1st Champion of the Belgium KBDB Grand Middle Distance 2007
Theo Janssens-Boen from Mol -

 

Text & pictures : Johan Kempen
Edited : Martin Degrave

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Mol
The married couple Theo Janssens and his wife Gerarda Boen are great lovers of the Middle Distance up to Limoges. Every year they are by the champions in various Middle Distance races, and if they basket pigeons by the Molse Fondclub (Molse Long Distance club) for the small distance, you can be certain they will achieve good results. While I was waiting for my pigeons to return home from Barcelona at the beginning of July, Theo came to ask how things were and waited with me. It was at the beginning of what we call the ‘Franse miserie’ (French misery). Theo thought that his favourite race, Bourges, would probably be cancelled this year. ‘And I always do so well from there’, were his exact words. Luckily for him, and for the rest of Belgium, the problems were ‘quickly’ solved and everything was back to normal. Theo kept his word with Bourges. His old hen ‘6121232/04’ achieved a speed of 1374 m/m and beat 1348 old pigeons, 2099 yearlings and 4290 youngsters in Antwerp. In addition it was also 1st national zone B. Nationally it achieved the 4th place. Theo and Gerarda’s hens were obviously in form because from Le Mans with 772p it was almost a provincial victory. They came behind Jos and Jules Engels (Putte), but still won 2nd and 14th provincially. The hens raced very strongly in 2007. More over this later. The 2007 season was the cherry on the cake. The first national title was a fact. I’m certain that Mr and Mrs Janssens-Boen will stand on the podium in Oostende with great pride!

Stock building and pedigree
Theo is now 66 years old and retired, but he started with pigeons at an early age. He must have been about 12 years-old when his brother stopped racing pigeons. Father Janssens was a farmer and didn’t have time for the pigeons, but Theo was interested and wanted to take over where his brother left off and carry on with the pigeon pedigree. This loft consisted mainly of pigeons from Jean Smaers from Mol because his brother worked for him. They were originally Long Distance pigeons, but Theo raced them successfully from the Quievrain races
. Some of the toppers then, so as ‘Kleine Blauwe’ and his ‘Koekoek’, are still interweaved in the stock pigeons now. When Father Janssens stopped with his farm work and moved, the pigeon sport was set aside for a few years. The best four pigeons were transferred to the brother-in-law. In 1963 Theo married Gerarda Boen, daughter of the well-known sprint racer Frans Boen. And so it was that Theo went back to his old passion and with his new love, once again began racing pigeons.
Theo got his old stock back and crossed these with the pedigree from his father-in-law. The couple ‘Goede Blauwe’ (old pedigree) X a late hen from F.Boen was a direct hit, an excellent breeding couple. This breeding couple bred the stock father of the loft, who was paired with a hen from the gebr. Lievens from Geel to produce the fantastic Quievrain pigeons.

In 1986 Theo bought two pigeons from Gebr. Hooyberghs from Mol who owned the pedigrees Van Loon and Verstappen. Because these bred so well, Theo exchanged 21 pigeons with gebr. Hooyberghs in 1989. “Including two real supers”, says Theo. “They were my 6611031/89, pure Van Loon who flew 5 X first prize from Noyon and 2 x 2nd and my 3311026/89, Van Loon x Verstappen, who flew 2 x first prize from Noyon and 5 x 2nd. In 1990 he bought 3 pigeons from Flor Engels from Putte, including one real good one. At the moment there are 3 sons from this pigeon in the breeding loft, and the grandsons of this Engels-pigeon race extremely well. In the sale of the summer youngsters in 1991 from Verberck-Van Hove (Berlaar) Theo bought a hen which he later paired with a cock exchanged from Cyriel Vandereycken from Vorselaar. She formed a good breeding couple where from, including amongst others; ‘De lichte 436/94’ produced good breeders. ‘Goede jaarling 6543341/95’ is an important basis pigeon for the current successes. He was bred from ‘317/92’ (old sort Smaers) x ‘829/93 daughter Krakow 031/89’. Exchanging young pigeons with other fanciers has resulted in a lot of good pigeons for Janssens-Boen. He successfully exchanged pigeons with Willy Vangeel from Hulsthout, Geert Strijker from Midwolda (NL), the late Gommaar Van Opstal from Turnhout and Marcel de Feyter from Schilde.

In 2001 Theo exchanged youngsters with Eddy Vos from Mol and Binnemans-Vandeweyer from Geel. So as not to forget anyone I have to mention the contribution of a direct pigeon from van Louis Van Loon, a few from Bernd Knuppel (Germany) and also L. Heylen (Olen). He also has pigeons from the well-known Frans Berghmans from Mol. Don’t think this loft is a junk heap of pedigrees, no, Theo regularly fetches new blood, but everything is thoroughly checked out so that he keeps a straight and well balanced line. He knows what he is breeding and in which direction he has to go. Anyone who thinks his pedigree can’t be improved is wrong. Staying still means going backwards. You can be sure of that. Theo and Gerarda breed pigeons that can win first prizes from 100 to 700 km. The basis lines ‘Goede jaarling’ and ‘Bourgesman 471/94’ are carefully replenished with other pedigrees.

Method
At the beginning of the season Mr and Mrs Janssens-Boen had 45 widowers, including thirty yearlings. They were coupled at the beginning of March so that they could brood for a few days. Theo tried different systems so that he could start with widowhood, but in the end it didn’t matter which system he used. The pigeons are more important than the system. All the widowers were locked up in their box during the season and the curtains were closed. This was to ensure rust. The widowers were given half an hour to eat. After this half hour the eating tray was turned round so that the pigeons could use it to sit on. They were locked up and a drinking bowl was fixed to their box. The widowers were taught to stay peacefully in their boxes during the winter. One month before the first coupling the new widowers are introduced into the lofts. The old pigeons are locked up day and night for the first few weeks (except when eating and drinking of course). The yearlings choose a free box and from this point are also locked up at night. Their first introduction to this way of working. For the rest of the time both the yearlings and the old pigeons are only locked up in the evening until the following morning. The pigeons aren’t allowed outside. They come outside for the first time when the winter youngsters are lying in the nest. In the time between youngsters and the second brooding the same system is applied, free during the day but locked up at night. In this way the cocks become more attached to their living boxes, according to Mr and Mrs Janssens-Boen. Once the widowhood season begins, the tables are turned.
They are now locked up after the morning training until the second training. They then eat and drink in their box but are allowed free in the evening until the following morning. It is a method that is a lot of work for the carers, but they are prepared to do this for their pigeons. The widowhood season lasts until around the middle of august and the cocks who have done well during the season are allowed to brood again, but not to breed any youngsters. Theo is also an advocate of peanuts. During the season it is as if they would steal them out of his pocket. They are that mad about them. Normally they are given two a day, but for a few days before basketting Theo and his wife go into the lofts and give them extra while the widowers are locked up. The bond between fancier and pigeon is strengthened and the energy reserves stored. Theo feeds his pigeons different pigeon mixtures mixed together. Why?
During the winter months Mr and Mrs Janssens-Boen won in various championships no less than 24 sacks of pigeon food. You can’t just throw them away! Everything is mixed, resulting in a good varied mixture. Theo visits the vet a couple of times a year and the rest of the time he treats the pigeons himself with Tricho-Plus or 1/6th Flagyl. He also regularly gives them a cure against coccidiosis because the loft area is quite damp. Brewers yeast, garlic oil, lemon and vitamins are added to the feed. “I prefer to add to the food than in the drinking water”, says Theo, “then I can be sure that they eat it all up.”
The youngsters from the first round are darkened. From the 1st of April until mid June they are in the dark from 17h00 until 8h00. The cocks and hens stay together during the darkening period but afterwards they are separated and the sliding door technique is used. The youngsters from the next round are put into another loft, but it is more an aviary than a loft. It is almost entirely open. Good results are also had here. There is plenty of air in this loft. I have mentioned Gerarda´s duties a few times, but rightfully so. She may not be as well known as ‘Mit’ but has just as much pigeon knowledge. Her duties are not just cleaning, she does almost everything. She takes care of the breeding loft and always clocks the pigeons when they return from a race. “She is a more passionate fancier than I am” admits Theo.
“When I used to work she really did everything, now I help, but my duties are limited. When a decision has to be made about which pigeons have to be nominated first and second, she is usually right. I nearly always follow her advice. She really has an eye for this sort of thing!” A few years ago Theo decided to also race with hens. At the beginning it was difficult, but this year there was a breakthrough. The 12 hens were allowed to raise a youngster in the spring and were then raced in widowhood. They are also locked up during the day. They train twice a day. In the beginning Theo was very busy with the training, but later it became much easier. They remain in the air until he lowers the landing plank. It is important that the pigeons are raced often and that there is no pairing. At the beginning of July Theo pairs the hens so that he can race them from Bourges with a small youngster.
The results were amazing; the condition of the pigeons was enormous at the end of this season. They found a lot of motivation with their new nests.

The team with the national title

Vierzon (491km) 3523p:99 (first nominated with 245/05) and 145 (2nd nominated with 329/05) Blois (482 km) 3235p: 13 (1st nominated with 275/05) and 79 (2nd nominated with 232/04) Pithiviers (391 km) 550p: 17 (1st nominated with 815/03) and 9 (2nd nominated with 135/04) Montluçon (566 km) 1408p: 160 (1st nominated with 275/05) and 112 (2nd nominated with 245/05) Bourges (493 km) 4316p: 102 (1st nominated with 275/05) and 1 (2nd nominated with 232/04)

6121232/04 Bourges winner 1st provincial Bourges 1348 old 2007 Fastest from a total of 7.737 pigeons province Antwerp
Her father ‘633/02’ is a beautiful son of the stock pigeon ‘Goede jaarling 341/95’ X ‘Blauw kweekmoeder 520/99. He was used for breeding straight away.
Her mother ‘265/02’ is a mixture of Vandereycken x Verberck-Van Hove X Geerinckx. As a youngster won ‘232/04’ 2nd Geuret in Molse Long Distance club and as yearling 1st Vichy Molse Long Distance club. This year she won Quievrain 492p-109, Quievrain 180p-18, Pithiviers 512p-18, Pithiviers 222p-11, Blois 286p-6, Chateauroux 206p-5, Montluçon 146p-24 and Bourges 4316p-1. Her sister ‘500/06’ was also in the hen loft and won amongst other things Le Mans provincially 772p-14. She was preceded in the loft by ‘743/06’ (2nd provincial Le Mans and bred from the same old line).

Hen 6227245/05 She won 2 of the 10 prizes in the championships. This fantastic hen ‘6227245/05’ has as
father ‘617/02’ (a grandson of Goede jaarling) and as mother ‘2003/01’. This breeding wonder is a direct daughter of ‘Goede jaarling’ crossed with ‘520/99’, a direct Willy Vangeel. ‘245/05 won this year Sens 625-185, Vierzon 523-16, Bourges 151-22, Blois 286-24, Montluçon 146-4, Argenton 151-33, Quievrain 366-54
6227275/05 This hen won 3 prizes from the 10 for KBDB. She is bred from ‘080/95’ (a direct Frans Berghmans from Mol) X ‘898/03’. From ‘494/02’ (W. vangeel x Janssens-Boen x Geerinckx Karel) x ‘Bieke 998/00’. Bieke was as a youngster 2nd provincial champion and 11th national champion KBDB and comes from ‘Goede Jaarling x Willy Vangeel) She won this year, amongst other things, Noyon 824-225, Quievrain 180-1, Quievrain 492-52, Pithiviers 512-77, Vierzon 523-25, Bourges 151-5, Blois 286-1, Chateauroux 206-1, Montlucon 146-8, Bourges 176-13.
6227329/05 This pigeon comes from ‘732/02’ (a son from ‘De lichte 436/94’ x ‘Blauwke 405/94’) X ‘940/01’ from the lines W. Vangeel x ‘Bieke’ x Van Oerle.
6403815/03 This yearling cock is a direct son of ‘Goede jaarling 341/95’ paired with ‘838/98’, daughter German cock from the late G. Vanopstal x ‘829/93’ (mother ‘Goede jaarling 341/95)

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