History
This tandem originally started in 2004 in Vichte, where an impressive 12 provincial victories were achieved in a relatively short time. When Yvan Bataille was diagnosed with a lung disease, he was forced to stop, and all the pigeons were sold. Since 2015, they have been racing from the lofts on Ierlandlaan in Zwevegem, where Willem Deprez takes care of the colony. Willem works in shifts at Bekaert, responsible for quality control, is a father of a young family, and moreover a true pigeon enthusiast! To balance all this, the pigeon colony is kept relatively small and is selected with an iron hand. Despite the loss of Yvan, Willem found the motivation to make 2023 a top year in honor of his close friend Yvan. This was achieved with flying colors! In 2024, Yvan's position was taken over by his son Bart, and once again it was a bumper year!
Loft Composition and Breeds
In Zwevegem, they race from sprint to small middle-distance and national heavy middle-distance flights, initially only with about 15 old and yearling hens. In 2024, a number of widowers were also brought into play for the first time. The loft composition consists of 15 fixed breeding pairs, and approximately 90 youngsters are bred each year, divided over 3 lofts of 30 pieces: 2 rounds from the breeding pigeons and 1 early round from the racing hens.
The foundation comprises pigeons from Yvan from the breeds Rudi Hendrikx (Maasmechelen), Vervaeke Roger and Jurgen (Deerlijk), Declerq-Vermeulen (Deerlijk), supplemented with Erik Vandekerckhove (Aalter), line Houben (7th provincial as pigeon speed KBDB West Flanders, 2nd provincial Compiègne 2017) and Pierre Bourgeois (Izegem).
Granddaughter 'Nadal' (2nd provincial as pigeon large distance KBDB West Flanders) descends from the 'Manu' line of Devooght Gaston and Dany. This topper has already been the mother of the 1st Chateauroux in Rekkem and grandmother of the 1st provincial Chateaudun.
A pigeon purchased through a auction from Rudi Hendrikx in 2015 produced the 3rd provincial and 43rd National Argenton in 2018.
In 2015, joint breeding was done with Dewaele-Deseyn, who became the 1st National Champion Fond Yearlings 2016 with a product from this joint breeding! A successful move that provided very strong all-round pigeons at both lofts.
Starting in 2022, the first pigeons were introduced from middle-distance virtuoso and as pigeon machine Gert Van Limbergen from Lede. This quality injection bore fruit from the very first season and directly produced various 1st prize winners, including the 5th as pigeon fond young pigeons in NKV Kortrijk.
In 2023, the loft was further strengthened with the Van Limbergen pigeons, which immediately resulted in a 9th Provincial as pigeon small middle distance. This topper's father is “The Strong Grijzen,” directly from the Van Limbergen loft and a son of the super breeding hen “’t Grijzeke” from Gebr. De Meerleer from Hillegem.
Meanwhile, joint breeding has been done with some top pigeons from the Van Limbergen loft, and in 2024, some direct young pigeons from Gert moved to the lofts in Zwevegem. They did what was expected of them and further increased the number of victories! Especially in the large middle distance, these pigeons clearly hold their own. For instance, the 4177655/24 achieved 19th Provincial and 19th National Zone from Argenton, good for 46th National against 14,745 young pigeons!
Medical, Nutrition, and Racing System
At Deprez-Bataille, no frills, bottles, or jars:
The veterinarian on duty is Emiel Demeester from veterinary practice Degudap in Izegem, and his advice is followed. The racing pigeons are vaccinated annually against paramyxo, paratyphoid, and pox (with a brush). To suppress trichomoniasis, the known 'yellow drops' are given weekly. The racing lofts receive plenty of light and air and are equipped with a aviary.
The breeding pigeons are vaccinated annually against paramyxo and paratyphoid, and a month before breeding, a check is done for coccidia and worms, and treatment follows if necessary.
Two weeks before the breeding season, these pigeons are placed in the breeding loft and provided with supplementary light.
In terms of nutrition, there are also no great secrets in Zwevegem: both young and old receive premium Vandenabeele from Beyers, at a rate of 30 grams per pigeon per day, supplemented with corn according to the required effort. Oil and 'grit mix' from Vanrobaeys complete the picture.
As preparation for the races, the old and yearling racing pigeons are transported 2 to 3 times up to 20km and then head towards Arras with the large basket.
The youngsters are trained in smaller increments up to about 20km and kept there until they return home immediately; only then can they go to Arras with the local basket.
While motivation for the old pigeons used to mainly occur through traditional widowhood with stay-at-home partners, total widowhood with cocks and hens is increasingly gaining preference. This trend allows for larger numbers to race and fewer stay-at-homes to keep.
A Glimpse of the Results of 2024
- 13 x 1st Prize and 21 x 2nd Prize in 2024
- 1st Champion Speed Old and Yearling Club Moen 2024
- 4th Champion Large Middle Distance N.K.V. Kortrijk 2024
- 15th Provincial as pigeon Speed Old & Yearling KBDB West Flanders 2024 with the “803/23”
- Flew 2 x 2nd Provincial and 3 x 1st Prize in 2024 and was also 7th Provincial as pigeon Speed Young KBDB West Flanders 2023
- Bourges
- NKV Kortrijk against 1,321 young pigeons: 6-7-20-20-38-50-52-98-107-119-142-147-149-185-215-216-218-221-222-225-247-278-305-313-327-348-349-349-373-380-382-415
- Provincial 5,074 young: 11-13-42-42-81-110-113-225-266-299-375-379-381-531-618-620-622-637-643-653-716-873-962-995-1097-1197-1205-1205-1273-1290-1298-1425-1692
- ZA2 4,224 pigeons: 9-11-48-48-93-129-131-243-279-315-394-398-400-535-619-621-623-632-638-647-705-823-899-920-998
- Vierzon: 2nd, 3rd, 23rd, 48th, 63rd, 83rd, 114th, 116th, 144th, 157th, 163rd, 172nd, 211./705 37 in
- Provincial: 19., 200., 636./3534
- ZA2: 19., 183., 531./2913
- Provincial: 8.,
Championships 2023
- 1st Champion Speed Old & Yearling Club Moen
- 1st Champion Speed Young Club Moen
- 1st Champion Small Middle Distance Young Moen
- 1st Champion Carl Vermeersch
- 1st General Champion De Vooruitstrevende Duif Moen
- 2nd Champion Small Middle Distance Young West Flemish Union
- 1st as pigeon Speed Old & Yearling Club Moen
- 1st as pigeon Speed Young Club Moen
- 1st as pigeon Small Middle Distance Young Club Moen
- 7th Provincial as pigeon Young KBDB Speed
- 9th Provincial as pigeon Young KBDB Small Middle Distance
- 40th National as pigeon KBDB Small Middle Distance
- 58th National as pigeon KBDB Speed
Results 2022
- Gueret local 3rd/301 - 3rd/1444 provincial, 4th/1091 ZA2, 48th/8375 National
- 1,2,5,20,21/67 Boom (5/5)
- 1,2,3,4,21/64 Waver (5/5)
- 6,20,302/930 Montoire (3/3)
- 1,6,8/347 Arras yearlings (3/3)
- 1,6,8/508 Arras old (3/3)
- 1,29,35,149,207/432 Clermont (5/5)
- 2,7,11/147 Clermont (3/3)
- 2,3,4,5,13,17,18,21,24,33,61,115,131/352 Clermont (18 in)
- 1,15/94 Clermont (2/2)
- 1,22/128 Clermont (2/2)
Championships
- 1st champion fond young NKV Kortrijk
- 1st champion speed young Moen
- 1st champion speed young overall
- 3rd champion speed old Moen
- 3rd champion speed old overall
- 2nd champion small middle distance young Moen
- 4th champion small middle distance young overall
- 1st champion Carl Vermeersch
- 3rd overall champion De Vooruitstrevende Duif Moen
- 3rd champion “Round of Belgium” Right for All Ingooigem
Previous Years
- 3rd prov as pigeon fond young KBDB West Flanders 2016
- 1st Champion small 1/2 fond young Dottenijs 2016
- 7th prov as pigeon Speed young KBDB West Flanders 2017
- 25th nat champion Speed Young 2018
- 4th champion Inter West Flanders 2019
- 1st champion young Scheldeverbond 2018-2019
- 1st Provincial Chateaudun (Golden Slope Flight) young 2019
- 1st provincial Chateaudun yearling 2019 …