Lebbeke: If you talk about Lebbeke in the international pigeon world everybody thinks automatically about the known fanciers Aelbrecht Marcel and De Rauw-Sablon. They are living icons that have written a part of the chronicles of Belgian Pigeon sport. Nevertheless there is another wonder in Lebbeke, namely the husband-wife combination Patrick Van den Abbeel and Ilse Van Paesschen. They used to be the local champions on the Quièvrain races (short distance) but since 2014/2015 they aim for the middle distance and greater middle distance races and their competitors knew it very soon! This is how they had last season with “Sagan” (B17-4122122) and “Greg” (B17-4122138) the 1st and 3rd best youngster from Belgium over 4 national races. A top result that sounds even more heroic when you know that the 4 national races for the youngsters weren’t very easy ones. On the 5th of August the first national race out of Bourges was on the program. The pigeons were released in Bourges (450km) one day later and the 38,456 youngsters (basketed by 2,956 fanciers) had to concur east to North-Eastern winds. “Sagan” got the 193rd National spot and “Greg” the 699th National. The next Thursday all these heroes had to be basketed again, this time for Chateauroux III (498km). In total 1,673 fanciers’ basketed 18,499 youngsters for this national race. Chateauroux was being released with a delay of 2 days in warm weather with a slight Eastern to North-Eastern wind. “Sagan” won 85th National and “Greg” 145th National ! Luckily there wasn’t a national race on the program the coming weekend, so all the youngsters had time to recuperate a bit. On 26/08 there was National Argenton (520km) on the program and again both ‘Sagan’ and ‘Greg’ were being basketed. In total 21,945 youngsters (basketed by 1,834 fanciers) were being released windless at 10 o’clock. “Sagan” became 621st and “Greg” became the 51st National. The last national race out of Chateauroux was planned 2 weekends after Argenton. The 12,150 Chateauroux racers (basketed by 1,237 fanciers) were released with one day delay with high clouds and a Western to South-Western wind. Many places knew a slow return but “Sagan” (376th National) and “Greg” (840th National) didn’t have an off-day!
THE START
Patrick (born in ’76) is the son of Gilbert and Gilbert was, as many fanciers around this area, a short distance racer pur sang. Patrick could, as a 6-7 year old, drive to the club with the pigeon timer, and this is how Patrick was being affected with the pigeon germ. A few years later, Patrick got his own little pigeon loft and he could take care on his own of his team. University (Patrick is a lawyer from education) made that pigeon sport disappeared into the back ground for a while. When Patrick graduated, he made a new small pigeon loft and entered a loft list. In 2002 Patrick moved to his current house in Lebbeke and as it requires a real fancier; he had a pigeon loft in his garden very soon. In the meantime, Ilse started to spend more and more time herself onto the pigeon loft as well.
The first years at fathers’ Gilbert home were years of trial and error. One week was a good one, the other week was bad. But everything changed when Patrick got to know Fernand De Proft from Buggenhout. ‘I never knew any better short distance pigeons as these’, tells Patrick us. I got a few of them and after the move to Lebbeke I also got pigeons at Damiaan Pissens (Lebbeke). These two strains were as butter on a thick sandwich and all of a sudden I could place top results on paper as well. Due to my busy profession were Quièvrain (basketing on Saturday evening and release on Sunday morning), the ideal game for me and my family. But the calling of the game beyond the Eiffel Tower was loud and by question of Eddy Noël and Ivan Willockx, we formed in 2014 and 2015 a combination. I got rid of my short distance strain and pigeons from team Noël-Willockx populated my loft. After 2 seasons we decided to stop our cooperation…our goals were too different.
To get back some pleasure in pigeon sport, I took a second start. At friends I got back my ‘old strain’ and these were strengthened with pigeons from Guy Van Holder (Zegelsem – strain Vanlint Michel), Gevaert-Lannoo (Deinze), Willy François (Serskamp – out of the “Bourges man”) and Bart Van Impe (Schellebelle). A fresh new start asks again for a severe selection and the search for the better breeding couple is an eternal fight for every pigeon fancier but when I have a look at the results of my youngsters, I’m hopeful. Recently we bought a round of eggs at Gevaert-Lannoo and these accomplished with our own result pigeons, are going to be our new breeders. We will select them until we have a breeding loft of about 24 couples. There is still a long way to go, but we look at the future in a positive way.’
PREFERABLY WITH YOUNGSTERS
Due to busy professional conditions (Patrick runs as a lawyer an office with 5 employees in the public sector) we have to restrain ourselves to the game with the youngsters. We do have a few hens in between the youngsters, but that’s not an ideal way to get into the picture.
About 35 couples were being coupled around the 10th of December and in 2 rounds 100 youngsters were weaned. These got the company of 12 pigeons from Bart Van Impe (Schellebelle). Once weaned, the youngsters got during 2 weeks breeding mixture to eat and afterwards we changed onto the Galaxy mixtures from Beyers. My feeding system is very simple…I feed until the first race out of Noyon Galaxy Rui, this 10gr per head in the morning and all they can eat in the evening. After this evening meal, there are allowed maximum 2 soupspoons remaining. If there is more remaining it means that the portion given was too big. Every day the youngsters get a mineral mixture from Herbovet (the bucket with the known yellow cover) and one of the known Herbovet products is being added in the drinking water or over the food (Herbo Aqua Contral, elderberry syrup, Herb Test, …).
Off course my youngsters get the necessary vaccinations against paramyxo and Herpes. This is always in dialogue with vet Raf Herbots.
Once the middle distance races arrive, Galaxy Rui is being changed onto Galaxy Light and when the races with 2 nights basket are on the schedule, I feed them with Galaxy Light as a base and am being accomplished with Galaxy Sport. I like to basket youngster, who have two nights of basket ahead, with a full crop. To get to this, I feed them on the day of basketing 3 times and I’m also very generous with peanuts.
Whether I suffer from the young bird’s disease yearly? Well, honestly…no, not immediately. There are some of those days that you can tell somethings wrong, but that goes away after a few days of sweating it out. I’m touching wood and hope that it stays like this.
Once the calendar points out that it is the month of May and the youngster go away for about 30 minutes, we start to drive them. Teaching them is Ilse’s job and as patient as she is, she drives daily on very short distances. 3km, 5km, 7km, 3 x 10km. She likes it when the pigeons are home before she is, if not, she dares to release them again at the same distance the next day and this to a maximum of 20km bird eyes view. Darkening happens as from the 15th of April and ends on the 15th of July. Afterwards they will be enlightened until the last race. Lights go on at 06 o’clock and out at 22h30, so there is never a dark day on the lofts, not even when it is dark and rainy outside.
The youngsters are being raced on sliding doors as from the 15th of July and are raced like this the entire season. Before the race they come together the entire morning, after the race and the day after. Once the youngsters are on sliding doors they are trained twice a week on 20km. Ilse releases first one group and when they are home I text her and then she releases the other. So during the week the different sexes don’t see each other.
ONCE THE NATIONALS ARRIVE
Then the races of truth are there…this is where Ilse and Patrick want to show the class of their colony. During this period the caring is being done a bit stricter then on other times and not a single detail will be lost.
Patrick continues: “During the first races we didn’t do hardly anything medically. The short distance and middle distance races were very smooth so that’s why we didn’t cure against head diseases either, but about 10 days before Bourges I was in the waiting room of Raf Herbots. Everything was fine but Raf advised me to give a two day cure against ornithes….which I did. This 2 day cure was being repeated after the 2nd national race from Chateauroux.
Once the nationals are on the program, the youngsters don’t fly out anymore. So there isn’t any training around the loft anymore but everything is being scheduled for a perfect recuperation. Also on the day of basketing not a single feather flies out. The thing we do is release them twice a week on 20km.
In a matter of supporting side products I have full confidence in the products from Raf Herbots and this is how I have my own weekly schedule:
Home coming (Saturday): Herbo Recover Plus in the drinking water
Sunday and Monday: Elderberry syrup + Tarsin
Tuesday: Omega Oil or Herbo Elite Pigeon + Optimix
Wednesday: Herbo Elite Pigeon + M.M.K. and Herbosol
Basketing (Thursday) Herbosol + yellow drop against tricho.
“SAGAN” and “GREG”
Whether I can tell something special about “Sagan” and “Greg”? Sorry… not immediately…or yes…they were the only cocks that weren’t paired up. They were watching the other couples from their shelf….so nothing of a special motivation.
GENERAL RESULTS
Chateauroux 10/09/2017 (497km)
Provincial: 2,525 youngsters (13/33)
1 – 28 – 94 – 111 – 119 – 162 – 209 – 259 – 325 – 368 – 485 – 534 – 606
FCD: 1,013 youngsters (14/33)
1 – 14 – 46 – 51 – 54 – 69 – 90 – 112 – 143 – 162 – 214 – 234 – 267 – 288
Land van Aalst: 270 youngsters (14/33)
1 – 4 – 14 – 17 – 18 – 22 – 31 – 39 – 44 – 50 – 63 – 71 – 75 – 79
Toury 02/09/2017 (350km)
Denderbond Ninove: 241 youngsters (12/12)
15 – 27 – 30 – 34 – 49 – 60 – 66 – 70 – 78 – 80 – 101 – 113
Land van Aalst: 116 youngsters (20/23)
1 – 4 – 6 – 7 – 12 – 16 – 18 – 23 – 31 – 32 – 34 – 35 – 37 – 41 – 44 – 45 – 46 – 47 – 57 – 58
Vierzon 02/09/2017 (445km)
Provincial: 2,341 youngsters (2/4)
18 – 444
FCD: 499 youngsters (2/4)
5 – 136
Land van Aalst: 116 youngsters jongen (2/4)
1 – 38
Argenton 26/08/2017 (526km)
Provincial: 4,802 youngsters (15/20)
9 – 20 – 3 – 38 – 46 – 58 – 86 – 121 – 178 – 181 – 373 – 536 – 831 – 966 – 1022
FCD: 1,726 youngsters (15/20)
7 – 22 – 30 – 33 – 37 – 45 – 65 – 86 – 118 – 122 – 211 – 277 – 381 – 429 – 447
Land van Aalst: 517 youngsters (15/20)
1 – 4 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 12 – 17 – 22 – 23 – 51 – 71 – 102 – 123 – 130
FCD: 287 old (3/4)
3 – 6 – 17
Land van Aalst: 87 old (4/4)
1 – 2 – 3 – 27
Toury 26/08/2017 (350km)
Land van Aalst: 230 youngsters (17/21)
1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 13 – 14 – 15 – 17 – 20 – 30 – 40 – 48 – 56 – 67 – 90 – 94 – 101
Toury 19/08/2017 (350km)
Land van Aalst: 267 youngsters (17/21)
1 – 2 – 4 – 7 – 9 – 15 – 16 – 17 – 18 – 19 – 20 – 22 – 24 – 27 – 29 – 33 – 44 – 44 – 46 – 47 – 55 – 63 – 64 – 65 – 7 – 76 – 77 – 78 – 87 – 89 – 112 – 115 – 125
Issoudun 19/08/2017 (476km)
Provincial: 518 oude (3/3)
4 – 30 – 112
FCD: 181 oude (2/3)
4 – 22
Land van Aalst: 70 oude (3/3)
1 – 2 – 8
Provincial: 3,874 youngsters (4/6)
120 – 156 – 246 – 667
FCD: 691 youngsters (4/6)
31 – 38 – 72 – 184
Land van Aalst: 220 youngsters (4/6)
5 – 9 – 17 – 42
Chateauroux 14/08/2017 (497km)
Provincial: 3,786 youngsters (18/32)
24 – 40 – 103 – 104 – 120 – 134 – 141 – 246 – 280 – 500 – 605 – 663 – 728 – 744 – 858 – 861 – 878 – 881
FCD: 1,347 youngsters (22/32)
8 – 14 – 34 – 35 – 40 – 45 – 48 – 89 – 102 – 167 – 201 – 218 – 241 – 247 – 294 – 295 – 298 – 300 – 352 – 101 – 409 – 410
Land van Aalst: 395 youngsters (22/32)
2 – 5 – 12 – 13 – 16 – 17 – 18 – 30 – 36 – 53 – 63 – 70 – 78 – 79 – 92 – 93 – 95 – 96 – 108 – 117 – 122 – 123
Land van Aalst: 79 yearbirds (3/4)
1 – 14 – 27
Orleans 13/08/2017 (377km)
Provincial: 6380 jongen (6/10)
154 – 166 – 390 – 551 – 1257 – 1510
Land van Aalst: 363 jongen (9/10)
4 – 5 – 9 – 12 – 34 – 46 – 93 – 102 – 172
Bourges 06/08/2017 (452km)
Provincial: 7,395 youngsters (22/60)
8 – 10 – 58 – 62 – 65 – 136 – 224 – 239 – 304 – 320 – 358 – 393 – 428 – 451 – 471 – 738 – 847 – 1000 – 1038 – 1102 – 1534 – 1824
FCD: 648 year birds (1/4)
7
Land van Aalst: 169 year birds (1/4)
1
FCD: 2,555 youngsters (24/60)
8 – 9 – 37 – 38 – 40 – 71 – 109 – 116 – 132 – 141 – 154 – 170 – 184 – 192 – 199 – 298 – 344 – 400 – 410 – 436 – 595 687 – 742 – 799
Land van Aalst: 773 youngsters (24/60)
4 – 5 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 23 – 29 – 31 – 37 – 39 – 45 – 51 – 53 – 59 – 60 – 81 – 94 – 113 – 116 – 123 – 176 – 209 – 224 – 234
Blois 29/07/2017 (430km)
Provincial: 6,013 youngsters (20/73)
14 – 46 – 184 – 358 – 378 – 380 – 467 – 472 – 588 – 597 – 644 – 700 – 739 – 742 – 875 – 1117 – 1261 – 1365 – 1381 – 1474
FCD: 194 year birds (2/4)
13 – 21
FCD: 921 youngsters (29/73)
3 – 6 – 19 – 38 – 40 – 41 – 50 – 51 – 65 – 66 – 70 – 81 – 84 – 85 – 97 – 125 – 146 – 161 – 167 – 178 – 201 – 202 – 203 – 206 – 251 – 264 – 272 – 274 – 294
Land van Aalst: 116 year birds (3/4)
6 – 10 – 35
Land van Aalst: 397 youngsters (33/73)
1 – 3 – 10 – 18 – 20 – 21 – 25 – 26 – 31 – 32 – 33 – 36 – 39 – 40 – 44 – 53 – 57 – 61 – 64 – 69 – 75 – 76 – 77 – 79 – 91 – 96 – 101 – 102 – 109 – 115 – 117 – 119 – 130
Toury 22/07/2017 (350km)
Land van Aalst: 44 year birds (2/4)
14 – 18
Land van Aalst: 408 youngsters (55/77)
2 – 4 – 5 – 7 – 8 – 10 – 13 – 15 – 18 – 21 – 33 – 35 – 36 – 42 – 48 – 52 – 54 – 56 – 58 – 58 – 61 – 66 – 68 – 69 – 71 – 75 – 76 – 77 – 78 – 85 – 90 – 93 – 95 – 96 – 98 – 99 – 101 – 122 – 124 – 126 – 126 – 129 – 132 – 133 – 145 – 146 – 150 – 155 – 155 – 160 – 174 – 188 – 194 – 198 – 202
Toury 15/07/2017 (350km)
Land van Aalst: 110 year birds (4/5)
17 – 40 – 44 – 46
Land van Aalst: 640 youngsters (48/79)
2 – 3 – 4 – 11 – 14 – 16 – 19 – 24 – 25 – 37 – 38 – 45 – 57 – 58 – 63 – 64 – 68 – 98 – 106 – 113 – 127 – 127 – 131 – 133 – 142 – 144 – 145 – 148 – 151 – 155 – 165 – 170 – 176 – 177 – 185 – 194 – 203 – 219 – 220 – 234 – 236 – 246 – 257 – 264 – 283 – 291 – 292 – 305
Orleans 08/07/2017 (377km)
Provincial: 5,307 youngsters (27/86)
7 – 8 – 32 – 40 – 54 – 55 – 104 – 217 – 271 – 289 – 317 – 367 – 459 – 502 – 560 – 566 – 625 – 701 – 751 – 777 – 849 – 851 – 943 – 1171 – 1202 – 1319 – 1326
Land van Aalst: 122 year birds (4/5)
20 – 25 – 26 – 44
Land van Aalst: 414 youngsters (43/86)
1 – 2 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 12 – 21 – 25 – 26 – 28 – 31 – 40 – 44 – 50 – 51 – 56 – 58 – 61 – 62 – 66 – 67 – 73 – 86 – 87 – 91 – 92 – 93 – 96 – 96 – 100 – 103 – 108 – 126 – 139 – 153 – 155 – 158 – 170 – 173 – 174 – 182 – 192
Noyon 02/07/2017 (177km)
Land van Aalst: 107 year birds (3/5)
4 – 7 – 19
Land van Aalst: 403 youngsters (53/89)
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 7 – 17 – 18 – 19 – 22 – 24 – 29 – 30 – 36 – 39 – 42 – 46 – 48 – 49 – 70 – 71 – 78 – 79 – 81 – 95 – 100 – 103 – 104 – 107 – 108 – 118 – 130 – 144 – 145 – 150 – 151 – 152 – 156 – 159 – 167 – 168 – 169 – 172 – 175 – 177 – 181 – 185 – 186 – 188 – 189 – 196 – 197 – 199
Noyon 25/06/2017 (177km)
Land van Aalst: 573 youngsters (41/88)
1 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 9 – 10 – 16 – 19 – 21 – 22 – 23 – 31 – 32 – 38 – 40 – 55 – 57 – 59 – 64 – 76 – 87 – 101 – 111 – 123 – 131 – 148 – 159 – 164 – 173 – 174 – 176 – 176 – 178 – 182 – 197 – 198 – 199 – 203 – 229 – 261 – 266
Noyon 18/06/2017 (177km)
De Vereniging Liedekerke: 673 youngsters (59/91)
3 – 21 – 22 – 23 – 24 – 25 – 34 – 37 – 38 – 39 – 41 – 46 – 51 – 52 – 52 – 61 – 63 – 70 – 81 – 82 – 86 – 88 – 90 – 94 – 103 – 106 – 108 – 109 – 110 – 115 – 127 – 129 – 131 – 134 – 138 – 139 – 160 – 165 – 168 – 176 – 177 – 179 – 180 – 182 – 191 – 201 – 204 – 207 – 210 – 211 – 215 – 219 – 220 – 248 – 279 – 280 – 291 – 298 – 306
Ilse and Patrick… it is a pleasure to see a young family as yours this motivated practising their hobby. You really deserve these marvellous results and keep on enjoying our beautiful hobby.
We wish you load of luck.
Stefan Mertens
Loft
Winner
