Touch

I used to always be allowed to clean the widow hens' lofts with my uncle and that's how it started. Pigeons are in our blood, my uncles used to have good pigeons, Gebr de Hoogh, Frans de Hoogh. Uncle Kees van Gebr de Hoogh was my mentor but unfortunately died too early, just like Uncle Frans used to be the men. Now 2 uncles of mine also fly pigeons uncle sjef used to be a member of the tandem Gebr de Hoogh and uncle dries together with his son and my best mate Gert (last year they played 1st and 2nd national Cahors and this year 2nd national St Vincent) and another nephew of mine (son of Gert) also races pigeons with his uncle. So I had good pigeons at a fairly young age. In 1985 I got a booth at my parents' house and that's how it started and in 1990 I started doing it together with my neighbor Sjaak Jansen, then under the name Jansen de Hoogh. Those were also golden times. And my son also ended up in the pigeon sport. That is why the name GJ de Hoogh and zn.

 

Besides the hobby

I have been rejected for my back for 2 years now, completely worn out. I had my own business for 14 years and now they sometimes say "you can see that you are at home" but when I worked 80 hours a week they also came home well.

 

Loft file

We came to live here in 2006 and then received a whole cage of good overnight pigeons from uncle sjef who then stopped with the pigeon sport. In 2007 I had a super year on the overnight with pigeons that were used over, but I wanted everything and still had some of the old kind. I did some searching on the internet and came across Jean-Pierre Biesmans in Maasmechelen. He was then 5th national speed in Belgium. We ended up with a super breeder, later also pigeons from uncle Dries de Hoogh and son, Gebr v Toor and now our best breeding hen, inbred euro clazientje from Comb. Kroesen from Klazienaveen and we have also been very good with a hen from G Heynen and Zn from Gronsveld and now since last year we have 6 grandchildren of the Argenton from Jos Goessen in my loft and we did a joint breeding. We also exchanged pigeons with kees de l'or from mrs. Snellen and Zn.

 

Favorite flights

We actually fly all flights from Duffel to St Vincent and we enjoy every flight. We like the flights with a headwind so when it really works. Then we get goosebumps every time the pigeons return home.

 

System

With old pigeons vit / middle / one day long distance total weduschap on the overnight classic weduschap and nest game (nest game is the best for the overnight) with the youngsters, the first 4 to 5 flights from the shelf and then on the door.

 

Breeding season

We start around the beginning of January and just grow from everything because you never know outside proven couples (but they are rare) where you will breed a good one. Also from the yearlings that we like because they also come from good parents, so why not keep youngsters from them. And take a good look, most of the supers come from yearlings. We try to couple good times well, but pay attention to the size of a pigeon so that they do not become too big or too small.

 

Medical supervision

As little as possible, a pigeon must be able to stay healthy by nature and that does not mean that I do not use anything because if necessary you have to intervene. We have had faith in Fernand Mariën and Jan van Wanrooij from Belgica de Weerdt for years and I know them very well and I sometimes ask them for advice, but again as little as possible.

 

Nutrition

We think nutrition is very important, they always get a good mixture of vtb from Ronny van Tilburg because we think that is super feed. They also get enough of all kinds and candy seeds. We have a large feeder and during the racing season we use the full tray system, they do not mess with it, but they do get more than enough.

 

By-products

Yes, we also give by-products, we like to work with oil as soon as it continues, usually from Schroeder, but this year I also alternated with Beute oil with brewer's yeast and every Saturday minerals with condition powder from Mariën over the feed with our own brew (the bottle from Gust) and in season peanuts and hemp.

 

 

 

 

REPORT: Gert-Jan de Hoogh: the all-round man from Oosterhout

 

Gert-Jan de Hoogh from Oosterhout in the Netherlands is one of those few enthusiasts who managed to do it. His pigeons win first prizes at distances of 100 to 1000 km.

Although the contemporary pigeon sport often seems to be a sport of specialties, where one fancier has sprint cannons in house and the other tireless marathon racers, the dream of many remains to breed the perfect all-round pigeon. That is of course easier said than done. Pigeons that are fast enough to be able to take the lead in, say, a Quièvrain, but still have enough stamina to be able to successfully complete a Tarbes or a Bordeaux, for example, are not very common. Getting an entire loft of such creatures together seems almost impossible. A beautiful dream that few turn into reality.

Gert-Jan de Hoogh from Oosterhout in the Netherlands is one of those few enthusiasts who managed to do it. His pigeons win first prizes at distances of 100 to 1000 km. They do this not just once, but enough times to be able to present a laundry list of achievements. Nor is it just one single pigeon that does it: Gert-Jan can conjure up a whole series of chain results. And they don't just do it in the loft in Oosterhout: other fanciers won the past season 2018 with the Hoogh pigeons, a 1st NPO Montluçon against 3762 pigeons, a 1st NPO Nanteuil against 3353 pigeons, a 2nd NPO Argenton against 5187 pigeons, a 4th NPO Orleans against 4,733 pigeons and a 1st Ace pigeon title Middle Distance East Brabant.

How did Gert-Jan manage this? One thing is for sure, Gert-Jan was raised with pigeon racing through his family from an early age. His uncle Kees, who played together with another uncle Sjef under the name Gebroeders de Hoogh, served as a mentor. Uncle Frans de Hoogh also played with the pigeons at the time and Gert-Jan's uncle Dries is also active in the pigeon sport (he won a 1st and 2nd National Cahors in 2015). With such a family of pigeon sport fanatics it is almost impossible that Gert-Jan would also start with the pigeons. That happened in a loft at his parents' house in 1985. In 1990 he then played together with neighbor Sjaak Jansen under the name Jansen-de Hoogh. “Golden times”, according to Gert-Jan.

However, a new phase began in 2006, when he moved to the current address in Oosterhout. Uncle Sjef, who then stopped with the pigeon sport, provided Gert-Jan with a full basket of pigeons for the extreme long distance. A number of them were transferred to the new address and gave the loft de Hoogh a super year in 2007 on the overnight flights. But Gert-Jan did not feel completely satisfied. As he says himself: “I wanted everything”. He therefore started looking for something that he could combine with his own old species and ended up with Jean-Pierre Biesmans in Maasmechelen, Belgium. Jean-Pierre was just 5th National Speed ​​Champion and had exactly what Gert-Jan needed. About ten pigeons moved to Oosterhout. One of them flew his prizes, but was not exactly a top racer. However, “De Biesmans” turned out to be a golden breeder, whose descendants not only signed for the 5th National Championship for youngsters, but also for various Ace pigeon titles. Especially the coupling with super hen “Klazientje” turned out to be a bull's eye. This hen was obtained from the Combinatie Kroesen from Klazinaveen and is an inbred granddaughter of Leo Heremans' crack “De Euro”, 1st European Ace pigeon Western Nations Cup Cat. A, 1st National Ace pigeon Youngsters De Reisduif, 1st National Ace pigeon Youngsters Ave Regina, 1st Quièvrain against 2687 pigeons, 1st Quièvrain against 2516 pigeons, 2nd Quièvrain against 4924 pigeons, etc. Furthermore, G. Heijnen and Zn. sister of their top racer (1st against 59000 pigeons) was purchased. Also some pigeons from Comb. van Dongen, Henri v / d Berg, Versteeg-Ouwerkerk, etc. ended up in the loft in Oosterhout. Finally, an important addition came from the loft of the Limburg topper Jos Goesen. Here Gert-Jan obtained 6 grandchildren of his famous “Argenton”, 2nd NPO Argenton against 2200 pigeons, 7th NPO Etampes against 5763 pigeons, 10th NPO Gien against 3460 pigeons and as super breeder father of, among others, 1st NPO Bourges against 5122 pigeons, 1st NPO Bourges against 8278 pigeons and 1st NPO Montluçon against 3884 pigeons.

We can therefore say that Gert-Jan de Hoogh nowadays has a true colony of all-rounders and thus not only fulfilled the dream of many enthusiasts, but is also armed to outperform every competitor in the future.

All investments that enabled Gert-Jan de Hoogh to build his own all-round stock. The results do not lie:

 

1. NPO Pithiviers 6,030 p. (429 km)

2. NPO La Souterraine 3,087 p. (649 km)

5. NPO Limoges 478 p. (690 km)

7. NPO Issoudun 7,275 p. (561 km)

8. NPO st. Vincent 2,168 p. (996 km)

8. NPO Orleans 7,383 p. (464 km)

8. NPO Sens 5,204 p. (398 km)

9. NPO st. Vincent 1,588 p. (996 km)

9. NPO Tarbes 1,177 p. (1,003 km)

10. NPO Bordeaux 3,371 p. (851 km)

10. NPO Gien 5,921 p. (466 km)

 

Provincial:

1. Creil 2,966 p. (315 km)

1. Sens 3,975 p. (398 km)

1. Quievrain 2,976 p. (159 km)

1. Pithiviers 1,182 p. (429 km)

1. Chateauroux 741 p. (583 km)

1. Quievrain 3,480 p. (159 km)

1. Quievrain 5,585 p. (159 km)

1. Morlincourt 3,847 p. (264 km)

1. Melun 1,166 p. (372 km)

1. La Souterraine 580 p. (649 km)

 

Club:

1. creil 578 p.

1. bordeaux 217 p.

1.peronne 852 p.

1. gien 266 d.

1st fontenay 390 d.

1. creil 705 p.

1. sens 874 p.

1. queivrain 827 p.

1. creil 404 p.

1.quievrain 257 p.

1.Nantuil 370 p.

1st vincent 121 p.

1.issoudun 324 d.

1. gien 211 d.

1. Orleans 273 p.

1st vincent 115 p.

1. creil 57 d.

1.dax 73 d.

1.quievrain 730 p.

1. morlincourt 1019 p.

1st la souteraine 151 p.

1.quievrain 1380 p.

1. duffel 293 p.

1.peronne 865 p.

1. pithiviers 259 p.

1. fontenay 340 d.

1.pont st max 356 d.

1. chateauroux 237 p.

1. morlincourt 158 ​​p.

1.melun 281 p.

1. sens 438 p.

1. creil 473 p.

1. Bergerac 109 p.

1st Quentin 285 p.

1. morlincourt 873 p.

1.peronne 465 p.

1. sens 313 p.

1.peronne 898 p.

1. morlincourt 506 p.

All prizes that were achieved between 2015 and 2018 and for distances between 100 and 1000 km. So we are not taking old cows out of the canal here, but are talking about results that are being achieved here and now. We can therefore say that Gert-Jan de Hoogh today has a true colony of all-rounders and thus has not only fulfilled the dream of many enthusiasts, but is also armed to outperform every competitor in the future.