Jan Vanermen (Gent) handles with succes the creed "Barcelona is my bench-mark'

Yes, I thought for a minute I was still in university when I visited Jan in Gent. These days you wouldn't expect that there is still someone who is practising pigeon sport in the middle of a big city. When I arrived in the neighbourhood of the train station Sint-Pieter and drove into the street Jan lives, a few students crossed my path, one happy and smooth with his bike in between all the cars, a few others chatting while walking the streets and at the street itself one that is having a break sitting down on a sill. The untroubled live of a student in the wonderful city of Gent. 

In between all these youngsters the family of Jan (58 y) bought in 1991 a house. Close to station, bus and highway or in other words a strong ecological awareness of the nineties of the past century. 

Fallen into a pigeon barrel

Jan, with his origin in Burst (Erpe-Mere) had fallen in his infancy, as many in our hobby, in a barrel of pigeons and within his family they all were true short distance racers. The region of  Zottegem-Aalst-Ninove still is a well-known region for the short distance races and still the best short distance racers of the country are to be found here...although they think differently of this in the province of Antwerp. But my late father would have said about this 'to each his own'...

During his years of study pigeon sport wasn't that important and preference those days were his studies and social live, just as it must be for a young lad. 

When he moved in 1991 to Gent the plans to start over again with pigeons was already on his mind. And that is how it all started again in 1993. In a cosy city garden a garden loft was placed with only one goal...the extreme long distance ! The lofts exist out of a garden loft of 10 meters and an aviary of 3 meter and that's it. 

Those who select harder than his competitors wins !

Jan is a wise man and made up a plan already very early and never diverged of it. He would and should race the extreme long distance races and the creed is therefor, when you can handle Barcelona you can stay otherwise you are out. 

It would also stay a passionate hobby and which has as a consequence that everything has to be within a limited space and a limited timeframe. Extreme long distance results many times in a lot of pigeons and many lofts, but nothing is less true at Jan. The selection therefor is razor sharp. 

During the Winter there are 100 pigeons to be found on the loft. The breeding team exists out of 12 couples, the racing team out of 40 pigeons (20 cocks and 20 hens) and for own use 60 youngsters each year. Every pigeon that isn't on the breeding loft has to race, there is no room for fancy horses. 

This way of working improves the quality constantly and due to this strong way of selecting Jan managed to put down very strong results with such a small colony on the extreme long distance races. Jan likes to quote on this 'those who selects harder than its competitors wins on a long run'!

The racing team, where every single pigeon has to race are being divided in widowhood pigeons and nest pigeons. The year birds are being raced on widowhood with sliding doors, the old cocks and hens on nest. This way everything is being used for a full 100% and is Jan one of the fanciers that has hens with racing results which can be used in a later stage as breeding hens. It is, without any guarantee, an advantage to test out the hens as well and not only the cocks. 

A strong selection as base and strain

The base of all this, and this isn't a surprise, has been found back in the days with some very strong racing extreme long distance lofts. No one-day flies, but lofts that have been racing for a longer period of time very strong and where others managed to set amazing results with these pigeons...and then we're talking about  Luc Van Coppenolle (Ouwegem-Kruisem) were also the strain of  Rene Demeester is to be found in, Eric Demeulemeester (Eine-Oudenaarde), Cyriel and Dirk Martens (Deinze), Freddy Deketelaere.  Also an inbred hen from  Daniël Aerens is one which Jan gave a lot of success.

As you can notice, piece by piece lofts that managed to remain on a very high level during the years and still to be found at the top of the lists of the long distance races and championships. Jan managed to place himself in between these top fanciers by now. Which gave his team also a very strong quality injection is hen 'Missa'. She is an inbred hen of the famous  Vandersmissen (top racing pigeon and top breeding pigeon) on the lofts of Géry Etuin (France).  The 'Vandersmissen' was a true super bird and 'Missa' is placing this tradition further on to her off spring on the loft of Jan. 

Recently he also co-bred with Ruben Lanckriet and we didn't see it all yet from the pigeons from Ruben on the extreme long distance. 

And how do the pigeons from Jan look like? They are very soft ones, with very fine pins, good muscles, average built and a strong talking eye. You can truly define them as real typical long distance pigeons...and this is a consequence of a well thought through selection, without a doubt

Care in paperback book size

Jan is rather rational in his approach, it works or it doesn't work and you don't have to philosophize too much about it. The quality of the pigeons and the race itself will make the necessary selection. Also the care is rational, well thought through, without too much fuzz and transparent. 

Please find a small manual from  Vanermen :

• Coupling is been done in December and about 60 youngsters are being bred for own use.
• The youngsters race Orléans, Blois and are then ready for their job as yearling
• The old pigeons (cocks and hens reside next to each other) are being trained in April and have to do about all the short distance and middle distance races. After that they have to do 3 greater middle distance races and like this they will have enough training to go to the extreme long distance.
• A few are being prepared for Pau and after that the focus is on Agen and so on...
• The pigeons that race Barcelona have to do twice a 500km race as preparation
• The yearling birds are being raced in a chaos system (on sliding doors). They are being trained separately and race 500km every fortnight.
• At the age of 3 they race Barcelona-Perpignan or one out of the two
• To be able to handle Barcelona is the bench-mark
• From the age of two they race on the long distance races on nest position and preferably on a few days breeding or on a small youngsters
• 95 % of the feed that is being given is the standard mixture from Mariman (blue bags).
• 4 days before basketing they get peanuts, candy and Nutripowder
• The pigeons train twice a day and which Jan always keeps into account is the fact that the pigeons have to have enough kilometres in their wings before they take on the extreme long distance.
• In October all pigeons get during 10 days Parastop
• They are being vaccinated once against paratyphoid and paramyxo
• Youngsters are being vaccinated against paramyxo
• Medically checks are being done pro-actively to see if everything is ok and a few days before an important race he cures during a few days against trichomoniases and if necessary head diseases via the drinking pot.

As you notices, no big silver bullet, magic words or hocus pocus but a vision on quality, a good organized care and especially a very though selection...and this with results. 

The results are the icing on the cake

In a row : Alfa, Eron, Perpi, Speranza, Sorella, Speranza, Adonis, Cara, Jatte, Roodoogje, “342”, Samson, Nicole, “642”, Naba, Samsonetta, Witnos, Ruba, Ernesto, Bijouken, Luda are all pigeons that raced top 100 national on one or the other extreme long distance race. A few of them also raced national top on races like Vierzon.

You can have a look at all of them in underneath collage

• Results 2019

Pau: 3° nat 2.797 b with Narba (won in 2018 7° nat Narbonne)

Agen yearling: 17-63-95-10-122-185-429-738-758-783-883-979 nationaal (4.644b)  12/23  or in other words 4% per 100, 30% per 10 and 52% per 4

Barcelona: 45-78-190-327-407-703-754-856-1156 national (7.325 b)  10/16 or in other words13% per 100, 44% per 10 and 56% per 4

St Vincent: 35-108-167 national (2.953 b) 3/6 or in other words 50% per 10 and 50% per 4

Marseille: 108-149 national (2.239 b)  2/5  or in other words  40% per 10 and 40% per 4

Narbonne jaarl: 236-328-329-365-582 national (3.580 b)  5/17  or in other words  24% per 10 and 29% per 4

Perpignan: 282-495-521-552-626-807-905-909 national (3.915 b)  8/15  or in other words 53% per 4

 12° Nat Ace bird over 3 international races (Pau/St Vinc/Perp) with 'Narba' who won in 2018 7° nat ace bird  Agen-Narbonne yearling

• Results 2018

Barcelona: 59-74-139-333-417-702,...  national (7.325 b) (9/17)  or in other words 12% per 100-tal, 35% per 10-tal en 53% per 4

Narbonne jaarl: 7-27-29-38-95-101-148-184-270-358-498-726 national (3.017b)  (12/22d) or in other words 14% per 100-tal, 41% per 10 and 54% per 4

Perpignan 40-68-82-232-251-257-890 (7/13) national (3.966 b)  or in other words 8% per 100-tal, 46% per 10-tal and  54% per 4

This results in:

3°  Int  Extreme Long distance Championship De Duif

1st 5 EA on  Perpignan (national)

18° 'Gouden Vleugel' championship

7°, 9° and 11° Ace birds yearling on the races Agen -Narbonne

National Ace bird Extreme LD old with 2,6% Barcelona -Perpignan,  4° over these two races  

5° Extreme LD FVOV

• Results 2017:

Barcelona 49°/7.872b

Narbonne Yearling 5°/656b

Agen Yearling 36°/5.335b

Agen Old 41°/4.405b

Vierzon Yearling 17°/3.428b

But also:

Vierzon yl prov (3.428b): 17, 73, 83, 127, 133, 150, 166, 169, 174, 193, 226, 301, 361, ... (19/41 en 13 per 10-tal)

Agen yl local Gent (172b): 1st 6 pigeons ! So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, ,13 ,17, 19 ... (16/39). Agen was a very though races was also postponed for 4 days

Agen old local Gent (119b): 2, 17, 21, 34 (4/6)

Barcelona prov (1.317b): 10, 77, 102, 139, ... (4 per 10 and 8/13)

Narbonne old local Gent (119b): 3, 4, 10, ... (3 per 10 and 5/7)

Narbonne yl local Gent (113b):1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, ... (6 per 10 and 15/24)

Is there anyone who doubts the quality that resides on these lofts? A small team that races the extreme long distance really well, national top and this both in result as in championships. 

No doubt about it, the coming season the pigeons from Jan will be upfront again, all components are present  to make it work again. 

Congratulations from the entire Herbots team!

Geert Dhaenens