Introducing this tandem is like walking through an open door. They have been at the top for years, from sprint to small fond, producing several top pigeons across various lofts. Last year, Serge and Kirsten conquered the highly coveted title of King in Union Antwerp, after yet another extraordinarily strong season with no less than 38 first prizes! Again this year, it was very tough in Schilde!
Serge Van Elsacker (64) began his adventure in pigeon racing back in 1968, at the age of 10. His story: “It was rather by chance: my parents took over a business in Merksem that had a pigeon loft with accompanying pigeons. The previous owner had passed away, and his son took care of the pigeons. I asked to keep a few of those pigeons, and the train had left the station! No one in my family had pigeons, so I had no help, but the enthusiasts of ‘De Velodroom’ in Schoten, the association I was a member of, supported me as best as they could with advice and action.
I tried to compete in sprints, but I didn’t know much about pigeons, and it didn’t go very well… When my parents moved to Schilde in 1973, I got to know Guilliaume Ducheyne there, and a bit later William Geerts conquered Schilde, and I learned from both how to handle the pigeons. A teacher of mine at ‘Piva’ in Antwerp, namely Corneel De Haes from Wemmel, taught me the “tricks” of the trade. In 1976, I was first among the champions in Schilde (behind William Geerts), and since then we’ve won something every year, so now for over 45 years.”
Loft Composition and Breeding Structure
Serge and his wife Kirsten focus mainly on sprint racing with the young pigeons – preferably Noyon, “I feed too much for Quiévrain,” says Serge – half fond, great half fond, and occasionally some fond races (up to Souillac).
The old base at Vanelsacker-Jepsen comes from Frans Stoces (Winterslag), Karel Meulemans (Arendonk), Gebr. Janssen (Arendonk), Karel Schellens (Kessel), and about 15 years ago, this was supplemented with the pigeons from Gaby Vandenabeele. Each year pigeons are also exchanged with Bernd Brune from Wesel (Germany), mainly pigeons from Gunter Prange, Louis De Leus, and our own old breed. Through Leon Van Rijn, pigeons from the breed of Willen De Bruijn have also arrived in the past two years, from which the first crossing products have proven to be very good! Good pigeons also came from Norbert and Stefan Ally, Rudy De Saer from Ruiselede, and a top pigeon from Marnick De Neve out of his Vandenabeele line.
Total Widowhood
Each year, around 50 pairs of old and yearlings are ready to play total widowhood. They are paired at the beginning of December.
About 80 young pigeons from the first round and the same amount from the second round are darkened from March 21 to June 21. Sometimes they are given extra light from 5 am to 10 pm until the final flight. The young pigeons are carefully trained to limit losses. Due to the many birds of prey in the area (sparrowhawk, hawk, peregrine falcon), the young pigeons are very scared when they come out. The lofts are always open so that the young can escape inside during an attack. Still, some years it happens that they become so fearful that they don’t even dare to go outside. They are then forcibly kept outside for a very short period...
Because of the bird of prey attacks, Serge and Kirsten can rarely start with the young as it should be. Thus, the focus is mainly on playing with the old pigeons. These are paired on March 20 or April 1, and during the 10/15-day brood, they are trained. First the males, and when they are breeding well, the females are given their turn. The old pigeons are neither darkened nor given extra light, only in the 2020 season was this last measure taken due to the “abandonment” of the flights.
Serge: “Our old pigeons are all raced in the first flights as much as possible. After that comes the first culling, and pigeons are kept back and even removed. The old ones are delivered in 4 steps: 5, 20, 40, and 110 km. Since no young pigeons are kept that haven’t been trained, we are somewhat less cautious with the old and yearlings; these pigeons all have sufficient experience.”
Care
The beautiful loft accommodation has been roughly the same for about 30 years, with a few minor changes. They consist of solid garden lofts with a gable roof, without aviaries.
As the year progresses, seasonal mixtures are used in Schilde (breeding, molting, widowhood) and all feed came this year from Ronny Van Tilburg. All pigeons actually always receive more than enough. The racers are not specifically boosted but always get “good” food. Only for the heavy half fond and fond races is a slightly richer feed given on the last day.
All by-products come from the company “Röhnfried” and have been for over 33 years. The most used products are Blitzform, Avidress plus, BT Amin Forte, Mumm, and Gervit-W. The loft is also sprayed daily with ‘Bio Air Fresh,’ good for the airways. Fresh grit and ‘Mineral Expert,’ also from Röhnfried, are provided daily.
Three times a year, Serge checks with Belgica - De Weerd: in March before the season, in September after the season, and in December before pairing. In case of any problems, immediate contact is usually made with Domien Van Acker and Jan Van Wanrooy (Belgica De Weerd). The young pigeons are vaccinated twice against Paramyxo, the second time mixed with vaccine against pox. All breeders and racers are also vaccinated annually against PMV, the racers also against pox.
Titles 2023
- King pigeon club Schilde (80 members)
- 2nd king Kempische fond club (140 members)
- 2nd champion half fond Union Antwerp
- 1st Champion Fond yearlings Union Antwerp
- 1st Champion fond yearlings Kempische fond club
- 1st, 2nd & 3rd As pigeon half fond Old Union Antwerp
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 5th As pigeon old half fond Schilde
- 1st As pigeon yearlings Schilde half fond
- 1st As pigeon yearlings fond Kempische fond club
- 1st As pigeon Old Fond Schilde
- 1st As pigeon yearlings fond Schilde
- 1st Champion fond Schilde yearlings
- 14th national champion fond yearlings Kbdb
- 30 first prizes (including doubles)
- Twice the fastest provincial half fond against 3800 and 6000 pigeons
Championships 2022
- 1st King Union Antwerp 2022 (303 members)!!
- 1st King Kempische Fondclub (140 members)
- 1st King ‘De Eendracht’ Schilde (90 members)
- 1st Overall Champion Half Fond ‘De Eendracht’
- 1st Champion Yearlings Half Fond ‘De Eendracht’
- 1st Champion Great Half Fond old pigeons Kempische Fondclub
- 1st + 2nd + 3rd As pigeon Half Fond old ‘De Eendracht’
- 1st + 2nd As pigeon Half Fond Yearlings ‘De Eendracht’
- 2nd As pigeon Yearlings Half Fond Union West
- 2nd Champion Great Half Fond Yearlings Kempische Fondclub
- 2nd Champion Old Half Fond ‘De Eendracht’
- 2nd Overall Champion Half Fond Union Antwerp
- 2nd Overall Champion Great Half Fond ‘De Eendracht’
- 3rd + 6th As pigeon Half Fond Old Union Antwerp West
- 38 first prizes in 2022
Championships 2021
- 19th National ace pigeon great middle distance Kbdb yearlings
- 14th National champion Yearlings long distance Kbdb
- 1st Champion old birds middle distance Antwerp Union West
- 2nd Champion yearlings middle distance Antwerp Union West
- 1st Champion long distance yearlings Kempische fond club (130 members)
- 1st Champion middle distance old birds Schilde (90 members)
- 1st Champion middle distance yearlings Schilde
- 1st Champion great middle distance yearlings Schilde
- 1st Champion long distance yearlings Schilde
- 1st Ace Middle distance old birds Schilde
- 1st and 2nd ace middle distance yearlings Schilde
- 1st and 2nd Ace long distance yearlings Schilde
- 1st Ace great middle distance old birds Schilde
- 1st Ace long distance yearlings Kempische fond club
- 1st Ace great middle distance old birds Kempische fond club
- 2nd Ace pigeon Antwerp Union West middle distance Old birds
- 3rd King Antwerp Union
- 2nd Ace great middle distance Schilde yearlings
- 4th Ace great middle distance Kempische fond club yearlings
- 3rd Champion long distance yearling Antwerp Union
Championships 2020
Kempische fond club (130 members):
- 1st Champion great half fond old pigeons
- 1st Champion great half fond yearlings
- 1st as pigeon great half fond old BE18-6051127
- 2nd as pigeon great half fond old BE18-6051261
- 3rd as pigeon great half fond old BE17-6067114
- 2nd as pigeon great half fond yearlings BE19-6055229
- 3rd as pigeon great half fond yearlings BE19-6055092
- 4th as pigeon great half fond yearlings BE19-6055277
- 3rd as pigeon great half fond young BE20-6227081
- 3rd king Kempische fond club 2020 (no fond flight played)
Union Antwerp:
- 1st overall champion great half fond
- 1st champion 1st designated great half fond
- 3rd champion first 2 designated great half fond
- 4th as pigeon small half fond BE17-6067224
Pigeon club Eendracht Schilde (90 members): King pigeon club Schilde 2020
- 1st champion small fond old
- 1st champion small fond yearlings
- 1st overall champion small fond
- 2nd overall champion half fond
- 2nd champion old half fond
- 2nd champion yearlings half fond
- 4th champion young half fond
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd as pigeon small fond old
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th as pigeon small fond yearlings
- 1st, 4th, 5th as pigeon half fond yearlings
- 2nd as pigeon half fond young
- 2nd as pigeon small fond young
Furthermore also:
- 1st Best pigeon of Belgium over 7 national great half fond races Pipa ranking (BE18-6051127)
- 1st Best pigeon of Belgium over 7 national great half fond races KBDB (BE18-6051127)
- 2nd Best pigeon of Belgium over 8 national great half fond races Pipa ranking (BE18-6051127)
- 9th Best pigeon of Belgium over 8 national great half fond races Pipa ranking (BE18-6051261)
- 26th national as pigeon all-round young pigeons KBDB 2020
- 16th national champion half fond KBDB 2020
