Nottebaert Christophe (Templeuve): 1st Nat. Argenton 17,207 yearbirds - fastest 30,125b.

Stefan Mertens 

"Lilou"
B22-1097842
1st National Argenton 17,207 yearbirds - fastest 30,125b.

Distance: 467km

Velocity: 1,258.61 m/m

Coincidence or not but yours truly was lucky enough to visit Christophe Nottebaert 2 days before the pigeons were basketed for Argenton national. Nobody knew then that a few days later his hen "Lilou" would become the fastest of the 30,125 Argenton pigeons (old + yearlings).

History of the colony
- Christophe Nottebaert, 49, married and father of 2 children (15 and 17), lives in Templeuve in the province of Hainaut and works full time as an accountant for the non-profit organisation "Aide et soins à Domicile". He has been involved in pigeon racing since he was a teenager and used to look after the pigeons of his father Arthur, who died in April 2021. That same year, Christophe clocked his 1st national victory from Chateauroux and he still finds it very sad that his father was not able to witness this and unfortunately. 
- Because of his father's passing, part of the colony was sold at the end of 2021, with the exception of the breeders that now joined Christophe's new facilities at Templeuve (more functional pigeon lofts, built in 2020). 
Christophe has an eye for detail and when building the pigeon lofts, everything is well thought out. He has used ecological blocks for the construction of his lofts, which consist of 95 per cent wood (a natural insulator), supplemented with lime, which regulates the temperature much better in both summer and winter. In addition, each department is equipped with a large aviary in which the racers can bathe and rest. Christophe knows that ventilation is everything and because there are aviaries attached to the lofts, the roof ventilation in the loft is always completely closed. Fresh air is applied through the aviaries.

The main stock pigeons
The stock pigeons were purchased from well-known Walloon fanciers and we are talking about: Sébastien Casaert-Sénéchal, Adrien Mirabelle, Damien Baert, Dany Leturcq, Kévin Saudoyez, AT Breeding Loft


Colony composition and care
- The colony consists of 128 racers (old and yearling - cocks and hens), 160 youngsters are ringed each year and 40 breeding couples populate the breeding loft. 
- The breeding couples are paired around 10-15 December and raise 2 rounds of youngsters, which are later played according to the sliding door system. 
- In fact, the old and yearling pigeon system can be described as the "chaos system". There is "free mating" between 10 and 15 March and when the first couples breed for 7 to 8 days, everything is separated. During the season, they only come together after returning home. Christophe then makes everything cosy with upside-down boxes in living boxes and on the floor. Everyone can go wherever he wants and often pigeons find the motivation for the next top performance here. 
- During the season, the pigeons train at least once a day, preferably in the morning and if that is not possible only in the evening. The youngsters of the 1st round fly around 3pm and the others even later.
- In terms of feed, different 'Columbi' mixtures are used as well as complementary products of the same brand. On returning from a flight, the pigeons are given a 'recovery' mixture for 2 days, then a 'lighter' mixture (1 or 2 days depending on the weather forecast for the next flight), then a 'prestige' mixture, which is enriched with 50% energy mixture for the last 2 meals. As complementary products 'top forme, top biotike, top clean' (together for 2 days), 'top flore', 'top recup' (on arrival home and the next day), 'top air and top iodine' (together) in the drinking water and 'top légume, top garlic powder, top red beet juice with top huiles' on the mixture. 
- In terms of care, the vet is only consulted if something goes wrong. The pigeons are vaccinated against paramyxovirosis, parathyphosis, smallpox and rotavirus (young pigeons).

Top 10' results in national races
- 1st Nat. Argenton 17,207 Yearlings (2023) and highest speed of 30,125 pigeons
- 1st Nat. Châteauroux II 7,099 Old birds (2021)
- 2nd Nat. and 6th Nat. Bourges II 10,906 Yearlings (2010)
- 2nd Nat. Argenton 4782 old birds (2012)
- 2nd Nat. and 10th Nat. Châteauroux II 13,086 Yearlings (2018)
- 2nd Nat. Guéret 5,331 Yearlings (2018)
- 2nd Nat. Bourges 8,424 Yearlings (2020)
- 7th Nat. Bourges 34,311 Yearlings(2021)
- 9th Nat. Monluçon 11,056 Old (2015)
- 10th Nat. Bourges 7,606 Old (2022)

Other top results 2023: see end of report

A very impressive list of honours and this mostly on flights with headwinds and at speeds of 1,200m/m - 1,300m/m.
We saw that Christophe has everything under control and knows perfectly where he wants to go in today's pigeon sport. 
We wish him a lot of success.