In the history of Dutch pigeon sport there are only a few names of breeders that we can categorize as the owners of a strain. A strain endowed with certain characteristics or which manifests a special ability for a fixed distance. And to have competed at the highest level for so many years.

Wal and Hans Zoontjens from Riel, a village in the southern part of Tilburg in North Brabant, the Netherlands, fall into this category. The founder of this world-famous strain was the late Jan Zoontjens, Wal's father. After the Second World War, Jef laid the foundations of the current strain, which later became one of the best in Dutch pigeon sport in the last 50 years. Nowadays, the strain has been continued by Wal and his son Hans.

The pigeons of the Zoontjens family are true pigeons of the general, 300-700 km, they shine at all distances, especially at daytime depths. These birds have reached breeders around the world, being crossed with native pigeons. The success did not take long to appear and the respective breeders became champions in their countries in only a few years. Also, many regional, provincial and even national victories can be attributed to this strain.

At the same time, in the Asian pigeon fancier world, the Zoontjens strain is well known, competing here in the background stages with top results.

At home in Riel, the Zoontjens pigeons still fly in the style of great champions, winning many championships.

The history of the Zoontjens strain

The beginning of this famous strain dates back more than 60 years, when the father Jan Zoontjens became a pigeon fancier member of the club in Tilburg, thus laying the foundations of an exceptional pigeon fancier career. Jan was almost 6 years old when he brought the first pigeons and kept them in the hen house of his parents. He had these pigeons from some relatives, who lived in Riel and Baarle-Nassau, respectively.

Jan Zoontjens, the one who laid the foundations of this pigeon strain

From the very beginning, Jan Zoontjens showed a natural ability to compete with pigeons and very soon he started to get the first places of 1 in the stage and category. In the early 1930s, Jan Zoontjens visited a Belgian breeder, De Kimpe, who lived in a small village called Wortel. De Kimpe was a customs officer and family friend of the famous Janssen brothers, who lived on School Street in Arendonk, Belgium. De Kimpe had bought Janssen pigeons from Driekske Janssen and, through Kimpe, Janssen blood pigeons also reached Jan Zoontjens, whom he crossed with his own line of birds. Thus, it created a solid foundation for the future Zoontjens pigeon strain.

But World War II put an end to that process of building the Zoontjens strain. Jan hid 3 pairs under the floor of the chicken coop. When the war stopped, Jan was able to easily resume pigeon fancying with those 3 couples, again laying the foundations of a strain that had proven its quality for over 50 years in competitions at all distances.

Jan also went to an excellent breeder in his area to buy from him the best pigeons he had. He reached the Jolen-Tijssen tandem, who lived in Tilburg. From here he bought a pure male Janssen Arendonk. It became one of the pillars of the Zoontjens colony at that time. In the 50's, Jan Zoontjens went to the famous Neel de Volder, the father of Ad de Volder, from Goirle, and from here he bought a son from his legendary "Vetvleugeltje". This son, whom he named "De Neel", was paired with "Het Vlug" and became the parents of several famous pigeons in Jan Zoontjens' farm, such as "De Aap", "500" and "501". , "De Bliksem", "De Dikke" and so on. Each of them was an excellent flier and breeder.

Johan and his son Albert Verhoeven, who also live in the Goirle, are two breeders who competed spectacularly with the Janssen pigeons. Jan Zoontjens and Johan Verhoeven have been close friends for a long time and have exchanged with the best pigeons. A male from Johan and Albert Verhoeven's famous Janssen pigeons arrived at Jan Zoontjens' farm and was paired with "Het Witpenneke", again a combination that hit the target directly.

This male Verhoeven, closely related to the aforementioned, "De Neel" by Neel de Volder, paired with the female "Het Witpenneke" became the parents of a series of excellent pigeons, which flew for years in the top of the rankings in the one-day stages. Jan Zoontjens had only one goal, to build a family of pigeons that would fly very well over distances between 100 and 1000 km. Those who did not live up to his standards did not remain on the farm and were eliminated immediately

Jan began inbreeding with these pigeons to perpetuate their qualities among the offspring. He practiced very close inbreeding. And the inbred pigeons crossed them with the best specimens they could buy from other valuable breeders. His attention remained unmoved by his goal: "to achieve top results from 100 to 1000 km."

In all these years, several pigeons have been successfully introduced to breeding. Among others, they came from Frans de Hoog in Rijen. Frans de Hoog had also successfully introduced Jan Zoontjens pigeons to his kennel. Pigeons from the Heesters brothers from Reusel were also brought. The Reusters brothers had many Janssen pigeons from the Borgmans Brothers and Jos van Limpt (of Klak). A male from the Heesters brothers was mated with the female "191", one of the best breeders and the mother of several aces in one-day competitions. Another successful combination, and today there are still a few descendants of these Heeters pigeons in Wal Zoontjens' aviaries.

Unfortunately, father Jan Zoontjens died in May 1985 and all the pigeons were sold on the Asian continent. In the meantime, Wal Zoontjens started pigeon-loving on his own and will lay the foundations of the Zoontjens strain as we know it today.

Continuation of the Zoontjens strain

And in his youth Wal Zoontjens was interested in pigeon sport. At the time, Wal and his father visited many famous breeders in the Netherlands and Belgium. In terms of pigeon fanciers, Wal received the best lessons from his father. Until 1968, Wal competed with his father at the Tiburg club. In 1968, he built a house in Riel and moved there with his wife. At the same time, he built a farmhouse in the garden behind the house. And of course, the first pigeons, 28 in number, came from his father, Jan Zoontjens. Among them were 7 sons and daughters of Jan's best breeder. One of them was the famous "Merckx". An exceptional champion, with 50 rankings in the top 10% (1:10), of which 5 places out of 1 (out of an average of 2550 pigeons). The brothers and sisters of "Merckx" were cleverly passed to the womb, of which only the best descendants were stopped.

Wal maintains his colony at a high level by resorting to inbreeding. The pigeons worked by this method are the aces pigeons and the winners of places 1. To further improve the quality of the lot, Wal went on visits to the best breeders and tried to bring offspring from their aces pigeons and place winners. 1.

Wal also managed to get a pair of eggs from the famous breeding couple of Johan van Boxmeer from St. Oedenrode (N-Brabant). This breeding pair was called the "Conimix" pair and both partners were purebreds of Zoontjens. Johan van Boxmeer has been a close friend of the Zoontjens family for many years. The chicks in the "Conimix" pair were the male "Conimix King" and his nest sister "Conimix Queen". Both gave an extra dimension to the already existing Zoontjens strain.

We will find this "Conimix" pair in many of the pedigrees of the ace pigeons or 1st place winners in the Wal Zoontjens farm. We are talking about provincial and national winners.

An agreement was also reached with Henk van Laarhoven of Tilburg (N-Brabant). Henk van Laarhoven won the National Cross Country Championship (one-day races, 500-700 km) in 1995, and the male champion "Bruine" was loaned to Wal for a year. One of the descendants was the famous "Tim", a first class champion, with many rankings at the top. Meanwhile, "Tim" has already become the father of several excellent pigeons.

A descendant of Jan de Crey's national ace from Rosmalen (N-Brabant) is "Pikker", a Janssen x van Loon cross. "Pikker" is the father of several excellent pigeons, who showed their class especially in the half-distance stages.

Descendants of the female champion "Sissie" of Ad Schaerlaeckens from Baarle Nassau (N-Brabant) also arrived in the Riel farm, being crossed with those from the Zoontjens strain.

A brother and two daughters from the famous "President" of Joop Koch from Eindhoven (N-Brabant), a national top breeder, who mainly cultivated Zoontjens pigeons, were also purchased. Through Joop Koch, Wal managed to bring a few chicks from "Gouden Frans", an ace pigeon in the Fond category from the strain of Frans van Wel, a breeder from Bakel (N-Brabant). Wal also went personally to Frans van Wel to buy directly from his bottom line.

From the tandem champion Braad-de Joode, from Woundrichem (N-Brabant), Wal obtained some pigeons from the line of "Chateauroux" (in turn a descendant from the line of "Amerika duif", a pigeon of Wal), as well as from the line of "Orleans duifje".

Two grandchildren of Hans van der Veeke's famous "Gouden Koppel" from Westdorp (N-Brabant) completed the colony in Riel. Hans van der Veeke is a great one-day stage champion.

A daughter from Maurice Voets's "de Witslb" in Kessel, Belgium, was paired with Wal Zoontjens' male "Turbo". They became the parents of the 1st place Nat. Etampes in 1999 (Rayon 2, vs. 15,422 p.).

An important acquisition of the last years was "Donkere As", coming from the tandem of Laure from Tilburg. And this was a one-day competition phenomenon. The above mentioned pigeon had 11 rankings in the first 4% (1:25), being at the same time champion of the day races and 3rd place AS at provincial level. After obtaining these titles, he was promoted. Two of his sons have already won several places out of 1 in thousands of participants, the youngest of them becoming the 1st place Ace-pigeon in the club "Hart van Brabant".

All these pigeons were crossed with the best Zoontjens specimens, and the best products were later used by Wal for inbreeding. When it comes to this method, Wal does not resort to too close inbreeding, the closest degree being grandson to niece and always returns to his old family of pigeons. The method has yielded many years in a row. The pigeons continue to fly in the style of champions and in turn reproduce the top pigeons for several generations.

Before a pigeon is introduced into the strain, it must first prove to be in good health. Then to show that it has the ability to obtain top rankings and places of 1, to finally show that it can give good results in the breeding compartment. When they do not bring any improvement, the new acquisitions will be eliminated very quickly. So far, only a few specimens from other breeders have risen to the required requirements. Whenever Wal is successful with a new crossover, good results continue to be seen for many years to come.

Pigeon breeding

After Wal and his wife got married, they moved to Bernardstraat in Riel. In the garden behind the house, no larger than 250 square meters, Wal built his first farm. Currently, the garden is almost entirely occupied by aviaries for male widows, chicks and queens. In the meantime, he also erected a gazebo where he talks to the many visitors from all over the world. The farms are built of timber, the outside being covered with plastic paneling. They all have a sloping roof. To the right of the garden is the competition kennel for male widows. It is divided into 4 sections and houses about 45-50 widows. In the first 3 compartments there are approx. 30 widows who are employed in the one-day stages (500-700 km), while in the fourth compartment there are approx. 15 widows, almost all yearlings. They are employed in the shorter, speed and half-distance stages (100-500 km), and some of them will go to the one-day ones.

In front of the flight compartments, Wal built small aviary with glass windows to capture the sun's rays and direct the heat into the farm. Especially in the cold days and nights of early spring, the heat will be beneficial for pigeons, and widowed males will be in better shape. The inside of the flight farm is almost completely closed to keep the heat inside. Subsequently, grills were placed on the floor and in the boxes, the manure falling on those conveyor belts.

The flight farm is completely closed. During the competition season, the ceiling is closed to keep the heat inside. Ventilation is done only in the morning and in the evening, when the widows are outside, during training. At this point, the farm and aviary windows are open so that clean air can enter. After the flight season ends, the windows of the aviary are taken down and the ventilation of the farm will be done there. There will even be an underfloor heating network. It will be put into operation to keep the atmosphere inside dry only when there is moisture outside.

When the widows arrive from a stage with cold and rainy weather, Wal starts heating through the floor. Next to the widow's aviary is the kennel, with a total length of 5 meters. This section houses about 90 chicks, divided into 3 compartments. The roof is also provided with glass tiles both to better illuminate the interior and to warm the sun's rays. And with the help of the slats from the windows, the ventilation is controlled, so that the chicks have plenty of fresh air. Furthermore, the front door can be replaced with a mesh frame when the heat wave is installed outside. When the temperature is very high, it is important that as much fresh air enters as possible.

This compartment also offers birds the opportunity to make nests in all corners or behind cardboard screens. Through a niche cut into the wall, which communicates with the yearling section, young females can enter the yearling males after the competition season. Young females can mate with these males and Wal can prepare them for the most important national stage with chicks, Orleans.

Between the queen compartment and that of the chicks there is an aviary in which either the breeders or the chicks can sit during the day. Opposite the widows 'compartment is the breeders' farm. Here are housed 24 excellent royal pairs and they mostly breed the chicks. Many of the males here have an excellent record, being aces pigeons, champions or who obtained places of 1 in the most important stages, such as Orleans, Chateaurous or Bourges. Grills were also installed in the royal compartment on the floor and in the speakers, under which there are conveyor belts to evacuate the accumulated dirt. Next to this royal compartment is an aviary in which the female widows sit during the week.

Flight method with mature pigeons

Pigeon mating takes place in mid-December. All breeders and flyers are paired. Yearlings and a few flying couples will hatch eggs moved from the queen and the best flyers. Then the queen and the best fliers will lay the second series of eggs. When the chicks reach the age of 16, one of them and the female will be moved to the chicks' compartment. The other chick stays with the male. This is to avoid stress among males. After the chicks are weaned, the males will rest until March 20. Unlike in the past, males, who are competing in the one-day stages, will only raise one chick later. Wal discovered by chance that, in this way, the males would not be as stressed as when they hatched only 8 days on the second series of eggs, after which they were widowed. Thus, the period of widowhood is shorter and the results are even better later.

Twice a day the males train for an hour. The first workout is early, between 7 and 8 in the morning. In the evening, the training around the house takes place between 17 and 18. Also every day the males have the opportunity to take a bath. Put a little disinfectant in the bathing water. Pigeons do not become infected in this way through the water in the bathtub.

When the males are boarded for the first 2 stages, they are introduced to the female for half an hour. Males, especially yearlings, need to get used to the widowhood system. After the second stage, the males receive in the box only the nest, without the female. In the meantime, they get used to the widowhood system and know exactly what is going on, so they will enter the basket without being motivated in advance. Only in the penultimate stage will the nest be replaced again with the female to motivate them again. At the last stage, they will receive the nest and the female in the evening, so they will stay together for several hours. This will give the males an extra motivation to get a good result.

After the competition, the females will spend one or even more hours with the males. It all depends on the toughness of the contest. When the males arrive late in the evening, at the one-day stages (500-700 km), the couples will stay together until the next day.

Males are boarded at 10-12 stages per season. And the yearlings will participate in the one-day races, only they will be boarded 3 times. Adults will take part in all 5 stages of a day. Female widows remain in the aviary on the other side of the flight compartments. I can't see the males and neither can the males see them when the daily workouts take place. When the competition season ends for the males, they are mated again and can raise a row of chicks. Then another 10-day spawn and couples can stay together until early November. This is followed by gender segregation.

Chickens

The competition season with puppies takes place between June and September. To get the best results in the most important stages, such as Etampes (400 km), Orleans (460 km), Chateauroux (600 km) and Bourges (520 km), Wal starts the breeding season in early December . Do this to have enough mature chicks to mate at the start of important races. Several series of chickens will be shared in the chicken farm.

And the moulting of the chicks is stopped. As a result, Wal obscures the chicks for about 6 weeks. This process begins in early April and lasts until mid-May. The shelter is darkened from 18:00 in the evening until 6:00 in the morning. The puppies train only once a day, from 9 to 10:30. Before the flights start, the chicks are trained in private for distances of about 20 km, 6 times. It happens that the puppies are trained in private and in the middle of the week, after the competitions start. In the first weeks of the season, the chicks sit together in the common compartment. Several pairs are already forming during this time, so their partners will look for each other after they are separated. A pleasant atmosphere is formed inside by creating more dark places and hiding places.

The floor is also covered with a thick layer of straw. After this first period, which lasts about 4 weeks, the males will be separated from the females and will be competing in widowhood according to the sliding door system. This means that the doors between the compartments will be open and the chicks separated by sex can sit together for approx. 2 hours before boarding. After the competition, they will stay together for the rest of the day and will be separated late in the evening.

After 7 weeks, Wal Zoontjens tries to mate a few young females with yearlingi widows, so that they start hatching. Over the years, the best results have been obtained with females on chicks for about 10 days. In 1994, even the national stage in Orleans was won with a female on chickens of this age.

In the case of most male chicks, when they are fit and do not hatch, the last competition of the year of birth is the Orleans national. The females, mostly with beaten eggs or chicks in the nest, fly the other background stages, Chateauroux and Bourges, with excellent results. Sometimes, two young females mate with each other and will raise a chick like this. They are highly motivated in this way and are often able to get top rankings in competitions. The method of obscuration that Wal has practiced all these years has no disadvantages. Because the chicks have enough time to finish their moulting after the competition season. When they are mated again in December, almost all of them have finished moulting. The best young females, who obtained top rankings, will be passed to the queen and paired with the best males.

Wal Zoontjens feeding system - Yellow mixture and blue mixture

When father Jan Zoontjens became a pigeon fancier 50 years ago, he always researched the food and feeding system of pigeons. As a guide he used a Dutch pamphlet entitled "Feeding and pigeons", written by the late author Arie v.d. Hoek.

With the help of his experience in the field, Jan designed his own mixtures of grains. The first mixture was the so-called "Basic Mixture" and consisted of cereal grains and seeds. The other mixture consisted of legumes and corn. The idea behind these mixtures arose when Jan sifted through commercially purchased mixtures. The mixture of cereals and seeds was administered at the beginning of the week, while legumes and corn a few days before boarding.

Later, the mixtures were supplemented and their nutritional value was calculated.

In the meantime, these two blends began to be distributed on the market by Beyers. "Basic Mixture" or "Yellow Mixture" and "Blue Mixture".

The mixtures consist of the following ingredients.

Yellow Mixture

Wheat 21.17%
White sorghum 26.67%
Saffron 13.33%
Weed 9.67%
Lens 8.33%
Red sorghum 8.33%
Mung beans 6.67%
Husked rice 3.33%
Buckwheat 2.50%

More details about the "yellow mixture" created by Wal Zoontjens and about the possibility of purchasing it can be found by accessing the following link: http://www.porumbei360.ro/produse/beyers-wal-zoontjens-unica-fara-mazare-si-porumb / 43
"Blue Mixture"

Corn Cribbs / Silver 30%
Special corn 20%
10% Popcorn
15% yellow peas
10% brown peas
Fried soybeans 15%

In the Riel farm, these mixtures were used regularly. After consultation with the manufacturer, the percentages were adjusted to obtain an even more balanced mixture. These blends became public the moment Wal launched them on the market through Beyers. Meanwhile, "Yellow Mixture" has entered the basic feeding pattern of many breeders around the world.

In winter, Wal administers the following mixture to the pigeons: 1/3 Zoontjens Basic "Yellow Mixture", 1/3 Breeding Mixture and 1/3 wheat.After mating, the pigeons receive the same mixture until the chicks are 6 days old. they will also receive a mixture of 50% Breeding and 50% Zoontjens “Basic Mixture”.

And the chicks receive this mixture (50% Breeding + 50% Zoontjens “Basic Mixture”) after weaning. After 3 months, the daily ration consists of 3 parts: 1/3 Zoontjens "Basic Mixture", 1/3 Breeding, 1/3 barley. With this mixture, the chicks fly excellently in competitions up to 300 km. After this distance, the barley is removed from the diet and the chicks are given a mixture of 50% Breeding + 50% Zoontjens "Basic Mixture".

When Wal uses in the first phase the scheme with the 3-part mixture and then the 2-part mixture, the results are spectacular, winning even national stages. In 1994, Wal and Hans won the Orleans chicken derby, and in 1999 the national stage in Etampes.

In the diagram below, we will try to give you an overview of the feeding system practiced by Wal in the case of widowed males, a system broken down by distance categories.

Feeding scheme for male widows:

Speed ​​(from 80 to 300 km). Male widows are boarded on Friday night and only stay in the car for one night.
Halfway (from 300 to 500 km). The male widows are boarded on Thursday evening and stay in the car for 2 days.
One day fund (from 500 to 700 km). The male widows are boarded on Thursday evening and stay in the car for 2 days.
Saturday

It's the day the male widows arrive from the race. In the box they will receive "Basic Mixture" to their heart's content. Meanwhile, the widowed females return to their aviary, where they will stay for the week. Most of the time, I get barley as food. As the stage took place at high temperatures, the males also receive electrolyte on arrival. The rest of the day they rest and recover.

Sunday

• Morning (every morning)

All males receive "Basic Mixture", about a tablespoon each. When some of them are not full, Wal throws some barley on the floor until they are full.

• In the evening

At speed, half distance and one day fund: all male widows receive "Basic Mixture".

Note: all male widows who participate in the one-day funds receive “Basic Mixture” at dinner and during the week when they stay at home.

Months

• “Basic Mixture” in the morning

• In the evening

- At speed and half distance: "Basic Mixture"

- On one-day funds: depending on the distance the widows have to cover in the next stage, Wal is already starting to administer “Blue Mixture”. Widows must eat everything they receive and be full.

Tuesday

• “Basic Mixture” in the morning

• In the evening

- At speed: "Basic Mixture"

- Half-fund and one-day funds: "Blue Mixture". Again, widows must eat everything they receive and be satisfied.

Wednesday

• “Basic Mixture” in the morning

• Evening At speed, half-fund and one-day funds: widows receive "Blue Mixture" at will and to their heart's content. Wal gives them the normal ration of food in a small bowl, placed in the box. After that, put a few more grains in the common feeder, so as to ensure that the widows ate to their heart's content.

Thursday

• “Basic Mixture” in the morning

• In the evening

- At speed: "Blue Mixture" on full.

- Half-fund and one-day funds: This is the day when widows are boarded for the competition. 2 hours before boarding, they receive a small portion of "Blue Mixture". After that, "Basic Mixture" to satiety, and at the end a few small seeds. Wal prefers to embark his widows at these stages with a goose half or three quarters full. When the males do not eat well at the Thursday evening meal and are boarded with an empty or almost empty goiter, the feeding method during the week was not correct. It is a sign that the males are already in top form, a situation to be avoided. Males must be in top form on Saturday, when the launch takes place. That is why it is very important that the pigeons almost fill their guts at dinner.

Friday

• In the morning Enough "Basic Mixture". This is the day when speed males will be boarded. They will only be fed in the morning. In the evening they will receive nothing. Males flying half-distance or one-day funds are already in the race car on Friday.

In general, Wal and Hans Zoontjens are against the frequent use of drugs in pigeons. Too fast breeders turn to them when the results are delayed. The breeder should first consult a veterinarian and take biological samples from a few pigeons for examination, and then act only after receiving the results and with the medicines prescribed by the veterinarian. When you think something is wrong, you will go to the vet as soon as possible.

Wal and his son, Hans Zoontjens

Vaccination against paramyxovirus is done every year on Wal's farm. The chicks are also vaccinated against diphtheria-smallpox. And when the pigeons hatch on the eggs, they will receive a 5-day cure for trichomoniasis. This cure is repeated every 4-5 weeks during the competition season, for a few days. But the best way to have a healthy population is to remove diseased specimens and keep only healthy specimens.

Grit and minerals are always available to pigeons and are changed frequently.

Photo and text source: walzoontjens.duiven.org and ppspigeons.tw