VIDEO. In the daily life of Matthieu, pigeon fancier

The key to a successful race is to have pigeons in good shape physically but also mentally. To do this, Matthieu organizes a pleasant living environment for them to put them in the best possible conditions. “He has to want to give himself to be able to win the competitions so we try to do everything”, explains Matthieu, pigeon fancier. In a space that Matthieu has specially designed for them, the pigeons live in community. Today, his breeding stands at 100 pigeons but he could grow in the next few days.

“It’s really quite an incredible emotion to see them come back”

As competitions approach, breeding between his birds is the right way for Matthieu to raise new youngsters to succeed the competing generation. “It happens that in competition, we lose some. I choose which male goes with which female. We try to put pigeons that go well together, which have origins to be able to do long distances”. Because the objective of these competitions is to cover the greatest possible distance. “We will go 20 kilometers, 30 up to 60 kilometers, once they have done that, we launch them in the marathons of the sky. From Barcelona to here, at home, for example, I have 980 kilometers, for example, so this is the furthest contest I can participate in”, adds Matthew.

When he began his activity twenty years ago, it was thanks to the gift of a pair of pigeons by his father that he discovered the pleasure of breeding this species. Today, he is still passionate about his profession and still feels the same emotion when he sees one of his pigeons return: “It’s really a pleasure to see his pigeon come back from 500 or 600 kilometers. They flap their wings, they are happy to go home, so it’s really quite an incredible emotion to see them come back”.