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Interview with our Judge Alain Nottet
Alain Nottet' s reputation as one
of the top Norwich breeders in Europe is weIl known. Having the opportunity to Tell us about the area where you live. Herstal is a French-speaking town in the Walloon part [essentially the southern half] of Belgium, in the Province of Liège. There are 37,319 residents in 9 square miles, a density of 4,147 people per square mile. The manufacturing industry is the largest economic activity in the town. Since the 19th century , the Liège region is known for mechanical manufacturing, particularly firearms. How long have you raised Norwich? I have raised birds for 30 years, but I started raising Norwich in 1980. Was the Norwich the first canary that you raised? I started out raising Glosters. Even then, my attention was drawn to the Norwich, which I always considered a true work of art. In recent years, the quality of the Norwich has improved enormously in Belgium. We now have some very knowledgeable specialists in our little country. Do you raise other canaries now? I have brought home several World Champion titles with my Norwich, so my wife Fabienne and l decided to start breeding Crests. It' s a new challenge for me! But we can talk about that in the future. When did you decide to show your birds? After my first season. l decided right away to participate in a Belgian Norwich show in order to compare my birds to those of other more experienced breeders. At that time l had raised 35 babies and l brought home my first Champion Novice Class title. How many pairs of Norwich do you set up each year? I breed each year with 30 fernales and l choose my 10 best males. When I'rn lucky enough to have a very good male, he is mated with 2 or 3 fernales. l like to mate between halfbrother and half-sister, at least as long as plumage textures allow it. Do you use fosters? Yes! l use fosters for raising my Norwich. In general, l have around 40 couples, which allows me to pass on all the young of my first clutch. I don't have any special preference for one breed, but it' s very important to me that these birds corne frorn my breeding. The crossing of a small male Norwich with Fife Fancy hens gives me the great satisfaction of having good fosters raised in my own bird room.
Please describe your bird room for
us. I have two places for my birds. They occupy the entire ground floor of my house. The first area is taken by my Norwich, and the second is only for the fosters. The construction is 20m long by 5m wide. I have a total of 120 breeding cages and 4 flight cages. My house has gas central heating. On the average, how many Norwich do you raise each year? On average I raise 150 young Norwich each year. How do you feed your birds throughout the year to bring them into breeding condition? The pedigree passes by the beak. A Norwich is " made" from the food he eats. I like to use sprouted seeds during the breeding period; they have great nutritional value due to exceptional vitamin content. Wild seeds are important- they are part of the secret of success, which consists of varying as much as possible the birds' menu. The "healthy seeds" [sorry, Phill was not sure how to translate this term from French-might be song food?] mix, another measure of success, can be offered to alI Norwich 2 or 3 times a week. What is your eggfood recipe? As for eggfood, I can say that I have used alI types. Recently, I have used the Orlux pâté, mixed with equal amounts of Rusk. As an additive, I use pollen, germalyne, and spirulina. I avoid greens, because it causes intestinal troubles. What products do you use to color feed your birds? Color feeding is something that scares many Norwich breeders. It isn't a problem, because with the aid of modern colorants, color-feeding has become very simple. It' s clear that non-colored birds can also show their qualities. It's up to the breeder to make the choice. If you choose to color feed, be careful. Getting the coloring of the birds too dark can be disastrous. You have to be aware of the necessity of giving the same dose of color food every day. If you go on vacation, the caretaker will face that additional problem. During the show season, you have to continue giving color food. A bird can go through a soft molt, and without color feeding, these feathers will corne in yellow, and your bird may become bicolor .I start coloring my young Norwich at six weeks. I find I obtain the best results using a combination of dark [intense] Bogena and orange Carophyl. Recipe: 6 grams dark Bogena + 3 grams orange Carophyl mixed in a liter of boiled water. Put the cooled water in the fridge. Mix one part pâté, one part Rusk, and one part coloring agent. Make sure the proportions stay constant to avoid irregular coloring. How do you prepare your birds for shows? Are there any special "grooming" tips that you could share? I train my young Norwich by placing a show cage at the front of the cage, so they can enter at will. I handle them as often as possible before and after the molt; that calms them down. Presentation is very important; nothing is more annoying for a judge than dealing with nervous or wild birds. Special attention will be given to stability of perches so that the bird doesn't feel out of balance. Young birds gain confidence by being placed on high shelves while in training cages. Baths: I offer a bath once a week, by placing a bath at the cage door. I wash my show birds, by hand, the weekend before the show, then they are sprayed with bottled water each day until 48 hours before the show. Spraying a light "blast" encourages the birds to puff up their feathers, giving them a finishing touch. In the water I use Johnson's plume spray. How large are the Norwich entries at the shows that you attend? Are there many Norwich breeders in your area? In general, the number of Norwich in our specialized shows varies from 150 to 200. In my region and the surrounding 10km, there are 4 Norwich breeders. Yes, Belgium is a small country, but rich in bird fanciers. It' s not for nothing that at the World Championships, we are always first in number of medals won in alI bird categories. What do you see as the biggest challenge to raising good Norwich today? For many long years, much has been written about Norwich, often this information has been critical. But today, the Norwich is far from having disappeared! Esthetically, one can say that the Norwich has made great strides in recent years. Judging by the number of entries at specialty shows, one can say without a doubt, that the Norwich's popularity is rising. By using good-natured, gentler females, your birds will recapture the instinct to be good, nurturing mothers. The dream of alI of us is to be able to do away with foster parents. The Norwich is, above alI, a bird raised for its form. Never the less, the color and texture of the plumage are very important. Without a doubt, the most beautiful results I have obtained with my birds, I owe to my variegated Norwich! The green blood is clearly beneficial to the vigor and color of the Norwich. The est, most richly colored birds I have bred were always those descended from heavily variegated birds. Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers? If you are certain which breed of canary is for you, and you are to fancy, keep in mind that raising Norwich can be a big challenge!
Visit Alain’ s website www.norwich.be I wish to thank Phil Watts, a co-worker of my husband, for translating Alain’s responses for me. Phil is not a bird breeder, so he encountered a fews challenges!
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exhibit
our Norwich under him, and learn from his personal
