Wise words of a Superstar
Wise words of a Super star at great long distance
One of Belgians best racers at the great long distance is for sure Jos Joosen from the little town of Brecht.
He has dominated the Nationals for some decades now and in 2010 he won the prestigious Europe Cup.
Very few fanciers in Holland and Belgium can claim the same results as Jos Joosen as far as the races further than 800 kms are concerned.
Some interesting things about this super champ:
1.
He believes in free mating, not only his racers but also his breeders may choose their partners.
In this way you will breed more good birds he claims.
The late Schellens was of the same opinion.
Many hundreds of hours he had spent making 'mating papers' in winter.
For long nights he had been thinking which cock to mate with which hen.
Till he got tired of it and also let the birds choose their partners. He found he bred more good birds since then.
I personally also practise this free mating and I really do not like others (mainly Easterners) to tell me which cock to mate with which hen.
They go by this stupid paper called pedigree, as if a good bird will automatically have good brothers/sisters and children. Also good birds give much rubbish!
2.
Like so many lofts of great champions, his lofts are not ventilated. The roofs are flat.
3.
He has no preference for a type or model of bird and says he knows nothing about models, wings and certainly not eyes. Eye sign he also finds BS like most champions in Belgium.
4.
The races before the Nationals he never shows the widowhood cocks their hens, neither before or after the races. Rest is very important he says.
As for hens he had his best results when they are on eggs of about 12 days old.
For many others hens on a little baby is the favourite position but not for this champ,
5.
The youngsters are not darkened nor separated. He races them 'pure natural'.
6.
He uses much vinegar. It keeps away many diseases from your loft he says.
7.
Never ever in his life has he visited a vet. A sick pigeon will be eliminated, not healed.
8.
According to him ALL food additives are a waste of money. They are manufactured to get the money out of the pockets of na've fanciers he says.
Also sheep fat that pretty many long distance fanciers have used in recent years he considers as completely worthless.
9.
If birds do not achieve good results give them lots of barley and they will shape up he says. He himself feeds 100 kgs per month.
A man who has been racing so outstanding for so many years must know what he is talking about. Maybe even better than many vets!
Jos Joosen