FRANS & DIRK MARIS FROM ITEGEM 1 NAT ACE BIRD MIDDLE DISTANCE YEAR BIRDS KBDB 2018

Itegem, known by its top fanciers and not only Houben was a known fancier over here in the old days but every street had its fanciers. Also at the Maris family this was the case, grandfather Gust and father Edmond were strong racers on the short distance races where Frans could learn the tricks as a young guy. They continued racing the short distance for a long time, many pigeons and a lot of money on the results, what else do you need? But the once who race very hard are being excluded from the club, this year at this club, the next year at another club. This annoyed Frans & Dirk so they decided, as many colonies did, to make the move towards the middle distance races. In 2013 they made their move and switched with the colony of Roger & Nick Thijs from Hallaar. This was the first base for the middle distance and with a lot of success. This is how we immediately get to the base hen of this colony ‘Maxi’ who won in 2014 the 1st National Argenton and grew out to be an amazing breeding hen. The mother of this pigeon was a direct pigeon from the loft of Roger & Nick Thijs. Afterwards they searched for even more reinforcement as they decided to say goodbye to the short distance race but the best pigeons from their old short distance strain was kept as they notice now that they also can do the extra miles needed for the middle distance. The best pigeons that proof themselves over here are from Jos & Jules Engels ( strain ‘Argenton’ ) and Dirk Van Dijck. The last co-breeding was done with Bart Geerinckx. This all with the goal to get a team for the national races that are able to compete on a weekly base.

If you think you can find a big colony over here, think again. Only 16 hens and 8 widow cocks form the entire racing team. For the first time since many years, they will race the widow cocks again this year. These last once didn’t breed in Winter, the hens at the contrary were being coupled at the beginning of December and could raise a couple of youngsters. No second breeding followed at the beginning of the racing season.

Frans has them quite fast up in the air again after the breeding period, they have to lose their fat and come out once a day just as the widow cocks. The hens train at the beginning about 60 minutes but once they start entering the races this is being diminished to 30 to 45 minutes. Enough for them as they already do a lot of kilometres during the weekend and the results are good.

Is the hens game simple at your place ?

Personally for us it is, the only thing you have to watch out for are mating hens and if it is really too much you have to take them out of the team. The loft of the hens exists out of 3 parts, a resting loft, a breeding loft and in front an aviary.

During the day time the hens reside always in the aviaries. When it is too warm we shield the aviary with a cloth so the heat can’t get through, the same thing for the wind if this might be too strong or too cold. When it’s dark the hens go to their sleeping loft. They reside in small boxes and elastic cords are crossed over the floor. The only time they can go onto the breeding loft is after their daily training, they can eat and drink over there and just before basketing.

Do you give their cocks before basketing? During this short period of time we tried everything and we feel the best thing to do is to open the breeding boxes for a while and to leave the hens in there without their cock.

After the race their cocks are waiting for them and can stay together for about one hour and always longer and longer until the maximum in the evening.

We have to take care that they don’t get tired of it, we want to compete weekly with our best pigeons in the beautiful combination on the middle distance we have now here.

When we go direction end of July, the hens are on a breeding position during Bourges II and are being raced until their youngster is about 12 days old, then the season stops for them.

broedhok van de vliegduivinnen

rusthok van de duivinnen

Base breeding mother ‘Maxi’

When they won in 2014 the 1st National Argenton with their best hen “Maxi” 6024544/2012, they decided rather quickly not to sell her. They had a lot of offers but building their future was the best choice now. Now 5 years later this was the only correct move they could do otherwise the colony at the Maris family would have turned out to be entirely different. The in heritage of “Maxi” is on fathers’ side “Broer Argenton” 1 Nat Argenton from J & J Engels x “Maxima” a short distance hen who won 10 pure 1st prizes at their own place. On mothers’ side we find a direct hen from Roger & Nick Thijs. This is a daughter of their base breeding hen “045/06” where already so many national top pigeons are bred out and it shows again over here.

When we have a look at the off spring from this blood line we see many top pigeons showing up:

6074365/2014 Sister ‘Maxi’
Is mother to “Martha” 1 Nat Ace bird Middle distance year birds KBDB 2018 and 3 Olympiad pigeon Cat. G Poznan 2019
Is mother to “353/16” who won 2/3,503b - 3/ 4,661b - 3/323b – 44/2,879b – 52/4,902b - 102/11,193b

6050088/2015 ½ brother ‘Maxi’
Is father to “Bloiske” 1 I. Prov Blois 921b

6074366/2014 ‘Witte Max’ is brother ‘Maxi’ and won himself 3 x 1st
6050083/2015 Sister ‘Maxi’

6075354/2014 Son ‘Maxi’
Is father to “Avatar” 1 NPO Quievrain 13,331b – 41 NPO Niergnies 11,597b (raced at J & S Timmermans)
Is father to “Maximal Rocket” 2 Peronne 2,228b - 4 Pont.St.Maxence 22,709b – 6 Pont. St.Maxence 1,259b – 8 Sens 4,971b – 10 Morlincourt 5,020b – 25 Pont St.Maxence 8,060b - 29 Quievrain 5,899b – 34 Melun 5,678b – 89 Melun 19,405b

6050035/2015 ‘Den As’ is son ‘Maxi’
Became himself 1 Ace bird middle distance region Mechelen
Won a.o. 12/368b – 13/607b – 19/945b – 25/1,017b – 46/1,055b – 77/2,839b – 93/2,067b – 117/10,308b

6061814/2018 Daughter ‘Maxi’
Won 2 Prov. Chevrainvilliers 5,197b – 3/726b – 23/1,563b

6050037/2015 Grandson ‘Maxi’
Won 1/607b – 1/368b – 1/303b – 3/3,196b – 5/897b – 11/2,067b

6020359/2016 Granddaughter ‘Maxi’
Won 12/950b – 18/3,899b – 19/1,641b – 38/1,865b
Toppers of the season 2018

6052627/2017 ‘Martha’ Chequered hen
1 Nat Ace bird Middle distance year birds KBDB 2018
3 Olympiad pigeon Cat. G Poznan 2019

1 Melun 1,532b
1 Melun 1,440b
2 Chevrainvilliers 1,556b
3 Melun 1,965b
3 Chevrainvilliers 1,630b
9 Chevrainvilliers 3,043b
14 Chevrainvilliers 1,113b
82 Blois 5,056b

Father 6110283/2009 ‘Bonte’

Gr.F. 6035373/2007 ‘Bolt’
Son to “508/99” ‘Dark Bull’ A Vermaelen x “410/98” ‘Super 10’ won 10 x
1st
Gr.M. 6118587/2008 ‘Witstaart’ Roger & Nick Thijs
Daughter “239/07” Pokkebakkes x “702/05” Charleroi

Mother 6074365/2014 Blue – Sister “Maxi” 1 Nat Argenton 3,660b – 39 Nat Argenton 6,801b – 48 Nat (z) Montluçon 2,373b - 87 Nat Issoudun 5,670b

Gr.F. 6110382/2009 Father ‘Maxi’
Zoon van “661/06” Engels J & J x “445/03” Maxima won 10 x 1ste
Gr.M. 6118592/2008 Mother ‘Maxi’ Roger & Nick Thijs
Daughter “030/06” Witte x “045/06” Kleine Saliën

6020330/2016 Bloiske Blauwe Duivin

1 I.Prov Blois 921b
2 Noyon 751b
6 Noyon 835b
11 Chevrainvilliers 400b
27 Prov Gien 2,420b
70 Nat(z) Chateauroux 8,583b

Father: 6050088/2015 ½ brother ‘Maxi’
“Maxi” won 1 Nat Argenton 3,660b

Gr.F. 6110382/2009 Father ‘Maxi’
Son to “661/06” Engels J & J x “445/03” Maxima won 10 x 1st
Gr.M. 5914471/2009 Blue white pin Herman Beverdam

Mother: 6079456/2011 Blue

Gr.F. 6180922/2002 ‘Avatar’
Son to “222/97” Cesaer x “410/98” ‘Super 10’ won 10 x 1st
Gr.M. 6251445/2003 ‘Maxima’ won 10 x 1st
Daughter to “518/01” Kleine x “413/98”

How do you handle the youngsters ?

We breed about 70 youngsters yearly which are all about the same age. These are being darkened from half of March until about the 10th of June, we don’t enlighten them anymore afterwards. The important thing for us is that the youngsters show themselves, whether this is on Noyon or on a middle distance race, it doesn’t matter, they just have to show themselves once.

The youngsters are being raced on the sliding doors system after their first Noyon, they mostly come together about one hour before basketing. At the moment we have more couples then the past years which we don’t like that much, we rather have them wait a bit so they can race their first races on love. When their might not be enough couples we dare to throw in a few old cocks or hens as motivation. This can make wonders happen. After the race they stay together until the evening.

We keep it to 1 training a day, preferably early in the morning. Most of the youngster will go to the middle distance races and with about 10 hens we go towards the national races. They surely don’t race them all, mostly 2 races is enough for us.

Guidance

After the breeding period the racing pigeons get a mixture from Huyghens without peas or beans and we add a bit of barley. The goal here is to make the pigeons light in Spring

Then is becomes really easy, they get a light mixture from Huyghens on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays 100%. On Wednesdays it is 50 % light mixture and 50% Sports mixture and from Thursdays on we switch entirely onto Turbo Energy from Matador.

At homecoming they first get some candy and Belgasol from Belgica – De Weerd. Only when they had a minute at ease they can go to their cocks, and when the cocks are taken away they get full Turbo Energy.

They work especially with products from Dr. Marien at the day of homecoming. Conditional powder and Vitemineral will be added to the food. The day after these are especially proteins, mostly Protein Plus on Sunday and also Energetica and Optima from Ortophar.

Aside that we use apple vinegar and also garlic is very important for us and when the vegetables are ready in the garden the pigeons also get cabbage and spinach.

Our pigeons are in possession of a good natural resistance as our breeders haven’t had a treatment against tricho anymore since 10 years now. This is where it all starts according to Frans, the base has to be good and healthy. That is why the racing pigeons are only treated twice in a season with a ½ of Flagyl.

In a matter of airways hardly anything will be done and last season they were only treated once for this. We mostly use conditional syrup from Mariën once a month just to purify everything.

Best results 2018

Chateauroux Nat 2,858 old : 69,97,234 3/3
Chateauroux Nat 4,641 year birds : 6,186,366 3/5
Bourges Nat 5,831 old : 62 1/2
Argenton Nat 3,322 old : 5,62,205,233,… 5/8
Argenton Prov 1,535 old : 4,… 2/2
Chateauroux Nat (z) 8,486 year birds : 78,… 2/2
Chevrainvilliers Prov 3,043 year birds: 9,153,180 3/3
Chevrainvilliers Prov 5,197 youngsters : 2,244,360,… 5/9
Ecouen 588 old : 1,6,11,… 5/5
Ecouen 1.042 year birds : 6,37,40,73,… 6/6
Ecouen 4,661 old : 3,10,13,32,96,106,232,458,… 11/21
Melun 341 year birds : 1,13,19 3/4
Melun 329 year birds : 1,15,… 3/3
Melun 464 year birds : 1,2,18,… 4/6

The quality that is present at Frans & Dirk Maris is just sublime. To match the season of 2018 will be difficult but they will to their utmost best for it.

Already a big congratulation from the entire HERBOTS TEAM.

volière waar de duivinnen overdag in vertoeven

verluchting van het hok van de vliegduivinnen

Buelens Kim