The Outstanding Achievements of the Harchies Family (Warchin)

The Harchies family, living in the village of Warchin in the Tournai region, consists of Christian (53 years old), Cathy (his wife), and their two children: Thibaut (20 years old) and Cyril (23 years old). And this year, 2026, is a special one for the family, because while the partnership Christian & Cyril Harchies has achieved 7 provincial victories, the youngest son of the family, Thibaut, has also taken up pigeon racing with great success, completely dominating the sprint races in the Tournai region.

The Partnership Christian & Cyril Harchies

Before the formation of this partnership in 2021, the name ‘HARCHIES’ was already well known in Belgium, as Christian, who has been a pigeon fancier since 1989, had already won 1st National Montauban in 1996, as well as 1st and 2nd National Bourges Old Birds in 2010. For his part, Cyril, who has been passionate about pigeon racing since birth, obtained his first pigeon racing licence in 2013, at the age of 10. He came very close to achieving his first national victory by winning 2nd National Argenton against 22,826 yearlings in 2019, with pigeon BE18-1028372 (a grandson of Christian's ‘Vieux Roux’). This pigeon was named ‘MICHEL’, in memory of his grandfather's first name, who was also a pigeon fancier and sadly passed away that same year. ‘MICHEL’ BE18-1028372 subsequently became the best breeding pigeon of the colony. By joining their respective forces in 2021 to form the partnership ‘Christian & Cyril Harchies’, the 2021 season would prove to be extraordinary and would forever remain engraved in the history of Belgian pigeon racing. Indeed, that year they achieved their third national victory, thanks to the discovery of a true champion, ‘PATRICK’, BE19-1097345 (a pigeon bred by Patrick Dubois from Gaurain). And believe it or not, this pigeon went on to achieve the following performances:

12th National Brive against 8,807 pigeons
7th National Limoges I against 15,547 pigeons
1st National Limoges II against 6,986 pigeons, bringing his season to a magnificent conclusion.

This ‘PATRICK’ became 1st National Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2021, achieving an incredible and record-breaking coefficient of 0.1956%.

In doing so, he shattered the best Belgian coefficient of all time (0.2396%), which until then had been held by the famous pigeon ‘ARMANDO’ (1st National Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2018) of Joël Verschoot And needless to say, ‘PATRICK's’ record coefficient will be extremely difficult to beat. And as the icing on the cake, the partnership Christian & Cyril Harchies won the highly coveted title of 1st National General Champion KBDB in 2023.

The Achievements in 2026

In 2026, the partnership achieved 7 provincial victories:

1st Provincial Bourges against 1,916 old birds
1st Provincial Limoges against 610 yearlings
1st Provincial Tours against 613 yearlings
1st Provincial Brive against 133 yearlings
1st Provincial Périgueux against 216 yearlings
1st Provincial Aurillac against 245 yearlings
1st Provincial Argenton against 736 pigeons

At national level, the partnership distinguished itself by achieving the following results:

5th National Brive against 2,283 yearlings
14th National Aurillac against 3,516 yearlings
16th National Limoges against 9,091 yearlings
17th National Tulle against 6,780 old birds
17th National Périgueux against 3,586 yearlings
18th National Dax against 1,111 yearlings

These results enabled them to achieve the following titles:

6th National General Champion KBDB 2026
4th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Long Distance Yearlings 2026
13th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Allround Yearlings 2026
1st Provincial Ace Pigeon Long Distance Yearlings 2026

Although the Great Middle Distance and Long Distance races clearly remain their favourite disciplines, they have also ventured into the Extreme Long Distance races on several occasions in recent years, and with success, as demonstrated by the following results:

15th National Barcelona 2023 against 6,533 pigeons (only 1 pigeon entered)
18th National Dax 2026 against 1,111 pigeons (only 1 pigeon entered)
35th National Saint-Vincent 2023 against 2,853 pigeons (only 1 pigeon entered)

And so on…

The Foundations of the Partnership's Colony

The original foundation bloodlines come from pigeons hatched from eggs purchased from Louis Deleus of Boortmeerbeek, from which the foundation pigeon ‘De Oude Rode’ BE04-9104028 also originates. This ‘De Oude Rode’ is truly an exceptional and unique breeder, as he can be found in most of the pedigrees of the best racing and breeding pigeons of the Harchies colony. He is the father, grandfather and great-grandfather of numerous pigeons that have achieved top 100 national rankings.

Over the years, the colony has been strengthened with pigeons from ‘Wilfried Vandemaele’ (Heule), ‘Gino Clicque’ (Wevelgem), ‘Patrick Dubois’ (Gaurain), ‘Dean Pallatt’ (United Kingdom), ‘De Bock Jelle-De Smeyter Joost’ (Kluisbergen), ‘Vandemeulebroecke Carlos & Xavier’ (Sint-Léger), ‘Ally Norbert & Stefan’ (Aarsele), Roziers-Xiang (Itegem), ‘Lequenne-Houfflain’ (Pottes), ‘Loobuyck Jos and Jan’ (Aalter), ‘Demaret-Marichal’ (Herquegies), ‘Pec’ and ‘Arnaud Provost’ (La Chevrerie/France).

Composition of the Partnership's Colony, Pairing, Racing Method and Care

The colony consists of 24 breeding pairs (+ 5 in individual breeding boxes), which are paired at the beginning of December. Two rounds of youngsters are bred. The partnership races on the traditional widowhood system with 65 racing cocks (24 old birds and 41 yearlings), as well as 22 racing hens (4 old birds and 18 yearlings). The racing cocks are also paired at the beginning of December so that the eggs from the first round of the breeders can be transferred to them. However, the best racing cocks are allowed to keep their own eggs. They then raise the two youngsters, and after 19 days, the hen and one of the two youngsters are removed. The cock then raises the remaining youngster alone for another three days, after which the youngster is weaned. At the beginning of April, the racing cocks are reunited with their respective hens and are left together for three days. During this period, they are trained: on the first day, they are released twice from 10 km, and on the second and third days, once each day from 20 km. After these three days, the hens are removed again. The 22 racing hens spend the winter in an aviary and are paired with old breeding cocks. This is done for the first time at the beginning of April, after which they are separated again after three days. One week later, they are paired again. During this period, they lay eggs and raise a youngster, allowing them to be basketed while sitting on a 10-day-old youngster for the National Bourges race on 23 May. They are then put on widowhood during the week following their return.

Every year, 180 young pigeons are bred, which are either raced or offered as vouchers to various pigeon racing clubs. When Basketing the Old Birds and Yearlings For the sprint and short middle-distance races at the beginning of the season: The pigeons are basketed without a nest bowl and without seeing their partner. Upon their return, they are given their nest bowl and partner, who is allowed to stay with them for a few minutes. For the first and second national long middle-distance races: The pigeons are basketed with a nest bowl but without seeing their partner. Upon their return, they are given their nest bowl and hen, who is allowed to stay with them for approximately two hours. After the second national long middle-distance race: The pigeons are basketed with a nest bowl and their partner, who is allowed to stay with them for a few minutes. Upon their return, they are given their nest bowl and partner, who is allowed to stay with them for approximately two hours.

Feeding

The mixtures from Columbi (Frédéric Leclercq/Taintignies) are given during the moulting and breeding periods. After raising their youngster, the racing pigeons receive a depurative mixture (without maize) from Columbi, and this continues until ten days before the start of widowhood. For the sprint and short middle-distance races, they receive the ‘Plus I.C. Black Label Gerry’ mixture (with black maize) from Versele-Laga at the beginning of the week. For the final two feeds, they receive ‘Plus I.C. Black Label Superstar’ from Versele-Laga. From the long middle-distance races onwards, the racing pigeons receive a mixture consisting of the following ingredients for their final six feeds:

1/3 ‘Plus I.C. Black Label Champion’ from Versele-Laga

1/3 ‘Aidi Mix 2’

1/3 ‘Aidi Mix 3’

The racing pigeons are fed in communal feeding troughs, which are removed 30 minutes after the training flights. These training flights take place once a day. After each training flight, a handful of small seeds (dessert mixture) is also given in the communal feeding trough. On basketing day, the pigeons receive plain drinking water. Upon their return from the races, ‘Hydrasol’ from Red-Animals is added to the drinking water. In addition, ‘Joost Mix Recovery’ from Belgavet, together with Omega Plus Oil Extra (Aidi), is mixed into the feed. This is also done the following day. On Mondays and Tuesdays, ‘Extra Energie’ from Tollisan is also mixed into the feed. On Mondays, they receive ‘Top Forme’ from Columbi, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, ‘Daflor 3 en 1 Mix’. Upon their return from the races, the racing pigeons receive an eye drop of ‘Van-Ogenstroost4’ (Vanhee). The following day, they receive a yellow drop of ‘Herbovet’ in the beak. Baths are also provided every week. Christian, who works a three-shift system, and Cyril, who graduated in accounting, divide the tasks between them according to their respective work schedules.

Veterinary Care

Veterinarian Nicolas Schoonheere (Tournai) is consulted for the first time before the start of the racing season and subsequently, if necessary, during the season. The pigeons are vaccinated against pigeon pox, rotavirus, paramyxovirus and paratyphoid.

Thibaut Harchies

Thibaut, 20 years old, a student and the youngest son of the family, obtained his first pigeon racing licence at the beginning of this year, 2026, and installed a small pigeon loft in the unused attic of his grandfather's house, located next to the family home, to practise pigeon racing. With only 25 young cocks at his disposal, he decided to compete in sprint races. For this purpose, the young cocks were paired with old hens. They were allowed to incubate their eggs for ten days before being put on the traditional widowhood system.

Feeding

Thibaut prefers the mixtures from Aidi:
‘Mix 1’ (from Sunday to Wednesday)
‘Mix 2+3’ (on Thursday)
‘Speedy Sprint’ (on Friday, basketing day)

It should be noted that on basketing day, the pigeons receive small seeds early in the morning and then, at around 11 a.m., the ‘Speedy Sprint’ mixture in a communal feeding trough. This feeding trough remains available to the pigeons until they are basketed. Upon their return, ‘Hydrasol’ from Red-Animals is added to the drinking water. On Sundays, ‘Joost Mix Recovery’ from Belgavet is mixed into the feed. On Mondays and Tuesdays, they receive ‘Top Forme’ from Columbi. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, they receive ‘Daflor 3 en 1 Mix’. It should also be mentioned that every Wednesday, the young pigeons are basketed to be released from a distance of 18 km. Upon their return, their partner is waiting for them. Thibaut manages his small colony entirely on his own. And needless to say, the conversations between the father and his two sons mainly revolve around pigeon racing.

Thibaut's 2026 Results with His Young Birds

20/06 – Pont:
1, 2, 6, 6, 22, 30, 37, 43, 47, 54, 62… against 788 pigeons (14/19)

25/07 – Pont:
1, 2, 3, 26, 28, 32… against 772 pigeons (10/16)

01/08 – Ecouen:
1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 30, 41, 42, 67, 68… against 1,633 pigeons (15/17)

08/08 – Ecouen:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 14, 17, 21, 24… against 648 pigeons (14/16)

22/08 – Pont:
1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 42… against 1,062 pigeons (12/13)

05/09 – Pont:
1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 17, 20… against 1,064 pigeons (11/11)

11/09 – Noyon:
1, 1, 3, 4… against 834 pigeons (5/6)

This means:
159 prizes from 205 pigeons entered, with prizes awarded per 3 pigeons, representing 77.5%.
124 prizes from 205 pigeons entered, with prizes awarded per 10 pigeons, representing 60.4%.
104 prizes from 205 pigeons entered, with prizes awarded per 20 pigeons, representing 50.7%.

His fantastic results enabled Thibaut Harchies to achieve the following titles and rankings in his very first year as an active pigeon fancier:

1st National Youth Champion KBDB 2026
6th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Sprint Young Birds
12th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Sprint Young Birds
10th National Champion KBDB Sprint Young Birds (1+2)
2nd Provincial Champion Sprint Hainaut (1+2)
1st, 2nd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 20th Provincial Ace Pigeon Sprint Young Birds

On behalf of Team Herbots, our sincere congratulations to the partnership Christian & Cyril Harchies on their 7 provincial victories in 2026, and to Thibaut Harchies for the fantastic results he achieved during his first year as an active pigeon fancier.

Bernard Henry