After 2023 was a super year with the 2nd and 3rd National Bourges and several top provincial results, they expected a lot from their pigeons in 2024. But unfortunately the expectations were not 100% met. It was good for the youngsters, but unfortunately not for the old pigeons and yearlings. And this is now the second year in a row. An important lesson for 2025! The time of total widowhood and the 'chaos' system are now over. For this reason, in 2025 the respective partner will stay at home and not take part in the race.

The training of the youngsters is very demanding here.

During the racing season they are taken away 2 to 3 times a week for up to 50 km. Even if they are separated by the sliding door, the birds and hens are released together and separated again after 20 to 30 minutes on their return home. However, the youngsters stay together for much longer on the last training flight before a prize flight.  In July they took part in Momignies (120 km) 5 times, then went to Soissons (210 km) and here too they had their training flights in the middle of the week, but these were then organized by the club. The results were good with 9 wins out of 16 races.  

The most important Röhnfried products

Hilaire does not use a fixed program, only Avidress Plus is the basic product for 365 days. When they come home from the race, the pigeons always receive Bt-Amin Forte in combination with Mumm. In addition, all pigeons receive a K+K Gold Dragees tablet as soon as possible after the race. If the temperature rises or in the event of a difficult flight, he adds Electrolyte Plus and Rotosal. Every morning the pigeons receive a mineral mixture of lickerstone, travel mineral and breeding and moulting mineral.

During the preparation phase, the racing pigeons receive witch's beer in their water for six weeks and at the same time breath-free and avimycin forte in their feed. After this treatment, the pigeons are in perfect condition. With the young pigeons, particular attention is paid to ensuring that they have a healthy intestinal flora. For this purpose, Entrobac, Immunbooster, Hessechol and the herb-vegetable mix are used regularly.

Successes 2024:

Momignies (120km) against 354 pigeons: 1-2-3-6-7-8-…
Dizy (161km) against 456 pigeons: 1-2-6-…
Argenton (544km) against 320 pigeons: 1-3-10-12-…
Vierzon against 397 pigeons: 1-4-…
Vierzon against 16,892 pigeons: 43-…

'The season with the youngsters was very successful for us. Because I was able to concentrate fully on the youngsters, we achieved excellent results. We were happy with the percentages for our old and yearling pigeons, but sometimes the top prices were missing. Nevertheless, we achieved the 1st Provincial Tulle competition for the old pigeons, to give an example.'

What is your system for the youngsters?

'As I had more time this year, I trained our youngsters two to three times a week over a distance of 50 km. Because I use the sliding door method, the pigeons were separated again after each training flight after about 20 minutes. On the last training flight before a prize flight, I left the young pigeons together for longer.”

Which breeding pigeon is currently the most valuable?

“Our 'Sunshine', who was also the 3rd National Ace Pigeon on the short middle distance of the KBDB in 2019, is clearly our most valuable breeding pigeon. Both her children and the grandchildren's generation have proven themselves outstandingly on flights. For this reason, children and siblings are already represented in the breeding loft. This line is currently being further consolidated through line breeding.”

The most important Röhnfried products in your 2023 supply plan?

“The basis for us is Avidress Plus. All pigeons receive Avidress Plus in their drinking water 365 days a year. After returning from a race, the focus is always on the fastest possible regeneration. The products used here are Bt-Amin forte, Mumm, Elektrolyt 3Plus and Rotosal. After each flight, our pigeons receive K+K Gold dragees for one to two days. My wife Nadia provides all pigeons with fresh grit every day. This consists of a mixture of travel mineral, tasty stone, Topfit feed lime and breeding and moulting mineral.

During the preparation phase, our racing pigeons receive witch's beer in their water for six weeks and at the same time breath-free with Avimycin Forte in their feed. After this treatment, the pigeons have shiny white noses and eyelids and perfect plumage. For the first time, we also used Flugfit dragees. With the young pigeons, we paid particular attention to a healthy intestinal flora. For this, we used products that strengthen the immune system, such as Entrobac, Immunbooster, Hessechol, Vitalo Top and the herbal vegetable mix.”