The last international race of the season is over, as is tradition, Perpignan. Due to poor weather on the Friday flight line, the pigeons were released on Saturday morning around 9:45 a.m. Because the release was a bit later, none of the pigeons could return home on the same day as the release, which is what many extreme long-distance fanciers prefer. This results in pigeons that fly through the night or fly considerably further than others. The pigeons of Kurt Raets from Wiekevorst in Antwerp also fall into this category. Kurt is by no means an extreme long-distance fancier, but he brought some long-distance blood through Van der Schraelen & Son. Because they only race cocks, several hens came to Wiekevorst. One of them is this top hen, who always returned fresh from the preparatory races as a yearling, but never early. She passed her exams in Narbonne in 2024, and there she was, finishing 110th National against 5,553 yearlings. 

This was the signal to believe in this hen completely and prepare her for Barcelona 2025 on a nest. She was basketed after 10 days of brooding and won 77th National against 5,819 old birds. Kurt had one pigeon in the basket, so she was a winner. What will we do after Barcelona? The pigeon recovered quickly and was prepared for Perpignan. The hen was basketed in the same position and won against 3,522 old birds and 3rd International. What an achievement, and what a story with only one pigeon in the basket each time. This also makes her 14th National Ace Pigeon Extreme Long Distance Old Birds KBDB 2025 and has earned her place in the breeding loft.

This is the motivation for Kurt to focus on the extreme long distance again with a few hens in the coming years and to introduce this program to them.

Preparation

The idea was for this pigeon to rest during the winter, especially after Narbonne, and to get through the molt well. Therefore, the racing pigeons were not paired during the winter period and only saw their cocks again upon their return from their first race in early April. After a few weeks, all the hens were paired, and widowhood could begin. This hen flew her first races, and then, based on Barcelona, it was decided when she should be paired for 10 days of brooding. She was paired in the loft where all the hens gather after the race, and another pair was also placed in that loft to give her some motivation to defend their nest box. After Barcelona, the hen returned early, and the nest was broken down for Perpignan. The hen from Barcelona was really fresh, as she flew with the other hens again for half an hour on Monday.

The pigeons initially train here once a day, quickly increasing to twice a day, training for 40 to 60 minutes. They receive the full Aidi feeding schedule for extreme long-distance races, as well as supplements. I'm comfortable with this, so I stick to it.

They also receive yellow drops for tricho every week, and they received a four-day respiratory treatment at the beginning of the season. I have regular checkups during the season, either with Raf Herbots or Aksel Gacoms.

Winner Perpignan 

BE 23-6058237 Checkered Hen
1st National Perpignan 3.522 old birds
77 National Barcelona ’25 5.819 old birds
110 National Narbonne ’24 5.553 yearlings
168 Int.Nat Narbonne ’24 10.924 yearlings 

Velocity : 1152,95m/min ( more then 30min ahead)
Distance : 953,645km
Arrival : 06:48:08