It is difficult to describe a visit at Marc De Cock, at his present-day lofts. We have to add that we are the first Romanians who visited these lofts, and maybe the last in the near future. Marc is a very, very busy business man and he simply does not have the time to receive visitors and he does not want to receive visitors. Why? The safety of his doves that are a fortune for him and the fact that he does not live from the selling of the doves are two reasons. Marc  has the biggest company of sausages from Belgium and Holland and this makes him one of the richest Belgians. 

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His grandfather placed the basis of his business , he was a butcher famous in all the area around; his father continued the business that was founded by his grandfather and since the last 15 years, Marc is the in-charge of the business. Till the beginning of the 90’s the De Cock family had race horses, one of the best in the country at the time. As he won everything that was possible in this field, Marc oriented himself towards the pigeonsport , that was so popular in Belgium. They sold the horses and replaced them with the doves’ lofts.

Two champions of business, born under the same sign , in the same year, at only 17 days “a distance” between them; is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Two champions of business, born under the same sign , in the same year, at only 17 days “a distance” between them; is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

As everybody expected, Marc bought all the good doves at the time, and he wanted to participate in all the race categories right from the beginning. Just one example is enough: from the beginning of the 90’s and till the end of the 90’s, more than 100 Janssen doves have been in Marc’s aviaries. Besides them, Marc has bought many National and County Aces, and many winners of the national and county races. I mention here the legendary “Red Barcelona” – that won the 1st place at the National Race , Barcelona 2002, and this became a great reproducer for Marck De Cock, Eric Limbourg and the late Brian Long from the U.K. But the most spectacular acquisition was that of “Eagle Eye”, in the total auction of Eric Limbourg, a dove bought for 132,000 Euros!!!!!! Though initially he wanted to  reach only 100,000 Euros, he could not help but buy for two simple reason: 1) he wanted the dove too much; 2) he wanted to prove that not all the great pigeons are supposed to leave for Asia

Meanwhile “Eagle Eye” left its mark on Marc’s colony, and in 2011 was brought to Asia, precisely it was bought by the billionnaire Zhan Zhi Li for 200,000 Euros!!!!! Less than one year after buying  “Eagle Eye”, Marc buys “Wacko” for 70,000 Euros in the total auction of the Vereckt-Arrien pair. If we think of the De Cock pigeon loft slogan :”the sky is the limit”, everything is easy to understand.

My friend Florea Sorin wanted to buy squabs from the best offsprings of Marc’s, but as we well know, his total auction starts on the PIPA site on January 19th. Therefore, we will watch a beautiful struggle between Romania and China for the aqusition of his doves!

Thank you again for your hospitallity Marc !!!

The reception room for guests  looks very much like a luxurious living room: at the back side, in front of the open door one can see the Ferarri that Marc has ;

The room of the lofts’ manager and of the lofts’ caregivers.

Marc explains to us how his solar heating fumctions in his aviary….YES, the solar heating!

This bathroom is used during the winter. The doves enter this room that has a solarium fixed in the roof…they take a bath and then they relax under the solar heating that is switched on ( see the underneath photo).  Marc said he had to force them out the solarium of the aviary, because they so much love this solarium relaxation;

The section for breeding ;

According to his friend , Eric Limbourg: “The most beautiful daughter ever reproduced by “Eagle Eye””;

A pair that is 100% De Rauw-Sablon;

The breeding section;

The section for widow males; easily controllable ventilation;

The floor of the section for widow females; it has rotating bars, so that the females could not mate between themselves;

Females for flights and females for breeding;

The perfect ventilation: from the  roof of the section to the ridge of the roof there are 4 meters!

The section for widow males;

Boxes used for the flight of the squabs; these boxes can easily be transformed in the “classical’ boxes for widowhood;

The 2012 generation of doves;

* The pride of the loft :”Special Man” – the pigeon from  the fond lot of Belgium  participant at the Olympic Race from Poznan 2011;

*Together with a son of the legendary “Avril”

Together with “Wacko”- bought by Marc in the total auction of the Vereckt-Arrien pair for 70,000 Euros!

Together with “Wacko” ;

Some of the trophies that that were adorning the modern lofts.