By Greg McKnight
gregmcknight92804@msn.com
Anaheim, California USA

My experience for more that 50 years has given me insight on breeding and maintaining a strong breeding loft to carry into the future without fear of deterioration, one of the key elements to a continuous winning formula is to maintain the eye colors. All the Champions inspect the head when handling the birds and comment about this or that and when the eye is such, the comment is always positive. So with that said the beholder sees this as a positive. This naturally has been my observation since the beginning of my career that the mentors are looking at something in the eye for what ever reason. The old time flyers would always make a statement about the eyes like brilliant, sparkling, rainbow colors, violet, green or fish eyed, faded, dull, washed out, bold etc. even when Piet DeWeerd would view the birds he would pick a colorful type eye as the best of the loft. The masters always looked at the faces and expression of the birds and the eye color was a defining tool used to pick out the potential candidates for the future stock loft. I’ve followed this self taught method over the years and can say it is one of the keys to continue with a positive breeding program.

I’ve attached some eye pictures from my colony and many of these pictures were taken when only 5 months old, these are all 2015 bred and bird #737 is my back to back winner in the Canadian Empire Classic 300 & 500 km races. Many of these have been sold and some are in my own stock loft to carry my loft into the next decade of breeding. These photos are to give you a sample of colors needed to improve and perpetuate your program into the future. I won’t get into the circles or all the eye-sign jargon that the experts all know.  My purpose is simply advising you all to keep the colors strong and pigmentation bold in your program.  Try to have all the eye colors in your stock loft of birds and blend when necessary for paring up. The proven flyer from 300 miles is always tested in the stock loft no matter the strength of color, but I would always pair with a bolder colored eye when compensating. The eye colors are also a way of paring your future candidates, just like body and wing along with size. The one thing we know of the consistent 300 mile winner is that bird is aerodynamic and can stay in the air for multiple hours, so the balance is correct with this candidate, so much less compensation is needed for paring this particular bird, but the eye color can be starting to deteriorate and you can mate appropriately if you have the strong strength in colors to do so.

Enjoy the eye pictures and continue to learn about this great sport. Thank you all for your kind comments about my ongoing articles.

Yours in the sport,

Greg McKnight

Belgian Champion Ulrich Lemmens, the owner and breeder of the world famous top breeding and top racing cock ‘The Gust’ winner of 1^st National C KBDB Limoges, 1^st Provincial KBDB Bourges! He is father, grandfather, great-grandfather of several national and provincial winners such as ‘Jozefien’; 1^st National Tulle 14,307 pigeons (673km). Ulrich Lemmens has years of top results on all distances at national, provincial and local levels! Young and ambitious, the holder of new ideas within the pigeon sport and fearless, this is the man who is offering some exclusive and superb birds in this coming Internet auction.

Birds are now posted at www.Herbots.be! Bid with confidence!

Auction runs starts May 20^th and runs to May 30^th.

John Gallagher and Drew Lesofski standing in front of the Flamingo International Challenge Race loft in Brooksville, Florida.

I had the pleasure of meeting John Gallagher on a recent visit to Spring Hill, Florida. I had an opportunity to visit his private lofts and of course, the Flamingo International Challenge (www.flamingoic.com) race loft in Brooksville.

The modern Flamingo International Challenge Loft in Brooksville, Florida. The loft is 110 feet long and 12 feet wide with 11 individual sections.

The meeting with John was arranged by his friend, the well-known auctioneer, Charlie Barbiere one of John’s best friends. It was John and Charlie who envisioned a top one loft race and Charlie came up with the Flamingo name. Due to family illness, Charlie had to return to New Jersey and John followed the dream and has built this race into the success it is now.

I’d never met John before but you could tell the moment I got into his rig that he was all business and only had pigeons on his mind. We met at the GHC club house and he we drove the short distance out to the Flamingo loft. WOW! The loft is more impressive than one can imaging. It sits commandingly on 5-acres wide open acres with plenty of room for the birds and handlers to come watch their birds on race days.

View from the front door looking down the full length of the hallways that runs in front of the 11 race sections.

The loft is 110 feet long and 12 feet wide with 11 individual sections each having a wire drop down floor. Each section opens into a 4 foot hallway and each has a sliding door into the adjoining section for easy maintenance and management. An aspect that was revolutionary when the Flamingo started was to have a standalone quarantine loft. Today, they their quarantine loft is 20 x 20 and has all the modern amenities you would want in such a facility.

Automatic vents are used to regulate air flow thought the Flamingo International Challenge loft.

Let me tell you, the entire loft was spotless, and clean. John said that after each season, the Flamingo International Challenge race has been operating for sixteen consecutive years, the entire loft, inside and out is power washed and given a fresh coat of white paint. Not only is it good for ascetics but it also is good for the next years birds to enter a clean environment in order to give the new batch of birds the best possible start they can get.

It was evident to me walking through the race loft that every aspect of husbandry was incorporated into the loft. From the drop down wire floors, proper ventilation, a quarantine area, feed area, access to clean water, and plenty of elbowroom for the birds and handlers.

Cleaning doors under the landing board. This allows the managers to clean the loft from the outside efficiently.

John Gallagher and Jim Milligan run the race and have built up quite a reputation as putting on one of the best one loft races in the country. This is evident in the number of out of area birds the Flamingo attracts from every corner of North America.

Each of the 11 race sections is power washed and painted each year prior to any new birds being introduced to the loft.

The Flamingo is a straightforward race.  They fly a three race series starting with a 150 then a 250 and then the final finally from 350 miles. There is an average speed component to the Flamingo at no additional cost to the breeder. To qualify for average speed, a breeder’s bird must clock in all three races. About as simply and straightforward as it can be.

John was kind enough to show me around and also took me into the Flamingo’s onsite office. Make sure John or Jim put away the dogs, they will eat you! The office is where Jim does all the website updates and is equipped like a modern emergency room, just in case a bird needs medical care.

View from inside of the race sections.

I really got the impression that the  Flamingo International Challenge race has been built with the passion only a true pigeon man has; a will to succeed and a desire to do what’s right for the birds and breeder’s.

View from the hallway into one of the 11 race sections.

In this day and age when one loft races are here today and go tomorrow, the Flamingo International Challenge has proven it is the race every fancier desires to win!

Memorial Day is a solemn reminder that the freedom we enjoy as Americans was bought and paid for by the ultimate sacrifice of men and women in uniform willing to fight for our country.

Thank you to all who have given their last full measure of devotion for our country.

the Loft Report

Drew Lesofski visiting JEDD’s.

I always make a point to visit JEDD’s when I’m in the area because it has a huge selection where you can find just about everything you could or would want for your pigeons. There are always fanciers in the store and I’ve picked up a trick or two from my numerous conversations there.

JEDD’s is the largest distributor of pigeon supplies in North America and is located in Anaheim, California. It was started by Dick Ricker in 1988 and is a family run business. JEDD’s, is an acronym with each letter representing the first name of each individual member of the family; (J)anice Ricker, (E)d Lemoine, (D)onna Lemoine and (D)ick Ricker….JEDD’s.

Pigeon feed display at JEDD’s.

A visit to JEDD’s is not complete without chatting with Greg McKnight, writer of the popular Rambling Memories articles on the Loft Report, one of the most knowledgeable fanciers I know…not counting Larry Tomlin, but who’s keeping track…

There’s always someone at JEDD’s!

You can visit JEDD’s website by click here.

Blue Velvet’ dam of 5 OLR winners!

During my visit to California recently, I had lunch with Greg McKnight and he mentioned a bird he bred named “Blue Velvet” and that she had bred a few good ones for him.

I know that Greg and his racing partner, Dick Mellinger, scored in few one loft races (OLR) last year, and only after further questioning by me did it become apparent that “Blue Velvet” was a big part of their success.

Greg said that “Blue Velvet” has bred 5 OLR winners for he and Dick and last year a daughter, a recessive red hen #22, bred 5 money winners in the OLR’s, including a double winner (#718) at the Pacific Northwest Challenge race (PNC)! A sibling to the PNC winner was 2nd master breeder in the Canadian Empire Classic series!

#22; mother of 5 OLR winners and daughter of Blue Velvet also breeder of 5 OLR winners!

Greg was kind enough to forward me the pictures of “Blue Velvet”, her daughter and the of the 2nd master breeder in the Canadian Empire Classic.

2nd master breeder in the Canadian Empire Classic series!

Check them out.

Drew

Be sure to follow tLR on Facebook, click here, and find us on Twitter @theLoftReport1.

Click to visit Museum website

The American Pigeon Museum is proud to announce that we will be featured on this Friday night’s episode of Mysteries at the Museum on the Travel Channel at 8pm central time.

MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM

Host Don Wildman digs into the world’s greatest institutions to unearth extraordinary relics that reveal incredible secrets from the past. Through compelling interviews, rare archival footage and arresting recreations, “Mysteries at the Museum” illuminates the hidden treasures at the heart of history’s most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters. [Hour-long episodes]

“Pigeon Bra, Alpine Air Rescue, Her Promised Land” – Premieres Friday, June 17^th at 9pm EST/8pm CST

Don Wildman examines a hat that inspired a shocking act of deception, a medal belonging to a woman who was behind the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and an ingenious contraption that saved pigeons and helped win World War II.

Be sure to check your local listings and set your DVR!

Sunday June 26th, Ipigeon, the largest online homing pigeon auction site in the United States, went down for an unknown reason just as auction items were about to close.

Speaking with Fred Smeltzer by email on Sunday he replied there “was a major hardware failure and [that] the hosting service’s technical support is working on the problem.”

Earlier, Monday June 27th the Ipigeon was back up and Mr. Smeltzer posted today (Tuesday June 28th) on Facebook, “Ipigeon Auction is back on line the server was hacked we are all secure and running now. We did lose some photos. We are trying to recover them now.”

Internet security experts do recommend to periodically change your passwords but It does not appear that any personal or payment information was compromised and there is no reason to be alarmed at this time.

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Greg McKnight
Anaheim, California USA
gregmcknight92804@msn.com

Many of the below reminders are based upon racing starting in early September so please adjust your schedule accordingly!

Modified light system is used!  Reminder if not already please vaccinate for PMV & POX. I know currently in America both products are not manufactured. La Sota for PMV can be substituted and flowers of Sulphur in the grit or feed should be used if you can’t locate a pox vaccine. Some Pigeon Supply Company’s are able to import some European vaccines, but not sure if possible same strain as ours in America and could be bringing in a new strain of problems to us.

With this being one of the hottest months I would pull flights and shut them down.   Remember when pulling flights you don’t have to pre cut & let dry before pulling, if birds are on there 3^rd flight.  Crate them up this will get them excited and hot then pull the flights straight out not on an angle that could cause damage to the follicle.  Temperature of a normal pigeon is 108 degrees, so by crating them on a hot day this helps the blood move quicker and easier to pull flights.  Usually pull the last flights 9^th & 10^th.  After this return them to the loft and let them get accustom to flying up to the perch with only 8 flights.  Optional tail feathers can be pulled.  I do this by pulling ever other one (Alternate) and then when 3/4^ths of the new flights are grown out I pull the other 6 tail feathers. You now will shut them down for a month to grow in the new feathers. Remember one of the down sides to this is the flight is stunted about 3/8^ths of an inch for the following old bird season. But most of our money races now are in the young bird series so you don’t leave anything to chance.

Lights would be used if you have them to extend the day light again helping the new flights.  I would recommend at the end of the day so the birds wake up to natural sun light, this doesn’t play with there minds as much.  I would set a timer to go off at 11:00 pm “You can play with nature to much and it will give you a reverse action”

A loft with attached aviary would be best but an enclosed landing board will work.   Some build a PVC pipe type temporary aviary with flexible plastic netting over the top and attach to the front of the loft.   This gives them the sun light and exercise area to help expedite the molt with lots of fresh air.  Remove temporary aviary before releasing them again.

During this time baths at least once a week is a must with a feather type cleanser is best.

Feed them well, but don’t over feed during this time.  Before turning out the birds again, the need to get some of the fat off of them is crucial.  Need enough speed to get a way from the predators.  Barley is a good food tool at this time!

To help with the molt use Herbot’s Methio Forte or Med Pet pre-molt at least every other day.  I would add Brewers yeast to the feed along with a wheat germ or your favorite oil.  Many on the market are good.  Small seeds such as Candy Treat from Jedds are a great source of vitamins with oily seeds.  Proteins are beneficial to the molt so peas are a good source for this.  Breeder Protein Pack from Jedds, a 20.5% protein strength is very good at about a 1/3 mixture to your regular mix.   Another item used is Vita Mineral.   I use on the feed dry.   Only certain brands are a fine enough powder to attach without oil, such as Van Hee and Jedds vita mineral brands.  The others are best to give with oil or lemon juice attached.   Remember feed with oil shouldn’t be so much to have the feed/seed clump together, it should be just enough to apply the mineral to cover the seed and the seeds to separate.  I’ve tried a Gem product named The Pax on the feed also with good results during this time.  Amino acids are highly recommended at this time also speeds up the molt.   Herbot’s has an Amino and another is A-Lyte American made also used at this time.   Remember at least once a week a general vitamin is given on feed or water.  Change the grit at least every other day.  Smaller receptacles and change often is recommended.  A rule to remember is “Bring the outside in.” Minerals, grits, pick stone, vegetables, carrot corn, mineral salts and such. I use a (Five Star brand grit) from Jedds Avian Supply (www.jedds.com) or the Vita King (vitakingproducts.com) named Jovati special grit bucket is also very good. I mix with the feed.

Now this was a given for me every year in July and August was to give them a treatment for Pseudo Malaria (Haemoproteus) remember I live in California, USA with a higher temperatures in the summer months and more parasites so I would do this religiously these months at 10 day consecutive time frame, each time with about a three week interval in between, I started treating this in the year 1965 using in the old days Atabrine and currently Med Pet Primaquin product (code med044). Mosquitoes and Pigeon flies carry this blood issue and I’ve found that with treating always enhances my bird’s flying performances. After each treatment I would use Red Cell (code 1086) or another blood packing product for a few days. An old time product called Flowers of Sulphur (Jedds code #9008) is also good for prevention of pox and mixed in the grit. Now remember most of these products can be purchased from many Pigeon Product Company’s, but I work at Jedds Bird Supply and know the product code numbers as mentioned in the above sentence. Search the Websites for the best deals and check out the mailing costs when deciding to place an order.

Now this is the time to go on vacation and spend some important time with the family.   This may be the only real long period you’ve got to do this.  You can have someone take care of the birds with a guide line given, since they don’t have to exercise the birds.  Enjoy yourself and forget about the birds.  Focus on family, because after this time period you must remain focused on the birds on an everyday basis.  I know the next statement is harsh but true. Nights and one day on the weekend usually is all you have for the family up until racing is complete.   It is a very demanding hobby to perform at a high level without focus.  Partnerships are highly valued.

Thank you all for your kind comments and my wish is you gather useful information from my experiences over the last 50 years. I’ve attached a picture of our Triple Crown winner in the San Diego race where they fly 3 races in one week 100-200-300 miles, winning big money. (Now owned by C.L. Gage of Texas). This is to give you some credentials of what I speak of.

I appreciate your comments truly.  Greg

the Loft Report wishes you and your family a fun and safe day of celebration in honor of our county. ~ tLR

God Bless America!!!

Karen and Tom Fremont – Midnightbluelofts.com

By Tom Fremont
midnightbluelofts@gmail.com 
MidnightBlueLofts.com

Greetings fellow fanciers.  It has been a while since I’ve been able to jot down some notes.  Karen and I have moved to a beautiful country setting and a new home.  We have just completed the construction of our new ‘Dream Loft’.  So finally I am sitting down with a view of an empty page and can allow my fingers to hit the keys once again.

I had my first pair of Racing Pigeons in 1962,  I flew in Northern California, Golden Colorado, and currently fly in Minnesota.  Today in 2016 I still  love the pigeons and the excitement of racing more than ever.  Over this period of time I have seen so many changes in the sport.

Wooden wind-up clocks to state of the art electronic timers. Handwritten race reports to computer merged results in mere seconds.  Rubber race band to sophisticated electronic chip bands.  Natural Racing to the sophisticated and complex methods of Widowhood Racing.  Young birds going from the natural moult to the new and sophisticated darkening and light systems.

In the past, the order of the day and only way one flew pigeons was within the club, combine, and concourse structures.  Futurity races and special races were gaining ground, and the prize structures continued to grow and allure many comers from near and far.

In many areas of the world the sport is alive and well and continues to grow in strength and passion. In the USA there is always a plethora of activities and events.  Club, combine, and concourse race series are still available in many parts of the USA.  Futurity races coupled with conventions are doing well, and continuing to thrive.  Shows and Auctions are at a fever pitch.  One Loft Racing has taken the Country by storm, and appears to be taking some of the luster away from ‘Club Racing’. This is all good. (I think?)

I talk and communicate with many fanciers from around the USA, as well as some wonderful European fanciers.  I have some wonderful relationships with officials from the AU, and the IF. I do endeavor to stay objective, and keep up on the current trends.

In my opinion, The ‘Sky is not falling’, but the trends are changing. The true love for our pigeons and our sport remains very strong in many ways.  I thought the recent article from Alex Beiche in the ‘Loft Report in reference to the expense of Pigeon Racing hit the nail on the head.  I have thought the exact same thoughts for many years, that Alex so admirably expressed in his very intuitive article.  Racing Pigeons as a hobby or even as a sport is still very affordable.  Especially when you put it in perspective as to the costs of other sports and hobbies.

I see the sport changing before our very eyes.  I see good and maybe not so good.  I’m not so sure about some particular aspects of ‘One Loft Racing’  So I’ll chime in.  Lately this seems to be a very hot topic.  I’ve had some great conversations, and here are my conclusions thus far.

The obvious …  One Loft Racing and Club Racing are very different.

Club Racing is much more hands on. You breed the pigeons, settle the pigeons, train the pigeons, care for the pigeons, motivate the pigeons and most of all build an affinity with the pigeons.

One Loft Racing …  You breed the pigeons. (and sometimes you don’t even do that)

Club Racing …  You race the pigeons as a young bird, a yearling, a two year old, and three year old, and a four year old, and sometimes even a few years after that.  You allow a pigeon to fully mature and then are able to realize and see it’s full racing ability and potential.

One Loft Racing …  You race the pigeon, and it’s entire  racing career is over in six to 10 months maximum

(do you think a young pigeon at 6 to 10 months is even capable of showing you it’s potential and worth ?   Do you think that a young pigeon that comes in equal on the drop with many other pigeons is an exceptional pigeon ?

Club Racing … Your pigeon has to learn so many variables to develop and become a champion.  First and foremost it must learn to break from the flock.  It must learn to think and develop strong and independent homing abilities.  It’s love for home and mate is paramount.  It simply CANNOT follow the path of least resistance when racing against many other pigeons from other lofts and locations.

One Loft Racing …  The pigeons are trained (and many times are trained gingerly and very selectively, so as not to lose them).  They inherently develop into wonderful followers using only a small portion of their magnificent homing ability.  They follow a well beaten path with the same pigeons day after day.  I believe the limited skill set they develop with this type of flying does not do the pigeon true justice.  I believe there is no comparison to the club racers and the one loft racers in terms of simple growth and development.

SO THEN ….  Many bring these ‘Champion “One Loft’ Racers back to their breeding lofts and are left wanting with the  future prodigy that emanates from them. Why ?  Because most are not champions at all.  So do we weakening our breeding lofts with this type of breeding ?  I believe we could be on that path, if indeed the one loft racers are held in higher esteem then the club racers.

One Loft Racing is fun, and there can be much financial gain for those who can play the game seriously.  That’s nice and I understand the draw.  However it is a sideline at best to what the heart and soul of pigeon racing was intended to be.

I see so many of the younger and newer flyers getting caught up in this ‘New Pastime’ of One Loft Racing.  I do implore the new and younger flyers to enjoy the sport and all that it has to offer.  If One Loft Racing is the only way you can participate, then that is a good thing, because it does keep you somewhat connected.

I know there are some out there who could not participate in the sport if it were not for the one loft races.  Health, age, time constraints, geographical and demographics, these all can play a role that may limit a fancier to only flying ‘One Loft Races.

However the true essence and beauty of the sport is and I hope always will be a ‘back yard hobby’ .

Young Bird racing is fun, and can be very rewarding.  However Old Bird racing is on a plateau all of it’s own, in regards to being a skilled fancier with well proven pigeons that have indeed stood the test of time and experience.

So I encourage you to take Pigeon Racing to its ultimate level of competition and expertise, and dip your feet into the true depths of Pigeon Racing.  Fly those pigeons as yearlings, two year olds and beyond. There is nothing quite like it !!

Food for thought …Tom Fremont of Midnight Blue Racing Lofts.

PS …  now that we are settled in with our recent move and our new loft we are going to continue our series ’Tips for the Small Loft Flyer’ starting again this August.

Sal Rodriguez, www.SalsLoft.com, is offering for sale a TauRIS clock, www.tauris.us, a 7 x 21 scanner, and 50 e-bands for $475. Sal used the clock for two Old Bird seasons and it worked perfectly.

All interested parties should can contact Sal either by email salsloft@aol.com  or by phone 801-430-7784.

Max and his young brother shortly after ‘pooling’ their money and buying their first real racing pigeons.

Through my 14 years of being part of the American Racing Pigeon Fraternity, I must say that I probably have the weirdest story as to how I got started in the racing pigeon sport. It all started back in 1998 when I was just eight years old and I would catch feral pigeons in my dad’s backyard. After feeding the 200 plus roosters that my dad owned pigeons would swarm the yard and I’d catch them for myself. My great-grandfather, grandfather and father kept chickens their whole life and I too was on my way to a life full of chicken crap until these dang pigeons came swarming in and stole my heart.

Well, the pigeon bug really got to me when my dad’s friend “Pelayo” would come over and share stories of the racing pigeon races that he participated in Guadalajara. He would boast the amount of birds that competed, the trilogies that his pigeons overcame, the way that he trained them and the remarkable way that they would arrive from hundreds of miles away on the same day. You know, all that great stuff that embodies being a racing pigeon fancier-I loved it from the start.

Even though I was passionate and insisted on having pigeons my dad never let me keep any pigeons. Pigeons in his eyes carried diseases that could transfer over to his prized roosters and they were infested with lice, mites etc. So then I did what any other normal 9 year old would do-for a long time I kept my pigeons secretly in a cage behind the garage. I must’ve had about 30 rollers, 25 feral pigeons, 2 fantails and a pet duck in that cage and my dad didn’t know about it. Yeah, that was until I got caught and got a good spanking. My dad found my cage after my mother told him that I would spend hours behind the garage and would appear back with feathers all over my head. So the following Saturday morning, I woke up early to feed my pigeons before my dad got up to feed his roosters…. and…too late! All of the pigeons were already gone. Boy, was I devastated. The birds were extremely important to me and to be honest, I grew up in Compton, California. While all of my friends were out causing trouble in the neighborhood, I was out back with my birds relaxing and learning about them, I would even sit there and do my homework because it was the quietest space to be in around the house. You truly can learn a lot about a bird’s personality and what the birds need by observing them- I learned that early on.

That was the end of my first initial “pigeon keeper” facet of my life. Three years later, at 12 years old I was constantly getting into trouble in school. I found myself in detention more than I did in class and my parents didn’t know what to do with me. I was a troubled kid by all means and it didn’t help that my community was also plagued with crime and bad influences. That’s when the breakthrough into my full-fledged pigeon career occurred.

Max Rosas with his beloved pigeons.

I was sitting in class, and it was during Christmas time. The teacher was going around asking all of the students what they wanted for Christmas, a lot of them said Gameboys, some said PS3’s and Wii’s etc. Well, when it came to me I answered with honesty and said, “All that I want for Christmas is a pair of Racing Pigeons”. You should’ve seen the look on the teachers face and immediately the class burst into laughter, kids were rolling on the floor rubbing their stomach…I was sent to the office.

I was sent to the office and when I arrived there I told the principal that I was being honest and she said that it wasn’t true and that I was being a clown. Well, long-story-short I was sent to an off-site counseling facility for troubled youth, because I was constantly disrupting class and wanting pigeons wasn’t normal for a 12 year old in the year 2002. I find it so funny that I was being honest about the pigeons, but I was judged as a crazy fella-shows you to what degree people are ignorant about our beloved sport. When my mom and dad arrived to the school that day, they didn’t know what to say. They told the principal that it was true that I wanted pigeons, but they didn’t allow it. Well, when that day ended, I was scheduled to attend the counseling classes two weeks later and I was also suspended for 2 days from school.

Two weeks later, I attended the first counseling session. It was a shared session with two other 12 year old boys and well the first thing that the counselor asked us to do was introduce ourselves and share why we’re part of the class or what led to us being sent to counseling. The other two guys went first and one said something about fighting, the other one about talking too much and when it got to me I said the truth. I told them, “I’m only here because I expressed to the class that I wanted a pair of racing pigeons for Christmas and they thought I was playing”. They laughed at me a little, but awkwardly one of the kids named Carlos asked me, “What kind of pigeons do you want?” I replied, “Racing pigeons” and he said, “My dad is selling all his racing pigeons!”. No way? Can you believe that?

Can you believe? The father of the kid that was sitting next to me in counseling class was selling all of his racing pigeons! What an ironic chain of events. When class ended my dad was waiting for me outside of the facility, I ran to the car and told him about the kids father selling all of his birds. He told me to be quiet with those damn pigeons and that he was fed up with me bringing them up. I told him, “Well, if you’re fed up with me bringing them up, then just get me some…and I promise you wont have any trouble with me in school and I’ll get good grades”…That seemed that ignite his interest and we walked over to talk to the kids dad.

That all occurred on a Friday evening. By Sunday morning, I was the new owner of 9 racing pigeons and a crate. All of which were purchased for the total cost of $60 dollars (those $60 dollars were actually compiled between the savings of my younger siblings Ballo 11 yrs old and Xitlali 9 yrs old, I was the oldest at 12 yrs old). The rest is history.

I’ve been active in the sport for more than 14 years now flying in the Southern California Combine under Max & Ballo’s and now currently in the Compton Club under Max’s Loft. My dad taught me a lot about the bird game and through him and some of the best local flyers I have learned a lot about all facets of the sport. However, it sucks to be the youngest in my club because it is a sign that recruitment of younger members isn’t thriving. To be competitive you must dedicate time to the birds-there is no other way to be successful in this game. Unfortunately, many young individuals have other things of interest that are more appealing to them and if you think about it enough spending time with pigeons doesn’t sound too appealing to someone who is young and can be out with girls etc. (You get the idea)

Max Rosas with one of his prized racing pigeons.

I am now 26 years old and a proud recipient of a Masters Degree, and currently pursuing my Doctoral Degree. You see those pigeons may have not been the only defining factor that has played a role in me being ambitious with schooling etc., but they sure were a defining factor in me leading a healthy lifestyle with discipline away from trouble. They kept me busy and away from the trouble that the streets of Compton can sometimes pose. A few of my close friends from the block are now dead or in prison, had I not had to train my beloved birds everyday or clean the cages everyday or make pairings for the next YB season or simply sit in my backyard and admire the beauty of them flying around the cage being the horny critters that they are-maybe you wouldn’t be reading this article today and rather I would be the one on a obituary with my picture on a T-Shirt.

I am to this day passionate about the sport. It keeps you engaged and this sport is more than just keeping birds-its an art. From making pairs, to molting, to your first training toss, to the night before the first race release-its beautiful. Although, its getting pricier, but what isn’t? Its cheap if you compare it to most competitive sports. You breed the birds and with so, come dreams and hopes of becoming a champion and having the best bird locally, state and nationally or having a good Christmas after the season for those who are in it for points. I wish more people would know about our beloved sport and more kids would take part in it-but that’s another conversation. Hey, maybe there is more troubled youth out there who would have a positive impact on their lives by keeping pigeons and staying away from trouble like I once did.

As for my dad, he learned to love the pigeons after he took home about 3,000 points in our second year racing. But sadly in 2010 he retired from the sport and left it to dedicate time to his roosters. What I want to tell you is that, pursue what you love to do-we as humans have a limited amount of time in this life to waste time doing things that we’re not truly passionate about.

Yours in the sport,
Max Rosas
Max’s Loft
Compton Racing Pigeon Club
Max.rsas@gmail.com

Manny Rodriquez and Drew Lesofski in the GHC clubhouse shipping birds.

In March, I had an opportunity to visit a few fanciers in the Spring Hill, Florida area. One of the fanciers I visited was Manny Rodriquez flying under the banner of Gallo Loft.

Manny was home when I called and a few minutes later I was standing in his driveway. Manny met me there and greeted me with a big smile and a friendly ‘hello.’ Manny and I first met this past February at the Ipigeon Gala in Las Vegas. Our visit then was short but left and impression on me and I knew if I ever had the chance I’d try and visit him. I’m sure glad I did.

Gallo racing lofts in Spring Hill, Florida.

The Gallo lofts are typical to Florida, wire flooring, about 2 to 3 feet off the ground, open front, with a steep gabled roof and a big deck off the front. Manny has some of the most sought after birds in the country making visiting him a true pleasure.

In the past several years, over 20+ lofts in the Spring Hill, Unit 10 and Brooksville areas have been robbed with most if not all their valuable pigeons stolen. Very few instances are these birds every recovered. Manny has taken every precaution to protect his valuable birds and thus his life’s work. I don’t want to go into too much detail about his security system but I can assure you no one can come or go within a block of Manny’s house without being on camera.

Manny Rodriquez holding “Classic Boy”

The first loft we went into was his breeding loft close to the back of his house. Inside, he breeds all his pairs in individual pens that guarantees which baby is from which pair. I had the opportunity to handle his South Africa Million Dollar 8^th 347 mile place winner “HOT CHOCO” which was paired to a fine little hen. This particular bird, Manny had to wait five years to get back from South Africa. He wasted no time in putting him to his best hens to enter into the one loft races.

Next we handled the ‘big boys;’ “CLASSIC BOY,” winner of the 2009 Gulf Coast Classic and “MISTER MONEY;” sire to 1^st Canadian International one loft race 2012 among others.  We handled many of their proven sons and daughters and each was as nice as the last. What a treat!

I really enjoyed my visit to Manny’s house and lofts. If you ever find yourself in the Spring Hill area, do yourself a square and make your way to Gallo Loft.

Drew Lesofski

UPDATE: Since my visit in May, Manny has decided to liquidate all his birds including the “GOLDEN PAIR,” “THUNDERBAY BOY,” and “MISTER MONEY.” All of these birds are currently listed on Ipigeon.com.

Cornelis and Gerard Koopman. Picture courtesy of www.pipa.be

By Alex Bieche
acbieche2@gmail.com
www.biechelofts.com

When we set out on our last trip to Holland, I knew that we were going to see some terrific pigeons and that we were going to meet some exceptional fanciers, and this was truly the case. Everyone we visited had one thing in common, top results from the top.

But I must say that the article we bring you now comes from fanciers of the highest class with pigeons of absolute word class, as can be confirmed by their results which are breathtaking to say the least. Much has been written about the partnership of Cornelis and Gerard Koopman, but not so much has been printed in English magazines. Although many of you will know of their racing exploits, I still feel this article about them has much to offer you.

Gerard has always been very honest and open about everything we asked him, indeed one of the things that struck me most of all when I first met him was his honesty and modesty. Although I had heard and read a lot from them before my visit and had built a mental picture of them in my own mind, I could not have imagined such warm friendly and open people.

Starting with Pigeons

We shall start our story way back in 1915, when Cornelis Koopman was born May 31 on his parents farm on Dommerskanaal Street in New Amsterdam. This is where he grew to be a 12 year old boy that already had a passion for pigeons which stemmed from a neighbor, named Mr. Lugas, who kept his pigeons in an old dovecote. The young Koopman would spend much of this time looking at the pigeons flying in and around the little loft and he was truly fascinated by them.

This had not gone unnoticed by the neighbor and he one day came out and talked with Cornelis about the birds. Cornelis told Mr. Luger that he would love to have some pigeons of his own and Luger made his dream come true when he gifted him some pigeons which Cornelis kept on the farm.

The pigeons he received were not real racing pigeon but cross bred between fancy pigeons and racers but nevertheless this is where Cornelius real love affair with pigeon racing began.

A few years passed and Cornelius was growing up and thinking of making his own way in life. He set himself up in business in the farming industry. The business grew into a large company; Cornelis became head importer of Mariman corns at that time. At the age of 35 Cornelis decided it was time to settle down and so he married his longtime girlfriend Jantje Keen. Together they had 4 children, all of them boys. Early on, one of them named Jaap, showed a keen interest in his father’s pigeons but it didn’t last. Then the 4^th son, born on February 18, 1955, named Gerard was already sharing his father’s love for pigeons.

The Partnership

Indeed it was something that Gerar had in him from a very early age. After a few years had passed the bond between father and son, where the pigeons were concerned, had grown so much that a partnership was formed and there serious side of racing was to be given the utmost priority, so much so that the newly formed partnership of Koopman & Son backed (although discretely) by mother of the family, Jantje, made up their mid that they would concentrate on sprint racing.

Not surprisingly they also done their homework as the breed of pigeons they would like for these sprint events and the name that came to the forefront from their studies was that of the Janssens of Arendonk. So they made it their business to find the best of these pigeons and bring them home to Niew Amsterdam.

The First Janssens

Their first Janssens pigeon came from a loft if Eefde near Zutphen from a fancier named Anema who at that time had a loft full of Janssen Brother’s pigeons. The Koopmans bought a few eggs and from one of them came the super cock “De Schallie,” H-73-11883. This Schallie came from “Blauwe 110” whose ancestry can be traced back to such legends at the “Wondervoske,” “Bange van 51” and the “Oude Schouwman of 58.” From the “Schallie” the Koopmans bred some top racers and when paired with a Desmet Mattis hen. They bred a famous pigeon named “The Kneet” so named after a famous bicycle racer from Holland named Gerrie Kneeteman. “The Kneet” won first prizes against an average of 2,000 birds from 3 separate race points and was also a super breeder.

In addition, “The Schallie” was coupled with a granddaughter of Louis Van Loons “Malie 66” and from this pairing they bred a super cock named the “Vooruit” (which when translated means the one “in front”), NL-79-393277. This cock won the cherished title of “Best Sprint Pigeon of All Holland 1981” for his brilliant hall of prizes. But a costly lesson was learned, when the partnership entered him in a longer distance race from Chateauroux, a distance of 750 km (466 miles), and he was lost forever as the race turned out to be a smash. This was something the Koopman partnership was never going to repeat; now if they find a top pigeon that is performing brilliantly, he is removed to the stock loft before he is lost.

The “Schallie” proved to be a super breeder and bred other top pigeons. This pigeon was the start of a long line of success that nobody, even the Koopmans themselves, could have ever envisioned.

The partnership were constantly on the lookout for top pigeons and because of their love of the Janssens their search brought them to the lofts of Louis Van Loon of Poppel and later, after driving further down the road, to the lofts of the Janssen Brothers themselves. Armed with a wallet full of money, hard earned from their successful business, they were not there to buy the “chaff’ so to speak but in fact were able to come away from the Janssens with “The Golden Pigeon,’ Belg 81-6116734, which was to become one of the very best stock hens in Dutch history. She was a daughter of “Late Blauwe” out of the ‘Geeloger van 79” when paired with “Geode Duifke of 72” which came from the famous “Jonge Merckx.”

The pigeons that they bought from Van Loon and Janssen Brothers that day still flow through the present day champions of the Koopman family of today. All this took place in the early 1980’s and their search didn’t stop at their last 2 lofts.

Other Lines

The Koopmans heard about the loft of a very good local fancier named Herman Ameln who wanted to quit with the pigeons. They knew he had a super racing cock named the “The 48.” This was a pigeon of pure quality and he had won many, many prizes, Gerard knew they had to buy him. When the offer was made Gerard still recalls the actions of Herman. He said he got “goose pimples all over him and started to tremble.” After he calmed down a little, a deal was struck and the “the 48” was on his way to his new home with Gerard and Cornelis.

They knew they had bought something special because not only was the “The 48” a top performer, he was an even better producer. The breeding of this super star was again Janssen, the sire came from the line of Arendonk and the dam was from the line of the legendary “Kanon” of Smeulders Brothers.

“The 48” bred some terrific performers but probably none better than when he was paired with “The Golden Pigeon.” With this hen he produced the wonder cock, “The Zitter.” This pigeon won races for fun and some of his best performances were: 1^st Den Bosch, 4,550 birds, 1^st Strombeek, 2,788 birds, and 2^nd Venette against 6,369 birds.

“Zitter”, as well as being a super racer, was also a top producer, just like his sire, and among a list of top pigeons he sired “Ons Louis” which won 1^st Bourges in the NPO race against 7,688 birds.

Probably the best pigeon to come from the super pair “The 48 x Golden Pigeon” was “Beatrixdoffer.” This incredible cock was 1^st from Gh Hornu, against 10,828 birds, plus a host of other top prizes. He can be found in many of the most successful lines of the Koopman family pigeons of today.

Two other pigeons that were purchased from their travels to the 2 famous lofts of Belgium were the “Raket van 84” a direct purchase from the Brothers from Arendonk, and “Blauweband vet 519” from Louis Van Loon. The “Raket van 48” was from Janssen’s “Jonge Raket of 76.” The Koopman combination coupled these 2 together and they did not know it at the time, but history was being made, for they produced one of the all time stars of the loft namely “The Eric.”

This cock could be classed as the base cock of the loft nowadays, bred in 1988 he was special winning: 1^st Uden against 15,511 birds, 1^st Beek against 14,881 birds, and 1^st St. Ghislain against 2,206 birds. But if his results as a racer were unbelievable, his capabilities as a producer were to become even more so. Put into the stock loft in 1992 he has left his mark with such famed offspring such as “De Sultan” 1^st from 15,750 birds and the “De Gentil” who won 1^st from 4,006 birds, 2^nd from 4,333 birds, 4^th from 10,997 birds, and 6^th against 4,545 birds.

The pigeons I have mentioned in detail are there to give you an idea of where the birds originate from and the importance they have on the pigeons of today in the loft of the Koopman partnership. To give you a rough idea on the success the loft has amassed over the years I will list some of the most outstanding results:

Race point, distance; prizes won, birdage:

• Beekbergen, 86 km, 1-2-3-5-10-13 against 6,738 birds
• Duffel, 242 km, 1-2-3-18-36-38 against 30,580 birds
• St G Hornu, 329 km, 1-2-3-5-6-7-11-12-13-14-18-19 against 3,138 birds
• Herenthals, 220 km, 1-2-3-4-6-7-17-19—21-25-27-31 against 3,448 birds
• Cambrai, 380 km, 1-2-3-5-6-7-8-12-18-22-23-25 against 8,035 birds
• Beek, 119 km, 1-2-3—5-6-7-9-12-19-20 against 6,627 birds
• Boxtel, 136 km, 1-2-3-8-10-14-15-19-21-26 against 5,079 birds
• Hasselt, 224 km, 1-2-3-4-5-8-9-10-11-12-13-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-23-24-26-30
• Bourges, 700 km, 1-2-28-29 against 4,742 birds
• Maaseik, 196 km, 1-2-3-8-9-10-11-13-14-15-19 against 3,522 birds
• Orleans, 638 km, 1-2-3-5-8-9-10-12-23-28-30 against 8,645 birds
• Chimay, 345 km, 1-2-3-5-9-10-18-19 against 15,438 birds
• Troyes, 529 km, 1-2-3-11-20-28 against 13,137 birds
• Chimay, 345 km, 1-2-10-12-13-23-24-26-30 against 10,000 birds

The following are the best from 2001 –

• Hannut, 258 km, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15 against 4,414 birds
• Niergnies, 380 km, 1-2-17-18-19-22-23-24-27-28-29 against 10,159
• Chimay, 345 km, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-14-15-17-18 against 4,149 birds
• Boxtel, 163km, 1-2-4-5-7-9-20-29 against 13,496 birds
• Orleans, 540 km, 1-5-9-10-14-19-27-28 against 10,825 birds

New Bloodlines

I think you have to agree these performances are fantastic and they stem over a few years. They are not a flash in the pan, in fact if anything they performances are getting better and better and that has been made possible because the Koopman combination are always on the lookout for good pigeons. So much so that in 1996 they bought pigeons from Ep Poelman and they also bought a pigeon at a sale help at one of the presentations where the best fanciers are asked to put up something special for sale. The pigeon they bought was bred by Dirk and Louis Van Dyck from Belgium, they put in a hen bred from their famous pigeon “Kannibal,” a pigeon that had won the coveted title of National Ace Pigeon Old Birds in the KDBD Middle Distance in 1996. “The Kannibal” was paired with a sister of a pigeon called “Rambo” and the Koopmans named this hen “Golden Lady.”

In 1998 this “Golden Lady” was coupled with “Gentil” and from them came the most favorite pigeon Gerard has owned in the last 25 years “Kleine Dirk.” It is easy to see why this little cock is the favorite pigeon in a loft full of stars when you study how bright he shone in his short racing career.  At the end of the yearling, which h was transferred to the breeding loft, the lesson learned from the loss of the ‘Vooruit” all these years earlier was obviously coming into play here.

The prizes won by “Kleine Dirk” are as a youngster he became 5^th World Champion Young Birds Versele-Laga competition, from there he went on to win 1^st NPO race Troyes, Amalgamation 10 against 17,883 birds, 1^st NPO race Bourges, Amalgamation 10 against 7,155 birds, 1^st Maaseik, against 3,522 birds, 2^nd Lommel, against 3,612 birds, 3^rd Hasselt, against 2,668 birds, 4^th Boxtel against 10,093 birds, and 6^th Chimay against 16,306!

I think we can all see the reasons why he is now in the stock loft! All the new pigeons that they brought in at this time have quickly settled into the Koopman way and are breeding winners from all distances at all levels of competition.

New House, New Lofts

Koopman Loft and House. Picture courtesy of Niek Erents.

In 1997, Gerard along with his wife Gerry, moved to their present address in Emerveen and this is where all the racing is done now. The stock birds remain in Nieuw Amsterdam and are looked after by father Cornelis, but they are planning to bring all the pigeons together at Gerards home in the near future because the workload on Cornelis is too much. Gerard says his father is not getting any younger and he wants to make life as easy as he can for him.

One thing I have not mentioned is the role played by Gerard’s wife. Like the wife of Cornelis, Gerry takes an active role in the day to day management of the pigeons, but against just like Mrs. Koopman senior this is done discretely.

The lofts themselves are ultra-modern, made from brick and lined inside with wood. Gerard was quick to point out to us that they had used true wood as opposed to plywood. This is something he feels is important because he thinks plywood gives off to much vapors from the glue that is used in it.

The widowhood loft is about 45 feet in length and about 8 feet deep. It is spilt into 6 sections which house the 70 strong race team of yearlings, older widowers, and the race hens. There is an aviary attached along the whole front to allow plenty of fresh air to enter the lofts, this is especially important when the birds are coupled and rearing youngsters.

The stock birds are usually paired in early December and the widowers in early January, although this can vary slightly from year to year.

The birds are now trapped through small traps as the electronic timing system is in use here. Under the roof they have a 4cm thick layer of thatched insulation; they feel this is important for the pigeons especially as they start racing early in the year. They want to be sure that the birds are not susceptible to frost in the early part of the year which could be disastrous, of course, in getting any form on the birds.

Systems

When visiting the lofts, Gerard showed us most of the pigeons and it has to be said that they were a terrific bunch, all the same size and shape, apple bodied with well-defined muscle tone, beautiful silky feathering and great balance. In short they were perfect racing machines, built well to perform at any level of competition and from distance up to and over 500 miles. They are all virtually the same color too, mainly light checkers and blues with a slightly long wing and short forearm they have “speed” stamped into them.

About 25 to 30 pairs of breeders are kept; the lofts are scraped out every day in the widowhood and breeding lofts, but the youngsters have a deep litter of wooden chippings on the floors.

The drinkers for all the sections are taken out every day and disinfected and left to dry in a rack. They have 2 drinkers’ bottoms for each section and they alternate them every other day. Gerard thinks this is very important as many ailments and this is something he cannot control better.

The older widowers are usually raced on dry widowhood. They are mated and are allowed to sit for about 8 days then the hens are removed. The yearlings are left to rear youngsters as normal. When the youngsters are 15 days old the hens are removed from the cocks and put in their own sections. The yearlings are left to finish the youngsters off on their own. Gerard says this is an important time for the yearlings and he can learn a lot from them at this time. He thinks that this system helps the yearlings bond to their boxes more and if he sees that any one of them are struggling to cope with the 2 youngsters then he will take them out of the team and they will not be seen again.

Youngsters

It is normal for Gerard to keep around 130 youngsters for himself and they are weaned at 25 days old and go into the YB compartments. I asked Gerard if he practiced the dark system with the youngster and he replied with when 1^st and 2^nd rounds go together, and the 2^nd round are around 10 weeks old, he then starts with the darkening for about 2 months. For this they have installed an automated shutter system that is on a timer and at 8:30 in the morning the shutters come down and at 6 in the evening they go up again.

The old birds are not trained much if all before racing and this is because Gerard thinks the weather is too cold for training. If they get some decent weather, the birds will receive about 3 tosses only and this will be from a distance of about 10 to 20 miles. No training is ever done with the widowers once racing has started. The birds are exercised around the lofts once per day in the early part of the season for one hour in the evening. When the weather warms, usually around the middle of May, then the birds are exercised twice per day for one hour at a time morning and night.

Widowhood

The widowers are fed Versele-Laga Breeding Plus all year round, in troughs on the loft floors, full 24 hours a day. Whatever is left over in the mornings is thrown away and new grain is placed in the feeders. I asked if the partnership gave any additives in the water like vitamins, garlic or anything like that and Gerard answered, “Sometimes, but not often, but we do use cheese mixed with peanuts and the birds really love this.” Heaters are installed in the lofts under the floors and are used when the weather is very wet or damp and when the pigeons have had a bath.

The cocks are not shown the hen on Friday nights before basketing; they are just left with their bowls for 15 minutes. The racing hens do get their cocks for 20 minutes before they are put in the baskets for a race. Only on the last race of the season will Gerard let the cocks have their hens before the race.

The widowhood cocks are exercised every day including Sundays and are treated the same every week until the late summer races, then they are paired up and raced natural to the nest.

Youngsters

Gerard likes to get about 10 tosses on the youngsters before he races them, and this year he wants to race them separated and then well let them together on a Friday afternoon for a couple of hours before they go into the basket. All the first and second round youngsters that have been on the darkening system are sent to every race, only the later bred ones will be kept at home for the longer races because they will no be in good feather at the time of the year.

The youngsters are vaccinated with Colombovac for the paramyxo and are also treated for pox and paratyphoid. The only other things they use are on the advice of their vet and this is also the case if the birds were to go off from for any reason.

When I asked Gerard who he admired most in the sport of pigeon racing, he paused for a while then answered, “In the beginning it was obviously my father that I admired the most, but the example I now follow is from Louis Van Loon from Poppel the absolute master.”

Gerard finished our talk with by saying that your biggest critic should be yourself. When you visit many good lofts with outstanding results and great performance pigeons, it is difficult to make comparisons but one thing is certain, the Koopman family is certainly among the best pigeon fanciers the sport has offer anywhere in the world today and it has been a privilege to be able to compile this report on their behalf.

Editors Note: This article was originally published in 2002. To learn more about Gerard Koopman, please visit www.gerardkoopman.com.

Cecil Romero of We-Be-One fame, has decided to offer up for auction “The Diesel;”probably the most proven breeding cock in the USA! “The Diesel” will be offered for auction starting the week of August 8, 2016 on Ipigeon.  Check out the breeding record of this powerhouse cock! None better.  Interested parties should contact Cecil by email at we-be-one@sbcglobal.net.

2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 “THE DIESEL”

• 67th vs 2,691 CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE
• 36th vs 2,186 CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE
• 61st vs 2,247 CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE
• 9th vs 370 (2009 QCM FUTURITY) CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE
• 12th vs 813 (2009 I.F. CONVENTION RACE 1,703 BIRDS ENTERED – 301 MILES, WINNER OF OVER $7,000 FLOWN BY WHITEHALL LOFT
• 2009 I.F. YOUNGBIRD HALL OF FAME WINNER

SIRE OF THE FOLLOWING:

2010 PAT 4109 BB-H (FLOWN BY WHITEHALL LOFT) I.F. HALL OF FAME WINNER (NESTMATE OF 2010 LCM 559)

• 14th vs 620 (BBF FUTURITY 186 MILES)
• 39th vs 238 (2011 KING OF THE EAST COAST 300 MILES)
• 2nd vs 228 (2011 KING OF EAST THE COAST 2nd 300 MILES)
• “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2009 PROTÉGÉ 320”

2010 LCM 559 BB-C (FLOWN BY WHITEHALL LOFT) (NESTMATE OF 2010 PAT 4109)

• 19th vs 945 (2010 LCM FUTURITY 320 MILES)
• 6th vs 238 (2011 KING OF EAST COAST 300 MILES)
• 40th vs 129 (2012 KING OF EAST COAST 400 MILES)
• 4th vs 136 (2012 KING OF EAST COAST 500 MILES) – “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2009 PROTÉGÉ 320”

2011 WE-BE-ONE 1109 DC-C “JUNIOR”

• 11th vs 504 (2011 I.F. CONVENTION RACE 331 MILES, FLOWN BY JOE COLONDONA – JAPS LOFT) – “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2008 AA 16118”

2011 WE-BE-ONE 1165 BC-H “MISS MUSCLES”

• 82nd vs 518 (2012 FAST EDDIE’S LATE HATCH CLASSIC 306 MILES)
• EQUAL 1st vs 232 (2012 FAST EDDIE’S LATE HATCH CLASSIC 391 MILES) – “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2010 PROTÉGÉ 260”

2012 LCM 409 BCWF-C (FLOWN BY WHITEHALL LOFT) (Diesel /Hofken cross)

• 5th vs 1,816 CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE 261 MILES – “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2010 WE-BE-ONE 1023”

2013 SVN 909 BB-C (FLOWN BY WHITEHALL LOFT) (Diesel/Van Loon/Dream Boy cross)

• 2013 I.F. HALL OF FAME WINNER: SIRE OF 1st & 2nd 2015 PATERSON AIR DERBY AUCTION – 2 DIFFERENT LOFTS “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2012 SVN 2383”

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1539 BC-H (Diesel/Van Loon/Dream Boy cross)

• 310th vs 814 (GHC FLORIDA SERIES 150 MILES, FLOWN BY RICK BIASUCCI)
• 282nd vs 607 (GHC FLORIDA SERIES 250 MILES, FLOWN BY RICK BIASUCCI)
• 271 vs 1,430 (GHC CLASSIC 350 MILES, FLOWN BY RICK BIASUCCI) – “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2012 SVN 2383”

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1549 BC-H (Diesel/Van Loon/Dream Boy cross)

• 5th vs 207 (157 MILES, WESTSIDE HOMING CLUB, FLOWN BY FRANK TARANTO) – “2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 WHEN MATED TO 2012 SVN 2383”

GRAND-SIRE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• 2013 FVC FUTURITY 1333 BC-H
• 34th vs 293 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 290 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 42nd vs 547 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 132 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 45th vs 529 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 104 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 82nd vs 379 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 227 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 52nd vs 573 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 290 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 8th vs 178 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 476 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)

2014 WE-BE-ONE 1494 BC-C

• 15th vs 119 (102 MILES, FLOWN BY JOE PERELLO, DCUI – MVRC – SVN COMBINE, NEW YORK)
• 80th vs 598 (150 MILES, FLOWN BY JOE PERELLO, DCUI – MVRC – SVN COMBINE, NEW YORK)
• 57th vs 206 (150 MILES, FLOWN BY JOE PERELLO, DCUI – MVRC – SVN COMBINE, NEW YORK)
• 44th vs 334 (237 MILES, FLOWN BY JOE PERELLO, DCUI – MVRC – SVN COMBINE, NEW YORK)
• 109th vs 258 (260 MILES, FLOWN BY JOE PERELLO, DCUI – MVRC – SVN COMBINE, NEW YORK)

2014 WE-BE-ONE 1497

• 5th vs 619 (115 MILES, FLOWN BY DENNIE SCHNITKER) OMAHA RACING PIGEON ASSOCIATION 2014 WE-BE-ONE 1403
• 10th vs 306 (151 MILES, FLOWN BY JIM STEVENS) OMAHA RACING PIGEON ASSOCIATION

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1563 (NESTMATE OF 2015 WE-BE-ONE 1550)

• 32nd vs 768 (110 MILES, FLOWN BY FERENC MAROCIK – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)
• 117th vs 946 (150 MILES, FLOWN BY FERENC MAROCIK – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)
• 11th vs 558 (2015 TRI-STATE BOND RACE 277 MILES, FLOWN BY FERENC MAROCIK – CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE)
• 4th vs 1,654 (2015 COAST TO COAST RACE 352 MILES, FLOWN BY FERENC MAROCIK – CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE)

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1556

• 13th vs 558 (2015 TRI-STATE BOND RACE 277 MILES, FLOWN BY FERENC MAROCIK – CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE)

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1528 “HIDDEN JEWEL”

• EQUAL 1st vs 437 (2015 SAN DIEGO HOLIDAY CUP CLASSIC 200 MILES)

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1550 (NESTMATE OF 2015 WE-BE-ONE 1563)

• 101st vs 768 (110 MILES, FLOWN BY POLSKIE ORLY – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)
• 265th vs 950 (150 MILES, FLOWN BY POLSKIE ORLY – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)
• 135th vs 687 (200 MILES, FLOWN BY POLSKIE ORLY – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)
• 169th vs 771 (200 MILES, FLOWN BY POLSKIE ORLY – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)
• 4TH vs 668 (150 MILES, FLOWN BY POLSKIE ORLY – INTERSTATE CONCOURSE, NEW YORK)

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1575

• 36th vs 814 (2015 GHC FLORIDA SERIES 150 MILES, FLOWN BY RICK BIASUCCI)
• 284th vs 607 (2015 GHC FLORIDA SERIES 250 MILES, FLOWN BY RICK BIASUCCI)
• 432nd vs 1,430 (2015 GHC FLORIDA CLASSIC 350 MILES, FLOWN BY RICK BIASUCCI)

2015 WE-BE-ONE 1595

• 23rd vs 213 (2016 FAST EDDIE’S LATE HATCH CLASSIC 391 MILES ONLY 24 DAY BIRDS)

½ BROTHER/SISTER NESTMATES OF 2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 “THE DIESEL”

• 2013 WE-BE-ONE 1349 (33rd 2013 I.F. CONVENTION RACE, FLOWN BY KEVIN WILLIAMS)
• 2013 WE-BE-ONE 1333 (117th 2013 I.F. CONVENTION RACE, FLOWN BY ALFRED CAPPELLINI)

¾ SISTER 2007 TWO-BE-WON 38 “38 SPECIAL” DAM OF THE FOLLOWING:

2010 LCM 569 “LIL CUTIE” (FLOWN BY SHILOH LOFT)

• 3rd PLACE 2010 LCM FUTURITY 310 MILES
• 14th PLACE 2010 QCM FUTURITY 225 MILES
• 7th PLACE 2011 KING OF THE EAST COAST 500 MILES
• 1st PLACE 2013 KING OF THE EAST COAST 300 MILES
• 3rd PLACE 2014 KING OF THE EAST COAST 500 MILES
• 13th PLACE 2015 KING OF THE EAST COAST 500 MILES
• 4th PLACE 2015 GREATER ELIZABETH 500 MILES 1 – BIRD DERBY
• 1st PLACE 2016 GREATER ELIZABETH 500 MILES 1 – BIRD DERBY

2011 LCM 1313 “HERMAN” I.F. HALL OF FAME WINNER (FLOWN BY SHILOH LOFT)

• 3Rd PLACE 2012 KING OF THE EAST COAST 2nd 325 MILES
• 8th PLACE 2013 HOBOKEN 500 MILES 1 – BIRD DERBY
• 3rd PLACE 2014 GREATER ELIZABETH 500 MILES 1 – BIRD DERBY
• 1st PLACE 2014 HOBOKEN 500 MILES 1 – BIRD DERBY
• 8th PLACE 2014 ALFONSO ABENANTE 600 MILES 3 – BIRD DERBY
• 14th PLACE 2015 KING OF THE EAST COAST 500 MILES

2012 SCO 1390

• 1st vs 1,816 CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE 253 MILES (FLOWN BY J.KASH ROOFING)

NEPHEW OF 2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 “THE DIESEL” – 2013 WE-BE-ONE 1394

• 48th vs 980 (2013 PAOF BOND RACE 364 MILES, CENTRAL JERSEY COMBINE) FLOWN BY CHARLIE BARBIERE

NIECE OF2009 WE-BE-ONE 909 “THE DIESEL”

• 2014 FVC FUTURITY 1330
• 47th vs 293 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 290 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 20th vs 509 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB FUTURITY 344 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 67th vs 515 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 104 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)
• 93rd vs 504 (FERNANDO VALLEY CLUB 290 MILES, FLOWN BY MIKE CASSIDY)

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge

Jon Bourgoin and his lovely fiance Nikki holding their Midwest winners; ‘Toto’ and “Midwest Nikki.’

From the age of two years, Jon Bourgoin has been in the pigeon lofts.  Mentored by his father Dave; a long-time fancier and fierce competitor since 1960.  Jon and his father began racing as full partners in 1999.  The team has been known as ‘Bourgoin Family Lofts‘, flying and competing in the Twin City Concourse of Minnesota.  They are members of the Minneapolis Racing Pigeon Club, one of the largest and most competitive clubs in the Twin Cities metro area.

As Bourgoin Family Lofts Jon and Dave have been quite successful.  In 2007 Jon met Nikki.  They recently became engaged and bought a beautiful home on the North end of the concourse.  Since 2014 they formed a team and now fly separately from father Dave. They do however share the same family of pigeons and are in competition on race day.  (A friendly competition) and they are the first to congratulate each other on a successful race day.

Father and son team, Dave and Jon Bourgoin.

In about 2007 Jon set a course to obtain some of the finest pigeons Europe had to offer.  He spared no expense in this effort, and has built a magnificent and dynamic family.  His team is based off his imports from Ludo Claessens, John Stoll, and Alfons Klaas.  This blended family is now very well known in the Upper Midwest, as well as many other areas around the country.  Many have now prospered with this wonderful family of pigeons.

Jon is a ‘Health Fanatic’ when it comes to his pigeons.  Jon and Dave make their own special formula grit.  They use Rapa Oregano, Pro-Vital, Creatine Powder, and Rapa Liquid.  Jon spends much time in the lofts and knows each and every one of his pigeons.  If you point to any particular pigeon in the loft he can give you a detailed history of the bird and literally quote the pedigree, as well as all the accomplishments of that particular pigeon.

A PEAK PERFORMANCE IN 2016

“Midwest Nikki,’ winner of  1st Midwest National Classic Old Birds against 3,619 birds & 296 lofts.

Click pedigree to enlarge.

If you Race in the USA it is a certainty that you have heard of the ‘Midwest National Classic Old Bird Race,’ flown from Topeka Kansas.  This race is without a doubt the largest and most prestigious race in America.  It is what I like to term ‘America’s Barcelona’. In 2016 there were 3,619 pigeons released from Topeka Kansas.  Jon placed 1st and 3rd with two yearlings flying to the perch!!  1st place was a Dark Check now named ‘Midwest Nikki’, and 3rd place was a White Grizzle now named ‘Todo’.

‘TOTO,’ winner of 3rd Midwest National Classic Old Birds against 3,619 birds & 296 lofts.

Click pedigree to enlarge.

The speed of ‘Midwest Nikki was 1913 YPM!!  To win this coveted race is certainly the dream of a lifetime.  To place 1st and 3rd is beyond a dream come true.  Jon and Nikki are very ‘down to earth people and are not on their high horse about this incredible victory …they still shake their heads and can’t believe this really happened.  Well I (the author) am not surprised in the least.  Acquiring the very best pigeons from around the world, coupled with a lifetime of hard work and dedication are what made this dream come true.  Congratulations Jon and Nikki on an outstanding performance at the ‘Midwest National Classic’ this year.  You have made us all so very proud here in the Twin Cities Concourse, and all of Minnesota.

Submitted by:

Tom Fremont
Midnight Blue Racing Lofts
www.midnightbluelofts.com
midnightbluelofts@gmail.com

Cindy and Alex Bieche

By Alex Bieche
acbieche2@gmail.com
www.biechelofts.com

In this article I will cover key breeders from 4 out of our 5 pigeon families that were all selected from top performance lofts using out 6 Common Denominators Grading System. This system of selecting breeders is well proven and has saved years of time and a ton of money.

Flyers normally want to get to the top in a short period of time. Using our selection process along with performance based families has worked for many clients in different families have made a large impact from the start and continue to produce winners year after year.

Vanhoutte Pigeons

The Vanhoutte family I brought in back in 1994 was a little different deserves an explanation. Our key Vanhouttee import “De Baron” BE94 – 3100109 is now the backbone of our own separate 5^th Bieche family. “De Baron” is a breeder of breeders; he himself has never bred a winner. Selection the correct hens for him elevated his offspring as being great racers as well as great breeders. In his case he needed the correct hens to bring out what he didn’t have. Several generations later this one cock alone is responsible for 18 No. 1 Ace Pigeons and six of them are also No. 1 Ace pigeons of all America in their class.

Verbruggen Pigeons

The Verbruggen family was the first impact family I selected from back in 1991. Selecting from approx. 70 young birds the overall quality was better than expected so we came back with 21 birds the first year. It would be within reason that all top Verbruggen pairs that year did not produce the select impact breeders we were looking for. To complete our order, wanting only birds that would make an impact, a few more birds were added in 1992 and 1993.

Our “La Tasha” hen, winning 3 x 1^st combine all in one year. In our original selection process of the Verbruggen pigeons we were also looking for birds that were no larger than ‘medium in size.’ We do realize that a big pigeon can also be the next champion but in my opinion, large pigeons take extra training hours, more than we are willing to give them. Flying young and old birds in 1992 racing season we won a total of 14 firsts! In Young Birds the addition of the Verbruggen family made a big impact by also winning 1^st Average speed and 1^st Ace Pigeon with well over 100 lofts. If there is true quality in the breeding stock and mated with the correct partner top results will show in the first year.

1995 Janssens’ Selected from van Herpen

Remember performance is still the key and then comes selection. Why pigeons from Tini van Herpen? Piet De Weerd at the time selected Tini van Herpen’s foundation cock “De 64” as the best Janssen breeder of all Holland. Many key breeders are traced back to the “De 64” including Campbell Strange’s [former owner of Oak Haven Farms] “Tarzan” NL94 – 7060245 was sired by a cocked named “Mike Tyson” which is a grandson of “De 64” line. Herbots Brothers was so impressed with the “De 64” that he took a hen from “De 64” and put it with his world famous Schellens breeder “National 1.”

I contacted Tini by letter back in 1994 and had him put the complete 1995 3^rd round aside from me so I could select some youngsters from them. After going through the youngsters and handling the parents I was so impressed with the birds that I split the complete round with my friend Jim Casey. The clear trait that this family had more than any other family I have ever handled was the will to fight. Every bird I handled had that extra fight, not wanting to be strapped down when held in the hand. The “De 64” at the time was not filling eggs any longer but when I took him in the hand it took a firm hand to hold him. The hens from example will protect their nest also much better than any other family that I have had in the past.

One of the birds I picked out for myself was straight from the nest but had that perfect throat that I look for in top breeders. Yes the throat that I look for in top breeders. Yes the throat is fully developed even at the young age. After receiving the birds in America this one special bird was still too young to breed, it showed no telltale sign that it was a hen or a cock. Close to the end of my 1996 breeding season this same bird came alive and was chasing all the hens. Because it was late in the season he only bred two youngsters and I entered them in two different futurity races and both took first overall. 1997 this cock with another hen bred my No. 1 Ace Pigeon of All America which I named “Cindy” after my wife. In 1998 I put the cock that I now named “Bold Ruler” NL95 – 2226645 with a Janssen hen I selected from Jan Juijzer’s No. 1 pair. A young hen from this mating was sent to 5 races a hawk took her off the landing board never to be seen again. Having been clocked in only 5 races, she still hand enough points to win 1^st Ace Pigeon in the highest class of all California. In the same year Bieche lofts was the only loft that placed 2 birds in the top 16 places in the 98 AU Race. Both birds were bred down from “Bold Ruler.” The list of winners including money won from this one cock alone is breath taking.

“Bold Ruler” himself comes from a grandson of “De 64” when mated to a direct daughter of “De 64.” Then hen that I selected back in 1997 from Jan Kuijzer’s loft is a good example that all pigeons from top pairs are not the same. Looking at several youngsters from Jan’s top pair I did not see the key pigeon that I was looking for. Before leaving I asked Jan if he had any other youngsters from the No. 1 pair that I could look at. He said “I still have two youngsters that will leave the nest in two days but they are too young for you to make a good selection.” I asked if he could bring me the two youngsters. After looking at both youngsters I told him that I would take the one I had in my hand. This same youngster, in her first year breeding, bred the No. 1 Ace Pigeon of all California. After handling all the key Jan Kuijzers breeders I mentioned to Jan that two of my favorite breeders were the “Blue 37” cock and the “De Mooie Hen.” I was later tod that the “Blue 37” hand won 1^st against 9,527 pigeons and the “Mooie Hen” had already bred a cock that had won 1^st against 10,032 pigeons and two weeks later won again 1^st against 10,167 pigeons. Another one of her sons was also 8^th Ace Pigeon of all Holland. The following year when I received Jan’s new catalog the 2 birds I favored were placed together and called his No. 15 pair. Because I favored these two birds so much I decided to order 2 youngsters from this pair. Youngsters from this same new pair recorded some of Jan’s best results that year so he moved the pair up to his No. 3 pair. Year’s later birds from this same pair moved up to be his No. 1 pair. The hen that I had from this pair called “De Mooie Supreme.” She was for years the best hen that went with “Bold Ruler.”

The “Braspenning Hen”

NL 02 – 1435702 I first met Bert Braspenning in 2001 while he was shipping his race birds at his club house. Bert is writer and keeps us well informed about the pigeon sport in general. The following year, 1992, a couple of my pigeon friends and I picked out a few birds from his Janssen based family. For myself I selected a young hen from Bert’s No. 1 pair. She is a daughter of his “Super Bristol” NL96 – 8002848 won 8 x 1^st prize, 1^st Champion Midfond, and 1^st Champion Old Birds. In later years the “Braspenning Hen” was also mated to my “Bold Ruler” and took over the No. 1 spot from our Janssen line after the “De Mooie Hen” came to a close. A daughter from this pair bred Gene Tembrink’s No. 1 AU 07 Ace pigeon of all America. Much of the great success in the money races that Gene has had go back to this same hen as well.

Janssens from van Osch and Sangers

I first met Marcel Sanger back in 1997 at the loft of Van Loon while picking out bird for my clients. At the time I was the American agent for Van Loon. We exchanged business cards and within 3 years Marcel was known as the “Wonder Boy of Holland.” Over the next 3 years period he won 1^st Ace pigeon of all Holland Speed Pigeon Middle Distance Pigeon and Long Distance Pigeon up to 450 miles. If that was not enough he also had the best overall race record of all Holland.

Today Marcel Sanger’s foundation cock is “Super Breeder” is considered one of the best breeders of all Holland. Marcel was awarded this cock as a gift from Peter van Osch’s “De 43” Holland’s Champion of Champions having the best record of all Holland in total ’93, ’94,’ and ’95. Up until that time I personally have never heard of a bird that hand the best race record over a 3 year period. I was well aware of many great Holland Ace pigeons of a given year plus even better Olympic pigeons. Have the best race records over a 2 year period but never over a 3 year period. With a race record like this if a person wants to select breeders from a performance based family how can it ever get better?

After doing great with the Marcel Sangers pigeons I asked Marcel if he wouldn’t mind that I also try the Peter van Osch Janssens. Marcel answered “No problem, he only lives one mile away.” Over the last few years we have added direct breeders from the sire of “De 43” plus breeders from a full brother of Marcel Sangers “Super Breeder.”

Two of our first birds bred from the Peter van Osch imports were sent to China’s one loft race. Three of the 4 races both birds were on the first drop. In the 200 mile race one of them clocked 1^st overall with the World Wide Competition. Over a 2 year period ’06 and ’07 birds bred from the imports have recorded better results in the San Diego 400 mile Mega Race than any other American breeder. In 2006 our bird was 6 seconds behind the winner. Then in 2007 Gene Tembrink’s bird clocked 1^st overall. In just a short period of time our selected Peter van Osch imports have made a huge impact in America. Steve Sterchi of California in 2008 recorded the AU ’08 2^nd best YB loft in all America flying bird down from the Peter van Osch imports.

Karel Schellens

One of Belgium’s great impact pigeons

In 1991, at the age of 81, Schellens turned all his birds over to Herbots to be sold to Taiwan. With a better offer all the key breeders were purchased by my German friend Heinz Meier. At the time Herbots was only interested in the top racers which were two brothers “National 1” and the “Good Yearling.” Heinz had no problem with this because with this purchase he would own the parents of these two champion cocks.

Schellens personally told Heinz to keep one key pair together that he called the “Poot Pair.” This pair produced some of the best racers for Schellens in his last few years. Heinz was very wise to listen, his top breeder “De 499” and my own “Warlord” that I selected are full brothers from this pair. I have to be honest if a selector graded the birds from the “Poot Pair” on confirmation alone he would pass on this line. But the truth is they fly to win. They don’t have the perfect body but going back to our Common Denominator Grading System, they have excellent eyes, throat and character that are all so important in top breeders.

The Schellens Poot line mated back to our other Schellens imports handle much better. Offspring from the selected Schellens breeders have bred countless Ace pigeons as well as No. 1 Ace Pigeon of all America. Our hen Bie07 – 7070 “True Grit” won First Ace Pigeon in the club, combine, and of all California, No. 1 Digest Awards and was the best AU hen of all America as young bird. From another pair bred the late Bill Tadlock’s “6060 Hen;” dame of his record setting Vegas race winners. In the last three Vegas Classic race with three full brothers he won 1^st or equal 1^st! Doug Sander of California in 2003 young birds won 1t Average Speed in the four separate combines plus four separate No. 1 Ace Pigeon in each combine. It’s hard to win in one combine level let alone spreading your team in 4 different combines.

Heinz Meier, the true owner of all the original Schellens breeders over the last 18 years on many occasions asked me to grade his pigeons. No one in Germany over the last 3 years has recorded as many Ace Pigeons as Heinz Meier. In 2008 he won the title “The Best Loft of all Germany.” This year flying his Schellens he again had the best hen of all Germany plus the 7^th best Cock of all Germany. Both birds being sent to every race 13 weeks in a row, winning 13 out of 13 prizes.

Until next time,

Alex Bieche

One of a Kind Super Quality “Auction”

 !!! Best of Wout Smeulders Janssens, Leo Heremans, and Van Loon !!!

Live Auction Date: November 13, 2016
Location: Perth Amboy Racing Pigeon Club
806 Central PL
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
Birds go on Display: 11am
Auction Starts: 1pm

Pigeon will be posted on Ipigeon.com on November 1, 2016

Auctioneer:  “Mr Pro” Charlie Barbiere  Ph. 732-530-7395 email: adonis517@verizon.net

Gus Jojos ph. 903-221-4874 email: gus@jojos-international.com

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