イェフ・ファンウインケル - ティールトウインゲ（ベルギー）、上出来の2011年は高名なタイトルの勝利で飾られます！

Jef Vanwinkel is not a man to mince his words… by a pigeon  discussion Jef is always straight to the point… calls a spade a spade… right up front. This doesn’t always suit everybody… but it doesn’t Jef at all. Jef is known in pigeon circles as a real ‘hen racer’, is a specialist in that part of our sport. Although since recently he also has 24 couples which are raced according to the ‘total widowhood’… a racing method which Jef has taken on by way of an experiment, seeing the great successes by fellow pigeon fanciers… so he wanted to try it out for himself. He is determined to carry on this experiment next year. In addition there are also the widow hens which are raced in classic widowhood (with stay at home cocks for partners). According to Jef, one of the great advantages of the hen game is the fact that  in this way you discover the best breeding hens. Almost 80% of the super hens which go to the breeding loft also develop into extra breeding hens… whilst 75% of the ‘cracks’ amongst the cocks are useless for breeding! Experience taught him this. Two other big advantages are, according to Jef, that the hens are able to keep their ‘top condition’ longer than the cocks… and secondly, you can race them almost every week in races of 500 Km, only after an extremely tough race is it advisable to give them a week’s rest (or shorter race).

Up until now the youngsters were also raced in widowhood, coupled with older partners, but Jef is also planning to change this… from next year the youngsters will be raced with the ‘sliding door’, then he doesn’t have to cart around the baskets with old partners… yes, Jef is no longer 3 x 7 hey sir (own quote)… so thinking of the future, and testing the horizons as to how things can be made simpler. 

Jef owns a beautiful loft accommodation, whereby we are not referring to the ‘beauty’ but the ‘thoroughness’… lofts with large aviaries at the front in which the pigeons reside during the day. Starting in June, the windows by the old birds are even open day and night, the same applies to the youngsters from around the 21st of June, when he stops with darkening. The big advantage according to Jef… little or no trouble with ‘head sickness’! It is only by the last race from Gueret that I sometimes give the youngsters a product for the head on Monday or Tuesday (usually doxycycline).  In Tielt-Winge they avoid medicine as much as possible… Pigeons which are given a lot of medicine don’t last long says Jef… they are soon past their best, here pigeons can still race with the best when they are 4 or 5 years old, that is the perfect proof! However, during the season  they are given vitamins for 1 or 2 days, and a lot of protein at the beginning of the week to recuperate, and fats or fatty food at the end of the week towards the basketting day. Pigeons only fly a few kilometres on sugar, the rest on fat… so according to Jef it is important that the ‘tank’ is full when they are basketted! Pigeons should actually always be ‘convex’… and this through training and appropriate food. Once the season has finished no feathers have been lost… the lights (from the extra lighting used) are turned off, and the pigeons reside in the aviaries to speed up the moulting. There then follows a cure against paratyphoid, to avoid any problems during the moulting due to reduced immunity… a cure which is repeated in the Spring just before the racing season. Then during the entire winter they are given garlic in the drinking water almost daily… this keeps the blood ‘clean’ during the winter period.

No ‘good birds’ no successes… is one of Jef’s slogans, although the man behind these ‘good birds’ have room for manoeuvre in these successes. It would be like kicking in an open door to say that Jef Vanwinkel has raced between the real top lofts of our country for years… and well-known in pigeon circles. During the 2011 sport season the quality by Jef Vanwinkel rose to the surface again, and once again resulted in an unbelievable series of top performances… top performances which in turn resulted in prominent titles, we have listed the most predominant for you: 

1° National Super loft Grand Middle Distance 2011 ‘Het Duivenblad’
1° Prov. Ace bird Youngsters KBDB Flemish-Brabant 2011
2° Prov. Champion Old birds KBDB Flemish-Brabant 2011
2° Prov. Ace bird Old birds KBDB Flemish-Brabant 2011
3° Prov. Ace bird Youngsters KBDB Flemish-Brabant 2011
4° Nat. Champion ‘Grand middle distance’ O.b. KBDB 2011 

This is just a small selection from the very long list of titles in various competitions and championships that the Jef Vanwinkel pigeons raced together in 2011. A few pigeons which signed or played a part in the winning of this title, were: 

-‘Prima Donna’ BE09-2053419

2° Prov.  Ace bird ‘Grand middle distance’ KBDB 2011
10° Nat. Ace bird ‘Grand middle distance’  KBDB 2011
2° Nat. Ace bird ‘Gouden Veer’ 2011
2° Ace bird ‘Union Brabant’ 2011
2° Ace bird Middle Distance LCB 2011
3° As der Azen O.b. LCB 2011
3° Ace bird  ‘Centre & Est’ 2011
4° N.Zone La Souterraine  1.420 p.
    23° Nat.              3.562 p.
8° N.Zone Argenton        3.155 p.
    48° Nat.             11.001 p.
18° N.Zone Argenton       4.244 p.
21° N.Zone Bourges        4.390 p.
    89° Nat.             17.138 p.
36° N.Zone Bourges        8.439 p.
42° s-Nat. Chateauroux    6.281 p.
44° N.Zone Chateauroux    6.368 p.
98° N.Zone Chateauroux    4.690 p.
3° Pithiviers               939 p.
4° Momignies                383 p.
5° Nanteuil                 514 p. 

‘Prima Donna’ is a daughter of ‘Den 890/03’ x ‘De 941-duivin 941/03’ (the parents of a.o. the 7° Nat Argenton 7.422 p., 14° + 89° Nat Bourges 17.138 p., 18° Nat Zone Argenton 4.244 p… etc), with, in the pedigree, almost all the stock birds by Jef Vanwinkel, with  2 x ‘Hollander 473/90’, ‘Blauwe Engels 274/94’, 2 x ‘Witten Engels 513/98’, the ‘Driebander 303/91’! 

-‘Tatjana’ BE11-2085342

1° Prov Ace bird Grand middle distance Youngsters 2011
2° Ace bird Middle distance Youngsters LCB 2011
3° As der Azen Youngsters LCB 2011
1° Blois                    258 p.
    6° Prov               1.721 p.
95° Nat. Argenton        20.383 p.
61° Prov Blois            2.156 p.
1° La Souterraine           293 p.
    20° Nat.             16.665 p.
181° N.Zone Gueret        3.819 p. 

This ‘Tatjana’ is a daughter of the ‘Argenton 120/09’ (1° Nat Zone C Argenton 2.911 p. & 4° Nat. 7.358 p.) x ‘De 211-duivin 211/07’ (via her mother, a half-sister of ‘Olympic Queen’, which was 1° Olympiad bird Cat. C 2009 in Dortmund, 1° Prov & 5° Nat Ace bird KBDB 2008). 

-‘3° Prov Ace bird’ BE11-2085078

3° Prov Ace bird ‘Grand middle distance’ Youngsters 2011 17° Nat Argenton    20.383 p. 25° N.Zone Gueret    3.819 p. 47° s-Nat Nevers     1.769 p. 60° Prov Blois       2.156 p.  

This excellent cock is a son of ‘Brother Aske Orleans 163/06’ (‘Aske Orleans’ was 1° As der Azen LCB ’05, 1° s-Nat Ace bird CFW ’05) x ‘Rose 146/10’ (4° Montluçon 7.700 p., 12° Soissons 1.281 p., 15° Pithiviers 1.200 p., 90° Bourges 6.043 p., 83° Gueret 3.047 p.).

A new crossing with the old stock which gives great hope, is the introduction of the golden ‘Aelbrecht blood’ from sport friend Andre Verbesselt. Both the ‘Jeff’ as the ‘Andrew’ (both grandsons of the world famous ‘Bak 17’ Aelbrecht) developed into real top breeders in Tielt-Winge! So gave the ‘Jeff’, an inbred cock ‘Bak 17’ out the ‘King 604/08’ (Grandson ‘Bak 17’) x ‘Daughter Bak 17’ 245/08… coupled with 3 various hens, toppers so as:

-‘Blue 205’ BE11-2085205(out ‘Jeff’ x ‘Daughter Olympic Queen 280/09’): 63° Nat Argenton 20.383 p.

-‘Chantal’ BE10-2044208(out ‘Jeff’ x ‘1° Ace bird Ave Regina 05’ 230/03): 

34° Nat. Zone Argenton 5.7637 p.
3° Blois                  174 p.
11° Soissons            1.362 p.
27° Soissons              542 p. etc…
 

-‘Gueret’ BE10-2044166(out ‘Jeff’ x Daughter Super breeder Den 71’ 388/07):

1° Gueret 246 p. & 12° Nat 3.047 p.
60° Pithiviers   1.200 p.
113° Argenton    4.979 p.
172° Chateauroux 5.564 p.
263° Chateauroux 8.092 p. 

The ‘Andrew’ is then again a brother of ‘Max’ (father of ‘Soubalon’, the 2° prize One Million Euro Spring Race 2010 Shangai, and ‘Miss May’, the 10° prijze Final Grand Pigeon Race Thailand 2009) and comes out ‘Son Bak 17’ 753/07 coupled with ‘Blauwtje 751/07’ (Daughter of the ‘Perpignan 065/97’ x ‘Daughter Limoges 043/03’ De Rauw-Sablon also grandmother 2° Nat Ace bird Long Distance KBDB). This ‘Andrew’ is father of the

-‘Gueretduivin’ BE11-2085021, winner of a.o. 

15° Nat Zone Gueret 3.819 p., 145° Nat Gueret 14.262 p. 2011
61° Blois           2.156 p.
38° Nanteuil          836 p.

Jef Vanwinkel hasn’t finished singing his pigeon song! Whoever, like Jef, manages to breed a new series of top pigeons year after year, whereby a few even manage to grow into ‘Ace bird’ at provincial and even national level… knows that everything is good, both in the breeding and the racing loft, as well as the racing system. Pigeon sport without frills… a lot of breeding though, testing them thoroughly, and selecting mercilessly… this is also the key to success by Jef.