Sabrina Brugmans from Halen shines with a grand cru season in 2023 and 2x gold in the national championships
15 Feb 2024
The season of Sabrina Brugmans and her husband Stephan Machiels can safely be described as a grand cru year. We all thought that they might have had the best season of their career years ago, but what they achieved in 2023 was still of a very high level. Anyone who wins 2 x 1st National Ace Pigeon, together with a 1st Olympiad Pigeon and several national Ace pigeons in the top 5 in various rankings, can be satisfied with his super season. Then of course we cannot forget the multiple provincial victories and top 10 national rankings. As an extra, he became 1st 8 times in the Herbots Championships and they also won the Golden Pigeon competition.
Championships 2023
1 National Ace Pigeon heavy middle distance old birds KBDB
1 National Ace Pigeon All Round youngsters KBDB
1 Olympiad Pigeon Belgium Cat.B Maastricht
1 Prov heavy middle distance old birds KBDB
1 Golden As middle distance Herbots Championship
1 Ace Pigeon youngsters Flanders Herbots Championship
1 Ace Pigeon young middle distance Flanders Herbots Championship
1 Ace Pigeon yearlings Herbots Championship
1 Nat Ace Pigeon heavy middle distance youngsters ( 2 KBDB races )
1 Golden Pigeon Winner
1 Superstar Middle Distance Golden Pigeon
1 Superstar Long Distance Golden Pigeon
2 World Best pigeon All Round Belgium
2 Prov Ace Pigeon Middle Distance youngsters KBDB
2 Golden As middle distance Herbots Championship
2 Ace of Aces youngsters Herbots Championship
2 Ace of Aces youngsters Flanders Herbots Championship
2 Ace Pigeon middle distance youngsters Flanders Herbots Championship
3 National Ace Pigeon middle distance youngsters KBDB
3 National Ace Pigeon All Round youngsters KBDB
4 National Ace Pigeon All Round youngsters KBDB
4 National Champion heavy middle distance youngsters KBDB
5 National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance yearlings KBDB
13 National Ace Pigeon heavy Middle Distance youngsters KBDB
17 National Ace Pigeon All Round youngsters KBDB
19 National Ace Pigeon heavy Middle Distance youngsters KBDB
21 National Ace Pigeon heavy Middle Distance youngsters KBDB
21 National Champion Middle Distance olds/yearlings KBDB
Fixed system with hens
The hen team, which now consists of about 60, does not breed during the winter period, especially rest and a good moult is of great importance. The training sessions will resume here at the beginning of February, but not at a strong pace. The team is released in 2 groups for a month and on different days each time. Building up the pace slowly is better than immediately increasing the pace quickly. The hens are darkened from March 1 to May 1, all in order to build up quietly and focus on the national flights. They then train in the afternoon from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM and are darkened at 6:00 PM until 8:00 AM. The hens are spread over 2 resting lofts, but after a while most of them have a permanent place. They are fed together and can choose where they eat. During the season itself, the hens train vigorously and twice a day for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes is a necessity.
They keep this up on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Their last training is on Thursday morning and afterwards they meet with the cocks. In the early afternoon they get a bath and the last feeding follows around 4 pm. The hens do not see any cocks before the racing season, Stephan divides the group into 3 teams and from the first flight from Momignies the 1st group is allowed to visit their cocks from Sunday to Thursday. They are then permanently paired on those few days and the following Sunday it is the turn of the 2nd group to go together for 4 days. By the end of April they will all have their cock so that widowhood can really start.
The hens that are together during those 4 days are always taken away to train with the group. What is important is that the 1st group, after returning home from the 2nd competition, only spends a little time with the cocks and does not actually see their cocks again until the end of April. This also applies to the 2nd group after the 3rd match. When they return home from May, they stay together for at least an hour, if the speed team is now home 2 hours before the others, it is ideal to take them away afterwards according to the hens from the middle distance and so he rotates every week with these 3 teams.
Despite the great season, Stephan also faced setbacks at the beginning of June when it was very hot. A medical problem was not the cause here, but perhaps the lack of regular training was, the pigeons only trained in the morning, which meant that the cycle of training, eating, training, eating and rest did not run properly. Their appetite had disappeared somewhat, so they did not go around the basket. Fortunately this only lasted a few weeks and afterwards they came as they should. So you don't always have to look for a health problem, but it is of course possible.
Another important detail comes after the season, the pigeons are specially coupled so that they lay and breed for a few days. This makes it easier to subsequently bring a racing pigeon to the breeding loft without encountering problems that this hen has difficulty laying.
Young pigeons
The young pigeons are divided over 3 lofts, they are usually given breeding mixture until the beginning of April and then they switch to a lighter mixture (Beyers Youngsters and Matador Jonge Duiven Hot). Perhaps Stephan will switch to a lighter mixture even earlier in 2024, everything will depend on how the young pigeons fly or do not fly. The youngsters are also darkened from March 14 to June 10, which will be 2 weeks longer this year in view of the national flights. The supplementation usually only starts 3 weeks before Bourges. The young pigeons are not driven much, if they train well at home, 5 or 6 times is really the maximum. They then do Fleurus with the classroom on Wednesday and go to Momignies at the weekend. The young pigeons are separated after they have flown 2x Soissons, they also come together on Thursdays, they are usually let out after the hens on Thursday morning with a 10 minute difference and they return home straight away, then they are allowed together until the early afternoon they stay and get a bath and their last feeding around 4 p.m.
The young pigeons also train here twice a day, just like the hens, from the moment they sit on the sliding door. This depends on what the morning training was like, if they train here for 1h30 or 2 hours then I don't let them out in the evening, if they train for 40 to 50 minutes then they have to go outside again in the evening.
Best pigeons from season 2023
BE 21-6041125 “Olympic Britt” Hen
Breeder Op de Beeck – Baetens
1 NAT ACE GREAT MIDDLE DISTANCE OLD KBDB 2023
1 OLYMPIAD BIRD BELGIUM CAT.B MAASTRICHT 2024
1 PROV ACE GREAT MIDDLE DISTANCE YLS KBDB 2022
1 PROV ACE GREAT MIDDLE DISTANCE OLD KBDB 2023
1 GOLDEN ACE M.D. HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
2 WORLD BEST PIGEON ALL ROUND BELGIUM 2023
2 AS DER AZEN NATIONAAL HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
29 NAT ACE ALL ROUND YOUNG KBDB 2021
1 Nat(z) Bourges ’23 2.415p
77 NAT 21.075p
1 Nanteuil ‘22 149p
2 Prov Argenton ’22 1.190p
3 Melun ’22 2.244p
5 Prov Argenton ’23 929p
6 Prov Argenton ’22 818p
7 NAT Bourges ’23 7.270p
8 Soissons ’23 842p
10 Melun ’23 2.149p
10 Soissons ’21 1.116p
12 NAT Chateauroux ’23 8.075p
13 NAT Argenton ’21 23.124p
20 Soissons ’23 3.179p
33 Prov Lorris ’23 8.525p
60 NAT Chateauroux ’22 5.720p
62 Prov Lorris ’23 8.348p
Father BE 16-6156053 Benjamin - Op de Beeck – Baetens
Won 5 Nat (z) Chateauroux 8.584b
Grandson “Mister Kannibaal” Dirk Van Dijck
Grandson topcouple “Flandrien” x “Amber” Gevaert – Lannoo
Mother BE 19-6146303 Gerti - Op de Beeck – Baetens
Granddaughter “Hattrick” 5 x 1st Gert Heylen
DV 00828-23-635 “Conner” Cock
Breeder Dieter Wöhr
1 NAT ACE ALL ROUND YOUNG KBDB 2023
1 AS DER AZEN JONGE VLAANDEREN HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
1 ACE YOUNG M.D. FLANDERS HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
3 NAT ACE MIDDLE DISTANCE YOUNG KBDB 2023
1 Nanteuil 1.309p
1 Momignies 356p
5 NAT Bourges 19.369p
2 Nanteuil 158p
5 Melun 951p
11 Vervins 1.184p
12 Momignies 541p
19 Prov Orléans 3.540p
41 Nanteuil 1.232p
110 NAT Bourges 20.328p
Father DV 00828-20964 Brother 963
Nestbrother “963” won 15 on 16 and 5th Ace bird
½ brother “Blue Lady” 1st Ace bird and won 1,1,1,3,3,4,4,6,6,…
Gr.F. BE 13-3159438 Son Jason – Gaby Vandenabeele
Son from “503/03” Jason x “NL 09-382” Daughter Cheryl Hooymans Jan
Gr.M. NL 18-1158750 Blue – Gebr.Scheele
Daughter from “NL 11-421” Jeroen Jr Willem De Bruijn x “NL 13-2115” Hanny
Mother BE 16-6075779 Daughter Olympic Niels – Dirk Van Dijck
Top breeding hen
Mother from 1 Arcis 2.831p – 1 St.Dizier 1.923p - 1 Sarrebourg 1.401p
1 Zweibr 1.273p - 1 Luneville 1.247p – 1 Zweibr 1.186p - 1 St.Dizier 1.114p - 1 Haguenau 436p
Gr.F. BE 08-6338005 Olympic Niels – Dirk Van Dijck
3rd Olympiade bird Cat.A Nitra 2013
Son from “BE 05-015” Di Caprio Leo Heremans x “BE 06-110” Inbred Bourges
Gr.M. DV 08582-14-142 Fenomeen – Dieter Wöhr
1 Ace bird 2015 and 1 Ace bird 2016 – 1/4.245p – 1/1.033p – 1/525p – 1/289p
Daughter from “BE 09-016” Son Comijntje Rik Cools x “BE 10-371” Daughter Safier Leo Heremans
BE 22-5022632 “Nikki” Hen
1 ACE YEARLINGS HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
2 GOLDEN ACE M.D. HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
3 PROV ACE MIDDLE DISTANCE YEARLINGS KBDB 2023
5 NAT ACE MIDDLE DISTANCE YEARLINGS KBDB 2023
5 AS DER AZEN NATIONAAL HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
1 Prov Nevers ’23 816p
1 Prov (old and yls ) 1.783p
1 Gien ’22 524p
1 Lorris ’23 444p
15 Prov 8.525p
5 Nanteuil ’23 2.433p
10 Prov Auxerre ’23 2.130p
10 Momignies ’23 1.794p
10 Melun ’23 773p
11 Prov Vierzon ’23 1.890p
17 Vervins ’23 1.302p
24 Lorris ’23 1.198p
36 NAT Bourges ’23 12.094p
119 Prov Orleans ’23 4.176p
Father BE 19-5050695 Son Sabatini – Louis Beutels
Gr.F. BE 13-5152204 Sabatini – Antoon Neven
Won himself 4 x 1st
Son from “BE 07-041” Gilbert 3 x 1st x “BE 12-922” Sister Museeuw 2 x 1st
Gr.M. BE 16-2176468 Niki – Antoon Neven
Won herself 3 x 1st
Daughter from “BE 12-019” Terpstra 5 x 1st x “BE 07-042” ½ sister Gilbert
Mother BE 16-2172771 Black – Buvens Roger
Grandmother from “593/20” 4 Prov Limoges 912p – 8 Prov Chateauroux 387p – 52 Prov Vierzon 3.024p – 80 Prov Lorris 8.525p
Gr.F. BE 10-5182437 Blauw – Buvens Roger
Son from“BE 09-280” Bourges 1st Nationaal Bourges x “BE 09-751” 751
Super breeding hen and daughter golden couple
Gr.M. BE 14-2006000 Black – Buvens Roger
Daughter from “BE 08-298” Checkered Brugmans x “BE 05-346” Black
DV 00828-23-636 “Conti” Cock
Breeder Dieter Wöhr
2 AS DER AZEN NATIONAAL HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
3 NAT ACE ALL ROUND YOUNG KBDB 20231
3 NAT ACE GREAT MIDDLE DISTANCE YOUNG KBDB 2023
3 Prov Chateauroux 1.135p
9 Melun 951p
12 Momignies 1.994p
30 Prov Orleans 3.540p
30 Prov Argenton 1.715p
376 NAT 18.837p
42 Vervins 1.313p
54 NAT Bourges 19.369p
Father DV 00828-20964 Brother 963
Nestbrother “963” won 15 on 16 and 5th Ace bird
½ brother “Blue Lady” 1st Ace bird and won 1,1,1,3,3,4,4,6,6,…
Gr.F. BE 13-3159438 Son Jason – Gaby Vandenabeele
Son from “503/03” Jason x “NL 09-382” Daughter Cheryl Hooymans Jan
Gr.M. NL 18-1158750 Blue – Gebr.Scheele
Daughter from “NL 11-421” Jeroen Jr Willem De Bruijn x “NL 13-2115” Hanny
Mother BE 16-6075779 Daughter Olympic Niels – Dirk Van Dijck
Top breeding hen
Mother from 1 Arcis 2.831p – 1 St.Dizier 1.923p - 1 Sarrebourg 1.401p
1 Zweibr 1.273p - 1 Luneville 1.247p – 1 Zweibr 1.186p - 1 St.Dizier 1.114p - 1 Haguenau 436p
Gr.F. BE 08-6338005 Olympic Niels – Dirk Van Dijck
3rd Olympiade bird Cat.A Nitra 2013
Son from “BE 05-015” Di Caprio Leo Heremans x “BE 06-110” Inbred Bourges
Gr.M. DV 08582-14-142 Fenomeen – Dieter Wöhr
1 Ace bird 2015 and 1 Ace bird 2016 – 1/4.245p – 1/1.033p – 1/525p – 1/289p
Daughter from “BE 09-016” Son Comijntje Rik Cools x “BE 10-371” Daughter Safier Leo Heremans
BE 23-5050339 “Luca”Cock
1 NAT ACE GREAT MIDDLE DISTANCE YOUNG ( 2 KBDB RACES ) 2023
2 AS DER AZEN JONGE VLAANDEREN HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
2 ACE M.D. YOUNG VLAANDEREN HERBOTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
4 NAT ACE ALL ROUND YOUNG KBDB 2023
1 Prov Argenton 1.715p
4 NAT 18.837p
2 Nanteuil 261p
11 NAT Bourges 19.369p
14 Momignies 541p
20 Prov Orléans 3.540p
24 Melun 682p
28 Soissons 1.478p
Full brother from “Hanne” 1 Nat Argenton 23.124p ( fastest 32.971p )
Father BE 20-5086547 Blue
Brother to “Myla” 1 Prov Sens 4,664b, 1 Prov Melun 1,060b, 3 Prov Melun 5,943b, 10 Prov Melun 6,667b and 16 Prov Fay Aux Loges 3,972b
Brother to “762/19” 17 Nat Chateauroux 33,833b, 25 Prov Melun 6,948b
Brother to “763/19” 2 Soissons 2,633b, 5 Prov Sens 4,664b, 37 Prov Melun 9,155b
Gr.F. BE 13-5027749 Long blue
Superbreeder
Grandfather to “Vera” 6 Nat Argenton 8,588b – 7 S.Nat Vierzon 5,462b –
8 Prov Chateauroux 1,372b ( 11th Olympiad bird 2018 )
Grandfather to “Tess” 1 Prov Chateauroux 1,687b
Grandfather to “520/20” 21 Nat Chateauroux 23,280b
Nest brother “Valère” 1 Nat Bourges 30,315b
Son to “854/05” Blue Valère Stamvader x “751/09” De 751
Hen Roger Buvens
Gr.M. BE 15-2185859 Miranda
Won 1 I.Prov Vierzon 1,854b, 15 Nat La Souterraine 2,939b, 19 Nat Chateauroux
2,108db, 30 Nat La Souterraine 9,584b
Daughter to “BE 13-994” Blue G Vandewouwer x “BE 11-498” Blue Putzeys
Mother BE 19-2034014 Blue – Leon Jacobs
Mother to “603/20” 27 Soissons 2,753b, 36 Sermaises 3,848b
Gr.F. BE 18-2106818 Blue - Leon Jacobs
Son to “BE 13-369” Blue base breeder x “BE 15-580” Daughter Brive
Gr.M. BE 13-2097322 Blue - Leon Jacobs
Won herself 1 I.Prov Vierzon 5,719b and 37 Nat Bourges 24,019b
Daughter to “BE 06-645” Blue x “BE 11-831” blue
Care
The racing hens get the Aidi Mixtures, on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning they get Girl Power, on Tuesday evening 50% Girl Power and 50% Flying Mix 2, Wednesday morning Flying Mix 2, Wednesday evening Flying Mix 2 and 3 and on Thursday only Flying Mix 3. When they return home this is it's the same mixture as when you left. I mainly use this schedule when they have flights like now on Bourges. This schedule is of course completely different in the preparation, but you have to feel that for yourself. They also receive an extra portion of peanuts, candy, P40, grit and Tovo after their daily portion of food. I also always use Schroeder – Tollisan and Röhnfried products. This is mainly Entrobac, Hexenbier, Moorgold, Atemfrei, Carni Speed from Röhnfried and Immunol, Nano Tollyamin and Conditioning Powder from Schroeder – Tollisan. The racing hens are given a monthly pill against tricho during the racing season and last year they were given something against the respiratory tract once. I always visit Vincent Schroeder and his advice is then acted upon. When you return home, give either BT-Amin together with B.S. or BT-Amin together with Rotosal every 2 weeks.
Stephan and Sabrina congratulations on this great season from the entire HERBOTS TEAM.
Buelens Kim
