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I have been to Belgium on many occasion's but have only been to this very well known loft once, the loft that is known as the Family loft where they all have their own jobs. A couple of pointers that have made this family so well known are the pigeon called "Jonge Artiste" one of the all time great pigeons in Europe. Then there's Nadia, the daughter and sister whose life appears to revolve around pigeons. Iin fact on our visit Nadia was the one running around the lofts cleaning up and making sure that the pigeons were right.

An interesting point was seeing Nadia go from one loft to another and using a different scraper and shovel for each section. "Why" the reason is simple, this is to help stop the spread of disease through the lofts. Then there were the ladders that stood out, again a simple explanation, these were to help the pigeons from the loft because they were so close to the boundary fence so the open door was not an option. What else could we not forget about the lofts, ah yes the cockerel, he was there on the floor of the hens section to stop the hens pairing up. They were on V perches but he kept them off the floor and made sure that they were keen enough when put with the cocks. Then there was the professional way that everything was done and the enormous amount of trophies won, including the one that made Lynn look rather small. What does Luc do, well he is the technical man on the scene, he sees to all the paperwork and does help out with the pigeons but as I say Nadia is the Kingpin in that area. We shall leave the introduction at that because Luc (the technical man) has answered the questions very well and they make good reading.

A. Jef's father, Gerard had pigeons in the early 1920's and although keen and enthusiastic he never reached the very top. By profession he was a master mason and was known more for his ability to build magnificent lofts than for his race performances. More importantly for our story, Gerard married the daughter of a champion pigeon fancier. Thus, Jef's grandfather on his maternal side was one Mon de Belder, a top fancier with a great family of pigeons based on the birds of Fonne Ceulemans of Berlaar. Followers of the Janssen Brothers of Arendonk family will realise that this is the same Fonne Ceulemans who supplied the base birds of the Janssen strain. Even as a child Jef was drawn to the pigeons and spent many hours in the company of his grandfather and at the same time took more and more responsibility at his father's loft. Jef is proud that even today his number one breeding pair of 'Young Artiest' and 'Sissi' can be traced back over 50 years to the Ceulemans blood in his grandfather's loft. At the same time he acknowledges that later introductions from his great friend, the late Stan Raeymakers, birds from Frans Stoces. Also from Albert Everaerts, along with a recent interchange of birds with Karel Hufkens, Gommaar Verbruggen, Jos Vercammen and Flor Engels have all helped to create the 'Houben' family of pigeons.

Q. Give the readers the basic results that you have achieved as a partnership.

A. . 'Top 10' from the National and Interprov races from 1985 until 2002. 1 st Interprov. La Souterraine 590km 4,573B. 1 st Interprov. Argenton 550km 4,740B. 1 st Interprov. Chateauroux 530km 6,744B. 1 st National Bourges 480km 7,848B. 1 st Interprovincial Argenton 9,864B. 1 st National Argenton 14,105B. 2 nd National La Souterraine 1,279B. 2 nd Interprov Argenton 3,243B. 2 nd Interprov. La Souterraine 4,250B. 2 nd National Bourges 480km 8,565B. 2 nd National Bourges 10,670B. 2 nd Interprov Vierzon 470km 12,705B. 2 nd National Argenton 14,105B. 2 nd National Limoges 640km 16,132B. 3 rd National La Souterraine 1,542B. 3 rd National Bourges 480km 14,873 B. 4 th Interprov. Chateauroux 6,494B. 4 th National Bourges 9,091B. 4 th National Bourges 10,670B. 4 th National Bourges 15,131B. 5 th National Bourges 2,598B. 5 th National Limoges 8,807B. 5 th National Bourges 10,049B. 5 th National Argenton 20,105B. 5 th National Limoges 22,942B. 6 th National Bourges 11,206B. 6 th National Bourges 11,467B. 6 th National La Souterraine 14,405B. 6 th National Limoges 16,132B. 6 th National Limoges 17,670B. 7 th National Bourges 10,049B. 7 th National Bourges 13,603B. 7 th National La Souterraine 21,495B. 8 th National Limoges 8,882B. 8 th National Bourges 10,408B. 8 th National Bourges 14,873B. 8 th National Argenton 19,881B. 9 th National Bourges 8,393B. 9 th National Bourges 8,869B. 9 th Semi-National Vierzon 13,285B. 9 th National Limoges 18,608B. 9 th National Argenton 27,499B. 10 th National Bourges 5,317B. 10 th Interprov Argenton 9,864B. 10 th National Bourges 12,302B. 10 th National Argenton 14,452B. 10 th National La Souterraine 16,897B. 10 th National Bourges 25,179B. SOME OF THE VERY BEST RESULTS FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. Noyon 210km 364B. 1-2-3-5-8 -12-13-26-29 (11/14) St.Denis 270km 3,614B. 1-2-6-7 -75-95-108-111 (34/72). St.Denis 3,711B. 5-8 -10-11-12-14-16-17-27-(49/69). Dourdan 350km 210B. 2-3-4-7-9 -15-17-19-23 (14/18). Dourdan 1,641B. 1-2-3-7- 26-29-52 (11/14). Dourdan 1,229B 2-3-5- 24-79 (9/11).

Dourdan 494B. 2-9- 13-15-16-28-29-50 (8/9). Dourdan 2,395B. 1-3-5 -16-18-33-35-44-46 (31/67). Etampes 350km 835B 1-6- 22-28-30-35-50 (7/7). Etampes 1,425B. 1-2-4-7-8- 12-13-17-23 (15/31). Etampes 888B. 1-2-3-4-6-8-9- 11-24(20/34). Etampes 182 B. 1-2-3-4- 12 (5/6). Etampes 1,015B. 1-5- 12-16-18-23-39 (7/7) Etampes 1,753 B. 3-6-8- 16-18-19-22-23-25-26 (21/32). Etampes 4,032B. 2-4-8- 15-16-21-22-29-40 (18/31). Toury 380km 931B. 1 -2-3-7-8-9 -10-14-15-19 (36/67). Orleans 420km 150B. 1-2-7-8 -24-29 (6/8). Orleans 662B.1 -4-6- 8-10-12-15-20-33 (37/68). Orleans 1,991B. 2-4-5-6 -13-26-30-36-45.(56/120). Orleans 1,975B. 1-2-3-7-8-9- 13-20-23-25 (55/86). Vierzon 738B. 1-2-3-8- 20-30-57-73-81 (13/15). Vierzon 2,250B. 1-2-3-6- 11-19-23 (15/23). Bourges 287B. 1-2-3-4-8 ( 5/6). Bourges 332B. 1-3-4-7- 14-29-35-39-47-97(10/13). Bourges 346B. 1-5- 7-16-18-26-109 (7/7). Bourges 679B. 1-2-3-9- 13-14-32-39-41 (17/26). Bourges 686B 1-2-3-7- 25-29-119-128-157(9/16). Bourges 745B. 1-2-3-4-5-6-8-9- 10-11-13-(38/65). Bourges 748B. 2-3-4-6- 14-17-22-33-49-57(14/15). Bourges 853B. 1-3-4- 22-25-112-137-224 (8/13). Bourges 1,064B. 1-2-3-8-9- 15-19-20 (14/16). Bourges 1,253B. 1-3-6-7-8-9- 11 (18/26). Bourges 1,581B.1 -2-3- 19-22 (16/23) Bourges 1,129B. 1-2-4-7- 13-21 (17/23). Chateauroux 165B. 1- 2-3-4- 31-35 (6/8). Chateauroux 420B. 1-2-3- 31-37-46-92-101 (8/15). Chateauroux 770B. 1-2 -11-50-63-87-117 (7/9). Argenton 1,017B. 1-2-4-9- 11-13-25-33-34-35 (42/66). Argenton 1,117B. 2-3-5-6-8 -26-33-36-41 (30/75). La Souterraine 201B 1-2-3-6- 10-15-22-62 (8/12). La Souterraine 263B 1-2-5-6-7- 10-11-12-13-14 (35/50). La Souterraine 453B. 1 -2-3-5-7-9- 10-13-31-36-37 (18/21). La Souterraine 682B. 2 -11-13-20-27-31-32-33-37 (21/36). Poitiers 600km 519B. 1-6 -11-28-30-71 (6/7). Limoges 441B. 2-3-7-8- 17-26-32-46-47- 49 (13/17). Limoges 650B. 1-2-9 -19-31-52-58-59-63 (13/14). Narbonne 890km 147B. 2-3-4-5- 15 (5/9). Some of the most important victories from the nineties; 1 st Provincial Bourges 1,033B. 1 st Provincial Vierzon 1,055B.

1 st Provincial Argenton 1,071B. 1 st Provincial Argenton 2,055B. 1 st Provincial Bourges 2,064B. 1 st Provincial Bourges 2,102B. 1 st Provincial Argenton 2,202B. 1 st Provincial Poitiers 2,213B. 1 st Provincial Bourges 2,256B. 1 st Provincial La Souterraine 2,865B. 1 st Interprov Argenton 4,740B. 1 st National Bourges 7,848B. 1 st Interprov Argenton 9,864B. 1 st Provincial Orleans 12,570B. 1 st National Argenton 14,105 B. 1 st Dourdan 1,002 B. 1 st Argenton 1,017B. 1 st Dourdan 1,110B. 1 st Orleans 1,250B. 1 st Noyon 208km 1,375B. 1 st Dourdan 1,519B. 1 st Dourdan 1,641B. 1 st Orleans 1,975B. 1 st Chartres 2,026B. 1 st Dourdan 2,395B. 1 st St.Denis 3,614B. 2 nd Provincial Argenton 2,055B. Provincial Chateauroux 2,135B. 2 nd Provincial Poitiers 2,215B. 2 nd Interprov Bourges 2,512B. 2 nd Provincial Bourges 2,629B. 2 nd Provincial Bourges 2,685B. 2 nd Provincial La Souterraine 3,025B. 2 nd Provincial Limoges 3,162 B. 2 nd Provincial Vierzon 3,275B. 2 nd Provincial Bourges 3,350B. 2 nd Provincial Orleans 3,385B. 2 nd Interprov Bourges 3,607B. 2 nd Provincial Argenton 3,834B. 2 nd Provincial Limoges 3,880B. 2.National Bourges 8,565B. 2 nd National Bourges 10,670B. 2 nd National Argenton. 554 km 14,105 B. 2 nd Toury 1,061B. 2 nd Dourdan 1,074B. 2 nd Argenton 1,117B. 2 nd Sens 1,187B. 2 nd Dourdan 1,216B. 2 nd Dourdan 1,374B. 2 nd Noyon 1,375B. 2 nd Dourdan 1,560B. 2 nd Dourdan 1,641B. 2 nd Sens 1,781B. 2 nd Orleans 1,991B. 2 nd Dourdan 2,078B. 2 nd Dourdan 2,193B. 2 nd Melun 3,427B. 2 nd St.Denis 3,614B. etc.

A. 1st National Champion Middle Distance KBDB in 2001. 1 st Interprov. La Souterraine 4,573B. 1 st Interprov Argenton 4,740B. 1 st Interprov Chateauroux 6,744B. 1 st National Bourges 7,848B. 1 st Interprov Argenton 9,864B. 1 st National Argenton 14,105 B. And many other championships from Journals and Magazines.

A . ' VMK + HAFO Lier' and also 'HAFO 2000' for middle distance and the 'Antwerp Union' for long distance.

Q. Do you hold any official position and if so do you take an active part, if no what are your reasons.

A. No, not enough time. Jef is 78 years old, Luc has a job as employer. Nadia is home but takes care of the pigeons the whole week.

A. We never compete for averages. In the past we have already lost some championships because we kept our pigeons home from one or more races. I know that some fanciers enter pigeons in every race because they try to be in every possible championship. We are not like that, my father always used to fly for the money. Many years ago we were able to fly pigeons in 3 or more different clubs and my father went to the clubs where there was a lot of money to win. Sometimes You win, sometimes you loose, but most of the times my father won a lot of money. Most of these race results (even from 30 - 40 years ago) are still kept at my parent's home. So competing for championships or averages has never been important to us. We normally have 12 Middle Distance races for old birds per year, in 2002 we did not send any widowhood cocks in the first 2 races because it was too cold. We knew from then on already that we would not win any championships or Ace Birds but this was not a problem. We like to fly pigeons in good weather conditions and we know they can win then.

The winner of the Million Dollar race in South-Africa (35°C, 630 km) is a pure Houben, the winner of the Thailand Open Championship last year is a 50% Houben (35°C, 500 km, very high humidity).

A. We fly our pigeons on widowhood. 56 Old Birds and Yearlings and about 10 hens, 150 young birds Natural + separated sexes.

A. Most of the lofts are made of stone covered with wood, we also have some new lofts now and they are completely made of wood. I do not know the total length but it is very long. Probably 300 ft?

Q. Do you attach any importance to having a tiled roof on a loft, if so are there any benefits.

A. All our lofts have a tiled roof. The last 2 years we have changed some old lofts that were 25 - 35 years old and we built them up again. Every loft has a tiled roof and we don't want anything else. I think that the new lofts we have now are fantastic. There is very good ventilation and no drafts. Dry during the winter time and cool during the summer. Just perfect.

Q. How many stock birds do you keep and do you breed off your race team also how many pigeons do you think that you need to breed off any individual stock pair each year to see if they are quality producers.

A. Altogether we have 48 stock pairs. Normally we breed from our racers 1 round of youngsters every year. It is difficult to say how long You have to wait before You know if a pigeon is a good producer, i.e. "Rico" B 92-6074700 was never raced but we put him on the stock loft in 1993. Between 1993 and 1997 we never had one very good pigeon from him. He bred mostly hens and they got some prizes but nothing very special. In 1998 we paired him to "Fiara" and with this hen he bred many winners. Normally we don't give them so many chances but since this was a beautiful cock from our best breeding pair, You know, they always get some more credit. The maximum we breed from one stock pair is 2 rounds for ourselves, so maximum 4 young birds. Normally if a cock doesn't breed winners for 2 maximum 3 years than he has to go.

A. We always pair up the pigeons at the end of November or beginning of December for 2 reasons : 1.because everyone pairs up this time. If we pair up later than these pigeons are too young to race against the other young birds later. If they are like one month younger than a lot of them get lost when they start loft flying. 2.the young bird racing season begins already half of Mai and if we only pair up in January than we cannot start racing in Mai.

A. Not from the breeders but from the widowhood cocks we take the hens and youngsters away together when the youngsters are only about 16 to 17 days old, so just before the hen will lay her first egg. This is when we breed in winter so December - January.

Q. Young bird sickness is a problem, have you had this in your loft and if so what have you treated them with.

A. We have some good medication against Young Bird sickness. Almost every specialised vet in Belgium has got good medication now. I think that every fancier in Belgium had some problems with Young Birds sickness once in a while. Most of the problems are in the beginning of the season, the first 2 - 3 races because most of the Young Birds get sick from the stress.

Q. Do you race your young birds, if so how many races, if not why, do you think they are better off in the longer events if they are only raced lightly.

A. We always race our young birds. Most of the cocks are raced until 300 ml, a few until 370 ml. We do not like to fly them a lot because we need them for racing as yearlings. Since we only fly about 10 hens as yearlings we do not need many yearling hens so on the longer races we send more hens than cocks. I think it is better not to fly the young bird cocks too much if You want to fly them for 4 or 5 years like we do.

Q. What criteria do you set down for the pigeons you winter with your thoughts on the following seasons racing and breeding.

Q. Do you have any grills fitted in the floor or in the boxes, are there any advantages to using them.

A. No grills. We scrape the coops twice a day. It is a lot of work but we think it is best.

Q. What do you think about the vaccination programme for the pigeons and do you think it affects the pigeons long term.

A . I do not think there are any bad effects on vaccination on long term. I just think it is better for the pigeons. All our pigeons are vaccinated against paramyxo once a year and our racers (old birds and yearlings) are vaccinated against pocks once a year.

Q. Do you attach any importance to grits and minerals or can the pigeons get what they want they are out of the loft.

A. The pigeons always have plenty of grits and minerals and also picking stone . We refresh it at least 3 times per week. We also put some salt in the loft and they like to eat some of it too sometimes.

A. It is important for the pigeons to have plenty of room. Unfortunate it is not always possible. We have 4 coops for widowhood cocks : 3 X 12 and 1 X 20. On the young bird lofts we put about 30 - 35 pigeons. It is normally too much but since we loose a lot of young birds on training and racing we have to breed enough. We breed about 130 young birds from the first round and about 70 from the second round.

Q. How do you feed the cocks and what do you feed them on, a branded mix or do you buy separate corns and mix your own.

A. We do not know anything about pigeon food. We used to buy our mixtures from the Bosmolen company (now it is all Versele Laga because they bought the Bosmolen Company). They have excellent mixtures like the racing, breeding and moulting mixture. We know that these mixtures are ready for the races. Sometimes however my father adds some extra maize or rice. My father likes to give a lot of rice during the racing season when it is hot because rice gets swollen up and retains a lot of water. (see brochure with different mixtures).

Q. Do you measure the amount that you give to each pigeon, or are they fed according to the individual pigeon.

A. The old bird and yearling widowhood cocks are fed individually according to the races they have to go to. The young birds are fed together. After about one hour we take the food away. They normally get one soupspoon per pigeon.

A . It is always good to fly pigeons in partnership because the sport is getting so specialised at this moment that it is almost impossible to win for someone who has to go to work the whole week. Unless you have a wife who can take care of the pigeons during the day, so loft flying, scraping some lofts, etc.

Q. Are there any points that you disagree on and if so how do you compromise a situation where there is a different viewpoint.

A. Of course everybody has a different opinion but we always look for a compromise. The only problems we have are during the racing season if they expect some bad weather. Should we send all the pigeons or just some of them and if we only send a few than what pigeons because we need the best pigeons to win the race.

Q. Do each of you have an area within the partnership where responsibilities take control regarding a decision.

A. No, father is the boss and he takes all decisions. I think it is better like this. Sometimes we have a different point of view but we always talk about it and we try to take a decision that is best for the pigeon.

Q. To term a phrase are you a professional team of pigeon fanciers and do your circumstances make a big difference.

A. You can consider us to be a professional team because we try to do everything as good as we can and all the family is involved with the pigeons, so this means 7 people. We all have our own team to take care off.

Q. Whenever I have visited a loft fanciers always look at the pigeons eye. Do you consider that the eye has any importance in (a) the breeding, (b) distance races (c) sprint races. (d) the pigeons health. Or do you steer clear of the subject and if so why.

A. My father has never believed in any eye theory, he likes a beautiful coloured eye but we have bred winners from all kinds of eyes. We do not even know what to look for in a pigeon's eye. I believe that some people can see more than others but first You have to look at the pigeon itself and the last thing to look at is the eye. We believe that the eye is important, no doubt. When my father got the "Kletskopje" hen from Gommaar Verbruggen than he could choose from 4 different hens. At that time the pigeons were moulting very hard and they were not nice al all. The only reason why my father took this hen was because she had such a beautiful coloured eye. Through the years we have had many visitors, some had an eye theory, others had a wing theory, etc. My father always says : "I only have one theory, the Basket Theory", it is the only theory that has never let me down!

Q. Do you use any preventative medication. If a pigeon goes ill do you try to put it right or does the bird have to go.

A. The only preventative medication that we give is against trichomonosis. We have never had problems with worms or coccidiosis. All the pigeons are vaccinated in the beginning of the year against paramyxo and pocks. If a pigeon becomes ill than we will always try to cure it. If it does not get better than it has to go. In 1998 we had problems with Adeno virus on one of our young bird lofts. We had 2 nestbrothers with Adeno, they were from one of our best breeding pairs. My sister worked very hard on them and they became better. As yearlings and 2-year olds they won several 1st and 2nd prizes.

JOKER

SERGIO

In 1996 we had a cock that broke both his legs as a young bird. Normally we should have killed it but we gave him a chance and worked very hard on him also. As a yearling and 2-year old he won 5 1st prizes. One of them 5 minutes ahead!

Q. How many weeks do you think a pigeon can maintain it's form on the widowhood system for both cocks and hens.

A. Impossible to say. It is difficult to get form and it is even more difficult to keep it. It can come and disappear very fast. There is not much that You can do about it.

Q. Does this include channel races or are the specified number of weeks for sprint races and do you think that a pigeon can be prepared at fortnightly intervals for the channel races.

A. I think that the preparation for every race or race weekend is different, depending if You fly Sprint, Middle or Long Distance. We have got some very beautiful fortnightly races. All together we have 3 teams : one team flies the Middle Distance Races (200 - 250 ml) every week and 2 teams fly the longer races (5 X fortnightly) (300-350-370-400-450ml) and (300-350-370-250-300 ml). These 2 teams are specially prepared for these races. Before these races they fly 5 to 6 races, 70 ml, 140 ml and 220 ml.

Q. Do you treat pigeons differently with their preparation if they are to go to the bigger races whether National, Classic, Specialist club or open.

A. The treatment and preparation is different. i.e. feeding, vitamins, electrolytes, . but this has nothing to do with the kind of race, only the distance.

Q. Do you think a pigeon has the capabilities of racing both short and long distance races. Also what

distance can a pigeon actually still "RACE" as opposed to homing from any race point.

A . It is very difficult to fly both short and long distance with the same pigeons. We have noticed that the pigeons that fly the 300-400 ml races are too slow on the Sprint Races. Many years ago may father only used to fly the Sprint Races and he won a lot of 1sts on those races, now it is very difficult. It is almost impossible here for Long Distance pigeons to win Sprint Races now, on the other hand some Sprint pigeons will be able to win a Long Distance race but they are very often lost after a smash race. The Long Distance pigeons however will come home from a smash race even after 2, 3 or 4 days.

Q. What proportion of you pigeons get better on subsequent trips to the long distance races and what do you call distance.

A. Part of our widowhood team is raced on the longer distances, these pigeons only have to win on these races. If they don't win on the sprint or middle distance races than this is not a problem. These pigeons are selected through the years after flying the 300 - 400 ml races for several generations. The races between 300 km and 600 km are middle distance races in Belgium, this is between 190 ml and 375 ml. The races from 400 ml or further are considered to be long distance races.

Q. Which is the more difficult, establishing a team of sprinter's or distance pigeons and why.

A. It is both difficult but I think Long Distance takes more time because the pigeons have to be 2 - 3 years old before You can send them on the 500-600 ml races and a lot more pigeons are lost too. However it does not matter what distance You fly it is very difficult on every distance because the competition is tough on all distances.

Q. What happens when you are racing either widowhood or the roundabout when you have a bad race and lose a few from one sex, how do you continue with those pigeons who have lost their mate.

A. We always fly widowhood with the cocks so we do not have any problems. If the cock is lost than we just put the hen away. Sometimes if the hen is not good than we chance the hen for another one.

A. The feeding is very important. See feeding program. A good feeding program helps a lot but does not make the difference between a good pigeon and a bad pigeon, it just gives that 5% extra that is needed to make a good pigeon a winner.

Q. Taking into account distance, which is more difficult racing to your area, is it a case of a 600ml race is a 600ml race regardless of competition or route.

A. Around Antwerp is specialised in Middle Distance races (200-400 ml). The competition is very tough. The East and West of Flanders area is more specialised in Long Distance and there are almost no Sprint races. I know that in some places the competition is not so tough. Some fanciers just use Sprint races and Middle Distance races as training and do not even clock their birds. If You fly 600 ml than I think the competition is tough anywhere because 600 ml is always very hard for the pigeons.

A O wn family, based on 50 years of breeding and racing. Every year we try some new pigeons from some top flyers. We give them 2 - 3 years and if they do not breed winners than they have to go. Our family of pigeons is very inbred to 'Young Artist' so we have to get some fresh blood once in a while.

A . We go to a pigeon flyer who is winning for 10 years or longer and someone who wins with old birds. We never buy pigeons from a young bird specialist. Our pigeons normally have to fly 4 - 5 years. So a good family of pigeons also inbred like ours and a fancier that You can trust!!

Q. When you bring in that new family do you think that they need time to acclimatise, if so how long.

A. No, yearlings or old birds can breed immediately. If we get some young birds than we keep them for a year before we breed from them. Once they have finished the moult than they look a lot better.

Q. Do you think that fanciers change for the sake of changing or do you think a loft can breed a winning team out and lose track of the winners.

A. A good racer is not always a good breeder. Many good racers have never bred winners themselves!!! This is very important!! We once had a son from 'Young Artist' that never won a prize as a young bird or yearling but he produced several winners.

So a good racer is not always a good breeder and a bad racer is sometimes even a good breeder if You can just find the matched pair. So getting some new blood in your loft is really necessary before it is too late. If it is too late there is no way back. We have had winners that never bread good pigeons and losers that bread champions!!

Q. When looking for new pigeons do you look for a particular family, one for specialist races or club races or just be name.

A. We look for an inbred family of pigeons just like ours. Someone who flies well for many years with old birds and whose family is not based on just one good breeding pair. It has to be someone who is winning in tough competition, not just a local flyer who is winning in his own club.

Q. Early in the article we discussed the wind direction, do you consider that good pigeons will win in any position.

A . Good pigeons will win in any position but how many good pigeons are there? Through the years we have noticed that some pigeons fly higher than others, these pigeons do better in the fast races because they look for the perfect altitude. With a head wind those pigeons have to try to fly into the wind and then it is better to fly low. Of course, the real good pigeons will win in any kind of race and any kind of wind. We once had a race in the Union Antwerp with a strong South-East wind, this is very bad for us. All the winning pigeons were in the North-West, except one : "Sony" : he was 2nd against 570 Birds. He lost the first prize because he sat outside for 30 seconds. For the average pigeon the wind is very important and most of the prices will be won with pigeons that have the wind in favour.

Q. Some fanciers go out and purchase good quality winning pigeons but never appear to make the grade, why do you consider that this happens.

A. We have had some fanciers like this here too. They come to us because they say they have bought from fanciers X and Y from their top breeders, spend a lot of money and do not win. Most fanciers will say than that X or Y did not sell from their best pairs. It is very difficult to sell pigeons to these people because You know that they will not win with your pigeons either. We try to tell those people that there must be a reason for this. Not a good system, not good lofts (not good ventilation, too much draft, .).

Q. Do you give any special treatments when the pigeons return from the race as a precaution against anything that they may have picked up in the basket.

A . Yes, after being in the basket for 2 or more nights we always treat the pigeons with disinfectant against trichomonosis. Perhaps it is not always necessary but it is better than giving a complete treatment of 8 days in the middle of the racing season. Once in a while we give something against head-diseases (snot capsules or something like that). We do not treat the pigeons that were in the basket for one night.

Q. Do you race your pigeons every week or do you prefer to condition them for a specific race.

A. The middle distance pigeons normally fly every week except after a smash race or something like that. The pigeons that fly the longer races they only have to try to win on these 5 races so they are prepared for these races every fortnight.

Q. Is there any specific condition that your pigeons perform best at, or any particular time of the year.

A Our pigeons do best on the beautiful hot weather races with a head wind. In 1995 we had a team of Yearlings that did not do very good on the longer races. Argenton 554 km 1,254 B. 64-101-117-262-273-343-350 (7/11). (very bad weather) Limoges 639 km 2,332 B. 253-308-597 (3/10) (very fast race). We did not know if we had to keep these pigeons as 2-year olds or not. My father decided to give them one more chance. On the same weekend as the National Bourges race (476 km) at the end of July, we also had the National race from Narbonne (888 km). The National Bourges race is normally very important for us but that weekend my father decided not to enter these yearlings on the National Bourges race but on the race from Narbonne. It was a very beautiful day, > 30° C, a head wind. The pigeons from Bourges came very slow. We send 5 Yearlings on the Bourges race and they were 24-71-326-366-652 against 2,060 Yearlings, so (5 from5). From Narbonne there were only 2 daybirds in the South of Belgium. The next morning between 8.00 and 9.00 a.m. we clocked 4 yearlings. They were 18-22-61-78-304 against 6,207 B. Among the 9 yearlings that we send were 4 grandchildren from 'Young Artist'. The 4 pigeons that we clocked first were the 4 grandchildren from 'Young Artist'!!! I can give many results like this with pigeons winning minutes ahead with hot and beautiful weather, like 'Pootje' 6223109-96 he won such a race from 380 km against all together 1,022 Birds with 9 minutes ahead!! In this race were some lofts that are considered as some of the best of Belgium, they entered their whole team of racers 40, 50 or some even more than 60 birds!!!! We only send 7 old birds and they were 1-12-27-38-88-139 against 509 Old Birds and 10-34-161 against 513 yearlings. The pigeon that won the Million Dollar race in 2003 is a pure Houben and also the winner of the Thailand Open Championship is a 50% Houben. These are 2 very tough races so You see this is not a coincident.

Q. In your view do you think that a loft needs different pigeons for different distances.

A. Depends on what distance You want to fly. I know people who fly for the championships and they have a team for every distance. They keep Sprint pigeons for Sprint races, Middle Distance pigeons for Middle distance races, etc. If You like to specialise on a distance than You can just keep one family for the distance You want to fly. We specialise on the races between 200 and 400 ml and I think that at this moment most of the flyers try to specialise on a certain distance.

Q. Which of the two sexes do you consider is the most important when it comes to breeding.

Q. Some fanciers like big hens for breeding does the size of the hen make any difference to the quality of youngsters that she breeds in your past experience.

A. We do not like big pigeons, especially not big hens. However if they don't breed big children than it is OK but You have to be careful I think. Through the years we have noticed that Sprint flyers like bigger pigeons whilst long distance flyers like smaller pigeons. The big pigeons do better on the Sprint races whilst the small pigeons do better on the longer races.

Q. Is there anything that you have not won in the sport that you would like to achieve.

A I think we have won about everything at least once. 2 1st Nationals, Champion of Belgium, Golden Duif winner and also winner of all the other championships from Journals and Magazines in Belgium at least once.

Q. Who do you consider to be the best fanciers in the Country and for what reasons.

A. There are many good fanciers and most of them are specialised on certain distances so it is difficult to say and I do not want to say one name because most of them are good friends and we want to keep it like that. Jealousy, You know.

A. Pigeon Sport in Belgium is too expensive at this moment. It costs a lot of money just to get started but this is not everything because than it costs a lot of money to enter the pigeons in the races every week. So any kind of sponsors would be very welcome.

Q. Do you read many magazines/Articles, if so which type of article do you find interesting and why.

A. I don't have much time to read articles. Most of them tell the same anyway. It is very difficult to find an interesting article.

Q. Are there any special treatments that you give your birds once the season ha finished what do you recommend the readers to do with the birds

A. After the racing season we give the pigeons at least once a month 4 days of tea. This is very good for the moult. During the wintertime we would like to let the pigeons out if the weather is good but this is very difficult because of the hawks. I think rest and a lot of oxygen is very important during the winter.

Q. When it comes to breeding do you line-breed or use a first cross or just pair winners to winners.

A. During the years we have tried about everything. We have bred winners from crosses, line breeds and even inbred. The last couple of years we have had some very good pigeons that were inbred. With the 'Young Artist' bloodline we can do everything. Cross-, line- and inbreed. In 95% of the pigeons on our breeding and racing team You will find 'Young Artist'. Like I wrote before, there is no guarantee that Winners X Winners will breed Winners!!

Q. Do you breed off the top widowhood cocks after the racing has finished, do you breed late bred youngsters and what do you think of those later bred youngsters.

A. Our last Old Bird race is half of August, after that we let the cocks have eggs for about 8 days and than we take everything away. Within a week they will start moulting. We never breed any late breds, however I think that late breds are very good if You buy some eggs from the best widowhood cocks from a top flyer at the end of the season and let these pigeons grow up and go through the moult so You can pair them up for the first time one year later. This is very good. It is also a good and cheap way to get some youngsters from a good flyer and from his best pigeons for a cheap price.

Q. If your race team went off form during the season what action would you take to restore their condition.

A. If we only knew what we had to do then. We have tried to do a lot of things : 1.Go to a vet and see if there is anything wrong. If there is à medicate. 2.let the pigeons rest for a week.

3.Change the feed, this can help sometimes. Change to another company or feed them heavier or lighter. Sometimes it helps sometimes not.

Q. Is a favourable loft location the single biggest factor in sprint racing.

A. No matter what distance You fly, the loft location and the wind is very important and will always make the difference between a 1st and a 2nd prize. With the same quality of pigeons You cannot beat anyone who has the wind in favour or who lives in a better location. So loft location and wind are very important.

Q. Do you use the darkness system for the young birds, if so for how long and do you think it affects them later in life.

A. We only use the darkness system for our second round of young birds. The first round of young birds only starts moulting is August, by that time they have been flying for 3 months already. The second round normally starts moulting in June so we have to darken for about 2 months between March and Mai. We don't think it effects them later in life. It only depends on how many times a pigeon has been raced as a young bird. I know people who let their young birds fly 3000 - 4000 ml in one season because they start racing in May until the end of September. This is too much for a young bird and this effects them for later results as a Yearling or Old Bird. We only train our second round as far as 200 ml so than it does not effect them later in life.

Q. Are there any feeding methods for the young birds i.e. do you break them down, do you keep them hungry for control purposes, do you give them a trapping seed mix.

A . During the racing season our young birds get the normal racing mixture in the evening (1 spoon per pigeon) and in the morning they get 1 spoon of depurative mixture for 2 pigeons. After a race we break them down so we can built them up for the next week.

Q. What percentage do you consider it takes to win with racing pigeons for Management and pigeons and why.

A. My opinion : On sprint races it is more the fancier that is important, on the longer races it is more the pigeon! The %? Not easy to say. Personally I think sprint races : 66% the fancier and 33% the pigeon, long distance : 33% the fancier and 66% the pigeon. Perhaps this might surprise you but I know a sprint fancier who breeds 50 young birds and has 10 different winners every year. He sells pigeons to other fanciers who don't win with them. If you breed 50 pigeons and have 10 winners, this means 20% winners! Moreover, he only wins with young birds and yearlings, not with old birds. I think this is the best proof that the fancier here is much more important than the pigeon.

Q. What is the farthest distance that you would train your old birds or young birds.

A. Our Old Birds are only trained before the racing season as far as 70 ml. We do not take them out for a training toss during the season. Our Young birds are trained by ourselves as far as 30 ml, not further. On a longer distance they go together with the club. Most of the times we do not train our Young birds during the racing season, we only do this once in a while.

Q. If random drugs tests were carried out on your pigeons, would it reveal any substance, illegal or otherwise.

A. We get drug tests on our pigeons and normally all the vets in Belgium will give medication that is allowed so there should not be a problem. We only give products from a vet so we know that everything is safe.

Q. How do you consider that the British sport is going compared to the continentals and do they have any ideas that you think would benefit the sport in the UK.

A. Sorry, I know everything about pigeon racing in Belgium but not about pigeon racing in the UK. I know that a lot of pigeon flyers are jealous when I tell them about our races in Belgium. Not just pigeon flyers from the UK are jealous but fanciers from whole over the world. I think that we are really lucky here in Belgium. I have enclosed a copy from our middle and long distance program in Antwerp for the year 2002.

Q. Is pigeon racing as a hobby going beyond the average working man. Is it becoming too technical and complicated or can you keep everything simple and still win with the pigeons.

A. Like I wrote before, the biggest problem is that the sport in Belgium is getting too expensive. It is also becoming more and more specialised so people who go to work will have a lot of problems to win. For some people it is impossible to let their pigeons train before they go to work or after they have finished work. If the wife helps or if You have a partner who helps You with this than it is not a problem but not everybody has this opportunity. So as an average working man it is not easy to win with pigeons.

Q. You are successful fanciers, there are far too many leaving the sport, to encourage fanciers to either join or stay in the sport what do you think about limiting prizes to two per race per loft. If not Why. If yes Why.

A. I do not really know if this would encourage fanciers to stay in the sport. Now we have races with ten thousands of pigeons then we would only have races with a very limited number of pigeons. Perhaps I think it is not a good idea because I'm used to fly with a lot of pigeons. I'm not sure. The question is what do we have to do with the other pigeons than? Or do we also only have to keep 10 pair of breeders and 10 pair of racers then? Anyway, I do not really like it but perhaps it could be better for the sport, I don't know.

Q. Do you think winning fanciers should move on from club racing once they have reached a certain level of consistency. Are club performances paramount for personal satisfaction or sales purposes.

A. In Belgium we have to enter pigeons in the Club before we can enter them in the Provincial or National races but the clubs can always change the boundaries and this happens a lot. Every year during the winter there are a lot of clubs that change the boundaries. About 10 years ago the Antwerp Union changed the boundaries too for Middle Distance (not for Long Distance) and since than we were not allowed to fly Middle Distance in the Antwerp Union. From 2002 it has changed again and now we have one beautiful Combine with the Antwerp Union, Verenigde Middenkempen and HAFO Lier. Now we have some beautiful races again with sometimes >1000 pigeons per race.

Q. Do you attach any real importance to the pigeons wing i.e back wing, end four flights and do you look at the wing to see if they have cast before a race. Any other comments on the wing.

A. The pigeons wing is very important, just like it is written in dozens of books. No doubt about that.

We always leave our yearling and widowhood cocks home when they have cast the first flight. Last year we lost 2 good pigeons after they had cast their first flight about 5 days before the race. I do not know why but for young birds this does not seem to be a problem. So in the future there will be no old birds or yearlings in the basket just after they cast their first flight.

Q. Do you use any form of heating system in any of your lofts. Do you think it would be advantages for the birds.

A. We have floor heating on all our lofts. We only use it when there is a lot of dampness, after the pigeons got a bath or when they come home from a rainy race. It is also very good in the beginning of the season when the nights are still cold and there is a lot of dampness. We never have problems in the beginning of the season to get our pigeons in perfect condition.

Q. Do the pigeons need any special treatment on their return from the race to help them relax. Is any such treatment needed for the short or long distance races or the hard races compared to the easy races.

A .I know people who give their pigeons a warm bath after they came home. I do not know if this is good or not. We have never done it so far. Like I wrote before, we only put the heating on after a rainy race or if it has been very cold after a race. I don't think the difference is Sprint or Long Distance or easy or fast races but the weather makes the difference if pigeons need something extra or not.

Q. Irrespective of how your pigeons have flown, what are your views on the past season whether good or bad or the management of the sport in general.

A. We were not satisfied with last year's season. We won 28 1sts so this is good but we lost quite a lot of pigeons Young birds and Old Birds and some very good ones. We had a lot of very bad races. One race the pigeons were held in the basket for 8 days and even then the weather was not good when they let them go. In fact we knew that this year would not be so good because in 2001 we were National Champion of Belgium so it is impossible to do better. Also the last 2 years we put our 8 best racers on the stock loft. This is not good now but it should be good for the future. Anyway, last year's season was not good, a lot of bad weather and bad races. The management of the sport in Belgium in general is not good. People are still looking for their own profit first in stead of looking at the sport. It has always been like that and probably it will never change. Just like politics. In Belgium we have a saying :"First Uncle and then Uncles children", this means : take care of Yourself before You take care of others.

Q. With your pigeon work do you have a silent partner i.e. wife, partner or friend, if so what part do they play.

A. For us it is very easy, the whole family works together this is one of the reasons why we have been so successful.

Q. Is there anything that you do not like about the sport, something that you feel needs changing for the good of the sport.

A. Like I wrote before, the sport is too expensive. I think that it can be a lot cheaper with the help of sponsors. Every existing sport survives with the help of sponsors so why not pigeon sport.

Q. Do you compete in the National events, if not why not. Or are you happy to race in the club.

A. Yes we compete in the National races but only in a few. Most of the National races are 400 - 600 ml and normally we only fly 300 - 400 ml but we have several beautiful Provincial and Interprovincial races that we can compete in.

Summary. All in all this was a good loft visit, the only problem was that there was major work being completed and we were in the way at times. However the party were pleased to see the loft and birds that are all well kept and presented. The question always arises after a loft visit, "Would I go again" there is a simple answer to that one, "Yes I would". This family look at pigeons in a professional way and they get their rewards in the races that matter. We shall finish by thanking the family for their time on a visit that will be remembered.