"Andrea"
B20-3022369

1st National Valence 6,089b.

Distance: 681km

Velocity: 1,331.36 m/m

The one and only Kurt Platteeuw... last winter we asked him about his "challenge season 2023" and promptly he answered with the necessary ambition in his voice "a 10th national victory". 
This West Flanders champion did not have to wait long because on the 4th national flight of the season it was already "bingo" and not just "bingo", no... like a true flat roller Team Platteeuw raced through the national result from Valence. For those who missed it. Against 6,089 olds, Team Platteeuw's name was behind the places: 1-3-4-11-13-27-42-70-85-91-112-146-148-160-180 etc.
Mentioned in passing, at Argenton national several pigeons were also turned in the Top-100 nationally. What a pleasure it must be to play with pigeons like that

Named after mum "Andrea"
I named my national winner after my mum to whom I owe so much. Like all other Valence racers, "Andrea" finished Limoges national a week ago. I can already feel it coming that some will raise their eyebrows but for more than 10 years I have been selecting pigeons on this programme and I can assure you, I too sometimes have too many losses but that's my system. In this way, the racers select themselves and I create a certain line that can handle just that little bit more than the competition and have a mass of experience because anyway, every one of them has slept out before, but I see it all as a learning experience. As long as they are not hurt they will be basketed. 
Whether "Andrea" had a prize at Limoges? She is not on the result and then there are two possibilities either her chip ring was not registered or the she came the day after. 
"Andrea" took the 10th national win for Kurt and daddy Raf. Bourges was won twice and other wins were on several national flights. "Maybe it will be a challenge to win them all once" Kurt motivates himself! 


 The system
At the Team Platteeuw home, the card of total widowhood is drawn. For this they have 120 hens and 80 cocks. Kurt says: "Many more hens than cocks and this because hens are much more jealous when new loves are formed. A cock falling without a hen has choice in abundance and sometimes there is even "partner swapping" which again provides the necessary motivation. 
All pigeons, both breeders and racers, are paired in December and are allowed to raise a pair. In the racing team, the sliding doors are opened and "free love" can do its work. When the first eggs start to hatch, all pigeons that do not have a nest yet are taken from the loft to avoid fights and give the pigeons a certain feeling of peace. "
According to Kurt, food plays a more important role than anyone expects. Given his fanatical coaching, it is therefore not surprising that Kurt has created his own mixture. This "Platteeuw mixture" is commercialised by the company Van Robaeys. It is a basic mixture that can be fed to both speed and middle distance pigeons. Only on the last two days, the Platteeuw mixture is enriched with Cribs corn and peanuts. The racers are fed twice a day in a joint feeder and are all given the same menu. A portion of grit is not looked at and if vitamins or other by-products are given it is always done through the feed, never through the drinking water. 
Medically, the medicine cabinet is kept closed. The old and yearling pigeons are vaccinated twice against paramyxo and the youngsters twice against paramyxo/rota. All pigeons are also vaccinated against parathyphoid. No other antibiotics are given.


They select themselves
Kurt responds in his well-known style: "concretely, my system consists of playing the entire national flight calendar. All pigeons are basketed as much as possible on the same races and when I analyse the individual palmares I come to the conclusion that they play about 7,000km per season. Pigeons that are played so much select themselves and from these selected pigeons I annually breed about 200 youngsters. They also have to finish all national races. They are cared for in the same way and just like the old pigeons, they are sent towards 200km in 4 steps. Over the last 10 years or so, more than 50 national youngster races have been organised. Of these, only about 3 were won in West Flanders. Figures that speak for themselves and so the main task of the young force is to gain experience. Youngsters are darkened from 21/03 to 21/06 and then lighted. 
Coming back to the old pigeons. As already mentioned, all pigeons are played on the same flight as much as possible. When they arrive home on Saturday, food will be ready until Monday morning. After returning home, the pigeons stay together until evening. On Sunday, nobody comes to the lofts except to take away late hens to place in their departments. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we train for an hour. On the day of basketing, all racers are unloaded at about 10 km and when they return home they are allowed to stay together for about 4 hours. The "chaos system" in the lofts ensures that they are basketed motivated."

 

Stefan Mertens