GYSELBRECHT FAMILY

talking to Les Parkinson

 

 

 

The Gyselbrecht Family are well known around the world for their medical research into pigeons and also winners of the Barcelona International. Many fanciers from around the world have visited these lofts; myself included seeing what they have to offer the sport. Many articles have been written about them and no doubt fanciers have benefited from their experience in the sport.

INTRODUCTION

Please introduce yourself and tell us how you got started in the sport.

I am Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, son of Dr. Carlo Gyselbrecht. I am taking care of this questionnaire. My father Carlo always has been racing in partnership with his father Remi and his brother Andre. They got world famous by winning the most prestigious long distance races. In 2004 Andre, Remi and Carlo decided to go their own way. So this article actually will tell you about the history of the partnership father & sons, but also will tell about Dr. Carlo his new partnership and his prospects for the future. This story will not tell anything about Andre nor Remi after 2004.
My first sentence will probably be not completely true as some questions will be answered by my father, or by my brother Thomas who is 20 years old and also fully interested in pigeons and everything related to pigeons port. Also Martin Degrave, one of dad's best friends and new racing partner of my dad, will probably answer some questions.
We are not trying to answer all these questions as quick as possible but as good as possible. We got this document end of January from Les, so till this appears in the British Homing World it will probably be March or later.
I hope you people, readers in United Kingdom, and probably also other countries where this article appears, will enjoy it. Lots of information will be here, we are also working on a new website www.gyselbrecht.be
Below you see all partners of the combination. From left to right : Dr Carlo Gyselbrecht, Mr Martin Degrave, Nikolaas Gyselbrecht and Thomas Gyselbrecht.

 

A part of the questions are also answered by Martin Degrave and some medical questions by Dr Carlo Gyselbrecht himself.

 

With your pigeon work do you have a silent partner i.e. wife, partner or friend, if so what part do they play.

The wives of Dr. Carlo and Mr Martin certainly play a role as silent partner and friend who support the pigeon fancier in all his activities. It would be very difficult if this is not the case. Also the fact that we are a real team with four people, real good friends, who are not only racing pigeons together, but also working together on the most visited pigeon website in the world PIGEONPARADISE (www.pipa.be) makes this partnership unique. Everybody has his own task and is racing and / or breeding pigeons because they are crazy about it.The friendship that has grown between the Gyselbrecht Family and the Family of Mr Martin Degrave is unique. They are like brothers.

Do you consider there to be any advantage having a racing partnership.

Like mentioned in the question before, racing in a partnership has so many advantages, it is nowadays very hard to race as a single person responsible for everything related to racing pigeons. For example now Dr. Carlo can fully concentrate on the thing that he is the best in : breeding super birds like he did before ( he bred 1 st international, 2 nd national and 4 th national Barcelona in 9 years time, isn't that genial ? ) , Martin is one the finest pigeon racers in Belgium, always participating with few pigeons, but in a short time, he won 4 first prizes on the Barcelona race when he was still racing completely alone. The synergy this partnership will give can only be seen in the future, but looks very bright with a lot of possibilities. Then there is Thomas, who also will start racing youngsters this year. Pigeon racing nowadays is not only racing and breeding, but also part has become commercial. I am taking care of that part next to the busy life as founder and manager of PIGEONPARADISE.

 

Are there any points that you disagree on and if so how do you compromise a situation where there is a different viewpoint?

Like mentioned already a little bit, everybody has his speciality and his own task, .And we think it is good that everybody makes decisions in the area where he is specialised in. Of course, when there are important decisions to take, one talks to each other to ask the opinion of the other people.

Do each of you have an area within the partnership where responsibilities take control regarding a decision?

I think this is explained in earlier questions. Yes, everybody has his own responsibilities.

Give the readers the most memorable results that you have achieved flying as a partnership and flying on your own.

As a partnership it is not possible to give any results, as we only started recently, and we mainly focus on the long distance, it will take some more time to have results as a partnership. Important results on our own we can give without any problems.

GYSELBRECHT :

SOME IMPORTANT RESULTS ON BARCELONA :
1986 'Sproete Barcelona' won 86th -18.079p
1987 'Prins Barcelona ' won 31st -21.545p
1991 'Blauwe Barcelona' won 7th -27.167p
1994 'King' won 92nd -26.807p
1995 'Laureaat Barcelona' won 1st -20.925p
1995 'Turbo' won 96th -20.925p
1996 'Zwarten Barcelona' won 104th - 20.129p
1997 'Ronaldo' won 22nd -24.908p
1997 'Turbo' won 76th -24.908p
1997 'Schumacher' won 171st - 24.908p
1998 'Schumacher' won 244th -12.678p
1998 'King' won 568th -12.678p
1999 'Sampras' won 2nd -13.966p
1999 '542/96' won 77th -13.966p
1999 'King Junior' won 96th -13.966p
2000 'Witterugge' won 41st -13.659p
2000 'King Patrick' won 68th -13.659p
2000 'King Junior' won 78th -13.659p
2001 'Parel' won 372th -13.161p
2003 'Mayo' won 57th -11.806p (grandson Laureaat Barcelona x daughter Turbo)
2003 'Turbo Bijou' won 120th -11.806p (Turbo x Bijou)

10 VICTORIES ON BARCELONA IN THE CLUB !

1986 "Sproete Barcelona" 1e in Eeklo 292 pigeons
86e international 18079 pigeons
1987 "Prince Barcelona" 1e in Meulebeke 235 pigeons
31e international 21545 pigeons
1991 "Blue Barcelona" 1e in Eeklo 345 pigeons
7e international 27167 pigeons
1994 "King" 1e in Meulebeke 166 pigeons
92e international 26807 pigeons
1995 "Turbo" 1e in Meulebeke 167 pigeons
96e international 20925 pigeons
1995 "Laureaat Barcelona" 1e in Eeklo 277 pigeons
1e international 20925 pigeons
1996 "Black Barcelona" 1e in Meulebeke 165 pigeons
104e international 20129 pigeons
1999 "Son Blue Barcelona" 1e in Beveren 410 pigeons
76e national 13966 pigeons
1999 "Sampras" 1e in Eeklo 308 pigeons
2e national 13966 pigeons
2000 "King Junior" 1e in Beveren 308 pigeons
78e national 13659 pigeons
Top 100 Barcelona National
1st national 10005 p. 1995 Laureaat Barcelona
1st international 20.127 Laureaat Barcelona
2nd national 13966 p. 1999 Sampras
4nd national 11423 p. 1991 Blue Barcelona
11th national 12731 p. 1997 Ronaldo
21th national 8915 p. 1987 Prins Barcelona
36th national 12731 p. 1997 Turbo
41st national 13659 p. 2000 Witterugge
47th national 9452 p. 1995 Turbo
50th national 10068 p. 1996 Zwarte Barcelona
57th national 11806 p. 2003 Mayo
(57th international 11131 p. 1978 Grandfather Sproete Barcelona)
61st national 11214 p. 1994 King
66th national 13659 p. 2000 Son King
77th national 13966 p. 1999 Son Blue Barcelona
78th national 13659 p. 2000 King Junior
82nd national 12731 p. 1997 Schumacher
(86th international 18079 p. 1986 Sproete Barcelona)
88th national 11423 p. 1991 Artiest
(90th international 13202 p. 1981 Father Sproete Barcelona)
96th national 139661p. 1999 King Junior
98th national 11,423 p. 1991 Zot

 

DEGRAVE :

In 2001 limited list of performances

Barcelona : Ramillies 1 - 27 en 34 205 pigeons 3/3

CFW 26 - 533 - 660 3642 pigeons 3/3

Nat. 63 - 1634 - 2102 13161 pigeons 3/3

Internat. 183 - 3748 - 4783 25760 pigeons 3/3

 

Jarnac Yl : Ramillies 1 - 127 pigeons

Limb fondclub 9 - 5672 pigeons

 

Limoges Yl : Ramillies 3 - 12 - 21 - 23 114 pigeons 4/6 .etc. 

In 2002 limited list of performances

01/06 Brive Ramillies 10e, 45e, 66e, 95e et 111e - 385 pigeons (5 / 5)

08/06 Angoulème Ramillies 9e, 11e, 16e, et 30e - 144 pigeons (4 / 5)

22/06 Pau CFW 2e et 14e - 113 pigeons ( 2 / 2)

29/06 Bordeaux Ramillies 8e en 13e - 118pigeons (2 / 3)
07/07 St.Vincent YL Ramillies 1 en 18 e - 77 pigeons (2 / 2)

07/07 Barcelona Ramillies 9 e et 14 e - 187 pigeons (2 / 3)

14/07 Jarnac Ramillies 6 e en 7 e - 238 pigeons (2 / 2)

20/07 Marseille Ramillies 3 e en 17 e - 107 pigeons (2 / 3)

 

In 2003 limited list of performances

22/06 Castres 12 e en 13 e on 89 pigeons. (2/2)

Noyeau 1000 82 e en 83 e on 593 pigeons.
Nationaal zone C - 270 e en 272 e on 1.327 pigeons.

04/07 Barcelona Ramillies 1 e en 53 e on 186 pigeons (2/3)

Club de Fond de Wallonië 6 e on 3.126 pigeons.

Brabant 12 e on 1.899 pigeons.

Noyeau 1000 - 2 e on 1.174 pigeons.

National 48 e on 11.806 pigeons.

International 99 e on 20.204 pigeons.

12/ 07 Jarnac yearlings - Ramillies 3 e on 159 pigeons (1/3)
Noyeau 1000 - 16 e on 1.147 pigeons.
Limburgse Fondclub 64 e on 5.233 pigeons.

12/07 Jarnac oude Ramillies 33 e en 40 e on 182 pigeons (2/2)
Noyeau 1000 - 329 e en 383 e on 1.273 pigeons.

19/ 07 Marseille Ramillies 8e on 142 pigeons (1/2)
Club de fond de Wallonië 514e on 5.195 pigeons.
Internationaal 1345e on 20.786 pigeons.

02/08 Perpignan Ramillies 2e 14e en 38e on 138 pigeons. (3 / 4)

Noyeau 1000 - 10e, 68e en 289e on 960 pigeons.

Nationaal, 149e, en 914e van 7.537 pigeons.

Internationaal, 329e en 1984e van 16.800 pigeons.

In 2004 limited list of performances

Barcelona Ramillies, 2e, 18e et 22e - 168 pigeons.

Orange Ramillies : 12e, 30e et 47e de 166 pigeons (3 / 3)

Montluçon 211 Yl : 1er 22e, 49e, 51e, 66e. (5 / 9 )

Cahors Prov. 213 pigeons : 2e en 59e.

Orleans 159 Yearlings : 9e, 35e, 48e

Brive 225 pigeons : 12e, 55e, (2 / 3 )

Salbris 131 Yearlings - 1e, 2e, 6e, 7e, 8e, 14e, 15e, 18e,et 32e

 

Price of honour "Brugse Barcelonaclub" arrondissement NIJVEL:

Zowel in 1988, 1994, 1999 en 2003 werd deze prestigieuze beker gewonnen.  

General "Golden Wing Trophee" Brugse Barcelonaclub.

In 1988 , - 93 e , in 1994, 68 e , in 1998, 159 e en in 2003 - 12 e

 

1999 2 year classification - 33 e with 2121847/95 uit zoon "3205413/90" direct Ivo Vanlerberghe.

 

 

Is there anything that you have not won in the sport that you would like to achieve?

In the history Gyselbrecht pigeons won Olympiad pigeons. We also were national Champion KBDB of Belgium Long Distance, we won many ACE PIGEONS KBDB National.We won GOLDEN WING Barcelona Club, and we won First International Barcelona.Is there something that is more prestigious? If yes, we would like to win.Actually we just want to achieve the same results like before.Winning on Barcelona? Winning the Golden Wing? Just a few fanciers can win it.So winning it twice is like an utopia, but would be of course great for us. Fauche Brother also won first international with a descendant of our pigeons, so I guess this is the best reference one can have ? So also regarding references, we wouldn't know how to do better.
On the other hand, up to now, we mainly focussed on the Barcelona race, as it is the race of all races, the race that does carry all the glory. An achievement would also be to win another national race, like Perpignan, Marseille, etc. That is why we will focus in the coming years not only on Barcelona, but also on other long distance races, however in our heart, Barcelona will always be the Queen of all races.

What organisations do you race with?

Till the middle distance races to Paris, racing pigeons are not basketed to win, but just for training. Only from 351kms on from Toury pigeons are raced in the strong long distance club of Ramillies. Few national winners are basketing their pigeons there weekly like national winner Barcelona 2002 Jean Pierre Bogaerts, Ramlot-Flamont, national winner Cahors 2004, Lemestre Danny, national winner Argenton.

Do you hold any official position and if so do you take an active part, if no what are your reasons.

Grandfather Remi always has been president of the local club, because they wanted him to be that. Officially he doesn't take active part of meetings and does not take decisions any more. It is just a formal thing. We are member of honour in different important organisations, like the GOLDEN WING CLUB, THE EURO DIAMDOND CLUB, etc.

What are your lofts made of and how big are they.

The lofts are made, partially from garage in brick and wooden garden lofts. Totally there are about 10 lofts. The widowers lofts in the garden have only 8 boxes per loft, because per loft as many pigeons as possible are basketed on same long distance race. On this way, widowers that are not basketed are not disturbed. The intention is to keep racing young pigeons in the original loft where they are born, to avoid moving loft as much as possible. The lofts exist of a garage and wooden lofts in the garden.

Do you attach any importance to having a tiled roof on a loft, if so are there any benefits.

We attach no importance to the roof structure. The pigeons below the roof are of greater importance. Of course lofts in brick don't warm as quick as other lofts. So in these lofts it takes longer to get the pigeons in good condition in wet periods. A loft in wood with the necessary glass makes a quick temperature increase and that is in favour of the condition of the birds. However when it is very hot, it is better to have lofts in brick.

Do you use any form of heating system in any of your lofts. Do you think it would be advantages for the birds?

No, for sure not. A lot of people already installed a heating machine, but removed it soon after they installed it. I don't think it is good.

Do you have any grills fitted in the floor or in the boxes, are there any advantages to using them.

No, every day everything is cleaned.

What families of pigeons do you keep?

The name Gyselbrecht has been at the top in Long distance racing for many years. They worked hard at breeding a wonderful colony of long distance racing pigeons, based on the 'Barcelona' and 'Vooruit' lines, interbreeding the following strains: Cobut, Denys (son TEE), Brouckaert , Vandermeren (strain de Villegas), A&L van der Wegen but especially the unsurpassed species of the toreador from Lauwe: André Vanbruaene . The present day colony is mainly based on Vanbruaene - van der wegen and Vooruit Line. This resulted in a number of great successes in the Barcelona race (including 10 victories), the height being the 1st international Barcelona 1995 against 20.925 birds with 'Laureaat-Barcelona' . The 1995 Barcelona race was a very special race, it was very though weather where all pigeons had equal chances. The Laureaat Barcelona won the race, even 1h30 minutes before the 4th international! Very recently we also introduced the best long distance pigeon in The Netherlands from DOMENICO BARBERIO : Il BRIGANTE : he won 7 th , 12 th , 21 st national and so many more results on tough national races ! This was a cross of Van der wegen and Vanbruaene, so it perfectly fits into our pigeons. And we also bought the best long distance pigeon of Belgium : JUMBO, he was 6 th national ACE PIGEON LONG DISTANCE KBDB 2004, but in the years before he already won 2 nd and 3 rd national on Long Distance Races. This is a cross of a pure van der wegen hen, with a direct Carteus cock.

 

 

BREEDING AND RACE PREPARATION/PLANNING

How do you go about bringing in a new family and what do you look for.

We are very strict when we bring in new blood. Only super cracks or children from ace pigeon are brought in. They have to be from a family that already proofed in the past that they can win top results. We also prefer that new introductions are a certain percentage from our own bloodlines. In 2004 we introduced JUMBO, next to KLEINE DIDI one of the best pigeon Belgium ever had. JUMBO won 2 nd and 3 rd national on national races, and many other super results. JUMBO is 50 % van der wegen and 50 % Carteus.

When you bring in that new family do you think that they need time to acclimatise, if so how long.

Of course, they also have to be tested very thoroughly. It takes about 2 to 3 years before one knows something about the new introductions.

When looking for new pigeons do you look for a particular family, one for specialist races or club races or just by name.

We look for the combination of all these factors.

Which of the two sexes do you consider is the most important when it comes to breeding?

Both sexes are very important. We don't think one sex is more important than the other. Of course it is more difficult to select hens to breed, because we only race cocks and cocks we mainly select on results.

Some fanciers like big hens for breeding does the size of the hen make any difference to the quality of youngsters that she breeds in your past experience.

The size is important, but you cannot say that big size is good, in our opinion you should let match the size of cock and hen. If both are in balance it is ok. Our first international Barcelona is bred out of a big sized Laureaat and a small Jupiter Hen.

When it comes to breeding do you line-breed or use a first cross or just pair winners to winners.

We don't have a specific way of breeding, we use all the ways mentioned above, depending of the situation.

What method do you use to select your breeders

We select cocks, mainly on their result or when they are children of very important pigeons. As we don't race hens they are selected mainly based on their pedigree and how they look like.

Did you find your best breeding pigeon by luck or judgment?
My father Dr Carlo Gyselbrecht is a real master breeder, he bred 1 st international, 2 nd national and 4 th national Barcelona, I don't think this is luck. It is the right judgement before coupling. It is just a feeling you cannot learn, it is something you feel or you don't feel.

What materials do you use of nesting?

Straw.

When do you pair your pigeons and why then.

There is not one right rule; the different methods don't make a lot of difference. Most of the time once or twice coming on eggs before the season the first time beginning of February and second time beginning of April. In this period the pigeons are trained. If you let the widower's breed before the season and especially when the egg lays her eggs the second time the first feather will fall sooner. It is useful for the middle distance racer because the season starts earlier. The long distance racer has to be careful for that. Once the first feather has fallen, 2 nd one and 3 rd will follow soon and then the best period is over.

How many stock birds do you keep and do you breed off your race team also how many pigeons do you think that you need to breed off any individual stock pair each year to see if they are quality producers.

We have about 30 breeding pairs. We also keep hens in reserve to change with cocks, so we change hens faster with top breeding cocks and we also breed of our best racers. We try to breed as much as possible out of our top birds. We don't have a specific number in mind. As there is a very high demand for our pigeons we also breed a little bit for commerce, but we don't want to overdo this, as pigeon racing itself is mainly for hobby.

Do you move the hens with the young birds?

This year some yearlings have bred before the season. Then the hens together with the youngsters were weaned on the age of 14 to 16 days. The advantage is that the hen does not lay again and that you save the cock.

What is the furthest distance that you would train your old birds or young birds?

The old pigeons go up to Barcelona 1090km; the yearlings till 600km or sometimes up to 700km, especially new introductions, new strains are trained harder. The youngsters race about 8 races in their year of birth. About 4 times they are brought away with the car and afterwards they go with the society up to 180 KM. Then they start to moult and then it is better when they are on their lofts.

Do you breed off the top widowhood cocks after the racing has finished, do you breed late bred youngsters and what do you think of those later bred youngsters.

Every now and then, not every year actually, the thing is that when they bred before the season, they don't breed again after the season and vice versa.or they don't breed at all. It does not make a lot of difference.

For every 50 pigeons that you breed realistically how many of them would win at 500mls, based on your past records.
Due to very severe selection in the past, we breed less and less pigeons that are not good. But I don't think it is possible to give a percentage of those 50 birds as it depends from year to year. You can have a super year, and you can also have a year that is not so good.

RACING

How do you race your pigeons and how many.

We start the season with about 50 widowers, yearlings included. They are raced in the classic widowship. We never races hens up to now.

Do you compete in the National events, if not why not? Or are you happy to race in the club.

We prefer racing in National events. Racing in the club is only because it is necessary. Racing on national level is a lot more competitive and by far the best way to see how your pigeons are doing in comparison with competitors as you are competing to all the best pigeons in Belgium and not only to the best pigeons in your club.

Do you ever think of competing for averages, if not why not?

Maybe later on but for the moment we don't have too many pigeons for competing in championships and for averages.we are breeding now to do it in the future.

Do you race your pigeons every week or do you prefer to condition them for a specific race.

We prefer to condition the pigeons for specific races; as we are racing long distance races, we cannot race our pigeons every week.

In your view do you think that a loft needs different pigeons for different distances?

That is your own decision, some people only want to focus on a certain distance, like we do on long distance, some lofts want to race all round, so on all distances. I don't think there is one strain that can handle all distances, so those people need different strains.

Is there any specific condition that your pigeons perform best at, or any particular time of the year?

Not really.

When do you allow your racers to take a bath?

Every Monday they can take a bath. It is an important criteria to measure their condition. If they take a bath easily they are in good condition most of the time.

Do you use any floor dressing or do you clean the pigeons out daily.

Every day the lofts are cleaned, no roosters, no straw on the racing lofts.

Do you like to have plenty of room for the pigeons?

Yes, that is very important. Dr Carlo is veterinary specialised for the medical supervision of racing pigeons, so he knows how important hygiene is.

How do you feed the cocks and what do you feed them on, a branded mix or do you buy separate corns and mix your own.

We use the mixtures of Versele - Laga. 3 mixtures for widowers are mixed ( 1/3 of each mixture ). We give this until 3 days before basketing. The other days we give 25 % purification, 25 % dietmixture, to finish with 50 % sport and 50 % lighter mixture.

Do you measure the amount that you give to each pigeon, or are they fed according to the individual pigeon.

The widowers are being fed separately in their box. A soupspoon in the morning after training and one good filled soupspoon in the evening also after training. In this way it is possible to follow the individual food pattern of each pigeon.

Do you attach any importance to grits and minerals or can the pigeons get what they want they are out of the loft.

Yes we attach importance to it.

Is there a way that your pigeons let you know when they are in form?

They show it themselves. But you have to know them as they react different. One pigeon will show it by flying around alone longer than usual, another will be in a hurry to come back to his box to see if everything is ok there, because he wants to have control about his box and environment. There are no fixed rules. Every pigeon is different from another pigeon. Only one thing is the same: they have to be in excellent health; if not, things will go wrong.

 

Do you have any secrets about what you do with your pigeons and how you get them right?

No secrets!

Do the pigeons need any special treatment on their return from the race to help them relax? Is any such treatment needed for the short or long distance races or the hard races compared to the easy races?

The most important is that they can rest, so that they can recover quickly. It is very important they get the necessary satisfaction after the race. After a long distance race the hens are put together with the widow cocks until the day after. This is very important to not disappoint the pigeon for the next race. The hen should be in good condition, just like the cock when the cock is basketed.

How many weeks do you think a pigeon can maintain its form on the widowhood system for both cocks and hens?

It is difficult to say, the form can disappear as soon as the form came. Reason? Nobody knows.

If your race team went off form during the season what action would you take to restore their condition?

As we only race long distance there is only one system: to give them the necessary rest in between two races. But 3 weeks is a maximum, longer than this period is not good. It has something to do with stiff muscles if they stay too long at home resting.

Is a favourable loft location the single biggest factor in sprint racing.

The position of a loft can benefit the results of a fancier that is true, for some races even more than other races. One single race where location is not important at all is Barcelona that is why we think this is the most honest race! Everybody is racing under the same circumstances and conditions.

Do you treat pigeons differently with their preparation if they are to go to the bigger races whether National, Classic, Specialist club or open.

Depending on the distance, pigeons can rest 2 up to 3 weeks. Making a fixed programme for every pigeon is impossible. The condition of that specific moment is important, the programme has to be changed continuously. If pigeons go longer distances, we change feeding to 100 % sport mixture earlier (the longer the distance, the earlier the change). About 4 days before basketting for the longest distances.

Do you think a pigeon has the capabilities of racing both short and long distance races? Also what distance can a pigeon actually still "RACE" as opposed to homing from any race point?

Yvo Van Lerbeghe (My mentor) told me: there are long distance pigeons and there are Barcelona pigeons. And that is true for sure. Those pigeons are not the same. A long distance pigeon can perform well on a 700 km race, even up to 800-900 km if the weather is not too hard and the circumstances ideal. But the Barcelona pigeons, that is something different; of course you always have exceptions.

What proportion of you pigeons get better on subsequent trips to the long distance races and what do you call distance.

Only races starting from 670 km are important, till the longest distance, from Barcelona.

Which is the more difficult, establishing a team of sprinter's or distance pigeons and why.

We don't want to say anything bad about sprint and middle distance racers, but establishing a team of distance pigeons is the most difficult. You have to wait 2, 3 or 4 years until you know when a pigeon is good or not. The parents can be already very old by then, and not fertile any more. It just takes so many years to have a good long distance strain. Building a sprint or middle distance racing team does not take so long.

Sprinter or distance, there is no difference; it is all in the feeding.

Not true.

 

If you could pass on one piece of advice or tip, at this point to fanciers old and young, what would it be?

I dont think you should first race sprint or middle distance before you race long distance, it is just a different discipline where you need different pigeons. If you really want to race long distance when you start racing pigeons, just do it. And ask advice from a long distance racer, he will be able to help you for sure. If you first start sprint or middle distance, you have to change pigeons anyway and start from zero.

What races do you send your long distance candidates to before their chosen race.

One time Momignies 92 km, once Soissons 173 km, once or twice Toury or Orléans 351 km once Bourges 450 km or Châteauroux 490 km and then a long distance race. The first long distance race is Brive 670 km.

Where do you house your widow hens.

In a separate loft, it is very important that the widowers can't hear nor find them. It would make them restless during the day.

Can you tell the readers your routine for preparing pigeons for the longer races? Do you look forward to the channel racing?

The widowers are basketed as peaceful as possible. They can go in their nestdish for about 10 minutes, but than it is finished. Hens are never shown before departure. If you basket pigeons that are too excited when you basket them, they are already tired before liberation. I have tried everything, but I got my greatest successes when I basketed peaceful, quite pigeons.

YOUNG BIRDS

Young bird sickness is a problem; have you had this in your loft and if so what have you treated them with.

Very important is to make pigeons not used to short distances. Gradually you have to build up distance when pigeons get older. Young pigeons till 200 km few times. Yearlings till 600 to 700 km maximum. New introductions can be raced for longer distances just to test them.

Earlier in the article we discussed the wind direction, do you consider that good pigeons will win in any position.

Exceptionally, but the wind and the large amount of pigeons influence the result, you have thousands of examples to prove this.

Do you give any special treatments when the pigeons return from the race as a precaution against anything that they may have picked up in the basket?

Booster - Pipa Product. But when they come home they first get pure water; only in the evening and the morning after they get booster. After that it is taken away.

Do you use the darkness system for the young birds, if so for how long and do you think it affects them later in life.

No, young pigeons are never raced.

Are there any feeding methods for the young birds i.e. do you break them down, do you keep them hungry for control purposes, do you give them a trapping seed mix.

We never race young birds. That does not mean young pigeons don't need to have discipline. They have to come in their lofts with the first signal, if not, they only get small amount of food. The ones that come too late today, will come in the loft as first one the day after.

Do you attach any real importance to the pigeon's wing i.e. back wing, end four flights and do you look at the wing to see if they have cast before a race. Any other comments on the wing.

There is not a perfect wing; it always depends of the pigeon and the complete structure of the pigeon.

 

THE MOULT/WINTER

What were the last four things that you put in your drinking water, when and why and did you notice any benefits.

It is a good thing not to let pigeons absorb anything trough drinking water, as you don't have control the amount pigeons drink. Always do it in the food. In this way, you know exactly which amount pigeons ate.

If you could only give your pigeons one supplement what would it be.

Bearyeast.

 

 

GENERAL

Which fancier has influenced you most, in the way in which you fly your pigeons?

Yvo Van Lerberghe. It was the only long distance racer in my village. So I always went to him when I needed advice. (Martin Degrave) For Carlo Gyselbrecht it was his father Remi and Mr Andre Vanbruaene.

Which Champion pigeons over the years have left an impression on you and perhaps influenced your direction in the sport.

Yvo Van Lerberghe. It was the only long distance racer in my village. So I always went to him when I needed advice. (Martin Degrave) For Carlo Gyselbrecht it was his father Remi and Mr Andre Vanbruaene.

Whenever I have visited a loft fanciers always look at the pigeon's eye. Do you consider that the eye has any importance in (a) the breeding, (b) distance races (c) sprint races. (d) The pigeon's health. Or do you steer clear of the subject and if so why.

The eye does not judge pigeons. In nature, there is not one animal that is judged by the eye. I don't believe in eye theories.

Who do you consider being the best fanciers in the Country and for what reasons.

Every time period and every distance has it stars.

What do you think can be done to take the sport forward?

I don't think it is easy to do it. We need a co-operation between a lot of groups of people; also the government, etc. has to help us. Also newspapers, magazines have to work on the promotion of the sport instead of spreading bad news about our sport. Now every time pigeon sport is in the news, it is always with a bad connotation, it should change. Of course the society is so many different than many years ago. Young people have so many things to do, so it is not easy to convince them to let them race pigeons.

What percentage do you consider it takes to win with racing pigeons for Management and pigeons and why.

In the summer 3 to 4 hours each day. In the winter only 2 to 3 hours.

What past mistakes have you learned from?

Patience is as important as good pigeons.for a long distance racer.

Who or what motivates you to remain successful?

Early pigeons on national races, it gives a kick to continue and to improve.

What qualities do you think must be present for a fancier to be classed as a top fancier and at what level must he/she have achieved results to be rightfully so-called a "Champion".

Being patient and staying modest.

To term a phrase are you a professional pigeon fancier and do your circumstances make a big difference.

I am now retired for about 3 years and it is indeed a lot easier to practice the pigeon sport when you have more spare time. Now pigeonsport becomes really professional.

 

 

What do you think about the vaccination programme for the pigeons and do you think it affects the pigeon's long term.

It is a must.

What do you think of veterinarians in (Belgium) the UK and have you had any dealings with them.

It is not possible in these days to race without medical supervision. Just never believe those people that never administer something to keep their pigeons healthy. It is not possible. Without exaggeration one has to find a specialised veterinary and follow his advice. Preferable a vet that also races pigeons.

What is your view on pigeon shows and showing?

We don't participate in pigeon shows if possible, as we prefer that the pigeons can rest during the winter instead of being in places with a lot of smoke and heat.

Do you read many magazines/Articles, if so which type of article do you find interesting and why.

As Webmaster from world's largest website about pigeons, www.pipa.be we read a lot of reports about the pigeon sport because we have to edit them before publishing on the site. Sometimes it is interesting, sometimes less interesting, but for sure there are some good writers.

What aspect of the sport interests you the most?

Racing Long Distance.

Is your loft of pigeons as strong as it was 5yrs ago?

For sure, otherwise we would not have moved forward and achieved success.