Team Baetens - Sint Niklaas: 1st Provincial Bourges (East-Flanders) 1,317 old birds

We had already described Ivan Baetens' season as "Living in a dream" and Ivan's dream has no end yet. Already 3 national victories were clocked this season and the forme remains abundantly present on the lofts. This was proved again last weekend by winning the 1st provincial Bourges (East Flanders) against 1,317 old birds.

It was top hen "053" (B22-4028053) who took home the proverbial palm. "053" is a super talent because her palmares already show off 26 prizes per 10! What a class

Hens system

The 40 old and 43 yearling hens are prepared for the season in various ways. The 16 best hens are paired against our best breeders (bull method) at the beginning of December and lay twice. These eggs are always shifted among other couples. 
A 2nd group is paired on different dates and their eggs are replaced with the breeders' eggs. By acting this way, we quickly have several rounds of our breeders.
On 11/03, all hens are then paired back with their partners and allowed to breed again for a few days. So our best hens have already laid 3 times before the start of the season. Experience has taught us that this has no influence on the condition during the season. 
Unlike the cocks, the hens are darkened and this during the first 2 weeks of April. Two weeks of darkening, whether this really makes such a difference? Well yes... you should know that we play our hens on widowhood until mid-August and then those 2 weeks of darkening really prove their worth. 
The hens fly the heavy middle-distance and long-distance flights. Like the widowers, the ladies train twice a day and are fed twice a day. During the day, they live in special small living boxes (see photos). After their training, they are first allowed to eat and pick up some fresh grit and then they are confined to their living boxes where they can drink. The hens are divided over 4 lofts. Those are 2 lofts to the left of the 4 widowers' departments and 2 to the right of them. 
In terms of feed, by-products and medical supervision, this is the same working pattern as for the widowers. When the hens are fed, we always watch the eagerness with which they eat. When this decreases, the table is usually cleared. 
When basketing, the hens get their cock for 30 minutes. Only for speed races the cock is half-baked. For the other races, they can do as they please. After the race, they stay together for about 2 hours. 
Both our widowers and our hens train on the day of basketing and if they don't feel like training, we even dare to rake them at 80 km. Good training stimulates the appetite and that is important."

Stefan Mertens