Heikamp & Van Doorn (Zetten) triumph at Ruffec in Section 8!

18 Jun 2025

On the first long distance race of the season, Ruffec, it was an instant success for the combination Heikamp & Van Doorn from Zetten. Their top hen ‘Tess’ NL24-8241559, a grandchild of ‘Inbred Barcelona 20’, convincingly won 1st NPO Ruffec against 2534 pigeons and also clocked in 2nd National in Sector 3+4 against 10.364 pigeons. An achievement that is impressive, but certainly no coincidence, given the years of work that have gone into building up this loft.

Back to basics

The name Piet Heikamp immediately rings a bell with long distance enthusiasts. In the 1990s, he enjoyed some absolutely fantastic years, culminating in the title of 1st International Ace Pigeon Long Distance with ‘Miss Europe’. He also won 1st Super General at Fondclub de Veluwe four times in a row. After a dip in health, things went quiet, but the fire never went out.

In 2008, Marco van Doorn began his adventure in pigeon racing. After competing separately for a number of years, Piet and Marco decided to join forces in 2019. Since 2020, they have been flying entirely under the name Heikamp & Van Doorn, from their old address in Zetten.

The foundation of their stock pigeons is deeply rooted. Descendants of the legendary 84-1992922 and, of course, the world-famous ‘Miss Europe’. A son of Looymans' ‘Boudewijn’, 1st nat Barcelona, can also still be found in their colony.

They also have a number of good breeders, such as descendants of ‘De Dakhaas’ and ‘DeGeerdink’ from the late Bennie de Vries.

Golden additions

In 2019, they chose to strengthen their stock with pigeons from the very best long distance lines. Three pigeons from Appie Pas (Fond Goud Oost) came to Zetten – directly from children of international Barcelona winners. This decision proved to be worth its weight in gold. From these lines came, among others:

‘Bennie’ – 4th Nat Marseille, 6th Nat Pau
“De 794” – 5th NPO Limoges, 30th and 63rd Nat Barcelona
“De 738” – 19th Nat Agen yearlings
“De Schoorsteen” – 34th Nat Pau
“De 616” – 1st Ace Pigeon ZLU Section 8 at FIANTE
“Lieve Blauwe” – 2nd Best Agen Pigeon in the Netherlands in 2022 and 2023
“De 596” – 10th Best ZLU Pigeon in the Netherlands over 2020-2023
“Tess” – 1st NPO Ruffec 2025

Promising future

Our ambition extends further. Because we already expect a great deal from the breeding value of these pigeons, a number of pigeons from the Fond Goud Oost loft moved to Zetten at the end of 2020. We now have grandchildren of ‘New Laureaat’, ‘Sumerian Fighter’, ‘New Witbuik’, ‘Special One’, “Jef”, ‘Barcelona Jan’, ‘La Primera’, ‘Barcelona Dream’ and ‘Luna-May’, among others. And recently, pigeons from Appie from pigeons from C.J. De Heijde and Frans Bungeneers.

We also have children of ‘TED’ (1st NAT Agen JL, Winkens-Rothenburg), “Beau” (1st NAT Agen, Gielen), ‘Kleine Meike’ (Jellema), ‘Bergerac Max’ (1st NAT Bergerac and ace pigeon division, Gert Krab), ‘King Narbonne’ (1st INT Narbonne, Vreugd-van Beek). “Barbara” (Verweij-de Haan), ‘Lilly’ (Verweij-de Haan), Dark Dax (Verweij de Haan). Grandson of the ‘Malika’ (Kroon-Erren (father 1st NPO Ruffec). A number of these pigeons are still very young and will have to prove themselves.

We also had one hen from Piet Westerlaken from Veenendaal, the 20-1312530, who was the National Ace Pigeon Agen over 3 years last year.

Tight organisation and care

The racing team consists of about 180 pigeons, more than half of which are yearlings. Every year, 150 to 160 youngsters are weaned, who gain plenty of experience through the young bird tour. The breeders are paired at the beginning of February to breed the first and second round. The third round comes from the racing pigeons and a few breeding pigeons. The third round of breeders goes to Jansen & Spaan from Ewijk, with whom we collaborate extensively.

The racing pigeons are raced from the nest and are paired in the third week of April, then remain together and are raced in the major competitions. They then remain together throughout the year until mid-February, after which they are separated for a few weeks. The pigeons are no longer released after the flight from Perpignan. Training resumes in March. From the end of April, the pigeons are basketed weekly. Their condition must be built up through real competitions so that they get into the right rhythm. Once the first international race is over, we do not allow any pigeons to participate in shorter races within the association. We no longer take the risk of bad weather or infection. Instead, we drive the pigeons ourselves to a release site about 100 to 125 kilometres away, where we release them together. This allows us to maintain control and protect our nests.

In terms of medical care, a minimal and targeted schedule is deliberately chosen. Before flights, the pigeons are preventively dewormed, deloused and vaccinated against pox and paramyxovirus. When the pigeons first sit on eggs in early May, they are given a 5-day yellow cure via the water. Otherwise, the flock is not treated via the water or feed during the season. Pigeons that are going to a long-distance flight are individually checked for yellow in the week before and, if infected, treated with a yellow pill or yellow drop. If a pigeon appears to be suffering from respiratory problems, it is given an orni pill, but this happens very rarely (at most 20 to 25 times a year).

Feeding

The feed consists mainly of Beyers: Galaxy light, Galaxy energy, Jellema basis, Jellema Power, Koopman All-in-one. The feed trough mainly contains Jellema Basis, Galaxy light and a small amount of Koopman All-in-one. In the last few days, the feed is supplemented with Energy and Jellema Power, supplemented with peanuts and hemp.

In the run-up to March and April, our pigeons are darkened so that they can race with a full wing for as long as possible, and from the longest day onwards, they are also given additional lighting until the last race of the season.