The winning blood of the indestructible Verkerk pigeons flows richly through the veins of this colony. Strong at their own loft and supplier of top pigeons to various other lofts. For the first time at auction on Pitts, some pearls from this sympathetic father/son tandem.
History
The successful tandem Jacobs W-J & Zn from Flemish Brabant's Opwijk consists of father Willy-Jan and son Jeroen. We give the floor to Willy-Jan: “The pigeon virus was passed on to us via my wife Marie-Rose's uncles, who were avid sprinters, and they ensured that there was already a loft with pigeons even before I got married. That was in 1978, and until 2006, we played Quiévrain and especially Noyon in the local area in Opwijk. At that time, my wife took care of the pigeons because my professional commitments didn’t leave enough room for it. The colony was built from pigeons from Roger Ponnet (Burst), Petrus De Coster (Meldert), and Paul Van Gucht (Merchtem), and they performed more than decently for the time we could devote to them. Jeroen became increasingly passionate about the pigeon sport, and at his urging, we decided in 2006 to make the switch to the heavy middle distance and thus also bring in reinforcements. After some research, we ended up with Gerard and Bas Verkerk (Reeuwijk – NL), who made sure that not only did more quality pigeons come to us, but they also supported us with a lot of advice and action. Since our game consists of the classic widowhood, the first pigeons were raced in 2008 on the heavy middle distance, and thanks to the Verkerk pigeons, this was already a hit from the start, resulting in multiple first and top prizes both locally and provincially.
Given the success, we have since brought in a few more pigeons from Bas and Gerard each year, supplemented with a few pigeons from Marcel Aelbrecht (Lebbeke), Koen Van Roy (Asse), and G & R Nihoul (Senzeilles). At the end of 2009, we were able to purchase one of the best racing pigeons at the total sale of Jacques PACCOU (Nieuwpoort) (which flew 7 times first prize, his brother 5 times, and his father 11 times, all on the heavy middle distance), and he turned out to be an incredible breeder, with descendants knowing how to fly one first prize after another.
Since 2018, we have been breeding together with the combination Van den Abbeel – Van Paesschen. With several highlights such as 1st National Acepigeon heavy middle distance young 2019 and 6th World Best Pigeon 2022.
System
Currently, at the start of the new season, there are around 56 widowers, 20 flying hens, and about 140 young pigeons in the lofts at Opwijk. Before the start of the racing season, the pigeons are examined by veterinarian Wim Boddaert (Oostkamp), and corrections are made if necessary.
At the beginning of April, the widowers are trained by taking them out six times between 5 to 50 km before they are entered for Quiévrain, Noyon, and small middle distance, to ultimately be ready for the first heavy middle distance flight. For the yearlings, it is important that they show they can really fly up front because that is the only way to stay on the loft.
The required basic condition is achieved by applying a well-thought-out feeding schedule, where lighter food is provided at the beginning of the week, and later in the week, more energy-rich food is given. Generally, little use is made of supplements, but upon returning home, minerals and electrolytes are always added to the drinking water.
The breeding pigeons are paired at the beginning of December and are allowed to raise two rounds of young pigeons; the widowers are paired in mid-February and may incubate the eggs for about five days before they are separated again.
The young pigeons are darkened from mid-March until about the first week of June, and from the end of June, they are lighted. We try to let the hens participate in the four national flights, while we are a bit more patient with the cocks and are already satisfied if they fly 1 national flight. Their moment of truth comes the following year as widowers, where selection is strictly enforced.
Highlights
- 6th National Acepigeon World Best Pigeon Middle Distance 2022 with “Willem-Jan”
- 12th Nat. Champ. KBDB Small Distance Old 2011
- 2nd Prov. Champ. KBDB Small Distance Old 2010
- 3rd Prov. Acep. KBDB Allround YB 2022 with “Olivia”
- 3rd Prov. Champ. KBDB Heavy Middle Distance Yearbirds 2013
- 2nd Prov. Acep. KBDB Small Distance Old 2010 with "Nero"
- 4th Prov. Acep. KBDB Small Distance Yearbirds 2009 with "Nero"
16-2148511 “Greg”
Reserve Olympiad Pigeon 2018 Cat D
Wins 4 times top 126 National level & 8 times 1/100
5 x 1st prize
1st Provincial Gueret
1st FCD Chateauroux
1st Bourges
1st Argenton
1st Noyon
18-2133420 “Romelu”
20th Best Argenton pigeon KBDB 3 prizes PIPA-Rankings 2021
20-2019050 “Always There”
66th Best Yearling PIPA-Rankings 8 prices on national flights 2021
20-2019154 “Willem-Jan”
6th National Acepigeon FCI World Best Pigeon Middle Distance 2022
4 x 1st prize
Vierzon 1/ 645
4/ 7433
Orleans 1/ 1088
30/21087
Sermaises 1/ 709
5/ 1682
Noyon 1/ 289
Orleans 2/ 132
9/ 1824
Noyon 2/ 399
Issoudun 8/ 720
12/ 1126
Argenton 18/ 1140
Bourges 71/ 4401
22-2091526 “Olivia”
3rd Provincial Acepigeon All-Round YB KBDB 2022
Noyon 3/ 522
Bourges 23/ 3555
161/23846
Noyon 4/ 375
Noyon 63/ 2056
Orleans 12/ 315
Sermaises 84/ 1457
Chateau 176/ 2334
Orleans 547/ 7093
21-2026461
27th National Acepigeon All-Round YB KBDB 2021
(Bred by Jacobs W-J & Zn/ Raced by Van Den Abbeel – Van Paesschen)
21-2026462 “Blue Azzuro”
20th National Acepigeon YB KBDB GMD 2021
23rd Best YB National KBDB flights PIPA-Rankings 4 prizes 2021
(Bred by Jacobs W-J & Zn/ Raced by Van Den Abbeel – Van Paesschen)
19-4050583 “Remco”
1st National Acepigeon YB KBDB GMD 2019
Chateauroux I 1/ 644
Prov. 4/ 5165
Chateauroux II Prov 4/ 3930
Argenton (Zone) 18/ 6657
Nat. 70/23258
(50 % Jacobs W-J & Zn/ Raced & bred by Van Den Abbeel – Van Paesschen)
18-4002185 “Jolien”
Full Sister Remco
5 times 1st prize
Fay-Aux-Loges Br.U. 1/ 387
Chevrainvilliers 1/ 207
Chevrainvilliers 1/ 135
Chateauroux 1/ 104
Prov. 2/ 1107
Argenton 1/ 97
Nat. 16/ 5158
Bourges 4/ 160
Chateauroux Prov. 17/ 374
Vierzon Prov. 22/ 1055
Argenton Prov. 43/ 3446
Already mother to 20-4041293 “Nikki”
Argenton Prov. 1/ 1752
Nat. 7/ 9851
La Souterraine Prov. 2/ 592
Nat. 5/ 3084
Sermaises 8/ 1709
Bourges Prov. 12/ 2373
(50 % Jacobs W-J & Zn/ Raced & bred by Van Den Abbeel – Van Paesschen)
22-4014550
28th National Acepigeon YB KBDB GMD 2022
(50 % Jacobs W-J & Zn/ Raced & bred by Van Den Abbeel – Van Paesschen)
Noyon 3/ 349
Chateauroux 8/ 4304
Bourges 333/23847
Argenton 68/ 3135
Noyon 158/ 2188
Results 2022 Old/Yearlings:
- 17/04 Noyon
Club 318 old/yearlings: 5/8/18/19/21/24/39/50…
VNVB 2026 old/yearlings: 37/56/123/125/130/143/211/253…
Club 143 yearlings: 2/20/21/24/26/37/38…
VNVB 1175 yearlings: 12/153/156/162/165…
- 24/04 Noyon
Club 383 old/yearlings: 5/10/14/19/29/50/54/56/59/75…
VNVB 2678 old/yearlings: 31/45/59/80/164/314/321/327/373/473…
Club 187 yearlings: 2/5/16/25/26/29…
VNVB 1479 yearlings: 13/20/132/188/190/237…
- 30/04 Ecouen
Club 437 old/yearlings: 1/2/3/5/17/18/21/22/32/36/51/58/59/66/67/68…
Club 174 old: 1/2/3/5/9/12/29/30/32/33…
Club 263 yearlings: 9/10/15/17/27/35/45/46/48/65…
Hafo Dender old/yearlings 3631: 21/85/86/91/187/190/206/209/271/297/422…
Hafo Dender old 1622: 8/43/44/49/97/105/229…
Hafo Dender Yearlings 2009: 92/102/141/148/211/260…
07/05 Sermaises
Club 556 old/yearlings: 10/16/20/22/32/33/43/45/46/51/62/64/67…
Club 249 old: 5/11/13/21/30/31/32/36/41…
Club 307 yearlings: 9/17/18/23/24/27/48/55/56/62…
Hafo Dender old/yearlings 3923: 55/73/87/89/121/123/144/147/148/169/203…
Hafo Dender old 1865: 27/48/50/78/113/116/121/156/178/220/224…
Hafo Dender Yearlings 2058: 37/57/58/68/69/78/157/186/188/215…
- 14/05 Orleans
Club 310 old/yearlings: 1/2/6/8/15/22/24/28/29/35…
Club 153 old: 1/3/5/12/15/19/23/25/28/32…
Club 157 yearlings: 1/8/12/14/18/21/22…
Hafo Dender old/yearlings 4489: 9/18/65/91/191/278/283/323/418…
Hafo Dender old 2401: 5/30/42/138/163/220/295…
Hafo Dender Yearlings 2088: 9/106/146/163/224…
VLB HEN ANT o/j 1088: 1/4/13/16/36/50/52/56/57/75/84/88/90/97/98…
VLB HEN ANT old 660: 1/5/7/25/28/39/48/52/70…
VLB HEN ANT yearlings 428: 2/21/27/29/39/42/46…
- 21/05 Vierzon
Club 645 old: 1/15/26/30/41/42/49/51/91/121/134/185… (12/14)
FCD 2248 old: 2/43/82/99/156/157/176/186/317/449/495/663… (12/14)
FVOV-OVV 7433 old: 4/102/223/282/417/418/477/505/881/1314… (12/14)
Club 499 yearlings: 1/4/6/12/13/14/27/32/42/45/47/62/63/73… (17/28)
FCD 1631 yearlings: 5/22/37/61/62/64/109/156/211/222/236/298… (15/28)
FVOV-OVV 4973 yearlings: 16/58/90/162/163/165/331/463/593… (16/28)
- 28/05 Bourges
Club 823 old: 7/17/19/40/63/68/77/101/170/171… (10/14)
FCD 2495 old: 19/53/56/141/215/235/273/348/522/523… (10/14)
Prov. 4155 old: 55/181/190/350/514/564/618/780… (10/14)
Zone 4401 old: 14/66/71/186/303/330/392/544/867/869… (10/14)
Nat. 33410 old: 200/818/857/1723/2704/2976/3386… (10/14)
Club 682 yearlings: 1/8/46/56/79/95/106/107/114… (14/23)
FCD 2421 yearlings: 10/45/190/219/315/359… (14/23)
Prov. 3866 yearlings: 42/143/450/498/712/791/891… (11/23)
Zone 3869 yearlings: 10/56/246/294/431/502/576/578… (11/23)
Nat. 24221 yearlings: 144/55/2122/2418/3429… (11/23)
- 11/06 Sermaises
Club 172 old/yearlings: 4/9/10/11/13/21/28/32… (17/37)
Club 68 old: 4/9/10/11/16/22… (6/19)
Club 112 yearlings: 4/11/16/21/22/23… (10/18)
Hafo Dender 1682 old/yearlings: 5/64/66/70/85/115/144/178/216… (26/37)
Hafo Dender 557 old: 2/20/22/24/40/52/78/116… (14/19)
Hafo Dender 1134 Yearlings: 59/113/166/195… (12/18)
VLB HEN ANT 709 o/j: 1/23/25/28/37/47/54/69/83/98… (26/37)
VLB HEN ANT 251 old: 1/7/9/11/16/17/29… (14/19)
VLB HEN ANT 467 yearlings: 26/48/65/75/89/93… (12/18)
- 19/06 Noyon
Club 191 old/yearlings: 1/2/8/10/16/19/20/21/23/25/26/27… (21/48)
VNVB 618 old/yearlings: 1/3/11/14/32/37/39/40/42/55/58/59… (28/48)
Club 99 yearlings: 1/2/5/6/8/9/10/11/13/17/18/20… (17/29)
VNVB 361 yearlings: 1/3/6/12/15/16/17/18/31/42… (21/29)
- 26/06 Issoudun
Club 184 old: 1/5/13/16/23/25/26/34… (11/18)
FCD 720 old: 1/8/27/39/76/93/97… (13/18)
Prov. 1126 old: 2/12/56/76/134/169/180/268… (10/18)
Zone 1070 old: 4/12/42/59/114/137/142/197… (9/18)
Nat. 8151 old: 29/117/365/471/805/981… (10/18)
Club 286 yearlings: 5/7/25/58/60/84… (6/16)
FCD 1054 yearlings: 12/15/81/185/188/328… (6/16)
Prov. 1790 yearlings: 11/14/152/443/453… (5/16)
Zone 1758 yearlings: 12/18/108/275/283… (5/16)
Nat. 12349 yearlings: 107/128/939… (5/16)
- 03/07 Noyon
Club 192 old/yearlings: 3/6/7/11/13/24/31… (13/42)
VNVB 707 old/yearlings: 4/18/19/36/46/79/107… (13/42)
Club 109 yearlings: 2/4/6/9/15/16… (8/24)
VNVB 419 yearlings: 3/10/18/34… (8/24)
- 09/07 Gueret
Club 180 old: 2/11/12/14/15/22/23… (13/16)
FCD 657 old: 10/34/39/67/70/92/94… (14/16)
Prov. 994 old: 31/78/92/161… (8/16)
Zone 1144 old: 10/46/56/105/108/145/146/208… (8/16)
Nat. 8375 old: 113/374/428/830/876… (8/16)
Club 231 yearlings: 10/13/28/30/40/46… (9/20)
FCD 1069 yearlings: 85/91/167/175… (8/20)
Prov. 1638 yearlings: 159/180/262/267… (8/20)
Zone 1878 yearlings: 134/148/253/266/315… (7/20)
Nat. 12208 yearlings: 867/970/1632/1684… (7/20)
- 16/07 Orleans
Club 186 old/yearlings: 4/13/15/20/24/25/35… (13/34)
Club 116 yearlings: 3/16/17/30/32… (6/19)
Hafo Dender old/yearlings 980: 17/51/67/87/105/106… (13/34)
Hafo Dender old 351: 20/27/32/60… (8/15)
Hafo Dender Yearlings 629: 10/68/69… (10/19)
VLB HEN ANT o/j 380: 6/14/19/25/31/32/56… (15/34)
VLB HEN ANT old 117: 4/6/8/21/29… (8/15)
VLB HEN ANT yearlings 263: 4/22/23/52… (11/19)
- 23/07 Orleans
Club 132 old: 2/5/20/22/32… (7/12)
FVOV-OVV 1824 old: 9/48/279/285… (7/12)
Club 138 yearlings: 3/5/12/13/14/19/20… (10/12)
FVOV-OVV 2017 yearlings: 13/33/105/107/122/272… (10/12)
- 30/07 Bourges
Club 113 old: 4/6/13/15/16/18… (8/11)
FCD 481 old: 22/27/51/55/66… (8/11)
Prov. 1278 old: 30/42/94/105/141… (8/11)
Zone 897 old: 37/49/90/101… (8/11)
Nat.7606 old: 200/251/513/566/772… (8/11)
Club 159 yearlings: 16/26/27/30/37… (6/13)
FCD 856 yearlings: 75/145/147/159… (9/13)
Prov. 2051 yearlings: 124/265/270/297/326… (9/13)
Zone 1305 yearlings: 114/213/216/234… (5/13)
Nat. 10366 yearlings: 669/1354/1388/1492… (7/13)
Results 2022 Young
- 26/06 Noyon
Club 375 young: 4/5/14/22/26/27/28/29/44/45… (20/57)
VNVB 2175 young: 53/69/155/195/250/251/252/253/339… (20/57)
- 03/07 Noyon
Club 473 young: 1/3/13/19/20/29/30/32/33/38/80… (23/59)
VNVB 2056 young: 5/9/37/63/66/105/109/111/114/143…(20/59)
- 09/07 Sermaises
Club 726 young: 8/33/38/55/67/74/75/87… (18/56)
Hafo Dender 2114 young: 20/95/104/136/165/184/185/219… (18/56)
VLB HEN ANT 335 young: 5/19/21/24/30/32/33/38… (18/56)
- 16/07 Orleans
Club 436 young: 2/22/36/38/42/48/49… (10/38)
Hafo Dender 1565 young: 5/51/79/86/96/124/125… (13/38)
VLB HEN ANT 315 young: 1/8/9/10/12/20/21/45/50… (14/38)
- 23/07 Orleans
Club 446 young: 2/3/10/31/33/36/47… (18/37)
FVOV-OVV 7093 young: 14/39/125/464/492/547/708… (17/37)
- 30/07 Bourges
Club 683 young: 3/8/34/55/91… (9/23)
FCD 2456 young: 6/19/75/133/264/530… (9/23)
Prov. 3555 young: 10/23/84/168/373… (9/23)
Zone 3848 young: 13/28/127/226/438… (6/23)
Nat.23847 young: 68/161/646/1151/2245… (6/23)
- 07/08 Noyon
Club 543 young: 1/3/4/5/8/1011/14/16/24/26/37/39/41/46… (29/78)
VNVB 2232 young: 15/20/35/45/64/99/119/158/161/200… (27/78)
- 14/08 Noyon
Club 522 young: 1/3/4/5/1316/17/24/28/29/41/42/54/56… (24/75)
VNVB 1607 young: 13/21/23/42/92/104/107/135/156… (21/75)
- 20/08 Sermaises
Club 376 young: 9/47/48/52/53/62/70… (14/26)
Hafo Dender 1744 young: 81/290/293/328/339/375… (11/26)
VLB HEN ANT 369 young: 27/85/88/103… (7/26)
- 21/08 Argenton
Club 675 young: 36/119/158/162/177… (5/8)
FCD 2191 young: 135/384/511/540/593… (5/8)
Prov. 3065 young: 183/528/716/757/833… (5/8)
Zone 3135 young: 167/515/695/724… (4/8)
Nat.22869 young: 1287/3491… (5/8)
- 21/08 Noyon
Club 461 young: 5/16/25/27/59/62/64/67/82… (14/43)
VNVB 1314 young: 28/82/103/112/202/205/209/214… (12/43)
- 27/08 Sermaises
Club 295 young: 4/7/10/11/15/16/18/33/34/35/41… (28/59)
Hafo Dender 1457 young: 51/57/64/66/81/82/84/146/147/148… (28/59)
VLB HEN ANT 279 young: 11/13/14/15/20/21/22/33/34/35… (23/59)