At the end of the national flights of the 2023 season, the pigeons were given a tough nut to crack: the heat was back in Europe, so the pigeons did not get an easy assignment from Chateauroux. The speed was higher than expected, so it was a sign that the pigeons were cared for in optimal conditions. At the end of the season it was not easy to keep up the momentum with old pigeons, but the winner here is Team Hooymans WVL from Desselgem. A fantastic ending and boost for the new caregiver Kristof Verstraete in the short period that he has been a caregiver here. The pigeons have been very strong in recent weeks with 3 provincial victories in a row, so the expectations were high. They first won 1st Provincial Argenton, 1st Provincial Montoire and then 1st Provincial Argenton.
 

To win a national victory you know that everything has to go well, but in general the pigeons have delivered a top performance on this flight for this super loft.

A total of 10 x TOP 100 Nationals were won from Chateauroux and, of course, the winner was the beautiful daughter of super breeder “New Harry” who will now be placed in the lofts of Kerkdriel.
Chateauroux National 2.331 old birds : 1,37,41,… 
Chateauroux National 13.852 young birds : 7,17,30,34,55,56,79,113,202,328,331,373,374,407,497,… 

Still in widowhood

The racing pigeons are still raced in widowhood and here they apply the total widowhood system. The pigeons are not coupled during the winter period and were darkened in the spring so that the form was postponed a bit. From the longest day to Chateauroux, they were given additional lighting to keep them in good condition.

Now that this flight is over, they are coupled and allowed to breed for 6-7 days before they can quietly moult.

The hens always sit in the aviaries in front of the flying lofts during the day, with windbreak mesh at the front so that they are not in the draft. Only in very warm weather are panels removed so that more oxygen can be supplied to the pigeons, otherwise it becomes too sultry in these aviaries.

In terms of training, they still do this for one hour a day and can easily maintain this, they know this system inside and out. We do not require the pigeons to train, so they will not complete the hour, especially the first few days after an easy flight. The pigeons are not raced extra (at least not with old birds and yearlings) because otherwise the hens would be too eager to mate.

When basketing, the pigeons come together very briefly because this makes it easier to take the pigeons away and that's it. After the flight they are allowed to stay together until the evening.

In terms of nutrition, they firmly believe in the Beyers mixtures and Sport Galaxy and Super Energy are fed throughout the entire racing season.

For the medical story they can be very short, Kristof really likes to work naturally without a lot of medication. He has only been involved in pigeon racing for a few years, but he is not allowed to suffer too much. For tricho he works weekly with the yellow drops that are applied to the feed once a week and that's it, so the pigeons have little trouble with tricho and this without medication. If anything is done for the respiratory tract, this will always be in consultation with the vet.

NL 22-8559391 Hen 
1st National Chateauroux 2.331 old birds

Clocked : 13:06:35
Distance : 468,396 km
Velocity : 1527,79 m/min