Herbots | Périgueux II: Yearlings

Nico Fourneau from Moen, in the Belgian province of West Flanders, is one of the “coming stars” of Belgian pigeon racing. At national level, he has already won numerous top prizes and achieved many outstanding results, but it took the sensational performance of “Den Périgueux” before he could celebrate his very first national victory. Nico, the very picture of calmness, seems to have a clear plan when it comes to pigeon racing. Step by step, without ever rushing, he ticks off his goals. One of those goals was to win a national race, and last Saturday the champagne corks were finally popping under the steel-blue skies of Moen. “And the funny thing is, I didn’t even see him arrive,” Nico begins. “I was feeding the sheep when I started receiving congratulatory messages. At first, I thought it was some kind of joke, but when I hurried to the loft, I just managed to see my second pigeon (8th National) landing. By the time I got inside, ‘Den Périgueux’ was already sitting there proudly. After that, I forced myself not to look at the computer for at least an hour and simply waited, biting my nails. I really didn’t want to know, but of course my phone kept buzzing with messages, so I gradually realized what was happening.”

“Den Périgueux”

Housed in one of the spacious lofts built into the roof structure of the beautiful square farmhouse, Nico has a real passion for long-distance and extreme long-distance racing. His racing team is therefore divided into two groups. Thirty cocks and thirty hens are raced in the long-distance category, partly on total widowhood and partly on the traditional widowhood system. For the marathon races, he keeps fifteen hens and fourteen cocks. The hens are raced on the nest, while the cocks are raced on widowhood. The national winner belongs to the team raced on the sliding-door system. Perhaps this “sliding-door system” provided the extra motivation for “Den Périgueux” (BE25-3032147), because it turned out that a hen which normally paired with the cock next door had decided to settle with “Den Périgueux” instead. A new romance is often an enormous source of motivation—and the result speaks for itself. Nico explains: “My national winner had already recorded three Top 10 finishes in sprint racing and, just fourteen days ago, he won 190th National from the same release point. This edition of Périgueux was his third long-distance race of the season. Will I race him again next year? No... his ticket to the breeding loft is already booked.”

A few additional details

Van Robaeys supplies the feed, with the “Revolution” mixtures being the preferred choice.As for supplements, Nico uses products from Koehoorn, as well as Tollyamin Forte and Belgasol. Yellow Drops are administered every week. Every two weeks, he visits his specialist veterinarian, and any treatments are given only on veterinary advice. In 2026, the birds were treated twice against ornithosis: once during the training period and once halfway through the season when the results were disappointing. Whenever the weather allows, all race birds are given a 30-kilometre training toss before a race. After returning home, they remain together for a while before being separated again, after which they are allowed to eat peacefully before basketing. “The first one is in the bag”… the first national victory has now been achieved, and something tells us it won’t be long before we once again find ourselves standing at the impressive entrance gate of the Fourneau family farm.