For health reasons, all pigeons from this established value in the heavy long distance are being sold. An end of a successful era in pigeon racing for Germain, but certainly a new beginning for the lucky buyers.
History
More than 25 years ago, Germain made the transition to long distance racing with the intention of peaking for the toughest races of the year. In 2011, he achieved a well-deserved national victory from Perpignan, clearly one of the highlights in Anzegem and also an extra motivation to continue building this powerhouse strain!
Germain is a born pigeon lover, as his father D’Hondt was also an avid enthusiast. When Germain married Regina, they immediately started racing pigeons in their first home, focusing on sprint events. In 1971, the couple moved to their new residence on Bouvelostraat in Gijselbrechtegem. A fun fact: the pigeons were there first! Gradually, they transitioned to longer distances, and Germain has been racing in heavy long distance for almost 30 years now. His main goal: to peak for (Inter)national races. In 2011, he won National Perpignan against 5,572 old pigeons, talk about peaking!
Pigeons are only bred from the breeders and the best flyers. The pairs are allowed to breed for about 3 days, so as soon as the second egg is laid, the eggs are removed, and they can start over. They also don't wean very early. It can even happen that the hen is taken away and that the male raises the young ones by himself. After weaning, the widowers are again alone in the loft until March 20. Then they are re-mated, and the pairs are allowed to breed for 5 days. During that period, training occurs. The old and yearlings are mixed together in the widower lofts. However, the lofts are sparsely populated, and the widowers are housed in open boxes. Germain has 4 lofts of widowers that he can use for different races. After a national race, the males get 4 weeks of rest, which can even extend to 5 or 6 weeks after very tough races.
Young pigeons that Germain sees performing well after a few races are spared. From the small half-distance, they only race with young birds. They fly 1 or 2 provincial races.
1st National Perpignan against 5572 old pigeons with BE07-3040789
The father of “The Perpignan” is the “Super Narbonne.” Both the father and mother of this top bird are of Claus breed (Wortegem-Petegem). The father is a full brother of the 1st National Perpignan of Georges Carteus.
This “Super Narbonne” was actually destined to race at Poitiers. However, neither at Bourges nor at Poitiers did he perform well in 2008. Germain kept him at home for 6 weeks and then took him to Narbonne with the following results:
- Regional out of 168: 1st
- Provincial out of 1137: 4th
- Entente Belge out of 2315: 11th
- National out of 6801: 16th
- International out of 12200: 42nd
He moved to the breeding loft, which proved to be a pure bullseye because breeding from this male is very successful – evidenced by his son “The Perpignan,” who won the 1st national in 2011.
Several brothers were also bred from the pair of the “Super Narbonne” that performed particularly well, allowing Germain to speak of the “dynasty of the Super Narbonne.” Pure gold!
“De Vooruit” BE16-3136038 – 1st provincial Narbonne 2017 and descendant of the “Super Narbonne”
De Vooruit raced among others:
- Limoges 08/07/2017:
- reg. 24/539
- Prov. 67/1.993
- Nat. 225/10.554
- Narbonne 28/07/17:
- reg. 1/64
- Prov. 1/804 with 1 hour ahead of the competition!
- Nat. 6/3.424
- Internat. 15/8.445
Father: BE09-3052935, a full brother of the 1st national Perpignan who was placed directly in the breeding loft.
GF: BE00-3012731, the Super Narbonne – founding father! (Claus bloodline)
GM: BE06-3012623, founding mother, a direct De Graeve (De Rauw-Sablon bloodline)
Mother: BE09-3174171, a De Graeve hen, sister of Paula 172/09, bred from son Isaura (113th nat. Barcelona, 23rd nat. Narbonne) x daughter Didi-Kapoen (race Etienne Devos).
Founding father NL14-1040387
This standout is a direct Batenburg – Van de Merwe NL14-1040387, grandson of “New Witbuik,” bred from a son of the 1st nat. Barcelona with a daughter of the 1st nat. Ace pigeon long distance 2012! (buy 1)
The hen with which he forms the founding pair is a direct Gyselbrecht-Leliaert BE11-4100976, bred from the son of the 2nd international Barcelona x 1st Internat. Perpignan with the “Nationaaltje” Florizoone, a daughter of the 1st nat. Barcelona from Roger Florizoone. Unfortunately, this hen is not in the total sale due to old age and laying issues...
Results 2018
- 09/06 Chateauroux
- club 610d: 27-67-108....3/6
- InterProv. 4161 d: 137-371-581-1229-1275....5/6
09/06 Brive
- Club 247 d: 17-28-42-49-62....5/5
- InterProv 1936 d: 212-367-454-489-590....5/5
- Nat. zone 3342 d: 294-483-599-657-825....5/5
- Nat. 9278 d: 9278 457-798-1033-1133-1477....5/5
09/06 Brive
- Club 114 yearlings: 8-11....2/3
- InterProv. 1065 yearlings: 157-170....2/3
- Nat Zone 1608 yearlings: 226-241....2/3
- Nat. 4383 yearlings: 352-374....2/3
29/06 Agen
- Club 104 d: 18-30....2/4
- InterProv. 998 d: 180-305....2/4
- Nat. 4512 d: 680....1/4
29/06 Agen
- Club 144 yearlings: 1-3....1/2
- InterProv. 884 yearlings: 5/22....2/2
- Nat. 4086 yearlings: 15-84....2/2
02/07 Limoges
- Club 262 d: 11-31-77....3/5
- InterProv. 2032 d: 65-332-595....3/5
- Nat. Zone 2615 d: 82-491....2/5
- Nat. 7274 d: 102-739....2/5
02/07 Limoges
- Club 172 yearlings: 20-50
07/07 Barcelona
- Club 295 d: 7-31-82....3/3
- InterProv. 1500 d: 35-180-473....3/3
- Nat. 7429 d: 106-735....2/3
- InterNat. 15700 d: 254-1801....2/3
In 2021 only limited racing due to illness:
Pau
- club 244d: 1,29 (2/2)
- prov 855d: 2,67
- National 3600d: 26,364
Agen
- club 180d: 9,12,15,31,32,52,60 (7/8)
- prov 1573d: 98,120,155,311,338,526,576
- National 7360d: 316,320,494,113,1209,2240
St. Vincent
- club 198d: 12 (1/1)
- prov 1019d: 73
- national 3040d: 180
- international 8280d: 572
Narbonne
- club 187d: 9 (1 /2)
- prov 1037d: 61
- national 5805d: 598
Narbonne yearlings
- club 136d: 10,34 (2/4)
- prov 1068d: 79
- national 5972d: 619
National top 100 in recent years
- 1st nat Perpignan
- 5th internat Perpignan
- 6th nat Narbonne
- 8th nat Cahors
- 13th and 35th nat Agen Yearlings
- 18th nat Marseille
- 20th nat Poitiers
- 21st internat Agen
- 22nd nat Limoges
- 23rd nat Orange
- 24th nat Agen
- 26th nat Pau
- 30th nat Tulle
- 40th nat Argenton
- 43rd nat Jarnac
- 50th nat Jarnac
- 52nd nat Agen
- 56th nat Marseille
- 60th nat Barcelona
- 67th nat Agen
- 71st nat Souillac
- 73rd nat Montauban
- 76th and 77th nat Pau
- 78th nat Limoges
- 79th nat Souillac
- 86th nat Libourne
- 95th nat St Vincent
- 96th nat Agen
- 100th nat Brive
Total sale
Due to pigeon dust lung and reliance on an oxygen device, it is no longer feasible for Germain and his wife to care for the colony properly. With the exception of 4 pigeons, the entire loft is being auctioned. The remaining 4 – 4100976/11, 3096594/18, 3177044/11, and 3078392/13 – will only provide a bit of daily enjoyment without much work.
