THE RACING PIGEON 26 APRIL 2024
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RIK COOLS
Talking with Rik Cools and his wife Mieke about our beloved pigeon sport is always a pleasure. Rik is a breeder who loves both breeding and racing with the pigeons. Heisa specialist and therefore more than happy about the announced changes at National level in Belgium regarding the difficult medium distance flights every two weeks. This not only brings more respect to the animals, but also the time they need to recover and participate with full energy in the next race. “In the future, we have to be more considerate of the high temperatures and make sure that our pigeons fully recover,” Rik says. “My favourite top products are Bt-Amin Forte and Mumm, which provide fast recovery and all the necessary reserves for the next races. In warmer phases I additionally use Avipharm or Elektrolyt3Plus.
In the days after the races the pigeons are given Avidress Plus, which protects them from infections, keeps them in better health and also has a positive effect on the intestines. Once the pigeons know this product, they drink it without any problems. I also use it throughout the year on the breeding loft. After that they get Gervit-W for one week and Bt-Amin forte (vitamins and amino acids) for the other week. A full week of Blitzform and an extra shot of iodine can also do wonders for white noses and nice pink breasts. During the racing season, I’ve been using Carni-Speed for the last few years, which leads to faster recovery and gives the birds plenty of energy in a short time. During the moult I use a lot of Taubengold in the drinking water and Hessechol with Pavifac Bierhefe over the feed. This makes it much easier for the pigeons to moult, and it gives them a wonderfully soft plumage.” Rik Cools, part-time advisor in a school in Aalter, remains at the top of pigeon racing. In 2005, he began racing pigeons by himself (it had always been in partnership before). He got off to a blitz start, by breeding together with Gaby Vandenabeele, he soon scored top results. Especially with the bloodlines of ‘Bliksem’ x ‘Frieda’ and with ‘Bliksem’ x ‘Bieke’, which are the stock of this super colony. These foundation breeders and those of Victor from Antoine Bennot of Nazareth are the most important in the breeding loft in Ruiselede.
Since then, many have had winners with Cools pigeons:
1st National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Young Birds 2014 – ‘Tarzan’ (Leo & Gerry Dockx) – 100% Rik Cools 1st National Limoges 2015 + 2nd National Ace Pigeon Long Distance 2015 – ‘Favoriet’ (Rudi De Saer) – 50% Rik Cools 1st National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Yearlings 2014 – ‘Carla’ (Freddy De Jaeger) – 50% Rik Cools 1st National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Young Birds 2013 – ‘Sun’ (Benny Steveninck) – 25% Rik Cools 2nd National Ace Pigeon Long Distance 2014 – ‘Gloria’ (Bert Van den Berghe) – 25% Rik Cools 3rd National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Young Birds 2015 – ‘Benji’ (Marnick De Neve) – 75% Rik Cools 4th National Ace Pigeon Long Distance Old Birds 2015 – ‘Impact Florian’ (Filip & Nicolas Norman) – 50% Rik Cools 4th National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Old Birds 2014 – ‘Christa’ (Chris Debacker) –50% RikCools 5th National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Young Birds 2015 – ‘Angelina’ (Marnick De Neve) – 50% RikCools 5th National Ace Pigeon Heavy Middle Distance Old Birds 2014 – ‘Leila’ (Marnick De Neve) – 50% RikCools
2022 Highlights: Châteauroux (485 km) – against 1,402 old pigeons: 1st, 2nd & 3rd – 1st Nat zone against 2,630 pigeons. Châteauroux (485 km) – against 895 yearlings: 1st & 2nd Arras (120 km) – 412 young: 1st, 2nd & 3rd Clermont (200 km) – 894 young: 1st, 2nd & 3rd Fontenay (320 km) – 585 young: 1st Best flier 2022: ‘Felicienne’ BE20-3106463, she flew the following top prizes 5th Prov Châteauroux against 286 pigeons
2nd Blois against 6.112 pigeons 8th Bourges against 1.161 pigeons 27th CliBteauroux against 4.366 pigeons 41st Blois against 6,042 pigeons 44th Fontenay against 8,334 pigeons 60th Argenton against 4,095 pigeons
A Power with the Hens
Rik Cools is known for being a master in the game with his hens and he prefers participating in the middle distance races. Throughout the years, he has bred a ‘line’ of hen that is not so interested in same-sex pairing, accomplishing this by training and selection. They receive a light mixture and near the day of hampering, they get some extra corn, peanuts and sunflower seeds. Every week they have to participate in a race and on the day of their arrival, they receive Avipharm and Mumm (glucose and electrolytes) so that they regain their condition in no time at all. Next, he uses Gervit W and Avidress in the drinking water. The last two days, it’s Bt-Amin Forte (amino acids) and/or Blitzform (extra iodine). Apart from this, they receive Carni-Speed every day of the week during the season. This ensures that the birds recover faster and that their energy supply functions faster too. Following a difficult race, they are sometimes hampered for a short race of 100-200 km. He has had good experience using Blitzform for a whole week, which gives a nice pink breast and they recover better. The hens are free in the loft during the daytime as well as at night. Once the season is over, they move to the open aviary, where they can spend an ideal moulting period. During that time, they are given a good moulting mixture, seeds and Taubengold on a regular basis in their drinking water plus Hessechol + Pavifac Brewer's Yeast in their feed. The youngsters as well the old birds receive a lot of Jungtierpulver. To Rik it is also very important that they get fresh minerals every day; he prefers Reise-Mineral and Zucht+ Mauser-Mineral. A fresh portion daily ensures that their digestion is good.
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