Van Elsacker – Jepsen (Schilde) 1 Nat Champion long distance yearlings KBDB 2024
01 Jun 2025
On the national long distance flights with yearlings you get 6 chances, 3 of these 5 you have to cash in to be able to participate in the national long distance championship. At the colony of Serge Van Elsacker and Kirsten Jepsen in Schilde in Antwerp, they became 1st National Champion long distance yearlings KBDB 2024 in 2024 thanks to some top hens. Serge has already had a long career and several titles have already been won here, a total of no less than 59 provincial victories but never a 1st national. That would be fantastic if I could still experience that.
With this they won the national long distance championship
Limoges Nat 6,838 yearlings: 35 – 74
Tulle Nat (z) 1,701 yearlings: 32 – 65
Souillac Nat (z) 1,051 yearlings: 29 – 11
For years total widowhood
The battle has been fought here for 30 years with total widowhood, it may not be the best system but you have to keep a lot less pigeons that do nothing apart from motivation. Hence this choice. The pigeons are only transferred to their new loft very late, the future yearlings stay in the young pigeon loft for a long time and are paired on 20 March. The pigeons come back outside for the first time in the spring from 1 March because of many problems with birds of prey. Serge lets the pigeons brood for 16 to 17 days after the first couple has laid and from then on the widowhood can start. They sometimes fly their first flight just on eggs or just not, when they come home everything is gone. In 2025 it was the case that they flew Quievrain on Wednesday and Noyon on Sunday. When they came home from Noyon I had cleared everything away. Darkening or lighting is not done here with the old pigeons.
Training is not the biggest investment of time that is made here, the cocks are trained when I pair them and the hens during brooding. But that is a maximum of 4 or 5 times that I take them away and then they have to be ready for it.
If you then have to deal with losses or injured pigeons you have to look for new pairings, but such things bring swing into the team and provide new motivation. If I then notice that there are a few top pigeons among them that are coming along well, I will keep their partners at home.
How do your pigeons sit during the week?
The cocks sit at the front of the loft, all cocks sit half box and their nest dish remains ready half box but they can no longer reach it. The hens sit at the back of the loft and get little sunlight. The back of the loft is shielded with plexiglass plates so that the pigeons end up in a cold space. The solution for my loft is to have a heating system working here that maintains more or less the same temperature so that the pigeons do get in shape. During our visit we were allowed to feel the lofts and it was indeed very cozy there. So they sit in spacious aviaries where they can be let out via an intermediate corridor. During training the widowers move to the back of the loft in another aviary and the hens enter the loft of the cocks. From there they are then very quickly brought via the corridor to the back of the loft and they go back into the aviary where they stay for almost the entire day.
The pigeons train here once a day and this training is certainly not hard. In the beginning they often have to deal with birds of prey which causes a lot of stress among the pigeons. That is of course not conducive to flying.
How do you do it at basketing?
The hens then return to the lofts of the cocks via the corridor and fly into their living boxes. These are then completely open and the couples can do as they please. When everything is together I start taking away and usually I start with my first signed so that they are certainly in the right place. The first pigeons are therefore only together for a few minutes and the last 20 to 25 minutes but I also attach little importance to this.
When they come home the pigeons are only allowed in the corridor, from the moment that the majority is home I go to the lofts and let them in their boxes. Otherwise it is far too much chaos and there is too much fighting and also pigeons are demotivated because there is no partner at home. If I leave them in the hallway now and the partner comes home 5 minutes later, there is no problem.
The pigeons are allowed to stay together for 2 to 3 hours at the beginning, from the national flights this is usually until the morning after. Only when it is a very bad flight do I quickly separate them for recovery because they have no use for each other anyway and I do leave them together for half a day on Sunday morning.
The hens are basketed every week, even if they have been in the basket for several nights, they go along to a shorter flight the following week. On the long distance I will see how the flights go to see what I will play the following week. You cannot decide that in advance. The pigeons are raced on widowhood until the beginning of August and then the leash is released, the pigeons are not driven extra during the week during the season.
Best pigeons of the season 2024
BE 23-6033075 “Kensi” Hen
1 Ace pigeon yearlings long distance Kempische Fondclub 2024
1 Ace pigeon yearlings long distance Schilde 2024
2 Ace pigeon long distance Union Antwerp yearlings 2024
Co-winner 1 Nat Long Distance Champion yearlings KBDB 2024
1 Limoges 197p
12 Nat (z) 2.192p
30 Nat 6.838p
1 Souillac 84p
11 Nat (z) 1.051p
58 Nat 4.073p
293 Nat Tulle 5.751p
Father BE 22-6079267 Jubilaris
Also father of 1 Noyon 377p – 2 Quievrain 524p – 3 Quievrain 645p – 4 Nat (z) Tulle 1,637p – 19 Nat Tulle 5,753p – 13 Nat (z) La Souterraine 1,087p – 52 Nat La Souterraine 7,698p – 94 Nat Tulle 5,753p
Gr.F. BE 13-6043175 Speedywonder
Son of “226/08” Speedy Gonzales 2 Nat Ace Pigeon Middle Distance KBDB 2009
2 Olympiad Pigeon Poznan 2011 x “115/11” Olympic Wondergirl
5 Olympiad Pigeon Cat.C Nitra 2013
Gr.M. BE 14-6201403 Bamiske
½ sister “226/08” Speedy Gonzales 2 Nat Ace Pigeon Middle Distance KBDB 2009
2 Olympiad Pigeon Poznan 2011
Daughter of “619/06” Phantom Gaby Vandenabeele x “742/07” Trien
Mother BE 22-6079271 Judy
Also mother of 1 Noyon 377p - 4 Nat (z) Tulle 1,637p – 19 Nat Tulle 5,753p – 13 Nat (z) La Souterraine 1,087p – 52 Nat La Souterraine 7,698p – 94 Nat Tulle 5,753p
Gr.F. BE 17-3077734 Black Boy – Norbert & Stefan Ally
½ brother 1 Nat Montauban 3,990p – 1 Nat (z) La Souterraine 2,877p
Son of “591/10” Lucky Erik x “244/11” Daughter Provincial Poitiers Marc & Geert Pollin
Gr.M. DV 14-6498439 Bluebel
Daughter of “DV 781/11” Rode Prange x “DV 244/09” Blue 244
BE 23-6033236 “Katie” Hen
2 Ace Pigeon Yearlings Long Distance Kempische Fondclub 2024
Co-winner 1 Nat Long Distance Champion Yearlings KBDB 2024
14 Nat (z) Limoges 2.192p
35 Nat 6.838p
29 Nat (z) Souillac 1.051p
134 Nat 4.073p
32 Nat (z) Tulle 1.701p
182 Nat 5.751p
Father BE 17-4055875 Elimar – Marnick De Neve
Father and grandfather of 19 Nat Ace Pigeon KBDB 2021 – 29 Nat Tulle 4,451p – 38 Nat Issoudun 14,758p – 53 Nat Argenton 17,666p – 46 Nat Gueret 12,888p – 70 Nat Argenton 17,666p
Brother of “Angelina” 5 Nat Ace Pigeon heavy middle distance young KBDB 2015
Gr.F. BE 13-4158347 Maxim – Gaby Vandenabeele
Son of “173/11” Marco x “431/10” Janette
Gr.M. BE 13-4158387 Dina - Marnick De Neve
Daughter of “246/11” Kasper Gaby Vandenabeele x “949/09” Isabelle Gaby Vandenabeele
Mother BE 18-6055245 Feeks
½ sister 8 Nat Ace Pigeon heavy middle distance KBDB 2017
Mother of 19 Nat Ace Pigeon KBDB 2021 – 25 Nat La Souterraine 7,368p – 38 Nat Issoudun 14,758p – 46 Nat Gueret 12,888p – 58 Nat Argenton 21,282p - 70 Nat Argenton 17,666p
Gr.F. GB 14-46876 All-in One – Gaby Vandenabeele
Son of “301/08” Chateauroux 1 Nat Chateauroux 17,189d x “629/10” Daughter Jens Rudi De Saer
Gr.M. BE 17-3075290 Python - Rudi De Saer
Sister “New Jens Junior” 5 Nat Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB 2016
Daughter of “896/10” New Jens 1 Nat Limoges 13,781d x “220/10” Black Lola Gaby Vandenabeele
BE 22-6079033 “Jenny” Hen
1 Ace Pigeon old long distance Kempische Fondclub 2024
1 Ace Pigeon old long distance Schilde 2024
4 Best Tulle pigeon 2023-2024 PIPA ranking
15 Nat (z) Tulle 2.258p
46 Nat 7.813p
28 Nat (z) Tulle 1.306p
101 Nat 4.964p
224 Nat Souillac 4.673p
597 Nat Tulle 7.883p
Father BE 18-6051183 Diamond Jack
Also father of 1 Toury 1,456p – 4 Morlincourt 856p – 5 Morlincourt 499p – 5 Bourges 834p- 59 Nat Bourges 28,551p
Gr.F. BE 13-4158348 Black Jack - Rudi De Saer
Son of “322/12” Lexus x “981/10” Jennifer
Gr.M. BE 16-6272803 Diamond – Won 1 Nat Ace Pigeon over 3 national flights
8 Nat Ace Pigeon heavy middle distance yearlings KBDB 2017
Won 20 Nat (z) Argenton 7,332p - 20 Prov Bourges 3,435p – 61 Nat (z) Bourges 7,364p - 96 Nat (z) Chateauroux 8,584p
Daughter of “GB 876/14” All-in One – Gaby Vandenabeele x “072/08”
Mother BE 16-6041242 Dinky Toy
Gr.F. BE 15-3144523 Jacky Blue - Rudi De Saer
½ brother “New Jens” 1 Nat Limoges 13,781p
Son of “413/09” Gino Boy Gino Clicque x “563/13” Beauty
Gr.M. BE 10-6065194 Vanessa
Won herself 1 Prov Argenton 645p – 1 Prov Gueret 537p ( 2 Nat 2,745p )
Daughter of “NL 247/08” Inbred 120 Janssen Meulemans x “492/06” Picabo
Young pigeons
The young pigeons are divided into 3 groups and are placed in a large aviary for the first 6 weeks of being outside to protect them from birds of prey. Afterwards they are divided per round and this once a day. The first round is darkened until 1 June, the second until 15 June and the 3rd round until 21 June. The intention is that they fly at least one national flight and preferably 2. But of course everything has to go well, you can't always control these things.
They are separated after the last group Noyon and after the 3rd group has also had Noyon in their wings, all cocks from all lofts go out at the same time with the old pigeons and the hens also from all lofts including the old pigeons. These come out earlier but then fly a bit more towards the end of the season.
When basketing, nothing is done about motivation, after the flight they are allowed to stay together until the morning after. They are then given a bath and separated.
Feeding
In terms of feeding, I always feed the old pigeons twice a day for 30 minutes, they can eat whatever they want and then I clean everything up. After training, they get a portion of candy and peanuts. The young pigeons only get food once a day and a candy mix in the morning. I do not feed my pigeons, they just get a good sports mixture from Vanrobaeys every day. When they come home, they mainly get grit, tovo and minerals to pick up first and BT Amin from Röhnfried or Nano Tolyamin in the drinking water.
I have not added anything to the feed for the last 4 years and the pigeons just eat well. During breeding in the spring, the pigeons get a 7-day cure with tricho green and during the season they are only treated on the advice of Vincent Schroeder.
All pigeons are given a cure against paratyphoid in the autumn without vaccination, the old and yearling pigeons are vaccinated with Colombopox in the spring and the pigeons are given Rota-Paramyxo and Colombopox.
Some nice results in 2024
Sermaises 2,917 old : 13, 31, 60, 63, 173, 186, 297... (20/35)
Sermaises 1,764 yearlings : 7, 13, 25, 84, 144, 160... (11/25)
Sermaises 2,064 old 27, 62, 77, 98, 155, 169... (13/23)
Sermaises 1,084 old : 15, 17, 54, 61, 121, 166, 289 (7/16)
Sermaises 765 yearlings : 12, 14, 40, 46, 111, 190 (6/11)
Bourges Nat 18,785 yearlings : 198, 309, 376, 600, 842, 1333, 1768, 1778... (16/19)
Bourges Nat 6,713 old : 95, 205, 208, 360, 929, 937, 1015, 1298, 1541 (9/12)
Bourges Nat 5,529 old : 36, 473, 588, 676 (4/5)
Sancoins Nat 12,958 yearlings : 14, 252, 1289, 1999 (4/6)
Argenton Nat 17,666 yearlings : 53, 70, 89, 120, 199, 318, 457, 565, 697, 710... (18/27)
Argenton Nat 8,867 old : 120, 1399 (2/2)
Argenton Nat 8,343 old : 7, 18, 191, 595, 599, 1360 (6/6)
Argenton Nat 11,777 yearlings : 30, 126, 267, 273, 316, 428, 464, 748, 2432 (9/12)
Argenton Nat 1,787 old : 53, 70, 374 (3/3)
La Souterraine Nat 5,243 old : 47, 53, 665 (3/6)
La Souterraine Nat 7,368 yearlings : 25, 52, 114, 159, 379, 525, 930, 994 (8/9)
Limoges Nat 10,653 old : 79, 423 (2/2)
Limoges Nat 6,838 yearlings : 30, 35, 74, 449, 553, 1117 (6/6)
Souillac Nat 4,073 yearlings : 58, 134 (2/2) 20/07
Tulle Nat 5,751 yearlings : 182, 293, (2/2)
Tulle Nat 4,964 old : 17, 101, 183, 548, 764, 767 (7/10)
Tulle Nat 5,753 yearlings: 19, 67, 71, 94, 227, 337, 425, 506, 536 (12/17)
Serge and Kirsten, congratulations on this beautiful title and much success in your pigeon career from the entire HERBOTS TEAM.
Buelens Kim
