Florin Petrache is 45 years old, he is from Piatra Neamț and in 2018 he had an exceptional season, managing to win the 1st National AS Marathon Tineret and 2 National Fond Tineret places. To these results are added three other leading places in the provincial ranking, namely the 1st place Fond Palmares 5 years, the 1st place As Marathon Tineret and the 1st place Fond Tineret. But they are not the only ones, because, over time, he has collected dozens of prizes and trophies at national competitions. Behind them is a careful and continuous concern for pigeons, without which they would certainly not have arrived here. "I believe that the spirit of observation of each of us is one of the factors that differentiate pigeon fanciers in obtaining the desired results," says the breeder from Piatra Neamț. Why does he think this, on what arguments does he base his opinion, how does he take care of his pigeons, what products does he use and how did he find the 2018 season, read in the interview below.

Florin, where does your passion for pigeon-loving come from?

My passion for pigeon-loving started as a child, when I came in contact with the first pigeons that my brother brought home and that I started to take care of and then to love. In fact, if I think about it, I think my passion is rooted in the family, as my father's grandfather and great-grandfather raised ornamental pigeons.

How many pigeons do you have in the farm and what stages do you participate in?

Because I don't have much time and space, I don't have too many pigeons; usually participate 45-60 pigeons in flight and 15 pairs of queens, to which are added a few late ones taken out for work, reproduced in inbreeding, from the pigeons that stood out on the flights that year. I want to confess to you that I appreciate every category of pigeon sport, without exceptions, the prizes won being just as important for me, whether they are at Speed, Demifond, Fond, General or Marathon.

How was the 2018 season?

The year 2018 was for me, as for most pigeon lovers, a capricious year, characterized by climate change, many extreme phenomena (torrential rains, strong wind, hail), low temperatures at the beginning of the season, then, towards the end, flights with headwind and heat wave. However, I managed to win the 1st place National AS Marathon Youth 2018, the 1st place Provincial Fond Palmares 5 years 2018, the 1st place Provincial As Marathon Youth 2018, the 1st place Provincial Fond Youth 2018, the 2nd place National Youth Fund 2018.

What can you tell us about the pigeons that won the 1st place National AS Youth Marathon, respectively the 2nd place National Youth Fund? At what stages did they fly and how were they motivated?

Each of the two champions has his own story. They are reproduced in different farms, with two pigeon-loving friends. I thank them in this way for accepting the two pigeons to join my flight group. The one from Marathon was reproduced by Grădinaru C. and has "behind" pigeons from the J. Aarden line from Relu Iureti, and the one from Fond was reproduced by Dumitru Fl. Being a combination of Raoul & Xavier Verstraete x E. Devos .

Pigeon RO.6042699 / 2017, 1st place National As Youth Marathon 2018, obtained the following rankings:

3 Vilnius 881km 3,122 pp. 945 m / min
6 Birzai National 1160 km 1,636 p. Speed ​​1,111 m / min
46 Vilnius 857 km 1,714 pp. 1,005 m / min

He was embarked at the last stage Birzai National on small chicks (2 days). I noticed that after taking out the chicks, the male had a special behavior, he went under his nest partner and practically took her out to take care of the chicks. Initially I did not want to hire him in flight being a not very good "position" of flight for males in general. Finally, due to his behavior, I decided to do this and of course now I do not regret this decision at all.

Pigeon RO.366351 / 2017, 2nd place National Youth Fund 2018, obtained the following rankings:

2 Losice 688 km 3,122 p.
5 Losice 688 km 1,914 p.
43 Losice 584 km 5,857 p.

He competed in widowhood and because one stage was good, another less good, I decided to launch it individually from approx. 50 km before the group of widows, being expected at home by females.

Pigeon RO.000922 / 2013, 1st place Province of Moldova Fond Palmares 5 years 2018

What flight method do you use?

I compete with pigeons according to the widow's method, flying both males and females. I mate a small part of the pigeons in the royal compartment and fly them naturally, participating in the Marathon competitions. As a rule, I do not make any additional motivation, but this year the champion from Fond Tineret had an atypical behavior, reflected in the rankings he obtained (one stage was very good, another, weaker), so I decided to launch it towards the end of the season, before the widows' team. On his return home, he found all the females available, eager to mate. It seems that this solution worked, managing through that stage to occupy the 2nd place National Youth Fund 2018. I use the two methods in parallel because I consider that they are pigeons that are not suitable for widowhood and can get very good results through the method "naturally" ”. There are females or males, for example, that behave differently when they have eggs or small chicks. If they are observed in time, they can obtain remarkable results by speculating on the position of the nest that I noticed. I believe that the sense of observation of each of us is one of the factors that differentiate pigeon fanciers in obtaining the desired results.

How do you take care of your pigeons? What products do you use for this?

For most of the 2018 season, we used Beyers products. I noticed from the beginning their quality compared to others and I noticed a major improvement in the condition of the pigeons in the flight and queen group. Among these products, I could mention Recovery Plus a very good recuperator or Bioflorum Plus probiotics - prebiotics of a higher quality whose properties are immediately reflected in the condition of the pigeons. I can't help but remember Urtica Chlorella, minerals that are preferred by pigeons when they arrive from the competition or by breeders, and last but not least Herba Zyma whose composition maintains a natural balance, keeping away potential pathogens that can contaminate the water. I am convinced that, like me, other pigeon lovers, who used Beyers products, immediately noticed the difference between them and other products in the same range, the quality / price ratio being appreciated.

With what thoughts are you preparing for the new season?

In the new year, as always, I have big plans for pigeon sport and more. I think that when you don't have great goals, you can't achieve too much. Whether they will materialize or not remains to be seen, but I believe that if we do not try, we will regret for a long time what the result would have been if we had not done so.

List of results obtained by pigeon fancier Florin Petrache

Year 2018

1 Național AS Maraton Tineret 2018;

1 Provincial Fond Palmares 5 ani 2018;

1 Provincial As Maraton Tineret2018;

1 Provincial Fond Tineret 2018;

2 Național Fond Tineret 2018.

Year 2017

1 Provincial Fond Palmares 5 ani 2017;

1 Provncial Fond Palmares Crescători 5 ani 2017;

1 Provincial General Palmares Crescători 5 ani 2017;

8 Național Fond Palmares 2017.

Year 2016

Porumbelul Anului Provincia Moldova cu RO.000901/2013;

Crescătorul Anului Provincia Moldova 2016;

1 Provincial Fond Palmares 4 ani 2016;

1 Provincial Fond Palmares Crescători 4 ani 2016;

1 Provincial Demifond Palmares Crescători 4 ani 2016;

1 Provincial General Palmares Crescători 4 ani 2016;

2 Provincial Maraton Palmares 2016;

4 National Lot Olimpic Categoria Fond.

Year 2015

1 Național Fond Palmares Crescători 3 ani 2015;

2 Național Fond Crescători 2015;

4 Național Fond 2015;

4 Național As Fond 2015;

Year 2014

1 Național AS Fond Palmares 2014 

2 Național Fond Palmares 2014

2 Nțional Lot Olimpic Categoria Fond

Olimpiada Budapesta 2014

Year 2013 

1 Național AS Fond Tineret  2013: 

2 Național Fond Tineret 2013;

3 Național Cupa Europei Categoria Fond – Dortmund 2013;

1 Național Harkov zona 1 Crescători 2013;

2 Național Harkov Crescători 2013;

4 Național Maraton F.C.I. 2013;

9 Național Fond  Crescători 2013.