Recently whilst in Antwerp and
staying at a hotel close to the
Scheemaecker Brothers famous
Natural Breeding Station I
decided to take advantage of one
of their ‘Open Days’ and pay a
visit.
I must admit that I believed that
it was only in existence to
produce and sell birds to
interested fanciers in Belgium and
beyond and to this end I must say
it was like a massive ‘who is who’
of pigeon racing with virtually
every major family of Belgian
based pigeons from both yester
year right up to the present day.
These various strains are kept
separately in purpose built
breeding lofts. The design is well
thought out enabling birds to be
well looked after but keeping
cleaning and day to day
maintenance to a minimum with
all of the sections having food
hoppers and direct water troughs
and grit and minerals. Every
section sits on top of deep floor
grills and generous space below
the grills that are under each of
its spacious nest boxes.What I found though personally
to be of even greater interest to
me was the new museum in
honour of many of the past
masters in the history of the
pigeon sport. The main attraction
being the Janssen Brothers front
room containing all of the
furniture and fittings that have
been transferred from their home
at the world famous address of 12
Schoolstraat Arendonk. which has
been a pilgrimage for so many
pigeon fanciers from countless
countries. I must say that I have
visited their home on severalA VISIT TO THE
NATURAL
BREEDING STATION
by Mike Lakin
The Natural
Breeding Station.