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ERIK LIMBOURGof Brussegem
by Les Parkinson
What you must remember about Erik is that his sole aim is to compete in the races up to 600mls on the day with the next day birds not being taken too seriously. On the continent the pigeons are considered different because when you ask how many birds they house for the races you get a different answer than the UK fanciers give.
As I have pointed out in the past there are quite a few fanciers whose performances are not too well known in the U.K. Eric Limbourg is one such fancier whose results can soon be put into perspective when you look at the photo's which also give their results. Eric lives at Brussegem which is about 7 miles from Brussels where the competition is good and in recent years many excellent National performances have been gained. It is not normally the case to go straight into results but on this occasion I shall because of their quality. These
are the performances of recent years: What you must remember about Erik is that his sole aim is to compete in the races up to 600mls on the day with the next day birds not being taken too seriously. Erik is one of the present day great fanciers in Belgium and has sold pigeons to Taiwain but purchased certain pigeons back at a later date to strengthen his already well established winning team. Erik has now built his own team of National winners based on Stichelbaut x Janssens, the old Janssen lines from the 60's and he is not afraid to make a good investment by bringing in top pigeons from ACE winners no matter what the cost. The results must be right before the pedigree and the birds at this loft must prove themselves or they are out because at the level of competition that Erik wants to make his presence felt at is far too keen to give too many chances. Like the majority of fanciers Erik races the widowhood and does use the breakdown system of a light diet without Barley because. If the pigeons have an intestinal problem they do not digest the food correctly and he feels that Barley is a great help in that area of the pigeon. The Y.B; are fed differently because their racing is not the same as the old birds, they are fed a diet of Paddy rice, dari & Cardi+ which is very much like the conditioner mixes that we feed in the U.K. Erik also uses a few peanuts which are excellent for the longer distance race birds. On the continent the pigeons are considered different because when you ask how many birds they house for the races you get a different answer than the UK fanciers give. For instance Erik races 32 old birds but also races 32 yearlings which are classed as part of the old bird team in the UK. There are approx 80 Y.B's to race with a smaller team kept for training only. One day 600ml racers are preferred which is around 850klm, the same birds if right will go all the way through. Yearlings although not classed as old birds are still expected to fly the programs. Every Yearling has to fly 600 mles. There are a limited number of Y.Bs selected to compete in the 550 miles events Bouge-300miles, Arg-350 miles, La Sou-400miles. La Sou 2 weeks between all go as long as they are healthy. A real good distance day family. Youn Birds are put on a semi-widowhood system in preparation for their later years and also for the Nat. 2nd week July. Erik never breeds off the race team but they sit eggs twice. However the Belgium lofts do generally have a good team of stock birds to rear their youngsters because of what they expect the Yb's to do during their first year and also because the top teams prefer not to breed off the pigeons that are expected to undertake a hard season of racing. The Yb's are split into two sections so that the cocks and hens can be split. At these lofts there is one for the hen that goes to Barcalona 700 miles the reason she is on her own is because she is always pairing to other hens or goes with any cock in the loft and upsets the routine. This hen is specifically prepared for that one race. Last year 4 entered with 3 on the winning day 2nd Prov, 10th Prov Barea. 6000 Members, 1500 to 2000 birds. Likes to basket the distance birds sitting 16 to 20 days but on eggs that will not hatch. Like many of the top winning fanciers on the Continent Erik is now a firm believer in the Comed range of products and is a regular user of Fertibol, Comotose, Phytocure. The birds are also treated for Canker, respiratory disorders and he also uses a Vitamin mix from the local vet for 2 days every 2 weeks, the system does not bring the condition down. Stock birds are much the same nice type and are all from or are ACE or National winners excellent wings, strong body etc.. I must say even Elizabeth was impressed with the quality of these birds and when you have seen them you can well understand why Erik is so successful at racing 600mls on the way.
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