Je m'appelle John Kotsoros et je suis un éleveur de canaris de posture, spécialisé dans l'élevage de norwichs, yorkshires et frisés parisiens depuis maintenant plus de 20 ans. Mon intérêt, ou plutôt ma passion pour ces deux races de postures anglaises, ainsi que les frisés parisiens, a commencé lors de ma première visite d'une exposition nationale à Montréal en 1983. Revenons un peu en arrière. Je suis né en Grèce et j'ai grandi sur une île de la mer méditerranéenne, ou je fus exposé à une multitude et diversité d'oiseaux phénoménale. Tout petit, je m'amusais à traquer des chardonnerets européens, ainsi que des verdiers pour en faire l'élevage. Par la suite, lors de mon émigration au Canada, j'ai tout de suite senti qu'il y avait un vide à combler, celui de l'élevage d'oiseaux. Suite à quelques visites à des expositions locales, j'ai décidé de faire l'acquisition de quelques couples de norwichs et yorkshires.

Mes premiers couples d'oiseaux furent achetés en 1988 en France chez Denis Truchi, éleveur réputé et juge O.M.G. Avec ces oiseaux en élevage, j'ai réussi à gagner plusieurs titres de champions de race en exposition, et ce, à différentes expositions canadiennes (Montréal – Toronto et la Nationale). Quinze années plus tard, j'ai acquis quelques nouveaux couples de deux éleveurs belges qui ont été plusieurs fois champions du monde, soit Alain Nottet (éleveur de norwhichs) et Joel Geolf (éleveur de yorkshires). Depuis, ma passion est grandissante et c'est pour cette raison que je désire la partager avec vous. Cette année fut pour moi une année extraordinaire, car le fruit de mon travail fut récompensé a sa juste valeur. Effectivement, j'ai exposé quelques oiseaux à la 57 nationale américaine, qui se tenait au Dallas, Texas, et j'ai remporté le Higgins pour le meilleur oiseaux de posture.

Interview with John Kotsoros

Tell us about the area where you live.
Montreal is Canada's second-largest city, behind Toronto. The official language of Montreal is French as defined by the city's charter. It is the largest French-speaking city in North America, and second in the world after Paris when counting the number of native-language Francophones. Located in southwestern Quebec, Montreal is actually on an island in the St Lawrence River. Montreal industries include aerospace, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, printed goods, software engineering, telecommunications, textile and apparel manufacturing, tobacco and transportation.

How long have you raised Norwich?
I have been raising canaries for the past 30 years and started raising Norwich 28 years ago.

Was the Norwich the first canary that you raised?
Like most canary breeders, my first canaries were color canaries that I had bought at a local pet store. After attending my first canary show in Montreal, I was introduced to all the different varieties of birds and immediately felt in love with type canaries, specifically Norwich and Yorkshire.

Do you raise other canaries now?
I have been raising Norwich, Yorkshire and Parisian Frills for the past 20 years. Over the years, I have raised other type canaries such as Borders and Glosters, but lost interest as my main focus always remained on raising these three type canaries: Norwich, Yorkshire and Parisian Frills.
When did you decide to show your birds?

For me, it was clear that I had to compete in order to improve myself. After attending my first show in Montreal, I realized that I had to bring my game to a higher level by participating in different canary shows and not exclusively local shows. After my first season, I joined the Montreal canary Association and started to be involved in the organization as the director of the show.

How many pairs of Norwich do you set up each year?
Each year, I set up 15 pairs of Norwich, with an extra 5 females in case something goes wrong.

Do you use fosters?
I do use fosters for my Norwich canaries, especially for the young inexperienced
females, but when a young female shows me that she can raise her own birds, the following year I will leave her eggs without using fosters. My foster birds are color canaries that I have been raising for a long time, and are only kept for their abilities to raise birds and not for their beauty.

Please describe your bird room for us.
My bird room is 20 feet long by 14 feet wide and consists of some 150 English style cages. The bird room is also equipped with an electronic air cleaner and ionizer. This instrument is very important in order to keep the bird room virus and dust free, which can avoid you many respiratory problems.

On average, how many Norwich do you raise each year?
For the past several years, I have been raising on average 60 to 80 birds, 60 being a bad season and 80 a good season.

How do you feed your birds throughout the year to bring them into breeding condition?
Throughout the year, I feed my canaries Prestige Premium canary seeds. Once a week I feed them egg food and condition seeds. In order to have a successful year, I separate my males from the females 1 month earlier and feed them appropriately.

What is your egg food recipe?
My egg food recipe consist of 1 cup couscous, l cup water, 4 cups Orlux/CD, 1 cup soak seeds and 4 boiled eggs. To this I add vitamins, minerals, spirulina, proteins and bee pollen.

What products do you use to color feed your birds?
The product I use to color feed my Norwich is Bogena and orange Carophyl. In 2 liters of hot water, I add 10mg of Bogena and 5mg of Carophyl. My recipe consists of 1 cup couscous, l cup of coloring agent and 1 cup of bread crumbs.

How do you prepare your birds for show? Are there any special grooming tips that you could share?
At an early age, I train my birds by putting them in a show cage in order to get them use to it. Right before a show, I hand wash each bird. I try not to stress them too much by manipulating them, as my experience showed my that the more you try to clean them and manipulate them, the chances of them braking feathers are higher.

How large are the Norwich entries at the shows that you attend? Are there many Norwich breeders in your area?
In Montreal the number of Norwich entries varies from 10 to 20 birds per year. There are only 4 Norwich breeders in Montreal, and most of us focus on higher level of competition and show
the majority of our birds in bigger shows such as Toronto and US National.

What do you see as the biggest challenge to raising good Norwich today?
Although raising Norwich can be a big challenge at times, I feel that today's Norwich are much easier to breed than ever. I think that in order to be successful, you have to be patient with your birds and always work harder year after year in order to improve the quality of your birds.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with
our readers?
Albert Einstein once said: "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer" and on that note, I believe that being patient with your birds and by giving yourself some time to learn by your mistakes, anybody can become a champion breeder. I also truly believe in the importance of sharing your knowledge with others and passing it on to the younger generation.