Herbots Brothers (Halle-Booienhoven) From national ace pigeons KBDB to World Best Pigeon to the Olympiad

I'd actually already answered my first question beforehand. Of course, Jo, Miet, Raf, and keeper Geoffrey will file the 2025 season in the "best season ever" category, and of course, they've already lit the entire supply of candles in the Scherpenheuvel basilica to have a similar season in 2026. But pigeon racing is a hobby involving animals, or in other words, it's "working with nature," and as we all know, "nature" can never be commanded. Geoffrey: "Well... while things went haywire in the 2024 season, everything worked out in 2025. We'll basically stick to the same method every season. A method that has already proven to be successful, so we don't see the point in completely changing it. This method has already been documented several times, and that's why we want to delve deeper into the motivations of these four high-performing pigeons in this report. We'll talk about: 

"New Super Ace" B23-2112192
3rd Olympiad Pigeon Category H – Old Birds
4th World Best Pigeon Middle Distance KBDB
7th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Great Middle Distance Old Birds

"Perfect New National 1" B23-2112402
1st National Argenton – fastest of 11,291 old and yearling pigeons

"Fran" B24-2107099
1st World Best Pigeon Middle Distance
3rd National Ace Pigeon KBDB Longer Middle Distance Yearlings

"Supreme Argenton" B24-2107298
4th National Ace Pigeon Longer Middle Distance Yearlings

They really enjoyed training

Geoffrey: "Just like every year, the racing team was paired around Sinterklaas, and just like every year, only the better racers were allowed to raise their own young. Breeders' eggs were placed among the other racers. The 2025 racing team consisted of 50 cocks and 75 hens. So, 25 hens didn't breed and spent the winter in the aviary. Well, in 2025, everything went very smoothly. 2025 was a year in which all the pigeons were paired smoothly, there were few to no fights, and all the hens laid eggs very quickly. It may sound ridiculous, but we attach great importance to this. If everything goes "according to the book," then the first steps towards a good season have been taken. During breeding, all pigeons were given a five-day treatment against tricho, and Raf was ready to vaccinate all the racing pigeons with the paramyxo vaccine.

The breeding was a success. Once the youngsters were weaned and the sexes separated, the racing pigeons were... They were treated for 10 days against paratyphoid and vaccinated with a live vaccine.
Meanwhile, it's the end of February and the racers were allowed to fly their first laps around the loft, and now it's time for the best. Right from the start, they had a real "swing" and after 14 days, they were easily training at home for 1.5 to 2 hours. We'd rarely seen anything like that. Not only the duration of the training, but especially the way they did it was impressive. There was a lot of "grinta" in the group. And then we did something we'd never done before: we removed all the pigeons that returned quickly, or even all the pigeons that refused to train. We also showed no mercy to those few unruly flyers. These selected pigeons were kept as permanent partners or, depending on the situation, as "substitutes" if one or other pigeon was left without a partner due to a loss. Did we feed the pigeons very lightly during this period? The menu included "Sport Light Revolution" from Van Robaeys, but in all honesty, I have to say they were always sufficiently fed. Only when a few grains were left behind was the food cleared. Let's not lie to each other. Pigeons that train well need to eat well, and because they eat well, they train well, and the circle is complete. The trick is to get them on that "track," and once they're on it, everything goes so much more smoothly. Can you believe they kept eating so well all season? It was a pleasure to feed the pigeons and enjoy the appetite that both cocks and hens showed daily. We could go to bed every night with peace of mind.

No additional training flights 

It's now mid-March, and Raf Herbots was in charge of the next vaccination. This time, they were vaccinated against smallpox "with a brush." ​​Afterward, a generous dose of Herbial (all information at www.herbovet.com) was added to the drinking water every day for three weeks. This health treatment was, in turn, followed by a treatment of Herbochol.
At the end of March, the training baskets were taken down from the attic, and they set off for Momignies via 2 x 10km, 2 x 20km, and 2 x 30km. During these short training flights, the cocks and hens didn't see each other. Cocks and hens were released separately, with a minimum of 20 minutes between the two groups. Momignies was a club race, so they saw their partners for the first time since the breeding season, albeit briefly. The weather at the end of March was beautiful, ideal for the racers to cover the necessary distances, so they were basketed on both Saturdays and Wednesdays for two weeks. for a speed race.
We also hear and see that several top fanciers travel extensively with their pigeons during the season and have them complete additional training flights, but that wasn't the case here. Once the speed races were over, the old and yearling pigeons didn't complete any additional training flights. The reason... they trained very well at home, and in our opinion, there's little or no point in disturbing them with additional training flights.
And yes... before we forget... from the end of March until the end of the season, ALR (Herbovet) was added to the drinking water almost daily. We can assure you that we're not the only ones who are super enthusiastic about this product.

And what during the season?

The food menu includes various mixes from Van Robaeys, Beyers, and Matador. Feeding ranges from light to heavy, but don't ask for a set schedule, as we can't provide one. Not that we don't want to, but feeding is done purely by instinct. How did the previous races go, are the pigeons training well, what weather is predicted for the next race?
Besides ALR, we also use "Optimix," "Pro-digest," "Herbo Pro B Plus," "Herbo Elite Pigeon," "Tarsin," and "4-oils." Information about these products can be found on the website of veterinarians Raf and Kobe Herbots.
Medically, Raf checked the pigeons every two weeks. Every week, upon returning home, a yellow drop is put in each nostril, and otherwise, the medicine cabinet remained closed. Only the cocks received one treatment for ornithosis. This was after Bourges I, the first national race, which took place in rainy conditions. The hens were not treated.
On basketing day, the racing pigeons don't go outside. They are fed in the morning and then allowed to take a free bath in the aviary. Around 11:00 AM, the cocks and hens are brought together and locked up in pairs. They are allowed to have "free love" for 1 hour (at the beginning of the season) to 2 hours (towards the end of the season). We would like to thank Jo Vanhaelst (Miet's husband) for this. He is ready to basket the pigeons every week, helping our team with all the hard work.
Upon their arrival, mineral mix "Detox" (Beyers) is ready, and once they've had a good drink, the pairs are locked back in their boxes. If the racing goes well, the sexes are separated around 3:30 PM, and they are fed in their own compartment around 4:00 PM. Upon their return, they are well fed; we sometimes jokingly say, "The buffet is open until 8:00 AM the next day." Both cocks and hens train twice a day. Between training sessions, the cocks remain indoors in their section where the nesting boxes are half-open, while the hens, after finishing their meal, are required to move to the adjacent aviary. Whether it's hot, rainy, or windy, no mercy... aviary stay is mandatory. Around 9 p.m., they are allowed to spend the night indoors, in a section with only perches.

We are pleased to introduce you to “Fran” and “Supreme Argenton”

Their names sound familiar, like two well-known influencers, but "Fran" and "Supreme Argenton" are indeed the two best hens of the 2025 season at the Herbots Brothers.

"Fran" B24-2107099 

is a descendant of the Portuguese racing prodigy "Ruby" (1st WBP FCI international speed) x "Daughter New National 1".

"Fran" shone in 2025 with:
1st World Best Pigeon Middle Distance
3rd National Ace Pigeon KBDB Great Middle Distance Yearlings
17th National Bourges 17,163 p.
21st National Bourges 11,056 p.
22nd National Argenton 13,988 p.
102nd National Bourges 17,189 p. 

"Supreme Argenton" B24-2107298

The name says it all, and indeed...the sire is the wonder pigeon "Supreme." "Supreme" won 1st Nat. Tulle 6,206 p. and 2nd Nat. Argenton 11,838 p. But even more impressive are "Supreme's" breeding results. He is already the sire of 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 17th, 22nd, 37th, 47th, 52nd, 55th, 65th, 66th, 68th, and 75th national winners! Hello...where else can you find such breeding pigeons? The dam is "B23-2112219," a daughter of that other breeding phenomenon "Geoff" x "Daughter of 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Diva Belgica."

"Supreme Argenton" shone in 2025 with:
4th National Ace Pigeon Great Middle Distance Yearlings
2nd National Argenton 13,988 p. – also 2nd fastest of 25,545 p.
17th National Bourges 11,056 p.
65th National Bourges 17,163 p.

And now the question on everyone's lips: How were these hens motivated to achieve such top results? Geoffrey: "May I disappoint you? We deliberately didn't do anything special with the racing hens—and I emphasize "racing hens”in terms of motivation. We'd done it all before, and we'd hit a wall just as many times. My experience has taught me that when your hens are performing well, training well, showing no desire to breed with each other, and eating very well, you shouldn't give them any extra attention. Now, suppose they still have to achieve a top performance in the last race, then I might not be able to resist, but now they already had the necessary performances for the end of the season on their list of achievements, so they could only "sharpen them up." No, I didn't handle "Fran" and "Supreme Argenton" any more or give them any preferential treatment. I just let them be. I only kept an eye on them during feeding because I had to be sure they were both eating enough, and if they did, that was enough for me."

Two fighting cocks on one yard

Jo continues: "With the cocks, it's a different story. In one section, there were two real rivals in one yard. Unbelievable. On the one hand, "Perfect New National 1" and on the other, "New Super Ace." We had noticed that "Perfect New National 1" was very nervous at one point during the season. Normally, he's very calm, but now he was unstoppable. Personally, we hadn't immediately noticed anything, but on the day he brought the national victory home to Halle-Booienhoven, we saw it. There was a "feud" between "Perfect New National 1" and "New Super Ace." Both claimed the loft floor as their own, and the feeder proved to be the proverbial limit. It was like a boxing match between Jake Paul and Joshua Anthony. Two alpha males! Once all the pigeons had their feed and we were no longer in the loft, they came out to fight, and they couldn't see or breathe each other. At Argenton, "Perfect New National" won. 1" won the 1st national prize and "New Super Ace" the 3rd national. Because of his national victory, "Perfect New National 1" moved to the breeding boxes, but "New Super Ace" still needed a 4th top prize to be classified among the national KBDB ace pigeons. But his opponent was gone. I kept an eye on "New Super Ace" and saw that he had taken over the entire floor. No other pigeon was allowed on the floor, not even to eat. It was so bad that I locked "New Super Ace" in his box for 30 minutes so the other loft mates could still eat. And then I came up with a plan. I placed a cardboard box on the floor. Of course, "New Super Ace" was thrilled, but while he was locked up, another cock showed a great deal of interest in that box. "That's my luck," I thought, and I gave the other cock the feeling that he was the boss of this box. On basketing day, I released both cocks, and of course, a fight broke out, in which, just like in the aforementioned boxing match, "New Super Ace" won after the sixth round with a decisive knockout. "New Super Ace" went into the basket super-motivated, a close call. Either he was confident and wouldn't waste a few minutes getting home, or he didn't trust the situation and would sprint home like a devil out of a box. Luckily for us, the latter was the truth, and he was classified as

3rd Olympiad Pigeon Cat. H – old pigeons
4th World Best Pigeon Middle Distance KBDB
7th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Longer Middle Distance Old Pigeons

A facelift for the racing loft and earth rays

Miet pours a fresh cup of coffee and then comes up with a completely different story: "We've had countless meetings about it, and it's kept us awake at night. The racing loft for the old and yearling pigeons recently got a complete facelift. The loft was old and worn, and both the roof and the side walls were in dire need of renovation. We hesitated for a long time about building a completely new loft, but after much deliberation, we decided to raise the loft by 42cm. This was done solely because the aviary, located under the racing loft, was much too low (you could only stand under it by stooping) and wasn't practically designed. Now everyone can stand upright, and we've divided the space much more practically.

Marc Bollen (national winner of the 2025 Bourges V young pigeons) is our carpenter and had the problem that he could no longer obtain the same roof tiles and had to use "Pottelberg tiles." The roof is two to three rows higher than before, so The air volume in the roof is slightly higher. So far—it's been a good month now—we haven't noticed any difference. The pigeons feel good; they have beautiful white noses, but it feels a bit colder, but that could be due to the harsher winter weather of the past few days. Fingers crossed…

Jo adds, "Another reason we haven't installed a new loft is because, according to people in the know, we're having some trouble with water veins and aren't allowed to just put a loft anywhere. In 2025, we noticed the youngsters were almost constantly on the ground. We even put them in their boxes at dusk, and when we checked early the next day, they were back on the ground. They hadn't done that in previous years. Tom Cartuyffels was contacted, and he said there was a water vein running near the boxes. This water vein was neutralized, and believe it or not, within a week the youngsters were back in their boxes. Tom also advised us to leave the racing loft for the old birds and yearlings where it was and to renovate everything instead of building a new loft. It'll be exciting to see how things will go in 2026."

NATIONALE TOP RESULTATEN   

1 WORLD BEST PIGEON MD KBDB  - 2107099-24 RUBY X NATIONAL 1BEST
3 OLYMPIC ACE OLD BIRDS - 2112192-23 son S Geof x New Nat 1
4 WORLD BEST PIGEON MD KBDB - 2112192-23 S.Super Geof x New Nat1
7 WORLD BEST PIGEON AR KBDB - 2107298-24 Supreme x dtr GeofxDiva
3 NAT Ace KBDB GMD YL 2025 - 2107099-24 RUBY x NATIONAL 1BEST
4 NAT Ace KBDB GMD YL 2025 - 2107298-24 SUPREME x dtr GEOF
7 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Old 2025 - 2112192-23 son S GEOFxNEW NAT 1
20 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Old 2025 - 2112113-23 SUPREME x GEOFFRIA
23 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Old 6 races 2025 - 2112056-23 son OLYMPIC SOFIA
23 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Yl 6 races 2025 -  2107123-24 g.dtr ORANGE KING
38 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Old 2025 - 2112402-23 g.son NEW NATIONAL 1
42 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Yl 2025 - 2107081-24 g.dtr GEOFF x NEW NAT 1
54 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Old 2025 - 2112201-23 dtr NEW NATIONAL 1
81 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Old 5 races 2025 - 2124155-22 dtr GEOFF
89 NAT Ace KBDB GMD Yl 5 races 2025 -  2107033-24 g.dtr LOUIS VUITTON

10 NAT Champion Loft KBDB GMD 1+2 Old 2025

28 x TOP 50 NATIONAL  ( 7 x top 9 NATIONAL)
1 Nat Argenton 11.281 Ob+Yl - 534km
2 Nat Argenton 13.988 Yl -534km
3 Nat Argenton 4.758 Ob- 534km
4 Nat Argenton 6.523 Yl  - 534km
4 Nat Argenton  4.758 Ob - 534km
7 Nat Bourges 13.213 yb - 482 km
9 Nat Bourges 8.132 Ob - 482km
12 Nat Argenton 11.557 Ob - 534km
13 Nat Argenton 13.988 Yl - 534km
14 Nat Bourges 5.261 Ob - 482km
17 Nat Bourges 17.163 Yl -  482km
17 Nat. Bourges 11.056 Yl  -  482km
20 Nat.  Argenton 4.758 Ob -  534km
21 Nat. Bourges 11.056 Yl -  482km
21 Nat. Argenton 4.758 Ob -  534km
22 Nat. Argenton 13.988 Yl -  534km
22 Nat. Bourges 11.056 Yl -  482km
26 Nat. Bourges 7.666 Yl -  482km
27 Nat. Bourges 13.213 yb - 482 km
31 Nat. Argenton 6.523Yl - 534km
32 Nat. Argenton 6.523Yl -  534km
36 Nat. Bourges 13.213 yb  -  482 km
38 Nat. Argenton 11.557 Ob -  534km
39 Nat. Argenton 11.557 Ob -  534km
42 Nat. Bourges 3.990 Ob -  482 km
45 Nat. Bourges 18.985 Yb -  482 km
46 Nat. Bourges 18.985 Yb -  482 km
47 Nat. Bourges  5.261 Ob -  534km
51 Nat. Argenton 6.523Yl  -   534km
53 Nat. Bourges 13.580 Ob -  482km
53 Nat. Bourges 13.213 yb -  482 km
55 Nat. Bourges 1.622 ob -  482 km
56 Nat. Bourges 17.163 Yl -  482km
66 Nat. Bourges 5.261 Ob -  482km
68 Nat. Bourges 17.163 Yl -  482km
72 Nat. Bourges 13.213 yb -   482 km
72 Nat. Bourges 7.666 Yl -   482km
72 Nat. Argenton 4.758 Ob  -  534km
73 Nat. Bourges 13.213 yb  -  482 km
82 Nat. Bourges 8.132 Ob -  482km
86 Nat. Argenton 11.557 Ob -  534km
88 Nat. Bourges 18.985 Yb  -  482 km
88 Nat. Bourges 18.634 Ob  -  482km
89 Nat. Bourges 18.364 Ob -  482km
92 Nat. Bourges 7.666 Yl  -  482km
96 Nat. Bourges 21.502 Yb -  482km
96 Nat. Bourges 13.213 yb - 482 km
96 Nat. Argenton 6.523 Yl - 534km
100 Nat. Bourges 1.622 ob -  482 km 

Prestaties One Loft Races
2nd  prize HS 3 Victoria Falls 1.993 p  - 192km  -  child Crazy Fighter
9th prize HS 2 Ost Westfahlen Derby  642 p - 150km ggchild Yvan + New Nat 1
10th  prize AFRICA PRO 2.600 p - 240km grandchild Yvan, grandchild Olympic Rico
13th AVIRINGS OLR FINAL 1 against 1.034 p 508 km (1st Belgium) Boeckmans x d.Pap
18th prize FINAL Ost Westfalen Derby 428 km ggchild Yvan + New Nat 1
33rd prize Semi Final Mazury Poland OLR 705 p 361 km g.child Olympic Jules
44 HS3 Mazury 1.038 p g.child GEOFF + DE FLUP
159 FINAL MAZURY OLR g.child GEOFF + DE FLUP
11 ACE PIGEON AVIRINGS 3  X 500 KM FINAL (Boeckmans x dtr Papillon)

We would like to thank everyone on the Herbots team for taking the time to speak openly about the ins and outs of their pigeon colony. It's sometimes said that reaching the top is much easier than staying there, but it's abundantly clear that the Herbots Brothers have mastered this. Their well-thought-out strategy, combined with targeted investments and supported by a highly motivated team, has proven to be the golden formula for staying out of the top tier of Belgian pigeon racing. With "De Flup," they still bred and raced the best Belgian pigeon ever, in my opinion, and in 2025, other pigeons played a sublime role.

And we will be following the performances of the 2026 season with great interest. Only 20 pigeons remain from the 2025 old and yearling racing team. The others were either granted a place in the breeding loft or were selected from the team. Hopefully, the strong-performing 2025 young bird team will continue this same momentum in 2026 as yearlings. We're keeping our fingers crossed for them; the entire Herbots team deserves it.

Stefan Mertens

Specially for internet sales of Pigeon Bids, Herbots Gebroeders bred and selected a beautiful group of 2025 pigeons from their very best pigeons

This auction ends monday January 12th at 3 p.m. (c.e.t.)