Herbots | La Chatre II: Old Pigeons

Do you know what we admire so much about fanciers Jos and Lars Vercammen? They enjoy the performances of their pigeons in sprint and middle-distance racing just as much as they do their achievements in great middle-distance and national races.

When we visited them to congratulate them on their fifth national victory, they were busy basketing their old and yearling cocks for Noyon. Even though they had just won another national race, you could immediately feel the excitement and adrenaline. Both Jos and Lars were already looking forward to Sunday's arrivals because the racing team was in outstanding form, and they expected another top result from Noyon. The following day, the results confirmed their expectations: Noyon 520 old birds: 1-2-4-10, etc.

But let's go back to Saturday, July 25. "We had already achieved an excellent result from Toury," Jos begins. "Against 878 old birds we won: 1-4-6-7-10-22-23-24-25-37 and 22 prizes from 39 entries. When you achieve a result like that, your expectations for the National La Châtre race are naturally very high, and once again our old hens did not disappoint.

Zonal National 732 old birds: 1-2-5-6-8-9-12-26-27-33-49-54-69-90-94-96, etc.

National 4,633 old birds: 1-6-11-14-24-28-44-74-75-94, etc.

If those aren't results to be proud of, we don't know what are!"

"Prima Elektra"

This brings us to the National La Châtre winner in the old bird category. She was born into a true winning family. Her full brother, "B24-6087071", was ranked among the provisional KBDB National Ace Pigeons Sprint Old & Yearlings at the time of writing thanks to the following Noyon performances: 1/690 birds – 2/857 birds – 2/3,499 birds – 4/1,118 birds – 5/1,023 birds – 5/1,442 birds, giving him a coefficient of 1.6288% over six races.

His sister "Prima Elektra" now wins the National La Châtre race and has also proved that she knows how to finish at the very front of a national result sheet. Earlier she won 84th National Argenton against 5,812 pigeons and just one week earlier she finished 14th National Tours against 5,812 pigeons.

"Prima Elektra" was raced on the widowhood system, with her partner remaining at home, and is housed in the same section as the 2025 National Bourges winner, "Maïté 2".

One thing is certain: both Jos and Lars spare no effort in preparing their pigeons to reach the highest level. Jos' years of experience combined with Lars' youthful talent have proved to be a winning formula.

The hens were darkened from early March until around April 20. They train every afternoon and can normally be kept flying for around 45 minutes. During periods of extreme heat, they are not trained.

After returning from a race, their partner is always waiting in the loft. Lars first allows the hens to recover before letting the pairs stay together for two to three hours.

From a medical point of view, no treatments are given blindly. Lars regularly visits a specialist pigeon veterinarian and follows the advice received. Only the well-known yellow drops are administered weekly as a preventive treatment against trichomoniasis. Belgasol (upon return and the following day), Tollyamin (twice a week), Prange Suppe and vitamins are used as supplements. Versele-Laga supplies the feed, with Gerry Plus and the Black Label Sport mixture being the preferred blends.

One thing is crystal clear: we certainly haven't seen the last of these champions.

The entire Herbots team wishes them continued success!