Paul & Sven Saeytijdt (Brakel) win Agen provincial yearlings East-Flanders and score top international

When I had Paul on the line I said “Paul and Sven, don't give up, one day it will succeed” because how close you can sometimes be to a 1st national, international in your life. The last 2 seasons we talk about a 3rd national Narbonne, a 2nd Perpignan and now again a 2nd Agen...but with the understanding that now (still under reserve) a 1st international hens will be scored. But our conversation was full of pride, because it still is a thrill when you wait for the pigeons, knowing that there are no pigeons in Belgium yet, and suddenly you see a little hen falling on your loft. At 18.20 hrs with a minute speed of 1,226 meters for a distance of 798 km.... chicken skin ! And then it's enjoyment and equally shivering because you know it's not “game over” yet and the rest of the country is still waiting in suspense.  But pride prevails, because what a performance did this little lady put down again. It was a tough, fair Agen, with one very tough obstacle along the way namely the great heat in France and also in Belgium. With temperatures above 30 degrees it was a whole day of hard work to get home. For the old pigeons, the course of the race was good and normal...for the yearlings however, it was a tough race and when we write this, a lot of pigeons are still on the way.

In love with the long distance

They are real long distance fanciers, father and son. Father Paul (67 years old) and son Sven (45 years old), their love for long distance racing is ingrained in them. Everything started long ago with a setback with the youngsters when Sven was still in school in Brakel. One of his teachers was Luc Van Coppenolle (Kruisem) and Luc helped Sven with an injection as pity and motivation for the loss with the best Luc had on his lofts. You couldn't tap a better source at that moment. These pigeons were supplemented with pigeons from Denis Druwez, Georges Carteus, Marc & Franky Van De Walle...and in a later phase with reinforcements from Team Vollebrecht (Nl), Noël Peiren, Hendrik Mortier, Solleveld, etc...always pigeons that are made for marathon races. Breeding, playing and selecting from these pigeons finally led to the fact that they have pigeons that are constantly at the international top of the marathon races.

The chickens don't fall out of the sky roasted

Since 2021 they switched completely to the nest box. This is not an easy change in which some money had to be paid. It is a completely different approach and where it seems easier (let nature take its course) it requires a lot of effort from the player. We started this season with 200 racers (most of them yearlings). These are all paired at the beginning of the year and are allowed to breed dirty. Then they will be trained on widowhood until Vierzon-Bourges and afterwards (if possible per loft) they will be paired for marathon races. Whenever possible, the pair is played. Only with really well aged hens is the nesting partner a cock staying at home. An important aspect in this approach is the training of the pigeons. In any case, they must have been sufficiently flown in, have sufficient fly-in kilometers and train or they cannot score.  This is why they train at home...but, when the weather permits, a 25-kilometer practice trip is taken almost every day with their own transportation.  This requires one and a half to two hours of time to accomplish daily...so you see, even here in Brakel, the chickens don't fall baked from the sky.  The targeted pairing, taking care of the nests, ensuring sufficient training..... demand a lot of effort from Paul and Sven. As soon as the pigeons are on the nest, they get full feed, these are the classical racing mixtures that are supplemented with fatty energy feed when the basketing date approaches. Preferably they are basketed on pecked eggs or small youngsters in the nest, but for example for the Pau flight this is brooding because this is too early in the season.  When they arrive home, they are still allowed to enter their nest if they can, but the day after everything is taken down and the nest building can start again. The pigeons are normally played twice a year (or sometimes three times depending on the possibilities or heaviness of the flights).

Aagje wins Agen provincial, 2nd national and (presumably) 1st international hens

It is a beautiful dark shelled hen that was basketed on pecked eggs and on returning home found a youngster in the nest, which provided the exploit last Friday. She flew Bourges as the furthest flight in preparation and flew a practice flight Noyon two weeks back. Her fellow cocks (old cocks) flew Limoges as their last preparation. Her lineage is a cross of our own old strain (the golden line of the Libourne-Pau-Narbonne which has produced many good pigeons) coupled with an hen of Team Vollebrecht from the Netherlands. The reinforcements sought from Vollebrecht were a hit. Out of the super couple, 2 nest children (803 and 804) bred pigeons that are doing super with Paul and Sven.  The 803 is mother of breeder De Louis and grandmother of the 3rd international Narbonne (Miss Narbonne) and the 804 is now the grandmother of Aagje who wins international Agen.

Pay for work is a term not foreign to the Saeytijdt family, no effort is too much for them to achieve these beautiful results.
There are still beautiful flights to come and with a probability bordering on certainty we will find them back in the snout of the results. Remember last year Perpignan where they also scored a 2nd national. But Agen has already become a hit with joy and a super hen.

Congratulations and all the best for the rest of the season from the Herbots team !

Geert Dhaenens