The landscape surrounding idyllic Boppard is fascinating. The city is located right on the banks of the Rhine which is surrounded by elegant hills. Legends tell the story of the blonde beauty Loreley who was waving to the captains: they were distracted, miscalculated a dangerous narrow of the Rhine and died. Thousands of tourists from all over the world admire this mythical spot in the Rhine country every year. This region with its wines and culinary delights continues to have success.
Peter & Dr. Hans-Peter Brockamp & Dr. Carlo Gyselbrecht
2nd Internat. Carcassonne, 2nd, 5th, 8th,15th Internat. Perpignan ‘06
1st Internat. Perpignan ‘99 and 1st Internat. Marseille ‘05
The German long distance cracks Peter en Dr. Hans Peter Brockamp have been developing an impressive career in this healthy environment. Two international victories are on their impressive list of achievements. This year, they added to that list: 1st national and 2nd international Carcassonne and 1st national and 2nd international Perpignan. There was no doubt this season about who is the best long distance team of Europe with four pigeons within the first fifteen of Perpignan international. Furthermore, they possess the best long distance pigeon of the world: “Euro Diamond”. The prizes this flying miracle has been achieving over the past two years is really unbelievable…
The impressive performances of Peter en Dr. Hans Peter Brockamp will be added to pigeon sport history like crown jewels.
Ex business-man Peter Brockamp is 69 years old and has had pigeons his whole life. He used to be feared in middle distance racing. When he formed a team with his son Hans Peter, who is a 45-year-old biologist, they decided to focus on extreme long distance racing. That’s when the international victory march started in Boppard.
Miraculous results
There is no stopping the game of P. and H.P. Brockamp these last few years.
Take a look at these unparalleled results:
2006:
Internat. Perpignan (913 km) 14.900 p. 2-5-8-14th etc…etc, 13 prizes out of 20 pigeons that were raced. The 14th international is the “566”. She is also 3rd national Ace hen of the International races 2006.
Nat. Perpignan 1.452 p.; 1-3-5-7-35-47-77-91-121-131, etc..
Nat. Carcassonne (882 km.): 2.717 p.: 1-8-71-75-106-116-125-212-242-295-364- etc., 15 prizes out of 18,
Internat. Carcassonne 10.323 p.: 2-30, etc., 15 prizes out of 18. The complete results were not yet known at the time of writing.
Nat. Barcelona (1.074 km.): 2.132 p., 44-65-84-147, etc., 7 prizes out of 13.
1st National Marathon Champion 2006 and 1st (DV 06720-02-421 “421”) and 2nd (DV 06720-03-859 ” Mistral”) National Marathon Ace cock.2005:
Nat. Marseille (788 km.): 3.575 p.: 1-9-36-53-56-67-80, etc., 15 prizes out of 21,
Internat. Marseille 13.930 p.: 1-21-79-112-118-136-163, etc. 15 prizes out of 21,
Nat. Perpignan 2.019 p.: 5-20-41-56-57-61-65-80, etc. 13 prizes out of 22,
Internat. Perpignan 17.654 p.: 12-35-80-116-120-135-171-326, etc.
Building
“ We never sold our national winners and super pigeons but we’ve always moved them to the breeding loft. That’s why we’ve been at the top for so long”, says Hans Peter Brockamp. And this strategy was the foundation of their tremendous successes.
In 1985, the first usable breeders came from the legendary Barcelona racer Andre Vanbruaene from Lauwe (B) and his brother-in-law Ivo van Lerberghe from Oostvleteren. “Blauwe Vanbruane” B85-3410669, a brother of the 1st Internat. Barcelona ’84, became a very important main pigeon. Furthermore, they also bought a son of the famous “Barcelona Crack” of Ivo van Lerberghe and this pigeon appeared to be extremely able to transmit his excellent qualities.
In 1987, they obtained the “Champ” of the German crack K. H. Walldorf from Koblenz to reinforce the colony and this pigeon won twelve prizes out of twelve international races. His dad by the way flew ten out of ten. The “Champ” is closely related to the renowned “Atoom” of G. and M. Vanhee, Wervik, as well as to the famous “Supercrack Crusson” of Robert Venus, Koksijde. When “The Champ” was moved to the breeding loft, he became father of a.o. “Marseille Star” that achieved a 5th national and a 12th international Marseille and who, in his turn, became father of the national winner of Perpignan 2006.
Another very gifted breeder was “Jonge Soustons” NL93-1546326, a direct of long distance stars Harry and Roger Wijnands, Maastricht. He became the father of super champion “Armstrong”, 1st Internat. Perpignan ’99, 17.584 p. and other top racers. “Jonge Soustons” descends from “De Soustons” (grandson of “Kleine Jo”) and won a 1st prize Nat. Soustons 20.264 p plus car, coupled with “Dochter Barcelona”, that descends from “Broer Pau” (son of main couple Kuypers Bros., Neer: “De Matterne” x “Barcelona 28”) x “De Barcelona Duivin”, ended three times within the first ten national of Barcelona and Perpignan. When building up the strain they also regularly used hens with long distance blood that had achieved extremely fast times in programme races. “That’s how we succeeded in keeping speed in our long distance pigeons. And that’s of major importance these days”, says Hans Peter Brockamp. The mother of “Marseille Star” also won no less than 52 prizes in races of up to six hundred kilometres.
Contribution of golden Carteus
In 1990 and 1991, they noticed the extraordinary results of Belgian long distance star Georges Carteus from Ronse. They drove up to his loft and bought three pigeons. They all became superior breeders.
Dad and son Brockamp went to Ronse once again in 1992 and bought a daughter of the illustrious “Limoges” that obtained the 1stnational Limoges and 3rd national Perpignan in only one year’s time and several top prizes after that. He was coupled to a nest sister of the famous “As”, 2nd Internat. Perpignan (two pigeons came home on the day of release) and 4th ace pigeon long distance of Belgium. “Kleine Limoges” B92-088 would later-on become the mother of “Armstrong” in Boppard, the 1st Internat. Perpignan ’99, 17.584 p. Peter & Dr. Hans Peter were very impressed by the exceptional gift of these pigeons to transmit their top qualities and decided to pay Carteus another visit. They bought two young pigeons that descended from “As”, 2nd Internat. Perpignan (two pigeons came home on the day of release), 4th ace pigeon long distance of Belgium and “Bonte Barcelona” that had won the 4th Nat. Perpignan ’91 and 65th Nat. Barcelona. “Kleine Bonte” B93-445, son of “Bonte Barcelona”, was the mother of “Super Bordeaux”,1st Internat. Bordeaux ’99, 11.644 pigeons at the loft of long distance crack Harald Schroder in Aken. “Jonge As” B93-425 (son of “As”) became the father of many long distance stars and grandfather of “Marseille King”, 1st Internat. Marseille ’05, 13.930 p..
Because Peter and Hans Peter realize perfectly well that most of the national winners and ace pigeons in other lofts descend from crossbreedings, they decided to use this method as well. Top pigeons are usually coupled with yearling hens that must have top racers in their pedigree. They are no adherents of theories about eyes, muscles and wings though. Nonetheless, they like richly coloured eyes and well-balanced pigeons with extremely soft feathers who are well-muscled. Peter and Hans Peter also pay attention to a fast wing which needs to have an opening between the last three flight feathers. Such an opening is good for ventilation and it has to be narrow. They always paid attention to pigeons that were able to return on the day of release while building up their colony. They are both opposed to releases in the afternoon. “These races are lethal for pigeons that fly all night through. Furthermore, the time of neutralization has not yet been adjusted which means that results are forged”, which is the view of Hans Peter Brockamp on this kind of races. He also thinks that the farthest distance of Barcelona has an advantage. “Barcelona is always very tough at the start of the race but it gradually becomes easier after a couple hundreds of kilometres which is advantageous for lofts which are located farthest away”, says the long distance expert from Boppard.
No other loft has such a collection of superior racers than the one of father and son Brockamp. Crown prince of the loft is of course“Euro Diamond” DV06720-02-537 who has a fabulous list of achievements which implies that he is, without any doubt, the best long distance pigeon in the world:
1st Nat. Carcassonne ’06, 2.719 p.,
2nd Internat. Carcassonne ’06, 10.323 p.,
3rd Nat. Perpignan ’06, 1.452 p.,
5th Internat. Perpignan ’06, 14.900 p.,
5th Internat. Bergerac ’05, 3.180 p.,
5th Nat. Perpignan ’05, 2.019 p.,
12th Internat. Perpignan’05, 17.654 p.,
9th Nat. Marseille ’05, 3.575 p.,
21st Internat. Marseille ’05, 13.390 p.,
23rd Nat. Perpignan ’04, 2.210 p.,
58th Nat. Marseille ’04, 4.928 p..
His father is super breeder “George”, his mother is a daughter of the fabulous “Super Mario” that was coupled with a daughter of the legendary “Limoges”. ”Euro Diamond” is a pure athlete of average size. However, he cannot be held. This is a pigeon with an enormous will, silky soft feathers and muscles like cords. He got his name by winning the silver Euro Diamond prize in Belgium last year.
“Armstrong
“The first pigeon that established undying fame in Boppard was “Armstrong” 06720-96-607. He achieved excellent results:
1st Internat. Perpignan ’99, 17.584 p., etc.
“ Armstrong”, a slim athlete, won five beautiful prizes in international racing. His brother, “608”, obtained seven and another brother of his is the famous “Barcelona III”.
Father of “Armstrong” is “Jonge Soustons” NL93-1546326, a pigeon very good at transmitting his qualities to his descendants, is a direct of Harry and Roger Wijnands in Maastricht. He descends from “De Soustons” that won a 1st prize Nat. Soustons 20.264 p plus a car and he is the grandson of main pigeon “Kleine Jo”.
His mother descends from “Broer Pau” (a descendant from the main couple of the Kuypers Bros. in Neer: “De Matterne” x “Barcelona 28”) coupled with the famous “Barcelona Duivin” (3 times first 10 of nat. Barcelona and Perpignan.). “Jonge Soustons” is also the father of “Barcelona III”, 12 prizes international, “808”: 7 prizes international and “337”, 2nd Nat. Cuwel Race Beijing young pigeons 530 km. ”Armstrong”’s mother is “Kleine Limoges” B92-4579088, a direct of G. Carteus, top hen and daughter of the famous “Limoges” x “Nestzuster As”.
1st Internat. Marseille ’05, 13.930 p.,
1st Nat. Marseille 3.575 p.,
4th Nat. Cahors ’04, 1.578 p.
“De Perpignan winnaar“
The 1st Nat. and 2nd prize Internat. Perpignan of this year was won by “Perpignan ‘06” DV 06720-02-601. Last year, this super racer had already won the Klaus Brucker Honour Prize for the best pigeon in Germany in the national races Pau, Marseille and Perpignan. As far as the Perpignan race is concerned: he came home on the same day of release after flying an extremely tough race and achieved a magnificent victory. He has a really fantastic list of achievements as well:
1st Nat. Perpignan ’06, 1.452 p.,
2nd Internat. Perpignan, 14.900 p.,
20th Nat. Perpignan ’05, 2.019 p.,
35th Internat. Perpignan 17.654 p.,
80th Nat. Marseille ’05, 3.575 p.,
163rd Internat. Marseille ’05, 13.930 p.,
111th Nat. Perpignan ’04, 2.210 p.,
150th Nat. Marseille ’04,4.928 p.
“Perpignan”’s mother is “Venus”, a hen that proved to have great class by winning a 3rd prize zone and 31st Nat. Marseille 6.073 p. with two nest feathers. Her father is closely related to “Gorissen”, progenitor, “Kraag” and “Kruisbek”, three famous main pigeons of Wim Muller, Wilhelminadorp. Mother of “Venus” is “Zuster Angelo” which descends from a crossbreed of middle distance pigeons of cracks Horst Felske and Gunter Nies.
Another crack is without any doubt “Mistral”DV-06720-03-859. He won:
8th Nat. Carcassonne ’06, 2.719 p.,
30th Internat. Carcassonne ’06, 10.323 p.,
12th Nat. Bergerac ’05, 1.320 p.,
61st Nat. Perpignan ’05, 2.019 p.,
67th Nat. Marseille ’05, 3.575 p., etc..
5th National Perpignan 06 , 1.452 p.
8th Internat. Perpignan 06 , 14.812 p.
“Asduif 2006“
“Asduivin 06” 06720-02-566 became 3rd national ace pigeon this year. She won a.o.:
7th Nat. Perpignan ’06, 1.452 p.,
15th Internat. Perpignan ’06, 14.900 p., etc..
44th Nat. Barcelona ’06,
65th Nat. Perpignan ’05, 2.019 p., etc.
Is a granddaughter of main pigeon “Blauwe Budapest I” and “Zuster Angelo”, who is also the grandmother of the 1st Nat. Perpignan ’06.
“Hannah” is a hen that demonstrated her abilities with the following achievements:
1st Nat. Marseille ’03,
4th Nat. Marseille 4.656 p., etc..
Once the season is over, all the pigeons raise a youngster and get the opportunity to brood a second round of eggs. “This slows down the moult and they’ll only loose a first feather until late in the new season which is an advantage with respect to the last long distance race: Perpignan. Our pigeons get into top shape only late in the season. Just take a look at the results of this year’s Carcassonne and Perpignan”, says Hans Peter Brockamp. They are all separated by mid January and coupled early April. Then, they brood once again and are put on widowhood afterwards. From early May onwards, all the widowers are put into the basket with the Bad Kreuznach club. They fly five programme races up to four hundred kilometres. Widow hens are not to couple with eachother which is why they are put separately into boxes five days prior to basketing. As far as training races are concerned, the widow hens are only shown for approximately ten minutes when the race is over. When the widowers fly international long distance races, they get three to four hours in the company of their hens before they are put into the basket. “We sometimes let them take a bath together before they go into the basket. That’s also a motivation factor. However, experience has showed us that we shouldn’t cover the floor with straw on the day of basketing. Races have always gone bad when we did that”, says Hans Peter Brockamp. “A fancier must be able to handle his pigeons”, he tells us. “From time to time during rest, we give them peanuts in their boxes. We also play with them and fight them. That’s when you get to know the different characters and personalities. Man and pigeon should be one. That’s a motivation factor as well”, says Hans Peter Brockamp. The yearlings fly the programme until six hundred kilometres. They are put into the baskets every week. “That’s how they learn best. Flying the Bordeaux race is lethal for yearlings. They’re will be no feather left. We’ve been testing yearlings in the Bordeaux race in the past: they flew top but didn’t win any prize as an old pigeon. One should allow a youngster to grow, serious efforts won’t do them any good”, according to the biologist. Thanks to handling the yearlings with care they now have several cracks with lengthy lists of achievements. There is a pigeon in their loft that achieved seventeen international prizes among which six in the Barcelona race. This season, they’ve had another eight pigeons that obtained three prizes in three long distance races and five that won two prizes in two long distance races. The young pigeons always fly five training races up to hundred kilometres and are trained every day for one hour with the flag. They have a drinking dish in their bofresh water dribbles in continuously.
Nest pigeons among widowers
Father and son Brockamp always play long distance races with some hens on the nest. Due to a shortage of space they are on the nest among the yearling widowers. “The widowers get used to this after a while”, says Peter Brockamp. “They also train together with the yearling widowers in the evening.” They prefer to basket racers that have youngsters of four days old. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out this season (Perpignan race) because they had eggs of sixteen days old. So they put a small youngster underneath on the day of basketing. Nonetheless, a hen won the 15th international prize in the Perpignan race and three out of four hens obtained a prize. In the Barcelona race, three out of three achieved a prize.
His bio products
“ When we try to visualise the health condition of the pigeons, we set great store by looking at the droppings and the feathers. Pigeons should be seen as sports people.”, says Hans Peter Brockamp who is particularly concentrating on the energy metabolism of racing pigeons. He claims that health and shape need to be perfectly balanced during the season. If something’s the matter with one of the two, their performances will tell. The feed and other products are all tuned to an optimal fat metabolism and health. Hans Peter Brockamp has developed his Probac products for his pigeons for this purpose. The products have a particularly positive influence on bacteria. When the birds come home from a race, they always receive pure drinking water. Hans Peter uses his Probac products ten days before the pigeons are put into the basket for a long distance race. He also gives them the highly concentrated Probac 1000 that keeps the intestinal flora in balance and that has a big influence on E coli, coccidiose, hexamitiase and salmonella. Probac 1000 also contains a lot of electrolytes which is why the pigeons receive it the day after they return from a race. He usually uses this product in combination with Probac Oregano oil, a direct extract of the wellknown healing plant Oregano, to which he added Carvacrol and Thymol that have a particular influence on the airways. Moreover, Probac Oregano contains fatty acids and takes care of a very good digestion. It also reacts strongly against bacteria, E coli, coccidiose, hexamitiase and staphylococcen. During the first three days, his long distance racers receive the protein A.P.F. 90 which is a special muscle amplifier. This product has a biological value of 134 which is exceptional and it is an essential product in their evolution. A very important product according to Hans Peter is active iron with haemoglobin: it increases the red blood cells as well as the ingestion of oxygen. It’s a kind of biological doping for pigeons. They also add Lecithin oil to the feed during the last few days prior to basketing. This product is particularly important with respect to the fat metabolism. It is mixed with Probac Energy which gets the long distance racers into optimal shape. Carbo Power is added to the drinking water three days prior to basketing as well. It increases the muscular strength of the pigeons. From time to time, Hans Peter also uses the products from Dr. Henk de Weerd of Breda because they do well to airways and heads.
Before the season starts -in May- the pigeons receive a 7-day-cure with Ronidazol (10%) against canker. All the pigeons receive a cure of the wellknown Parastop of Dr. Henk de Weerd in early April. “I am strongly opposed to the vaccination of pigeons against paratyphus because there exist 1.600 species while vaccination only exists for a mere 7”, says Brockamp. Fourteen days before a long distance race, the crops of all the birds are rinsed with Metro, an excellent product for canker, crop mucosa and hexamitiase.“I’ve never went to a vet. The biggest mistake most fanciers make is using too much medication. The pigeons need to have a natural resistance. That’s why pigeons or families that often suffer from disease must undergo a severe selection.”, says Hans Peter Brockamp.
Feed
The birds always receive the same feed during the racing season: mixture “Non Stop” of the German firm Ovator. It’s a high-fat mixture and therefore ideal for long distance racers. “Non Stop” was composed by Hans Peter Brockamp and his friend, the strong long distance racer Menne of Hamelinkn. The birds receive a scarce quantity in the morning. In the evening, they are allowed to eat as much as they like. When the pigeons return from a race and four days prior to basketing, they receive a couple of top quality peanuts, sunflower seeds and candy seed in their boxes.
Half-timbered house
The nice tourist village of Boppard is situated within a stone’s throw of Koblenz. It is located in the middle of a striking wine region and right next to the Rhine. This is the healthy region where the pigeons of Peter and Dr. Hans Peter Brockamp are living in lofts in the attic of an old but beautiful half-timbered house that was adjusted to the surrounding area. They’ve built three mini lofts in which potbellies can barely turn. There is one loft for 28 old widowers, one for 30 yearlings, another one for 90 young pigeons and one for fifteen breeding couples. In the widowers’ loft a radio plays music from 7:00 AM until 19:00 PM. This is to avoid that the widowers would be disturbed by people who are working on a lower floor of the house and who regularly go up and down the stairs. Peter Brockamp lives in the area and concentrates mostly on taking care of the pigeons. His son Peter Hans lives elsewhere and is keeping the books. Last year, he became president of the German organisation of international races. The touching performances of their top colony rich in quality and vitality, have stunned the pigeon world.
