P. Timmer & Zn. (Hardinxveld): victory against 5914 pigeons from Châteauroux!

P. Timmer & Zn. from Hardinxveld is a combination that thrives on experience, family spirit and a no-nonsense approach. Father (almost 83) and son (56) have been a close-knit team for many years. Pigeon racing is deeply ingrained in their family: grandfathers, uncles and even the late Uncle Bas, who was actively involved until his death in 1993, all contributed to the pigeon racing tradition.

A colony without borders

Although they do not focus on one specific breed, the colony consists of a varied range of pigeons. In 2014, there was a significant boost with a few pigeons from Ton van den Hoogen, from which their “progenitor” the 853 also originated. Other noteworthy lines come from:

• The ‘Classicje’ from Antoon van den Burg (purchased at the Golden Classic Dordrecht)
• Pigeons from pigeon fancier Theo Pander from Haulerwijk, which perform excellently for them
• One-day long distance pigeons from Berth Knaven (Didam) and Gebr. Schrik (Ter Apel)

A striking success story is the winner of Châteauroux NL23-9323659: in our association, I spend a lot of time with Ronald Verhey and Jan Strijker. Three years ago, Ronald suggested that we purchase some summer youngsters together from Castermans-Maes (Dilsen-Stokkem). No sooner said than done. Those youngsters arrived at Ronald's loft (A. Verhey & Znn.), where they were paired with some of their own pigeons. In 2023, I took a couple of eggs from there, and the winner of Châteauroux came from those eggs. The father is a cock from Paul Couwenberg from Breda. 

Feeding and care

When it comes to care, they opt for quality and simplicity. They mainly feed mixtures from Peter Theunis (Championmix and NPO-mix), supplemented with Willem de Bruijn's morning mix. Theunis' supplements are also part of the daily regime.

Medically, they keep things as natural as possible. Treatments are limited to necessary vaccinations (PMV, rota, pox) and preventive use of BS from De Weerd. They only intervene when there are visible problems – usually the droppings provide sufficient signals about health.

Widowhood, simplicity and enjoyment

They race on total widowhood with approximately 16 pairs and 40 young birds. Separating the young birds? Too much work. ‘Anything that is too much work is avoided here...’, they say with a wink.

Modest successes, great satisfaction

For more than 30 years, they have been competing at a good level in Section 5. The Timmer combination regularly manages to compete at the top, with the icing on the cake being a handful of NPO victories in the past 10 to 12 years. For them, these are the real highlights.

They don't like to brag about championships or prizes. What counts is the love for the sport, the fun they have together and the pigeons that sometimes surpass themselves.

Congratulations on this magnificent victory from the entire Herbots team!

Christophe Mathues