Bart and Nance Van Oeckel (Oud-Turnhout) 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Long Middle Distance Old 2025

At 9 a.m. sharp, we were at the front door of the beautifully renovated farmhouse "Schuurhoven" in Oud-Turnhout. Even though it wasn't the first time we'd rung the doorbell, we were still impressed by the welcoming atmosphere of the place. Not only the surroundings, but also the friendly atmosphere of Nance, Bart, and Kjenten knew no bounds. A friendly atmosphere they happily bring with them wherever they go, because if you happen to be out and about with this trio on a championship day, it's never boring. 

"He who can party can also work," my father always said, and Team Van Oeckel works incredibly hard to lead their colony to top performances. This is partly because they have a very extensive breeding and racing team, and partly because they love being at the basketing table, from the first to the last race, in both sprint and (extreme) long-distance races. Although Pierre De Coubertin's (founder of the Olympic Games) Olympic philosophy is "participation is more important than winning," Team Van Oeckel prefers "winning," and that "winning mentality" is now deeply ingrained in the Van Oeckel pigeon's DNA.

Bart: "Can we call our colony an all-round colony? If we have a team ready for five different disciplines, you can hardly call it specialization. Nance takes care of the 100 breeding pairs (including nurse pairs), and Kjenten and I are in charge of the racing pigeons. Our racing loft is divided into two sections. Kjenten looks after the racing pigeons in the right section, and I look after those in the left sections. On the left, we have 18 hens that are raced weekly in the sprint races (Quievrain and Noyon). In addition, we have 60 hens for the middle distance.
Kjenten looks after a group of 70 hens and 50 cocks that are raced in the long-distance and even marathon races.
The different groups are raced either on pure widowhood (with a partner staying home) or according to the "chaos" system. When asked which of the two systems is best, the answer was "ace pigeons are usually raced on..." the cages with partners staying at home” tactically answered 

"Jasmy" and Nance's Gin & Tonic
We were fortunate enough to admire them, and we're talking about "Jasmy," the 1st National KBDB Ace Pigeon Extreme Middle Distance Old Birds. "Jasmy" (B23-6102192) is perfection itself. Not only because of her unique performances, but also because of her beauty in the hand. A pigeon you'll still remember for decades to come.
And there's a story behind the achievements of this top hen.Kjenten:
As a young pigeon, we could have classified "Jasmy" as a regular, but since we give all young pigeons a chance as yearlings anyway, she survived the selection process without any problems. As a yearling, the floodgates opened, and she finished 6th national ace pigeon extreme middle distance KBDB yearlings. As an old bird, she continued in the same vein. And if she nervously kicked at the sliding door during the week or stayed in the air longer than her loft mates during daily training flights, we knew enough and could be almost 100% certain that she would place her ring number at the top of the results.
But on June 28th, we had a very poor race from Tulle. Five of the 19 pigeons returned that same day. All our very best pigeons, with "Jasmy" missing. The atmosphere at the Van Oeckel household was unbearable. Everyone looked dejected, and Nance made the bold statement: "If only "Jasmy" would... At 10:00 a.m., I drank a gin and tonic, and believe it or not, at 9:45 a.m., "Jasmy" dove for the landing board, and Nance kept her promise. (Editor's note: the story goes that it wasn't just that one "Gin and tonic"!)
And then we had a choice: what were we going to do with her? Physically, she looked perfect; there was some weight loss, of course, but we could consider that normal.
"Jasmy" was well-placed for the national ace pigeon title, and she was also eligible for the Olympiad in various categories. The next day, we let "Jasmy" train with the other pigeons, and we thought she would be back on the roof after two minutes, but that turned out not to be the case. When all the other pigeons had returned, she continued training for another 15 minutes. The next day, she even trained 30 minutes longer. She showed she was in top condition. In concrete terms... she arrived on Sunday morning, and on Thursday we decided to basket her for Bourges, where she won 8th National. The following week, she flew a small middle-distance race and won 7th against 360 pigeons. The following week, she headed to Argenton National and won 9th National!

“Jasmy” B23-6102192 won:
1st National ace KBDB Great Middle Distance 2025 (0.55%)
6th National ace KBDB Great Middle Distance 2024 (1.11%)
Top-Candidate Olympiad bird in 5 different categories
4th Nat. Argenton 11,777b.
8th Nat. Bourges 8,132b.
9th Nat. Argenton 4,077b.
13th Nat. Bourges 13,580b.
15th Nat. Bourges 9,654b.
25th Nat. Argenton 11,557b.
38th Nat. Limoges 13,016b.
43rd Nat. Argenton 17,666b.

Too complicated

And now for the "care" chapter. Honestly, on the way home, I wondered how Bart and Kjenten could possibly manage everything. The different groups, the different play methods, and then even more so, the different care methods. In short, "the only regularity in their entire system is the irregularity."

Each loft has its own preparation, each loft has its own feeding method, each loft has its own motivation method, each loft has its own training schedule. But we're trying to create some clarity.

Medical – food and by-products

We use feed mixtures from Beyers and Van Robaeys, ranging from light to heavy, and for these we use low-protein, breeding, and energy mixtures. Everything is based purely on feeling and consultation. Please don't ask for schedules, as we certainly won't be able to provide them.

Medically, all pigeons are treated against trichomonas and paramyxovirus before their first and after their last flight. In October, they are treated with Dokamox for 10 days in preparation for a paratyphoid vaccination with a live vaccine.

The breeders and does are vaccinated with rota-paramyxovirus when they are laying eggs for the first time. They are also treated for trichomonas and paramyxovirus before and after breeding. The racing pigeons are also vaccinated in the spring against rota/paramyxovirus, herpesvirus, and paratyphoid without prior treatment. The young pigeons are vaccinated against herpes at weaning, three weeks later against Rota/Paramyxovirus, another three weeks later against paratyphoid, and finally against pox using a brush. During the season, the familiar yellow drops are administered weekly. Supplements come from the Herbo-Vet range. Products like Herbochol, Herbosol, Herbo Elite Pigeon, and Omega Oil are readily available.

And regarding ornithosis, the cocks receive one treatment during the season; the hens do not. Worse still, we believe that a course of antibiotics for hens has a counterproductive effect. It can, however, provide a boost for cocks.

Quarantine cage.

It's all mentioned in passing, but we feel it's a very important link in the chain. Pigeons that arrive too late, or those that are brought back, or those that don't recover well, are placed in a quarantine section. There, they receive "the necessary love," are treated for tricho and coxi, and when they look a bit better, they can rejoin their former loft mates and return to the system. By placing pigeons that need rest in a separate section, we ensure that those who are still picking up the pace aren't held back in any way. Here, all pigeons get a second chance, but our experience shows that not all take this second chance.

Quievrain on Wednesdays

A question we get asked a lot is whether we fly the pigeons a lot during the week. If you're referring to the training period, we can say that from mid-March onwards, the training baskets are dusted off, and all the racing pigeons (including those destined for the long-distance and extreme long-distance) are in Vilvoorde within five days. Afterwards, they travel with the club to Quievrain, and from then on, they see the inside of a basket every week (unless the weather is very bad).

Once the pigeons are in good form, they're no longer flown, but we send them on a training flight from Quievrain on Wednesdays. Even the long-distance pigeons complete this sprint race, before being basketed in the evening for a national race.

The young birds from the first round are flown about 30 times, those from the fourth round only 15 more times, and the rest are in between. We used to train the young pigeons regularly at Vilvoorde (57km), but on their way home, they encounter too many loose-flying flocks of pigeons, so now we only drive to Oelegem (28km).

But again...everything here is based on instinct. What we think is best at this or that moment, happens.

Motivated or not?

Where do you want us to begin? This is another thing that's purely based on feeling. What do we think the pigeons' condition is like? What's the weather forecast? These are all factors that influence our actions.

Generally speaking, sprint pigeons never come together at basketing, but after the race they do stay together for a long time. This is to prevent the hens from pairing with each other. Upon their return, the partner is always waiting half-baked.

We follow roughly the same pattern with the middle-distance pigeons. If it's a normal race, the partner is ready upon arrival; if it's a tough race, we wait until the next day to show them.

And yes... we usually feed the pigeons in the evening of their return. We've already noticed that some pigeons drink heavily upon arrival, and then their appetite disappears. It's better to wait a few hours and then feed them well so they can begin their recovery. You see, dear readers, Team Van Oeckel doesn't rush things. Everything is meticulously planned and tested in practice. Meanwhile, a few hours had passed and we were invited to share a sandwich. Well, the "chicken curry" Nance made was delicious. On my next visit, I'll try to finish around noon, and who knows, maybe there'll be another jar of that delicious treat waiting for me.

Best results Racing season 2025

13/04 Quiévrain 6306 oude : 2-3-12-18-19-54-57-58-63-67-75-76-81-89-91-99-122-123-134-229-251 (21/64)
17/05 Vierzon Prov. 2488 oude : 3-6-17-34-42-46-52-61-72-95 (10/27)
19/05 Quiévrain 378 oude : 1-2-3-4-10 (5/9)
24/05 Toury 3502 oude : 1-2-3-15-19-35-40-101-132-149 (10/58)
30/05 Limoges Nat. Zone 2575 oude : 2-5-6-7-12-19-20-23-52-60-66-73-79-87-97-108 (24/53)
16/06 Toury 2534 oude : 2-3-4-20-21-34-44-51-121 (9/14)
16/06 Bourges Nat. 
13.580 oude : 13-19-53-135-186-308-460 (16/24)
17.163 jaarse : 22-193-323-552-743-749 (9/13)
22/06 Quiévrain 
987 jaarse : 2-6-9-10-21-22-28-31-32-37-39 (11/46)
919 jonge : 2-3-9-11-12-13-14-23-27-34 (10/43)
27/06 Agen Nat. 4839 oude : 14-18 (4/13)
28/06 Vierzon Prov. 
659 oude : 6 (1/3 per 20-tal)
930 jaarse : 4 (1/1)
05/07 Bourges Nat. 8132 oude : 8-29-42-96-131-141-165-171-203-313 (15/17)
05/07 Limoges Nat. 4695 oude : 4-51-58 (7/8)
26/07 Argenton Nat. 4077 oude : 9-17-60-122 (4/8)
03/08 Noyon 530 oude : 7-8-9 (6/6)
03/08 Pont Ste. Max. 4061 jonge : 26-28-55-59-69-75-76-88-91-91-95-104-142-165-166- 167-168-190-194-199 (20/56)
03/08 Bourges Nat. 
5261 oude : 9-34-170-221 (8/12)
7666 jaarse : 14-15-62-150-206-255-265-267-304 (16/25)
03/08 Tulle Nat. 
3726 oude : 1-11-144 (3/3)
4277 jaarse : 94 (1/2)
09/08 Melun 757 jonge : 1-2-3-4-6-7-8-12-15-16-17-35 (61/86)
09/08 Vierzon Prov. 
119 oude : 1-4 (3/3)
249 jaarse : 1 (1/3)
24/08 Noyon 3.781 jonge : 7-8-10-11-12-81-88-95-119-123-132-177-179 (56/78)
30/08 Argenton Nat. 
2049 oude : 41-46-47-59-66 (12/25)
11.600 jonge : 46-114-125-125-129-139-155-183-189-191-272-277-378-396-411-474-557-561-569-569 (39/75)
31/08 Quiévrain 508 oude : 2-4-8 (3/3)

Stefan Mertens

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"B25-6049752" is a half-brother to 1st National Tulle (685km)  - fastest of 10,717b.