Vincent Schroeder (Schalkhoven) wins 1st and 2nd Provincial Agen Yearlings

Vincent Schroeder's colony was present at the first major long-distance race for yearlings. His new loft is located in Schalkhoven, Limburg, where 1st National Barcelona was won in 2024. A unique result, of course, but back then the first pigeons were entered in the west of our country, just as was the case now at Agen. East of Brussels, not a single pigeon was present on the same day of release, except for that one pigeon of Vincent's. You can see on his camera in the lofts that it was already very dark at that time and that she was clocked around 23:09. This is good for gold in the province and 5th place nationally out of 5,526 yearlings. Vincent's 2nd pigeon was clocked at 7:09 in the morning and also wins provincial silver, as it was a very tough edition with the extra nights in the basket and the scorching heat in France. 

The 2nd pigeon, by the way, was bred from a sister of the 1st National Barcelona 2024. The contribution of Ronny Wouters' pigeons was also a bullseye.

Agen Prov 259 Yearlings: 1,2,5,12,16,18,19,…15/18

The hens returned home fairly fresh here and are recovering well; the plan is to enter them back in Narbonne as normal. However, making plans in this very special season is difficult, so we will calmly see how things go.

Hens System

The hens remain in the young bird lofts all winter; they have plenty of oxygen there thanks to the open loft at the front, allowing them to moult nicely. Once the young bird loft is needed to raise youngsters, the hens are moved to the racing loft. This is roughly the period from late February / early March. The pigeons then enter the loft where all the nesting boxes are closed and they are allowed to sit on small perches in front of the nesting boxes. They are trained and raced in this way on the first flights; from the beginning of May, the boxes are opened and they are allowed to start forming pairs. That is how Vincent let them do it, and they were basketed every week. There is no darkening or artificial lighting here.

They have already flown a lot, but that is necessary to be in-season for the long-distance races. In April, they flew speed races every week, starting from Gien, Sourdun, Bourges, and Sens. Then they were stopped, Vincent let them lay eggs, and they were taken away three times up to 60 km. A word of thanks also goes to Steven Thijs and Ronny Wouters for this, who help Vincent with this and other matters. So, they went into the basket after 10 to 14 days of brooding.

In terms of nutrition, he now feeds exclusively Vanrobaeys mixtures. So, the Revolution mixtures with Marathon, Light, and Top Energy are used here to compete in the long-distance races.

Just like two years ago, the pigeons received the same medical preparation. This means that they received one trichomoniasis treatment in the spring, and now, the week before Agen, they were treated separately with a trichomoniasis pill and a coccidiosis pill. Also during that week, they were treated for respiratory issues for the first time this year for 4 days.

The by-products currently being used here are new products that Vincent will be bringing to market at the end of this year. These are currently in the testing phase here and at the other lofts. Therefore, we cannot say more about them for the time being.

A bit more time is now being invested in the pigeons again because Vincent has opened his new practice closer to home, allowing him to travel back and forth more quickly to get things done. Putting energy and work into the pigeons pays off…

First 2 pigeons from Agen

BE 25-5005435 “Miss Agen” Hen 
1 Prov Agen 259d (5 Nat 5,526d)

Father BE 23-5090785 Black White-feather 
Son of “657/22” Brother 50 + 107 Nat Narbonne 6,013p x “392/17” Golden Eye is already grandmother of 1st Nat Valence in 2024 at Jean Goosse

Mother BE 18-5122390 Beauty Haesevoets Flor 
Super breeding hen Mother of 1 Nat (z) Valence – 12 Nat Valence – 4 Nat (z) Limoges – 5 Prov Souillac – 96 Nat Marseille 
Full sister of 1 Prov Limoges – 1 Prov Montelimar

BE 25-5005480 “Marleen” Hen 
2 Prov Agen 259p (44 Nat 5,526p)

Father BE 22-5021966 De Narbonne – R & D Wouters 
Top flyer with 2 Prov Narbonne ( 50 Nat ) and 87 Nat Valence

Mother BE 22-5107556 Zus Queen Lea 
Full sister of “Queen Lea” 1 Nat Barcelona 2024 
Daughter of super breeder “Super Gijs” x Amerongen hen