The next one we introduce to the fanciers is from the town of Snellegem in West Flanders, a town that was predominantly agricultural in the historical record and was ruled by the Hellovin dynasty in medieval times. In the summer of 2015, this little-known town attracted waves of visitors with marc Pollin's fame!  Mark Polling is cheerful, smiles, and is a full enjoyer of life. Pigeon racing is not just a "fun" for Mark, but also a special way of life, a social way, talking about pigeon racing with friends and sometimes accompanied by snacks and wine. The pigeon world is wonderful because of him! Mark himself enjoyed it. He is the absolute "king", a king who knows the sport of pigeon all too well, a king who has achieved great results year after year, an all-around king who has gone from speed to very long distance. In Mark's home, pigeon racing is a family business that permeates every family member, with Mark full support from his wife Deanna, son Geert and daughter-in-law Samran. Everyone is shared responsibility, which lays an indestructible foundation for Mark's success. Mark has a spacious, beautiful loft, and every detail has been carefully laid out and built. He knows better than anyone that pigeons race for the good! "Good pigeons produce good pigeons..." Mark told us. He now has at least 20 pairs of breeding pigeons "Ace Breeders" who enjoy exclusive lofts. Now in his loft are the heirs of the "Devil Buddha", "Dortmund", "Limoges", "Na Wing" and so on. These leading pigeons are the main force in the Marc loft. Mark Pollin's pigeons are undoubtedly excellent full distance racers, winning easily both in speed and long distance races. However, Pauline is more enthusiastic about long distance racing, especially at the national level. These pigeons can stand out in difficult races with bad weather and fierce competition. One of The main characteristics of Mark is his willingness to participate in the races, even to the point of obsession, and is jokingly called "militant" by fanciers; this is a fitting name: this all-round loft is busy running around the major countries every summer, rarely absent. Pigeons who "work" for Marin should have a good body, because they often have to participate in a lot of races in a season, not to mention the heat, the wind and all kinds of birds of prey... Only Mark Pauline and his pigeons can tell the hard work. Big winner of 2015 As the 2015 European races draw to a close, taking stock of the results of all European fanciers, Marc Pauling's name is undoubtedly the most eye-catching: the "militant" has won 4 national trophies in the last few weeks! It was a huge success, considering the achievements that thousands of fanciers have been chasing this summer, and he alone has won 13% of them, of which the National Race of Le Bonner is still his solo show... Success or defeat pales in the face of Mark Polling's achievements in 2015, and only the results are unbreakable truths: 【Montauban 2015】 Release Time: 06/07/2015 06:30 (CST) Number of pigeons in the flock: 6,119 pigeons Release weather: Blue skies, South wind, Good visibility Race distance: approx. 790 km Performance: 1st Nat. Pauline Mark yearlings; average 1258.25 m/min (top 6,119 pigeons)  【Saint-Vincent International 2015】 Release Time: 10/07/2015 06:45 (CEST) Number of pigeons in the flock: 10,737 pigeons Release Weather: Blue skies, Southeast wind, Good visibility Race distance: 896.428 km Performance: 1st National Old Birds, average velocity 1023.87 m/min (top 10,737 pigeons in the country) 【National Lebonne 2015】 Release Time: 02/08/2015 07:15 (Belgium time; originally scheduled for 1 August, postponed due to weather) Number of pigeons in the set: 10,910 pigeons (including 5,020 old birds; 5,890 yearlings) Release Weather: Blue skies, no wind, good visibility Race distance: 753.363 km Pauline Mark's performance: National double finish in the old birds and yearlings, the top 10,910 pigeons with a velocity of 1253.71 m/min Pigeon team composition The Team of Marc is huge, with more than 100 racers (older + yearlings) in addition to a few old and one-year-old hens living with the youngsters. The old racing and the yearlings are mixed up. Mark needs to separate the hens and cocks around 10 days after the eggs are hatched, and the other part can bring the big youngs. The old pigeons return to the loft and, if necessary, keep them closed for a few days to avoid fighting each other. Around the 25th of March, widower pigeons gather together and, if the weather permits, can be trained. Normally, after the second egg is laid, the pigeons are separated. Mark has another method, which has been put into practice among many fierce generals, having the pigeons separate after 4 to 5 days (without eggs), and then the widowhood system begins. This method is a little better, you can easily catch the pigeons into the cage. To know that to train more than 100 pigeons, you have to catch more than 100 pigeons into the cage, the workload can be imagined! Wife Deanna drove the pigeons out of a certain distance and released them in small groups. Widowers cannot meet the hens before the race, and on Saturdays, both the racers and the left-behind pigeons can have a small party with the beloved hens. Mark puts a few hens between the young males to motivate the young males. Young hens are unrestricted and usually hens with homosexual tendencies build nests. The first round of the young male race flew Blois Blione - Nantes Saint Junni and twice Durs, the combat strength was known at a time. Most of the young hens race in the national long distance young birds or the provincial super long middle distance. Mark's selection criteria are simple, with the main record being the bloodline of the pigeons. It was in this way that Mark built his pigeon family step by step, with countless titles and high prizes. Breeding schedule Normally, the breeding hen is paired with more than 100 cocks at the end of November. All breeders breed a pair of young birds and separate the racing and hens in time before the hens hatch their eggs! The racers leave the house to race, leaving the hens to take care of the cubs. The breeding pigeons continue to breed. The pigeons return to the loft in mid-March in order to be paired at the end of March, after a few days of incubation after a period of incubation. This model has been successful in practice for many years. During the incubation period (late March to early April), the cocks are flight training for the season. The pigeons are released for morning training around 7 a.m. and the cage is closed immediately after the pigeons are released for the cleaning of the loft. After an hour of release training, the pigeons are called back to their nests. The same release training takes place between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. The old birds and the young birds are in the same house, and to take good care of the team of about 100 pigeons, the amount of work and the amount of time invested is conceivable. So before the race, the cocks live in the nest with the hens, which also saves the hens time and work. At the beginning of the season all the pigeons compete in the middle distance, and from the big middle distance in May the pigeons are grouped into their own special events. Most of the pigeon racers follow the national and provincial schedules! We set up extra small stoves for the young birds and gave them secret training from March to the end of May and the beginning of June. After the secret training, most of them are ready to participate in provincial competitions (mostly Dures competitions) and a small number of them participate in national competitions. Pigeon diet The principle of diet in Pauline Loft is to be as simple and effective as possible! They have been using a mixture of Mariman feed and Versele-laga feed. The diet of pigeons at the beginning of the season is mainly based on moulting diet, and then adjusted to "Boost Natural Immunity" (Plus I.C.-gamma: Plus Immunity Concept+) based sports diets such as: Gerry Plus (feature: low protein), Superstar Plus (widower's pigeon feed), Champion Plus (nutritionally balanced sports diet, suitable for during the race), Energy Plus (high in oil, Suitable for the game before the cage). When it comes to medication, Mark and his son Gilt also follow simple principles: they have been using Kaucabam (100% whole whole health food) for several years. At first, onlookers thought it was ridiculous, but they thought kaucabam was really effective, the pigeons were in stable health and immunity, so the pigeons were less likely to be threatened by disease. Pigeons are now only vaccinated if necessary, and they pay special attention to the prevention and control of trichomoniasis in pigeons. As you can see, the secret to success in The Pollin loft is not so complicated, it is quite simple. They applied a simple set of principles to achieve what they have achieved today. Of course, the ultimate success or failure depends on the performance of the pigeons, and their physical condition, the climate of the loft and their innate pedigree and ability are crucial, especially the latter two. The fact that Pauline pigeons have the temperament of an ace pigeon has been indisputable for many years! Mark has produced many descendants of the inscriptions over the years, such as: "Forward", "Bopina", "Montauban", "Tony"... Almost all of the top racers in the current loft come from these lineages. The 2015 season is destined to be unforgettable for Mark Polling, but it's not over yet and we're still looking forward to his better performances! |