I have had a countless number of pigeons in my hands in the course of my 50 year career as a pigeon fancier, including international winners, national ace pigeons and world famous breeders. However, the pigeons that are kept in this loft have exceeded my expectations. The Freialdenhofen pigeons feel perfect in the hand. Grandmaster Piet De Weerd, who is fond of long distance pigeons, has been very satisfied with these pigeons as well. I was wondering if these pigeons could do even more than just excelling in the middle or long distance? I believe they can. This breed is characterised by a soft plumage, and a very fast wing, if you know what I mean. Their eyes are remarkable as well, and eye theory believers have been genuinely impressed with them. In addition, the Freialdenhofen pigeons have strong muscles and a very short upper arm. Once again, these pigeons are nearly perfect.
Forrest Gump, truly exceptional
The number one stock sire in this loft is without doubt the outstanding breeder Forrest Gump. His ring number is 06348-00-789, which means he is really starting to age. He won the title of 3rd Ace Pigeon international in 2002. However, his palmares as a racing bird is quite limited, especially compared to his sons, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His descendants have won basically everything there is to win in pigeon racing.
A high number of fanciers were willing to pay a lot of money for this pigeon but the Freialdenhofen family fortunately never sold this pigeon. Their other top class prize winners, which are plentiful in their current collection, have never been sold either. Their outstanding Forrest Gump has developed into an extraordinary breeding pigeon in the Freialdenhofen loft. We take a closer look at some of his most successful descendants.
His Son, Son Forrest Gump 06348-05-420, is the sire of Forrest Junior 06348-10-196, winner of an international first prize from Pau in 2012. The dam of Forrest Junior was Daughter Carcassonne 06348-07-616, which in turn has bred several top quality descendants as well. Forrest Junior was also paired to Sister Pozzato NL 06-1437042 (of Wijnands & Son), which is the dam of a 1st National Bordeaux against 1,451 pigeons in 2009. It is also worth taking a look at the pedigrees of the 1st and 2nd National Agen 2015, since they give us an idea of the breeding strategy used in the Freialdenhofen loft. One thing is for sure: the Freialdenhofen fanciers know how to breed top class pigeons, and this explains why they have become so successful in the long distance competition.
Forrest Gump is kept in a separate breeding box and is obviously taken great care of. He does not have to raise his young birds on his own either. He has continued to breed pigeons, despite being already 15 years old. At that age, it is impossible to tell if he will be fertile next year as well. The Freialdenhofen fanciers carry out out DNA checks for each of Forrest Gump’s youngsters. In fact, the Freialdenhofen fanciers have taken precautions: more than 10 cocks and 20 hens of Forrest Gump are currently part of their breeding team.
The 1st National Agen 2015, Son Forrest Gump
As his name suggests, he originates directly from the prize winning bloodline of Forrest Gump! The national winner from Agen 2015, Son Forrest Gump 06348-13-595, is a direct son of Forrest Gump. His dam is Fenna, a Dutch hen of Murk & Son, that originates from some of the best long distance breeds as well. This hen won a 2nd NPO Bordeaux against 2,465 pigeons in 2010, she was 7th Ace Pigeon WHZB, she won a 60th national Brive against 13,361 pigeons, and she is a nest sister of a 1st International Bergerac against 6,919 pigeons in 2009. It goes without saying that the Freialdenhofen family will pair their Forrest Gump only to the very best bloodlines available.
I had the opportunity to take the winner from Agen in the hand. He is a perfect pigeon with an impressive plumage and an eye that shows great vitality.
Click here to discover the pedigree of Son Forrest Gump.
2nd National Agen 2015, Grands Forrest Junior
The pedigree of 2nd National Agen 2015 Grands Forrest Junior 6348-14-914 is very interesting as well. His sire is Son Forrest Junior, 06348-12-137. He is an inbred pigeon based on Forrest Gump, since both the sire (Forrest Junior) and the dam (06348-08-912) of Son Forrest Junior are a grandchild of Forrest Gump. Need we say more? The dam of Grand Forrest Junior is Sister Pozzato NL 06-1437042 of Wijnands & Son. She is a top class hen: among her youngsters and grandchildren are several national winners and international champions. In addition, she is a sister of the 1st International Bordeaux 2004 against 9,001 pigeons.
I have taken this pigeon in the hand as well, to take a closer look at him. He is an equally impressive pigeon with great plumage. He has a short upper arm and he has strong and supple muscles. I was really impressed with this exceptional racing bird. He will be getting a spot in the breeding loft later on as well.
Click here to discover the pedigree of Grands Forrest Junior.
A look at some of the finest Freialdenhofen pigeons
We have briefly discussed the pigeons in SG Freialdenhofen & Sons earlier in this article. We will now take a closer look at the pigeons that we saw during our visit. Thes pigeons have performed really well in the racing loft and have now become excellent breeding pigeons as well.
We will obviously start with His Majesty himself, super class breeder Forrest Gump, 06348-00-78. You can hardly tell that he is already 15 years old. His chest muscles might have become less pronounced over the years but you cannot expect a 15 year old pigeon not to have any deficiencies. Still, this pigeon looks surprisingly good, with soft plumage and an impressive eye. Forrest Gump originates from the breed of the Saya brothers from The Netherlands, combined with Yves Van de Poel-Buckley (Geetbets, BE).
Heiko also showed us their Night Gump 06348-12-668, winner of a 1st National Perpignan against 1,243 pigeons in 2014. He is also a son of Forrest Gump. His dam is the 06348-09-598, a daughter of Red Bordeaux 06348-08-711, winner of a 1st National Bordeaux against 1,451 pigeons in 2009. He is a perfect pigeon in every aspect.
There is one more extraordinary top class pigeon of Freialdenhofen that is worth a mention: it is the Forrest Junior, 06348-10-196, winner of an international first prize from Pau against 8,382 pigeons. He won a 28th International Bordeaux against 11,444 pigeons as well. This grandchild of Forrest Gump is an outstanding pigeon. Of all the pigeons that we saw that day, he was the most perfect one. He had very soft plumage, a short upper arm, well developed and supple muscles and a great eye. In addition, his descendants have been performing at a high level as well.
Closing words
We should have talked about the other stock breeders in SG Freialdenhofen as well, since not every prize winner in this collection is based on Forrest Gump. Many other outstanding bloodlines can be found in this collection, which have given successful breeding and racing pigeons. We might talk about these other bloodlines in a future article.
National championships 2015 for the international races from Pau, Barcelona, St. Vincent, Marseille, Narbonne and Perpignan
1st Freialdenhofen & Sons, Aldenhoven 48 prizes 4,185.48 Points 2nd Plum K. H. & K. J., Frelenberg 48 prizes 3,666.00 " 3rd Koers Karl- Heinz, Mandelbachtal 48 prizes 3,641.19 " 4th Menne & Daughters, Hamminkeln 48 prizes 3,446.91 " 5th SG Terporten, Brüggen-Bracht 48 prizes 3,396.50 "
National championships for the international races from Pau, Barcelona, St. Vincent, Marseille, Narbonne (ab 2010) and Perpignan from 2001 to 2015
2001 Freialdenhofen & Söhne, Aldenhoven 40 prizes 3,363.61 Points 2002 Freialdenhofen & Söhne, Aldenhoven 40 prizes 3,614.23 Points 2003 Freialdenhofen & Söhne, Aldenhoven 40 prizes 3,571.26 Points 2008 Freialdenhofen & Söhne, Aldenhoven 40 prizes 2,786.57 Points 2012 Freialdenhofen & Söhne, Aldenhoven 48 prizes 3,581.47 Points 2015 Freialdenhofen & Söhne, Aldenhoven 48 prizes 4,185.48 Points
Top results with Freialdenhofen pigeons in other lofts in 2014 and 2015:
1st Nat. Narbonne yearlings 747 km 2,412 p. 2015 (France) 1st Nat. Petropavlivka 958 km 1,953 p. 2015 (Romania) 1st Prize Legnica 356 km 1,917 p. 2015 (Polen) 1st Prize Sosnicowice 163 km 1,614 p. 2015 (Poland) 1st Prize Brzeg 263 km 726 p. 2015 (Poland) 1st International Euregio Narbonne 897 km 740 p. 2015 (Germany) 1st Prize interprovincial Bourges 360 km 873 p. 2015 (Belgium) 1st Prize Zone III Pau 1,068 km 2015 (Germany) 1st Prize Zone III St. Vincent 1,069 km 2015 (Germany) 1st Prize Agen ZLU NIC 2563 Simpelveld 403 p. 2015 (The Netherlands) 1st Ace Pigeon young birds Longwan International Club 2014 (China) 1st National Ace Pigeon cocks International races 2014 (Germany) 1st DAMBOVITA-MARATON EXTREM yearlings 2014 (Romania) 1st National St. Vincent 987 km 3,824 p. 2014 (The Netherlands) 1st Regional Karlsruhe 792 km 2014 (Denmark) 1st National Barcelona hens 1,094 km 2014 (Germany) 1st Interprovinzial Bordeaux 775 km 2,113 p. 2014 (Germany) 1st Prize Zone III St. Vincent 2014 (Germany) 1st Prize Zone III Pau 2014 (Germany) 1st Prize provinzial Limburg 691 km 2014 (Denmark) 1st Prize Cycow 540 km 9,320 p. 2014 (Romania) 1st Prize Maslow 306 km 3,673 p. 2014 (Poland) 1st Prize Olkusz 100 km 3,118 p. 2014 (Poland) 1st Prize TF13 SCMDPR 121 km 3,903 p. 2014
