Then he only races with the hen’s. They have 4 days eggs on the first natour race. The hen’s train earlier in the afternoon (between 16.00 and 17 o’clock) because they are not on their nest at them time. The cocks’s stay on their nest during this training.
On boxingday he takes out the cock’s to give the hen’s more motivation or the hen’s are boxed in on friday at 10.00 o’clock.
Racing young pigeons
The youngsters are brought away in May for 8 times. The reason that he does this in May is that he wants to be ready before the darkning stops. At the moment he stops with the darkning there are sometimes problems with coli. When there is, he has time enough to cure them for a week. They are darkned from the first week of April untill the first week of June. The first race is the second week of July.
The first 2 races he doesn’t separate them, but after that he playes them on the door. On boxing day they stay together for 2 hours and after returning home on saturday they stay together untill sunday evening.
Feeding and medication
On saturday, sunday and monday he gives a light mixture of grains and not to much. They get a bit of brewers yeast over the grains and on saterday and sundaymorning also ronidazole against cancer.
On tuesday they get 50% race mix (of the Zwarte Vogel) and 50% light mixture. On wednesdaymorning 75% racemix and in the evening 100% racemix. On wednesday evening they get more (depending to the race distance) and on thursday they can eat as much as they like. On short races with boxing on friday they get also as much as they like in the morning and that will do.
Every 2 weeks he gives a medicin against the Ornithose complex like Orni-red (vd Sluis) or Belgatai (de Weerd) or Tylan (Herbots). He likes to chance every time because he’s afraid for resistance. He gives it for three drinking shifts (one and a half day). On Thursday they get vitamines (Herbots) over the grains.
In March the vet injects for paramyxo virus off course and in november a preventif cure against paratyphus, with teraprim or trimetroprim-sulfa through the water.
The pigeons
Racing on a high level started in 1982 with a cock of Leo van Rijn.
Many pigeons have their origin on the loft of Leo v Rijn (racing as Comb v Rijn-Meeder). They have 3 lines;
- First line is the Merckx-line of the Brothers Janssen,
- Second is the Kadet-line of Karel Meuleman and
- The third line is Tournier.
Pigeons of Leo van Rijn are famous in America, Germany, Dubai, Australie, New Sealand, Great Brittan and off course The Netherlands. Many first price winners in ‘The Kuststrook’ have his origin.
The Tournier line is also important on the loft of Kees van Koppen. For example Kees had a super copple in the Real King x Blue Queen. Real King is from the Tournier line. The super copple gave Eurostar winner of 1st Chantilly of 9.909 b and 1st Chantilly of 4.895 b and 3rd Chantilly of 8.404 b. Only 2 birds of Kees were crossed and gave many succeses
even untill 600 km. The last 5 years Fred purchased a few pigeons of Kees van Koppen and Cock Blaak. As crossing material they are perfect. Idees are often talked over with Kees. Kees his pigeons are famous in countrys like Italy, Spain, Portugal and especially Germany. There his pigeons are sold as youngsters for 600 pounds.
An excelent bird on Fred’s loft is Father Six Seconds 239-98 (ringed with an old ring in 2000). The 239 is father to 13 first price winners in the club like ;
- Dubble Strike (6th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th against 3.000 b ),
- Six seconds ( 1st, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, against 3.000 b),
- Dark Angel (2nd, 2nd , 7th , 8th , 9th, 17th, 25th against 3.000 b),
- 02-686 (1st of 7.000 b and also 1st in whole Kuststrook),
- Miss Easy 02-463 (10th, 14th, 23th, 23th, 27th, 29th against 2.500 b)
- Cut Muscle 07-841 (3rd against 6.500 b)
- Promise 06-469 (4th, 27th against 2.000 b) 2nd Ace Pigeon Natour Westland.
His grandchildren won in the Westland already 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th .
Another Super is 02-688 (inbred Kees) He’s father to:
- Top 3 05-294 (3th, 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 21st against 3.000 b)
- Superstar 03-205 (3rd, 8th, 21st against 4.000 b)
- Blue Kees 03-206 (9th, 13th, 22nd against 3.000 b)
- Madame X (04-548) (8th, 9th, 9th against 3000 b). Also children of Madame X race well and won 3rd, 3rd, 9th, 10th, 13th, 13th against 3.000 b.
- Blue Spirit 06-432 (4th, 19th, 30th against 2.000 b) is also father to 07-849 winner of 3rd of 4.694 b Morlincourt, 10th of 7.527 b Arras and 6th of 1.529 b Peronne.
- Inbred Martin 07-851 won 3rd Peronne 1.529 b, 9th Auby 1.930 b and 27th Morlincourt 1.134 b.
Fred has a website where you can find more results and photo’s of his best pigeons:www.freddukker.nl
