The latest sensation: Iron Man
There is one pigeon that drew a lot of attention in the middle distance competition over the past few weeks, and it happens to be Jos's favourite bird: Iron Man (BE17-6025089) claimed his first top result as a young bird in Noyon, over 208km. Due to a postponed release caused by bad weather, all pigeons were required to stay in the basket for two nights. The pigeons were released only the following day, in the afternoon, and the temperature had risen to 30°C by then. There was a fairly strong headwind as well, which made a rather demanding day of racing, especially for a group of young birds. Nonetheless, Iron Man claimed a first prize of 669 pigeons, with an impressive 7 minute lead over his loft mates, and 9 minutes over the other competitors! Jos Vercammen had already been convinced of this racing cock's potential well before this race. Unfortunately Iron Man hit an electricity wire shortly after his victory from Noyon. He did not have any serious injuries but it did put an end to his season.
The pigeons have been racing in high temperatures and in strong headwinds for several weeks now, and he has been unstoppable these days. Iron Man feels particularly comfortable in these conditions:
26/05: Chevrainvilliers (354 km): 1-654 p. 23/06: Melun (310 km): 2 - 710 p. 07/07: Melun (310 km): 2 - 616 p. 15/07: Chevrainvilliers (354 km): 7-396 p. 21/07: Chevrainvilliers (354 km): 1-907 d. (9 minutes ahead of second pigeon!)
Click here for the pedigree of Iron Man.
BE17-6025202, son Elektro
Iron Man has a strong opponent in his own team, a pigeon that feels equally at home in the conditions that we saw in recent weeks: racing bird BE17-6025202, a son of stock breeder Elektro. He has won the following prizes so far:
23/06: Melun: 1 - 710 p. (fastest overall of 10,781 p.) 30/06: Melun: 1 - 1,149 p. 15/07: Melun: 2 - 616 p. (behind loft mate Iron Man)
“This talented bird will be the last youngster of stock breeder Elektro that will be raced”, says Lars Vercammen.
Click here for the pedigree of the 202-17.
Stella: outstanding in Jarnac after a top result in Brive
Jos and Lars Vercammen claimed a provincial first prize from Brive with racing hen Stella in early July; click here to reread our report from Brive. Meanwhile Stella was basketed again for Jarnac, where she went on to win a 2nd provincial! Stella (BE16-6032172) is a granddaughter of Mustang, 1st National Chateauroux of 33,018 pigeons. She is also a nest sister of Sherry, first ace pigeon in St. Job in races of 600 to 800km, with a 2nd Provincial Tulle 1,058 pigeons to her name. The sire of these talented sisters is Black Panter (BE15-6026420).
Click here for the pedigree of Stella.
The head and the wing of Stella: 1st Provincial Brive and 2nd Provincial Jarnac
Black Panter, the sire of Stella and Sherry and a son of Mustang: 1st National Chateauroux
Promising young birds
The young birds appear to be in great shape as well: the Vercammen birds were able to claim the first six prizes from Chevrainvilliers in the ZAV union! And the rest of the team put in an excellent performance as well. These are the provincial results of 5,197 young birds:
4-5-7-8-19-20-28-30-59-61-… (29/53)
Believe it or not: the first 15 (!) pigeons that arrived home all originated from Elektro, the stock breeder of Jos and Lars. And the first two pigeons in this race are in fact two sisters bred from a daughter of Elektro paired to Dumbo. The first young bird to come home was a blue coloured hen with ring number E18-6020199. Click here for her pedigree.
Click here for the list of achievements of Hok Jos Vercammen in 2018 so far.