With a heavy heart, Raf Van Themsche bids farewell to his life's work. His health has let him down and no longer allows him to play with pigeons; at least not at the highest level as we were used to from Raf… In 2023, there was no breeding, with the exception of about 20 late summer youngsters, of which around 15 remain today. Raf will keep these to avoid being completely without pigeons. Thus, one of the best West Flemish colonies of the past decades goes under the auction hammer, primarily males and only a handful of females that passed Raf's extremely strict selection. This is the only chance to acquire something from this strong strain!
History
In the smallest district of Waregem, just a few meters from the banks of the Leie, stands the splendid farmhouse of the Van Themsche family. As we drive onto the property, we cannot shake the idea that time has stood still a bit here. The farming profession was innate to Raf, and more than half a century of hard work has left its mark, both on the farm and on the man himself…
Pigeon sport was his greatest passion, and for years, efforts were made to perform at a high level. However, there was too little time left, and therefore pigeon sport had to take a back seat for about 20 years due to busy professional commitments. Around 2005, a restart was finally made. In a simple and extremely traditional way, without any luxuries but with ample space in the airy lofts under the roofs of the large barns.
For this restart, Raf sought the best from West Flanders, and through Noël Claerhout, he obtained descendants of the world-famous “Wittenbuik” from Dentergems master Gaby Vandenabeele. From Eric Honoré came the black strain of top flyer “Zorro,” and soon serious results were also achieved with the pigeons from another iconic loft, namely Antoon and Hilde Reynaert from Passendale. Their world lines of “de Schicht” and “de Figo” also thrived well in Sint-Eloois-Vijve and produced various true top pigeons for Raf.
A heavy fall a few years ago initially threw a spanner in the works for Raf, but ultimately, he emerged even stronger because he could rely on the help of friend Bart Houfflyn. From then on, games would be played under the tandem Van Themsche-Houfflyn. Raf could focus on the majority of the care of the pigeons. Bart took care of the clocking and was a very helpful assistant with the paperwork and pedigrees. The PAS system also provided an easy solution.
Emphasis on the young pigeon play
For the young pigeon play, about 180 were weaned, with the intention of bringing around 100 to the start of the young pigeon season. From the moment of weaning, the sexes were kept as separate as possible, with the females going up into the loft and the males staying below. There was also an effort to pair the young pigeons with older partners, preferably before the first training flights began. Just before the clocking, these were then shown to encourage motivation.
Feeding and care
For checks and vaccinations, veterinarian Pascal Lanneau was called upon. The breeders were consistently kept as close to nature as possible in the spacious aviaries available to them. Only a worm treatment 'for safety' was generally applicable. Natural products such as garlic juice and apple cider vinegar were used to help keep the pigeons in good health, and otherwise, the knife was drawn quickly and mercilessly. Supplements such as Aviol, 4-oils from Herbots, and sprouted seeds made frequent appearances on the menu for the racing pigeons. The young pigeons were kept trichomoniasis-free through “yellow drops.”
The feeding method at the Van Themsche household knows little secrecy or complicated schedules: to great satisfaction, Vanrobaeys has been fed for years. A heavy mix of sport and breeding was given at home, followed by switching to a lighter mix with purification or super diet. Leading up to the clocking, the feed was again increased, especially for the males. The females were generally kept a bit shorter.
Some nice results
1st As Pigeon KBDB long distance W-Vl. 2011
1st Provincial La Souterraine 2009
1st Provincial Gueret 2009
1st & 2nd Provincial Blois 2016
2nd Prov. As Pigeon KBDB W-Vl. 2008 long distance young
2nd As Pigeon long distance KBDB W-Vl.
3rd Prov. As Pigeon KBDB W-Vl. Grand half distance young 2009
3rd Prov. As Pigeon KBDB W-Vl. 2008
4th Prov. As Pigeon KBDB W-Vl. long distance young 2009
5th Prov. As Pigeon KBDB W-Vl. Grand half distance young 2008
5th As Pigeon long distance KBDB W-Vl.
8th Prov. As Pigeon KBDB W-Vl. Grand half distance young 2009
And what do you think of the top year 2016!
Blois Provincial (Guldensporenvlucht): 5364 pigeons
1,2,4,6,7,10,14,16,24,25,45,46,58,77…
Clermont 348 pigeons
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,18,19,20,21,29,30…
Argenton Provincial: 4595 pigeons
2,4,9,10,27,35,47,48,49,56,62,72…
Chateauroux Provincial: 2791 pigeons
14,20,34,37,67,74,89,91…
La Souterraine Provincial: 3876 pigeons
19,34,48,134,151,157...
Results 2022 (no breeding took place in 2023)
09-07-22 Clermont 183km
10, 11, 13, 25, 28, 30, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 48, 49, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 92, 95, 102, 103, 104, 105, 112, 114, 116, 127, 128, 137, 138, 141, 145...
16-07-22 Clermont 183km
1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39, 45, 46, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 62, 63, 71, 72,…
24-07-22 Montoire 393km
2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 37, 82, 83, 87, 88, 89, 96, 108, 121, 132, 144, 151, 175, 176, 185, 191, 217, 249, 250,…
06-08-22 Pontoise 221km
1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 38, 41, 42, 46, 47, 48, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 68, 69, 85, 89, 92, 93, 104, 105, 110, 111, 115, 119, 130,…
21-08-22 Argenton
33, 54, 115, 219, 248, 256, 272, 304, 351,…
03-09-22 Clermont 183km
1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 22, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 48, 50, 53, 55, 56, 67, 72, 74