A passion for pigeons - Wolfgang & Andrea Miks

"My passion for pigeons started in my childhood," Wolfgang Miks explains. "My grandfather had many small animals, as was common at the time, but he did not support keeping pigeons. Nevertheless, I felt a strong attraction to these birds at an early age."

Later, during his training as a construction blacksmith, he came into contact with pigeons again. "While assembling gutters on farms, I saw how pigeons fed their young under the eaves. That fascinated me immensely," he recalls.

His first father-in-law was a successful breeder of show pigeons and Wolfgang was also able to keep his very first pigeons there. "I was fascinated by their colours and plumage. That led me to take the show pigeon judge exam. Then in winter I judged pigeons at shows in Austria and Germany."

A major turning point in his career came in 2007. "I attended a lecture by the well-known Dutch veterinarian Dr H.J.M. de Weerd on the performance of racing pigeons. When I heard that these little birds can fly up to 1,000 km a day, I was sold. I knew immediately that I wanted to keep racing pigeons."

Since he had already won all titles with show pigeons, such as national champion, union champion and European champion, he was ready for a new challenge. "Together with my current wife, who supports me immensely and is actually also my best friend, I started devoting myself completely to racing pigeons. Her father was a successful bird catcher and exhibitor. Me and my wife do everything together and make decisions about the pigeons together. We are both enthusiastic about the incredible performance of racing pigeons. When we drive for hours to go and release the pigeons, sometimes up to 500 kilometres as the bird flies, and then they are home before us, we often can't believe it!"

Because of the geographical challenges in Austria, such as the mountainous landscape, and the time investment the sport requires, they decided to focus on One Loft Races and the results were a hit from the start.

"Our A503-22-377 pigeon, named 'Heinz', achieved impressive results in Victoria Falls: winner of Hot Spot 6 (435 km) against 943 pigeons and 25th place in the final (583 km) against 735 pigeons. "Wolfgang explains: "The dam of 'Heinz' is NL17-3728907 by Wout Spierings', a half-sister of Jan Hooymans' 'Wout', who won 2 national races; 1st Nat. Limoges against 10.381b and 1st Nat. Tulle against 4,185b. he also won 4th National at Brive against 6.117b (4th fastest of 12.002b)."

Mother of A503-20-357:
33rd against 1,204b
64th against 1,235b
70th against 1,172b
77th against 1,221b
79th against 1,160b

The sire of 'Heinz' is FR17-042283 'Realko' from Margris A&P, also the sire of Olympic Igor.

In addition to 'Heinz' himself, his blood relatives also added handsome results, including:
A503-22-376 (nestsister 'Heinz'):
19th against 4,277b
35th against 3,383b
38th against 2,301b
85th against 1,015b (318km)
A503-22-313 (sister 'Heinz'):
80th against 7,433b
A503-22-314 (sister 'Heinz'):
56th against 6,591b

Below is a brief presentation of Wolfgang & Andrea their main breeders:

'Otto x Mila 446' is dam of:
A503-21-360
38th against 6,533b
43rd against 5.167b (330km)
A503-20-308, flew 420km in one day as a young pigeon and is father to:
A503-21-375: 72nd against 977b (150km), 100th against 942b (192km) and 84th against 728b in the final flight (502km)
A503-24-314: 245th against 280b Hot Spot 3 (330km) and 33rd ace pigeon against 7,000b (Pattaya OLR)

'Moonlight x Chrissy 476' is sire of:
A503-19-362
26th against 2,253b
81st against 3,163b
88th against 2,253b
A503-20-308
More info see above

BE16-6057980 (Luc van Mechelen) is currently the best breeder of Wolfgang & Andrea and is father to:
A503-21-377 (63rd against 5,958b)
A503-22-324 (92nd against 6,240b)
A503-22-375 (32nd against 3,124b, 50th against 3,383b and 53rd against 4070b)
A503-23-343 (51st against 10,155b)

A503-16-357 was bred by Wolfgang and Andrea themselves and is currently their best breeding hen. She is mother to, among others:
A503-20-324 (43rd against 1,177b)
A503-22-316 (70th against 6,240b)

Currently, Wolfgang and his wife have 12 pigeons left in competition in the Victoria Falls OLR and hope for further successes. "With a winter stock of about 50 pigeons and an annual participation of up to 15 pigeons in One Loft Races, we can be proud of our achievements."

As an example of the strong will and quality of their pigeons, Wolfgang cites the Pattaya International Race: "From 2021 to 2024, we entered 16 pigeons, and as many as 15 reached the final. That proves what go-getters our pigeons are!"

Finally, he wishes all fanciers good luck: "I hope everyone enjoys pigeon racing and passion as much as we do, and wish everyone good health and lots of fun in pigeon racing!"

Maarten Herbots