Trio Jacques, Trudie and grandson Joerie Winkens-Rothenburg d'Itteren win the 1st National Agen ZLU Yearlings

The first weekend of July, the pigeon racing world is once again very busy. The running programs include the release of an international and national marathon flight for Friday. And on Saturday the national one-day Grand Prix of Issoudun. And for various departments this weekend also the start of the young pigeon program, so a first flight of young pigeons. And on Monday there is basketing again for the next international marathon flight, namely Barcelona.

On the ZLU program as well as the national program for sector 1, the Agen / Bordeaux race was scheduled for July 2. For the ZLU a release in the morning for old birds and yearlings and for sector 1 a release over several days or in the afternoon.

On Friday morning, the weather situation at the Agen unloading point was good with light clouds and a calm WNW wind. On the line of flight sun and cumulus clouds and moderate wind from the SW. Maximum afternoon temperatures over France 25-28 degrees and north 22-25 degrees.

At 7:00 am it was possible to leave at horseracing course, the Hippodrome de Beau on Avenue du Quercy in Beaumont de Lomagne.

On Saturday there should be more and more southerly clouds and a light and variable wind. Possibility of showers and thunderstorms coming from the west.

When the tally with the organizers, Les Amis du Bordeaux Télévie, was done, it seemed that there was a significant increase in both categories internationally. 35,725 old birds and yearlings were basketed internationally, ie 5,655 more pigeons than last year.

For the yearlings, Agen ZLU meant the baptism of long distance in their possible great career. In the Netherlands it was like a stampede during deployment. 6,760 yearlings were basketed and compared to 2020 there were 1,030 more. Like Pau (Mont de Marsan), Agen is clearly on the rise. There was clearly a lot of work to be done in the deployment rooms to make sure everything went smoothly. Hats off to all these people, who often do everything voluntarily.

On Friday afternoon, the tension started to rise and many PCs, laptops, I-pads and I-phones to surf the Pipa, KBDB-RFCB and ZLU reporting station sites. At what time and where would the first notification appear in France?

The clock indicated 5:09 p.m. when Thibaut Enguerand from the French town of Wismes, on the west coast and on the edge of the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps, signaled the first yearling. It reached the highest speed of 1243 m / min at a distance of 757 km. Later, the first reports from Belgium followed, where Gunther Ceulemans from Embleem, in the province of Antwerp, won the fastest yearling at 5.48pm. Speed ​​1314 m / min at a distance of 853 km.

Dutch enthusiasts could start calculating. At what time and where would the first yearling be reported here?

Another national victory.

Jacques, Trudi and Joerie had 21 yearlings and 17 old cocks with them.

From 4 p.m., Joerie frequently consulted the PIPA site to see the first arrivals of yearlings in France. When this happened just after 5 p.m. the calculations were launched and everything was already prepared. They had seen that the first reports in France and Belgium were mostly on the west side and the first report in the Netherlands was therefore expected in the center of the country or further west. They should then be able to show up around 6 p.m. to be early. Jacques, Joerie and his fellow citizen Fred Keerssemeeckers were trying to pass when they suddenly saw a pigeon arriving from a direction slightly east at 6.45pm. She quickly entered and later it would be the first Dutch report among the yearlings. They have a distance of 855 km and this gave the pigeon a speed of 1213 m / min. They soon had a second pigeon at home, namely at 6:49 p.m. Speed ​​1205 m / min. And both good for the 1st and the 5th National. Nice detail is that the two are descended from a Fred hen. He was therefore able to share this national victory.

In addition, they timed the yearlings at 7:25 p.m., 7:31 p.m., 7:33 p.m., 8:10 p.m., 8:16 p.m. 9:20 p.m. and the next morning at 6:45 a.m. Besides 1st and 5th prize, they were also good for 61-78-89-264-302 etc.

It also went well with the old pigeons. They time here at 7:04 p.m., 7:17 p.m., 7:23 p.m. and until the next morning at 6:56 a.m. there were 12 pigeons home. The first three elders are listed as 23rd, 51st and 72nd and further on at places 204-284-289-332-374-806-961 etc.

A day later, during the national afternoon race in Agen, they scored 88-244-323-481-497-640-668 against 2472 pigeons out of 13 basketed. What a weekend !!

“Ted” 1st Nat. Agen yearlings

The National winner of the Agen yearlings was named "Ted" after the 7 year old grandson of Jacques and Trudie with the ring number Nl20-1705798.

His nest brother proves that he is certainly not an accidental winner, who was the second yearling to come and won the 5th National. Her ring number ends with 797 and was called "Kras 797".

Father of both is "De 14" from '11, who has already built up an excellent record with, among other things, an 8th Nat. Agen ’16 (6,887 p). The “14” is a son of the “Limoges 525” with a 1st NPO Limoges (1279 p) coupled to the super breeder “Miss Wonderfull” (from brother Harrie). She is the mother of other 1st Nat. Bordeaux, 1st Nat. Tarbes and grandmother of 1st Nat Bergerac (with the Jacobs de Beek family) and 1st NPO St. Vincent (with W. Mennens d'Amstenrade) and now grandmother of 1st Nat. Agent in his own loft.

Their mother is "Blauwe Fred 768" from '19 and comes from compatriot Fred Keerssemeeckers. She is a sister of Fred's 1st NPO Chalons en Champagne (5,672 p). See also pedigree.

A life with pigeons

The pigeon sport is almost impossible to imagine without the Winkens family. Father, uncles, brothers and cousins ​​were all pigeon fanciers from our region. So it flowed in the veins. Barely 15 years old, he has already raced independently with pigeons. When he married Trudie Rothenburg in 1976, they formed the promising Winken-Rothenburg combination. In 1978 they moved to Pasestraat and they quickly got a dovecote. Here, the start was immediately promising. Grandson Joerie, currently 18 years old, was always close to pigeons when he was a toddler visiting Grandpa Jacques. And so his enthusiasm for pigeons grew. Today he and his grandfather are pigeon friends. Not a day or a weekend goes by without him being found at Grandpa's house and helping him wherever possible. If the pigeons of a long distance race are expected very early in the morning, he will sleep at home so as not to miss anything. All PC administration is within its capabilities. Everything is properly monitored. Posts on Facebook also come from his hand. When the pigeons return home, he finds himself in the lofts to take care of the pigeons. No pigeon is foreign to him. He knows them like the back of his hand. A fanatic owner and a great help to Jacques.

Noble background origin.

In 1996, Jacques and Trudie decided to expand their game by participating in marathon races. He bought 6 pairs of pigeons from his brother Harrie of type Henny van Brienen from Swalmen. Added to this are the Wijnands pigeons, also from brother Harrie. It was the start of an impressive long distance career. But Jacques continued to expand his stock of long distance pigeons so he turned to famous long distance fanciers to get the best out of them. He always looked at the pigeons which came from a good cross line. This is how the best of them have come over the years

* Ad and Joop Saya from Maastricht. Better lines. The "305" on "Broer Bordeaux" x "Perpignan duivin" and the "Blauwe 358" on "Blauwe van de Riet" x daughter "Wittaart Abor" have become base breeders.

* He obtained eggs from the best yearlings in 1999 and 2000 from father Harry and son Roger Wijnands at the Ringenhoeve in Maastricht. Later it turned out that his base cocks were "Vale 208" and "Blauwe 203" (grandsons of Blauwe Vanoppen). Many top level pigeons have emerged from it, such as the famous "De Limoges 525" (1st Prov. Limoges) etc.

Many pigeons from the aforementioned fanciers ended up in the breeding loft and were carefully bred for several years and carefully selected. This created a nucleus of pigeons which earned the name of the best breeders. In the current trunk, all lines return to this base. Because the winners of all long distance races are getting faster and faster, it was also decided to introduce speed. In the following years faster pigeons came from Fons Lanckohr from Mehr, Albert and Bep Winkens-Burkard from Itteren, Richard Bekkers from Buchten, Ludo Verstraeten Slek / Echt, Wiel Schoffelen from Buchten and again from his brother Harrie. The latest acquisition came from his compatriot Fred Keerssemeeckers. From there they bred 1st and 5th Nat. Agen (see national winner pedigree). These pigeons were crossed on the existing lines and again rigorously selected. Slowly, Jacques, Trudie and Joerie reached a lonely height on long-haul flights. i.a. a 1st Nat. Bordeaux, 1st Nat. Tarbes, 1st Prov. Bergerac and the 1st NPO Saint-Vincent have witnessed a whole series of top prizes and high price percentages in recent years. They also occupy the highest rankings every winter day during the various regional, provincial and national championships and can now add a new pearl to their impressive track record. 1st Nat. Agen ZLU for the 2021 yearlings.

Total widowhood

The Pasestraat residence is full of dovecotes. These are simple lofts that have a good climate. There is a dovecote where cocks for flights are in three departments are housed with morning release. This dovecote also has a part with a small aviary where all the widowed hens are housed. Then a loft a little higher where the breeding pairs have their residence on the left. They have a small aviary available. In addition, a department with cocks for flights with afternoon release. In addition, a department for young pigeons. Perpendicularly there is a small cage for the late ones. Screens have been installed in all the windows of these lofts so that fresh air can enter both day and night. The air is exhausted through an opening in the ceiling and raised rooftiles.

From February 4, the breeding and racing pigeons, made up of 59 males, including 32 yearlings and 59 females, including 34 yearlings, were coupled. Carrier pigeons in different groups to be able to transfer two rounds of eggs from breeding pigeons. The best breeding pairs raise a third round. The youngsters come from the best carrier pigeons and also from promising yearlings from good lines. There is a young in each nest. If the youngster is in the stubble, the hen is already taken away and the cock takes care of the young alone. It thus prevents the hens from laying a second time. Once the young are weaned, the pigeons remain separated. To keep in shape at the start of the season, the racing pairs are mated again around mid-April and are allowed to mate for about 5 days. After that, they are double widowed. The cocks were basketed up to 350 km and a few old birds and yearlings then flew to Limoges. Then another 400 km to go to Agen. The females are entered every week until the first day of long distance racing then at 350 and 300 km then in Bordeaux to let go in the afternoon.

During two weeks, rest for the group which will go to the first long distance race. Males mainly run the three long distance races with the morning release, while the females are ranked for the four flights with the afternoon release. The yearling hens are entered in two races. Sometimes a ZLU flight is also used. On the day of basketing for the first long distance flight, all pigeons can see their partner for half a day. Those who don't fly too. The males who went to Agen ZLU had received their females around 11:30 am for about two hours. After that, Joerie threw straw at them and they could huddle together for a while.

When they return home, the pigeons do not congregate. The hens go to their own department immediately after arrival. Roosters train twice a day, while hens only come out in the evening. Between races Jacques sometimes wants to ride with the hens if they do not want to train properly because the returning hens have not yet fully recovered. Jacques is a fan of light food and when they return home the roosters and hens are given a mixture of 50% purification and 50% standard food. They don't get a heavier mix before the flight, but about five days before a flight, they get as much food as they want for a day. After that there is always enough food in the tank. It all depends a bit on the pigeons that are going to an upcoming flight.

At the beginning of May, all the pigeons receive a cure against tricho. This box will remain closed for the rest of the season. Jacques is aware that the airways are still in good condition and after returning home there is something from the vet in the water for a few days against respiratory infections. Jacques finds this extremely important. The many years of breeding for performance and health have resulted in a stock of pigeons which can easily stay healthy. Jacques says he can find everything in the eye of the pigeon. Hard to put into words, but through years of experience he can clearly see the health, shape and super form of a pigeon. The eye is not called the mirror of the soul for nothing. Vincent Schroeder Extra Energy, Amino Acids and Condition Powder are available for pigeons twice a week.

An unforgettable weekend

It was a great weekend for Jacques, Trudie and Joerie. 1st and 5th National and 16th and 31st International victory among the yearlings, 23rd -51st and 72nd etc. Nat. among the old and one day later the 88th pigeon declared provincial in the afternoon at Agen (2,472 p). Who did better. A weekend not to be forgotten anytime soon.

Congratulations.

Marcel gortzen