Comparison Between Swiftlet Farming And Other Breeding of Animals !!!

Oh please don't chop the duck head yet. Just hold a few more seconds. Let my blog readers finish reading this article !!!!


I was invited to give a small presentation yesterday to a Co-op, in Kampung Attap, Kuala Lumpur.

After about 45 minutes of Swiftlet Farming introduction I was taken for a sea food dinner at Jln Klang Lama.

While discussing about swiftlet farming breeding method, one of the enthusiast described on how he was fascinated with Swiftlet Farming. (He must be a pious Buddhist)

What he told me, his reason on why he is vary fascinated with Swiftlet Farming, was the comparison he made between other forms of animal breeding and swiftlet farming.

"Harry, when you carry out swiftlet farming you actually do not kill any of them. You look after those birds like a very precious animal. Sometime I think much better then your own family. You do not harm them at all. You let them stay in a specially made farm, cool, humid, safe and allow them to come and go. They can come and go from the day they can fly until they die. What you earned is by harvesting their precious nests. That also after those young babie flew away.

You harm nothing. The parent,after about 10 days, will come back to the same spot to build another nest for their next breeding cycle. No killing, no harm done, no injection, no slaughtering and etc.

But if you look at other types of breeding of animals, example sheep, cattle, fish, chicken, duck, pigs and many others, you actually look after them for a certain period of time and when the times come you sent them to the slaughtering house.

"Harry, I don't think I can do that. Just imagine you see them growing from small baby to adults and then you slaughter them just to earn an income. That is cruel, very cruel."

"Because of that I feel very comfortable in swiftlet farming. You do not harm them at all. You do not sent them to any slaughtering houses. That's the biggest different."

Hmm ....this guy got a very good point. I have never thought about this comparisons and he got a very strong case.

So those who are vegetarian you might want to be a swiftlet breeder or farmer. He he he.

No harm done to those swiftlets.....

Look at these pictures and imagine you look after them from young. You take care about them like your own child and then you slaughter them just to make some money. Yuk it just sound not right ....

In Sibu A Caretaker Turned Swiftlet Farmer !!!

This swiftlet business have no boundaries. I came across so many people with different background and they try swiftlet farming.

Some are engineers, architects, contractors, hardware shop owners, tyre shop operator, insurance agents, print shop owners, motorbike shop owners, petrol station shop owners and so forth.

While in Sibu, Sarawak I saw this unusual view which I think you will find amusing.

A caretaker of the dead, selling casket/coffin also have a BH on the top of his shop.

This is something interesting and this again confirmed that the swiftlet business have no boundaries.

I don't think I will ever accept his invitation to view his BH no matter how good it is. I am sure some of those dead souls follow him home and stay up there with the birds ????

He he he .....

Everybody can be a BH owner and you might be the next guy in line.

Home Made Wooden Fake Nest !!!!

Something which I have never seen before.

A home made wooden fake nest.

This picture was taken in Pontianak, Indonesia.

The fake nest consisted of three pieces of plank about 1.5 inches by 2 inches.

They were nailed together and tied to the nesting plank using screw.

What amazed me is that the fake nest do have a tenant.

These wild birds seem to be not choosy where to built their nest. As long as there is a protrusion on the nesting plank which make their life easy to start building a nest they will take it.

The Rakyat Bank And Air Asia !!!

I was about to board my plane from Kota Bahru to Subang, Kuala Lumpur.

While walking towards the Firefly I saw this blue colored plane on the tarmac.

I was very impressed with the logo on the plane body.

It was Bank Rakyat on Air Asia plane.

Impressive and very enterprising. I never thought that Air Asia was so innovative.

By venturing into advertising of their plane I am sure they will earn a handsome yearly fee for that.

It become like those bill boards along side the highways.

Very innovative and is a win-win situation for both the Bank and air asia.

Syabas ....

The Use Of Medium Size Piezo As Internal Sound Tweeters !!!

This was something rare but I saw it being used by one BH owner and it works.

The owner uses medium size piezo tweeters as his internal sound tweeters.

As far as I know normally we recommend the use of small size tweeters either the 4"X4" square of the 2"X5" size. However this BH owner uses the 3"by 7" tweeters.

I was very taken back with his approach but then it works.

He placed the tweeter on the wall far away from the nesting planks (about 1.5 foot below). What happened was those birds build their nest on the cement wall about a few inches away. They seem to like the sound so much and prefer to be closed to the tweeter.

I was taken back and feel very surprised. Well as I always says that the more you know them the more you need to know about their mysterious behaviours.

I am sure I will make this as an option or goodies for any new BH. What the hack, if they like it then we just try.

My recommendation is to install a few at some strategic locations, not more then 4-6 of these medium size tweeters per floor (20'X70'). Play internal sound on them.

You have nothing to loose as long as your internal sound is perfect.

Four Sarawakian Will Be On Swiftlet Tour Starting Tommorrow !!!

"Pak Harry, we have arranged our flight and your helps taking us around showing more about swiftlet farming will be appreciated and of course compensated."

I received the above message from a blog reader from Sarawak. A few days ago he was pleading with me about his wish to come over to Kuala Lumpur for a Swiftlet Tour.

I told him that if he can he need to allocate 2 days of his time and I will quickly prepare an itinerary to full fill his dream.

I told myself that if I can bring them into an operating BH with thousands of nests will do wonders to these guys. He got three other friends with him.

The first day will be a short familiarisation in Rawang Country home. I will show them how to conduct a bird call test.

Then will proceed to Batang Berjuntai for a closer look at another interesting shop houses with lots of swiftlets.

Once that is done, I planned to take them to Sungai Rambai Swiftlet City. This will be the highlight of the morning. Will take them into a BH to see those birds in action. I am sure this will be a great thing to those who have never enter any BH that are in operation.

After Sungai Rambai, planned to visit a number of stand alone BHs in Sekincan. There are at least 10 of them located in the Padi field and the town areas.

My next plan after this is to drive up to Setiawan Perak. I got my good friend who has confirmed allowing me to show his highly populated BH somewhere at a junction in Setiawan.

Will take a good rest in Setiawan hotel for next day adventure.

The next day I already have some works to be carried out in a BH in Ayer Tawar. I will get these visitors to work with me in applying those aromas and fix a new set of external and internal sounds.

Once done I will proceed to Bidor where a very successful BH is totally covered with those plastic netting.

My idea is to let them take some photos and enjoy the view.

When in Tanjung Malim will stop by at Yik Mun pau shop to meet one of my friend who owned a few BH in the town. Who know he might allow us to visit his very successful BH.

Hopefully by 4.00 pm will reach Kuala Lumpur.

Will take lots of photos to prepare for a short report for all my blog readers.

BH Cooling System: Foam Spray Application

Click the arrow icon and listen to the information given.

The use of this new technology on BH might be a possible solution to your BH heating problem.

I am sure this technology is already in Malaysia.

If you have come across the contractor please let me have his contact number.

Let Us Look At Those Markings Carefully !!!

Double Click On The Photo For Clearer Viewing.


Look at this photo carefully and let us try to evaluate everything that you can see on them.

Perhaps if you are very the observant you might see more then what I can see.

Our main reason is to understand what the birds are trying to do the moment they started their nest building.

1)The wet markings on the wood.

You might be able to see some kind of wet layer of saliva or glue on the nesting planks. Both sides have the same wetness.The distribution looks very much balanced on both side of the nesting planks.

These might be the base of a newly built nest.

2)The black feathers.

You can see at least 6 to 7 strands of black colored feathers. There are the thin feathers from the abdomen or body of the birds and not the wings.

Why must they pull their own feathers and stick them to the base?

I think that must be something like their technique to identify their nest especially when they fly in the dark.

Their sense of smell plays a very important role when flying in the dark to locate which nest is mine.

3) Those saliva strands.

They looks very much like those glue strips. They are not always straight from one plank to the other but some are up and down.

Some are thin bit some are quite fat.

I wonder why they build from top to bottom. If I were the bird I will concentrate on one spot. Less saliva and less hassle.

I believed the builder is a very new couple who have never built a nest before. Not enough saliva or perhaps too busy taking some shot with the partner.

4) How Old Was The Nest?

This is something that you need to predict yourself. For me the nest looks like being very recent. I would say not more then one week.

The birds takes about 3 weeks to complete their nest before laying their first egg. Two days after that the second egg will be laid.

5) Why They Choose Corners.

You can see that this is a corner nest markings.

Due to the close proximity of the nesting plank (90*) the birds can easily place her saliva on both planks. This will form as the base anchor.



Well those are the things that I can evaluate from looking at the way the markings are being made.

You might want to add any new things that you felt I have missed.

Beside Tweeters, Corners and Fake Nests They Love Nesting Planks Hangers !!!

If you are given the opportunity to visit BHs with nests in them just be observant.

There are some important pattern where those swiftlet loves to build their nests in any new BH.

Their list of preferences are:

1) 90% nesting planks corners.



2) Above internal sound tweeters.



3) Fake nests.



4) Nesting Planks Metal Hangers.


5) Nesting planks close to walls or petitionings.

My advise to all of you who are about to start your new BH try to give all those things that the swiftlets preferred. Treat them like toys or chocolate to lure them to stay.

Give them those corners. Do not cover them with corner covers until such time that the total number of nests hit 300. If you are clever cover those corners once they have used the corners for two times.

Place more internal tweeters and some try to place twin at one spot. Encourage them to settle on those tweeters. Once the have used the tweeters placement for two time, relocate these tweeters to another place.

There are many types of fake nests in the market. You should choose the right one and install them close to those internal sound tweeters. Make sure they can be recycle once being used, at least twice. Also do the same two time usage and remove or relocated these used fake nests.

The best is the nestling plank hangers. It seem that these hanger gives those birds a kind protrusion allowing the birds to cling on them while starting their nest. If your BH design have very little or no hangers then you should cut those metal bars and screw them onto the nesting planks.

You can put as many as you can but make sure once they served their purposes you remove them in stages.

They also love to build their nests near walls and pertitions. If you want to construct those pertitionings please make sure the room you created is at least 4 meters X 4 meters to allow them to fly in cycle.

The idea here is to know what they likes and encourage them to be your permenant tenant.

Once they become your permanent tenants you can make the necessary plans to achieve the target number (300) to produce new batch of youngsters to fill your house (internal generated).

When that figure is achieved you might want to remove or cover these fixtures.

You Might Want To Try This Twin Tweeters Technique !!!

Something that you might want to try in your BH !!!

The Twin Tweeters Technique.

While in Muar, Johor, I visited a newly build BH with very little nests after 1.5 years in operation.

The owner showed me all that he has.

Something unusual that he wanted me to gives him some explanation was why the birds love the twin tweeters that he installed in the roving area.

What he did was to fix two tweeters, both the 2"X5", in one place close enough to the nesting plank corner.

The result was that the birds prefer to built their nest on the top of the twin tweeter even though it was in the roving area.

This might be due to dual sound which mean two nests with babies. The birds feel more safe and secured.

The twin tweeters will also form as a back up. If one tweeter was out of order the second will take over.

The only disadvantage is the cost. You need to spent more for each location.

To minimise the cost I proposed to him to install a few, say 10 to 20 sets, and see how the birds will react.

If within a few months all the twin tweeters are with nests then why not buy more tweeters and increase the numbers to perhaps 50 or 100 sets.

You might want to go on stages.

No matter what you opt for it is you who can decide.

I am just exposing something that I came across with no guarantee that it will work all the time.

Hope you have learn something new today.

Some Interesting Observations While In KB !!!

These might be of interest to all my blog readers.

While entering the three BHs in KB I found the followings that might teach you something:-

1) The owner uses only two sounds. One external sound at the entrance window and the entrance tunnel and one internal sound (mating sound) inside the BH. I took a copy of each sound as my collection.

2) The type of tweeter used at the entrance hole were those made of metal and coil type. As usual the sound from these metal tweeters are loud and with lots of echos. Internally the owner use the piezo medium size tweeters.

3) In one of the houses, the internal tweeters were not on the nesting planks but mounted on the cement walls. The birds obviously built their nest near the tweeters, on the cement walls and not the nesting planks (very often).

4) There were many nests that were build on the metal hangers used to hold those nesting planks to the ceilings.

5) Most of the nests were build very closed to the walls or those wide beams. Their preference of the wall can be due to feeling of more secured or the wall provide them with additional darkness.

6) The owner never believed in using any humidifiers. He believed that they are too noisy. Due to this believe all his bird houses and very dry and most of the nests were thin, dry and with cracks. Humidity were below 68% RH. I guess similar to the outside air. That is not a good thing to believe in. He should at least use other methods like water spray or mist generator type of spray by using water hose during the monthly visit.

7) The sight of bat in one of the BH was not a very good sign. I told the owner to quickly use those fish net to catch and kill the bat. If not there will be more that will colonies the house. Once this happen the house is doom.

8) The owner never apply insecticide on a regularly. There were lots of cockroaches in one of the BH. They seem to on the floor, the walls and the nesting planks. Their hide out were the gap between the nesting planks and the walls. My advise to the owner to use Fendona on a more regular basis.

9) One of the BH was once attacked by those owls. They stay for almost three weeks and nearly two third of the birds population were gone. They managed to kill the owl but there were no measures taken to ensure that the same attack will repeated.

10) The birds seem to love to take a morning drink. It seems that they prefer to turn towards the river when they comes out of the house. Upon reaching the river most of them will swoop down and touches the water surface taking their morning sip.

Report On Trip To Kota Bahru!!!

I arrived Kota Bahru airport at about 8.45 am using Firefly via Subang airport.

Mr Eng, my close associate, was at the airport with his old antique Merz. Not bad being fetch and driving around in a Merz, a very old Merz. I told him as long as it does not stall I will be okay.

The first stop was Nasi Berlauk for breakfast. After the short meal he took me to a three stories shophouse somewhere in KB town center.

I was not sure who he got in mind to see but an elderly man was there smiling as if been waiting for me for a 100 years.

"My name is Mr L and how are you?"

I am okay and I hope I can be of help.

"Yes I really need your expert advise. On the top of this shophouse I have a bird house and recently we have extended one floor up. Been in operation for almost 6 months now but there are little nests and residents."

Okay what else can you tell me? I asked with a short smile on my face.

"The entrance hole is side entry and facing the back lane. There are many birdhouses around us and every day there are thousands flying above our roof. However they seem not to stay permanently."

Can I know are there any successful BH around and how many kg are they producing a months?

"Oh yes just at the back there is a BH with 16kg a month. Just about 15 feet away from our BH. On the other lane, there is one more successful BH and I think they produce at least 20kg a month. But how come we have little success?"

In my head I keep analysing the situation plus the high expectation of MrL.

I then asked, Who is your "consultant'?

"We do everything ourself. However we did get some advise from some local guy but nothing happened"

Hmm....interesting and I am very amused with what I am hearing. I might be the next person in the book with "nothing happened" page.

Okay let me have a close look and let me digest the situation.

He quickly took me up from the lower floor up and until the top most floor. The best incident was a reasonable sized bat with whitish wings flew by and out of the entrance hole.

That might be one of the reason why you have not many birds Mr.L.

Okay the entrance hole is facing outside but with no proper objective, the room seem to be very bright, the ventilations holes were all on opened mode, a few stars from the walls, the light from the ventilation holes were bright, the tweeters were those medium size and all were on the internal sound and so on .....

Mr.L how many tweeters are then in the BH? I asked.

"Not many. About 15 or so. Why?"

Can you inspect one by one and tell me are there any birdshit spots on the floor just below them?

"Okay. Yes Harry all of them are with birdshits."

Well the first thing if I were you is to increase the number of internal sound tweeters. Each tweeter, say will allow a set of birds so the more you put the more will be those birds. How many birds do you want? If you want 200, you put in 100 tweeters. Simple and perfact solution. What do you think?

"You might be right Harry. I think they like to roost on these tweeters. That is something which I will carry out immediately, Harry. Thanks for the interesting observation and interesting tip. Anything else?"

Where are the external sound tweeters in the roving and nesting rooms? I was curious.

"Nope we never place any tweeters playing those external sound in our nesting and roving. Only at the entrance."

I was smiling and shook my head and I keep telling myself that these people have very little ideas on why those external sound in the rooms are as important as the sound at the entrance hole.

Mr.L if you are the bird, let us assumed, you heard the external sound and you fell in love with it. SSo you tracked where that soothing melody came from and yes at that BH window. You flew towards in and you suddently enter the entrance hole. When you passed the tweeter what happen? You loose the sound. That beautiful melody is gone. So what do you do? You will turn back. So do you expect the bird to enter the nesting rooms if he suddently loose the sound?

"Hmm you might be right there. If I were the bird for sure I will reverse my gear and make a U turn back to the tweeter where the sound was coming from. You are damn right. Logical and make lot of senses."

"What should I do pak Harry?"

Well the best is to instal at least one tweeter at the far back of the nesting room that will play the external sound similar to the sound you played at the entrance holw. If you have the resources why don't you put more, perhaps two at the back of each floor and another two in the middle of the room. Focus also on those doors where you isolate the nesting rooms and the roving areas.

Well the above were a few things that we talked while in the BH and I do not want to desribe too much. I will be making a full report and submit to MR.L. If you wish to learn something about every trip that I make you should try to subsribe to all these reports. They will not only pinpoint those common mistakes but also give you the ideas how to tackle them.

What you need to do is to sent an email requesting for a copy plus a token fee for it.

What I know is that he was very impressed with my professional explainations and reasons for some revamps.

The entrance hole positioning, the closure of ventilation holes, the humidity, the temperture, the petitioning, the sound system, the additional tweeters and a few more will be in the report.

The best part of the day was when I played the Black Cloud. It was so marvellous. The birds were drawn to the tweeters and at one time there were 20 birds cuing to enter the hole. A marvellous view and Mr.L was smilling like someone who have never smile before.

I felt so good to see those charming smiles.

"Okay Harry, good, good and good. Let us have lunch and move to another two more BH outskirt of KB"

I very sure he was happy to have me around.......

The two BHs was gigantic. Wow four stories high minimum 60 feet by 80 feet.

My goodness what are they trying to do. ....

Will tell more in the next article .....




My summary on the whole trip is "Interesting Indeed."

Trip To Kota Bahru, Kelantan Visiting 3 BHs !!!

"Pak Harry the ticket for your to come to KB is confirmed and please be at Subang airport at 7.00am."

This was the message from my good friend in Kota Bahru.

Hmm ... excuse me can I know why you want me to be up there in Kota Bahru?

"Oh ya, I have lined up three BHs for your to inspect and make the recommendation for those birds to come in and stays."

This is something that I never expected and I hope I can give some helps.

The owner seem to be badly in need of help from a third party.

I will do my best and I hope whatever I recommend will help to turn the BH back to its original state.

Will take as many pictures and shall bring a new high powered torchlight to be "The Birdhouse CSI".

Let see what I can tell all of you about this new adventure......

Why People Do Not Share Their Findings In Swiftlet Farming ???

I met one new blog reader yesterday and he was amused with what I talked about.

His intrigue question to me was:

"Pak Harry, how come people are not willing to share the knowledge in this swiftlet farming?"

He went into details about his friend in Kuatan who reside in KL. According to him this very close friend went into swiftlet ranching sometime back and now he is harvesting about 2 kg a month.

Remember they are closed friend for donkey years.

When he wanted to go into the same business he approached the so call "good friend for donkey years".

The answer received was " Sorry I cannot help you. I am under strick instruction not to allow anybody to enter my BH."

There goes a good friend. "A good friend for Donkey years."

The only way out for him to gather more information was via the web.

He stumbled onto my blog and found an interesting piece of article about how I spend three full days of my precious time with two Vietnam Brothers.

Read this: http://swiftletfarming.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-lucky-these-cambodians-brothers.html

"Pak Harry, nobody in this field will do what you did. You spend three days with people whom you have never met to teach them about Swiftlet Farming. You even take them into some BHs that were in operation. Marvellous and unheard of now days"

"From that article, I know you are kind and simply better then my "friend for donkey years" friend of mine. That was why I decided to call you today."

Okay what do you actually want from me?

"I need to get a copy of the Black Cloud and some internal sounds. You see I and a partner started a new BH on the top floor of a shop house. We started running the operation for about three weeks already. Our close neighbor, just at the back of us, started his about three months ago. He seem to have many birds flying in and out while ours nothing. What can be the problems?"

It might be many reasons. Remember your BH is new. Usually in any new BHs the cement smell will be very strong. You need to air the house with a few fans for at least one week. You also need to apply suitable aromas for a new house. The aroma can mask the smell and make the house more pleasant. Apply the aroma only after you have aired the house. Apply on the walls and the floor but focus on those walls that you constructed and plastered with cement layers.

What else?

I told him again about the flying path design. You did your BH by DIY. Do you really know what the birds likes and dislikes? Are the entrance into the roving areas and to the nesting room properly designed? Do you give adequate space for them to turn the moment they enter the house? Do you know that these AF need a minimum of 4 meters by 4 meters room size to be able to turn in a circle?

Since I am not there to check your house internal configuration I would like to stay away from making any comments.

What about the installation of those goodies. You see if you enter a golf tournament you normally will be given a bag full of goodies (towels, golf balls, tees, markers and sometime free drinks). These goodies for those birds are the corners, fake nests, tweeters, aromas and many others. You need to temp them to stay the moment they enter your BH for inspection.

What about the external sound tweeters in the nesting rooms? I believed that placing external sound at the back of the nesting room is something that you should consider. Why? You need to pull the birds to the back of the BH. There is no used if they only entered the front rooms and make a U turn back. Remember the moment the birds passes the external sound tweeters at the entrance hole, and if there are not tweeters inside playing the same external sounds inside, the birds will be at a loss. They loose the frequency of sound that they were attracted to so they will turn back to the original tweeter. So place those external sound tweeters at the right locations until the back of your house.

What about your set of targets in starting a new BH.

I have this formula or should I says a philosophy about how to be a successful BH.

You need to set a target. "I want to work hard with my BH until I get a total of 300nests. I will provide everything that the birds needs and once I reach the target number I will get on with my target on how to make the new babies stays."

You see when you start a new BH you are very much dependant on those wild birds flying in the air. They can be from your next door neighbors or from the caves. So at the beginning you have nothing coming out from your BH. However if your BH reached a target of 300 nests (you can lower this number if you want) there will be 300 X 2=600 babies per cycle. Internally generated. One year you have 1,800 young chicks or in percentage 300%. If you can work you butt to make 100% of these birds to stay then you have won your swiftlet farming game. Yes every year you increase two folds of the number of nests. What happen to the balance 200%? Well let them go but you have 100% with you.

If you have 300 nest and increases by two folds you will get 600 nest for the 12 months period. The next 12 months you will have 1,200 nests, the next 2,400 nests and so on. In no time you will fill up the whole nesting planks.

So the issue here is to place a target. Yes works towards an achievable targets and not doing something haphazardly.

After the one hour meeting he felt so fresh.

"Pak Harry your kind words are like breathing fresh air with lots of oxygen. I felt so good and happy to have met you in person. You have so much to share and I know there are not many like you. Thank you and thank you again."

There you go another happy soul.

Even though I still have the back paint I felt that I have at least helped someone in distress. Hope he will remember me for a long long time......

A Bit More On Long Range Acoustic Device System !!!

This special article is perfect to read.

It gives you an interesting ideas on what you can do with LRAD.

I believed it is good and should be applied to swiftlet farming industries.

We need to work with the American Firm and perhaps make them applicable and affordable.

Found at: http://www.gizmag.com/lrad-long-range-acoustic-device/11433/

The Long Range Acoustic Device: pirate deterrent, crowd controller or soft drink seller?

By David Greig

01:14 April 10, 2009 PDT

When Somali pirates armed with RPGs attacked the luxury cruise ship Seaborn Spirit in November 2005 it wasn't armed troops or the threat of artillery that deterred the attack, it was sound waves. The ship was fitted with a clever bit of tech called the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a system which can emit painfully loud sound frequencies that are concentrated in a narrow beam and easily direct them at a target, not unlike using a spotlight.

The American Technology Corporation, led by its founder Woody Norris, developed the LRAD following the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000. Designed to enforce safe zones around US military vessels, the device can be set at a frequency up to 120dB to first warn any craft approaching a military vessel to change course. If the craft doesn’t comply, then the frequency can be cranked up to 151dB, producing a loud, irritating and potentially painful noise. The idea is to act as a deterrent and avoid employing lethal force.

The technology also has been incorporated into another piece of military hardware – a nifty communication tool called the Phraselator. The implement is designed to give specific instructions and warnings in a range of languages. Again, if they aren’t followed, the Phraselator sounds a loud and, if necessary, painful warning.

The LRAD has found civilian uses, too, in controlling crowds and evacuating buildings. The New York Police Department City used the LRAD during protests at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Georgian police also used the technology on protesters in Tbilisi in November 2007. The LRAD is also being tested in areas of Iraq and prison camps, such as Camp Bucca.

In February, this year, Japanese whalers controversially used a sonic device against anti-whaling activists. Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claimed that such a weapon was used against one of its helicopters, forcing it to back off and injuring an activist. Activists aboard the conservation ship, The Steve Irwin, supported these claims with photographs of the incident.

Police and US military are using the LRAD to provide warnings from up to 300m away and, in some cases, are using smaller versions, such as the MRAD and LRAD500. However, it is its use as a non-lethal weapon to quell civil disturbance and disobedience that has attracted criticism from human rights groups, who argue that sounds louder than 90dB potentially damage hearing.

The LRAD’s success in warding off attacks has also come under scrutiny. In November 2008, an LRAD failed to deter a pirate attack on the Liberian vessel MV Biscaglia. Additional concerns about its effectiveness have been raised with detractors arguing the device can be rendered harmless by simply wearing hearing protection.

On a more positive front, the technology may have some applications for consumers. By amplifying sound – whether it be voice, music or some other kind of recording – clearly over a long distance without causing pain or irritation, it’s possible for companies to target individuals. For example, a stream of sound can deliver a specifically tailored message to a person, based on some kind of sensory response. If a sensor, say, detects a person’s raised body temperature in a crowd, a message can be sent to that person pointing to a soft drink vending machine nearby.

LRAD technology may also be used to direct music, according to people’s preferences, to individual tables in a restaurant or bar, or perhaps pass messages directly to an individual without letting others know.

Talking tech: how the LRAD works
According to American Technology Corporation, the LRAD uses capacitive transducers requiring modest power requirements of less than 200 to 400 watts to achieve full output. The high directivity of the LRAD device reduces the risk of exposing bystanders or people in the vicinity to excessive audio levels. Sound behind the LRAD unit is more than 40dB, less than the on-axis forward output. The LRAD also incorporates multiple highly efficient switch-mode power conversion systems. The LRAD uses an array of piezoelectric transducers to produce sound. A transducer is simply a device that changes energy from one kind to another. In this case, it changes electrical impulses into sound. The transducers under charge rapidly change their shape and create sound waves. All of these transducers are attached to a mounting surface and staggered to allow more of them to fit into a smaller space. Identical waves emerge from the transducers and their amplitudes combine to help the LRAD create very loud sounds.

The LRAD uses the phase of the sound waves, the size of the device and the properties of air to create more directional sound. Essentially what you have is a loudspeaker that can receive input from a range of devices and amplify the signal, enabling the operator to send the target a clear message – painful or not. There's a good overview of the technology at “How Stuff Works” .

LRAD in brief:

The LRAD has a range of 984 feet (300m or about three city blocks) over land or 1640 feet (500m) over water
It has a beam width of about 30 degrees

The devices is 33 inches in diameter, five inches thick and weighs 45 lbs

Input signals can be anything from a microphone, laptop, MP3 player, CD player, Phraselator or translation device

The LRAD has maximum volume of 120dB at 1m in normal operation, 146 dB sustained or 151 dB burst at 1m with override.


David Greig

Sound Technology That Might Help BH Owners !!!

The noise polution from those external sound tweeters is currently the main disadvantage to the swiftlet industries in Malaysia.

The number of complains are rising and I believe we need to find new technologies that might help both the Industry and the people staying beside our BH.

If you are determined to find the solution you should listen to this talk by a self style inventor Mr Woody Norris.

Click on the URL: http://www.ted.com/talks/woody_norris_invents_amazing_things.html

What Mr Norris have invented is something that allows the sound that we played be beam to a selected object.

If you are not in line with the sound beam you will not hear anything.

Just imagine you beam the sound to the sky and your neighbors will not hear a thing. Silence until you can hear a pin drop?




His technology is being enhanced into various other products. Go to this URL :http://www.atcsd.com/site/content/view/38/51/

Among the three product that uses Norris technology is the Hypersonic Sound Technology (HSS).

The HSS can actualy target the audiance. The idea is that you will only hear the sound if you are within the sound beam generated by the sound blaster.

More details found at: http://www.atcsd.com/site/content/view/13/104/

Read this:

The HyperSonic Sound® technology gives you the ability to direct sound exactly where you want it.

Now your target audience can hear exactly what you want, exactly where you want them to. Designed to target a specific area, HyperSonic Sound technology (HSS) uses a tightly focused directional beam of sound that is heard only by those in the selected area.


The high-precision targeting of HSS significantly minimizes the levels of noise pollution in both open and confined spaces and anywhere else ambient noise is an issue. HSS also ensures that your intended audience receives the messages conveyed through the system clearly and intelligibly.

The HSS Advantage:

HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL
Ultimate control in audio placement
Minimizes noise pollution
EASE OF INSTALLATION
Built-in amplifier
Compact form factor
Lightweight
COST EFFICIENCY
Least expensive hardware to purchase
Least expensive hardware to install
Lowest maintenance cost
Total cost of ownership
PROVEN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION
Leading provider of directed audio solutions for the digital signage industry
This ability to direct or focus sound into a tight beam has a wealth of applications.

Museums, aquariums, zoos, monuments and other self-guided or tour-led facilities can enhance the visitor experience through targeted communication about artistic displays, historical documents, artifacts, animal and marine life, without the need for headphones.
In high ambient noise environments such as airports, rail lines, busses, commuter train stations, or port terminals, HSS can intelligibly target traveling information and local area tourist information to a specific area.
Retailers of all types can provide targeted, unobtrusive advertising directly at the point of purchase.

Safe And Sound After 5 Hours Drive From Endau, Pahang !!!

Back breaking, tired and need a good bath.

I finaly arrived home from Endau. I took about 5 hours on those small roads until Kuantan.

The journey was damn tiring but happy that I have contributed something in advising three of my blog readers.

The one in Muar, Johor was the toughest. I told him to revamp BH's flight path in total. I don't feel good but that was the only way to get more birds into his sick BH. My intention was to find a solution. I don't want to lie and said what he wanted to hear.

My decision was final and I hope he will think deeply on the suggession.

The one in Mersing, Johor was easier. The unit was beside a very successful BH and the method to pull the birds can be pretty easy.

What he needed is to do minor adjustments, add a few new items or gadgets plus adopt the aroma selection works. If he can find a suitable aroma, I told him that all those young birds generated from his neighbors will move camp. I am not suprised that even those adult birds might follow the same path.

The third unit, in Endau, Pahang, have water leakage problem and internal sound not working.

The BH was a stand alone unit located in a Dragon Fruit's farm. When I was there he was playing my Black Clouds external sound.

After more then half an hour waiting for him to finish giving instruction to his Indonesian farm workers I was allowed to enter his BH.

Huge and high. He uses wood as the staircase to climb from one floor to the other. Good work.

There were a sizable number of birds inside the house.

I think they like the Black Cloud sound.

"Harry, I have installed the Black cloud for almost three weeks. Yes there are quite a sizable numbers. I think there are more nest as compared to before using the Black Cloud."

Good for you, I told him.

The biggest problem he faced was the water leaking. He installed those black PVC water pipes on the wall to cool the house plus to increase the humidity. The trouble is that when they wet the floor the water tend to seap through those small cracks on the floor.

A number of nesting planks below those flooded areas seem to be very wet and stimulate the fungus growth. He wanted to clean all of them.

One very interesting observation were the new petitioning walls which he recently constructed.

"Pak Harry, ever since I installed these patitionings the birds number seem to increased. They like to built their nest close to the petitioning areas."

I fully agreed with him. What he did was to install the petitioning from top to bottom but he leave the last cement board opened. (He missed one layer of those 4'X4' Cement boards). Brilliant ideas and the birds were not bother with the arrangement.

He open another entrance hole on the lower floor. Though smaller then the main door on the roof top, the birds seem to enter from this new hole too.

Before opening the new hole, there were no birds on the lower floors.

One repeat observation that I saw was the effect of internal sound.

While doing the inspection I observed that the birds seem to be crowding in one of the room at the back.

"Pak Harry, why they seem to like staying in this room and not the opposite room?"

Just like before I carefully listen to the internal sound from those tweeters.

Come let me show you why.

I pulled him to the opposite room and I asked him to listen to the internal sound.

"Oh ya Pak Harry there are no sound here. The other room with lots of birds are loud and clear with the internal sound."

So it seem that I answered his question without giving any verbal answer. I am just too good. Frankly I have observed similar phenomena in Bukit Pasir Johor BH. Exactly similar and I am glad that what I make known before is again right. Remember about those zoning suggestions?

"Pak Harry, I really appreciate your observation. I will get my electrician to quickly fix the sound problem."

Well I have enought of looking at BHs and I need to head home.

"Pak Harry please help yourself with the harvested Dragon Fruits in those buckets. Take as many as you want. I feel very proud to have you visiting my BH. Short and beneficial. Hope to meet you in KL to discuss in more details about how to increase the nest population."

I left Endau feeling very contended. The three owners have learned a few tips from me and I got them the visit reports for them to do the needful.

Though my back is hurting but inside me I feel great.

Yes great to help those who are in need of some advise........

My Trip To Muar, Mersing Johore and Endau Pahang

I was invited by two of my blog readers to visit their BHs. One in Muar and the other in Mersing.

While driving towards Muar I remembered to call a new blog reader who owned a BH in Endau. Since I will be in Mersing I should try to make full use of my time.

Got hold of him and as usual he was more excited then me to let me have a look at his BH.

The day before I started my journey received a call from Mr.S who is building a BH in Sungai Rambai, Melaka.

"Pak, I am short of external sound tweeters, about 18. Can U help?"

Mr. S since I will be passing your house tomorrow I will drop by and hand delivered the tweeters. Is that okay with you?

"Oh yes pak Harry that is marvellous. Will see U at my House. Thank you and thank you"

Well managed to solve one problem.

Also on the same day, I received another call from a BH owner in Muar but currently reside in KL.

"Pah Harry my BH seem to be flooding. I can see the water flowing via the CCTV cameras. Can U advise what to do?"

Well get someone to shut the water immediately.

"The trouble Pak Harry there is no one in Muar. All of them are in KL right now until Monday."

Oh shit. Okay I will be in Muar tomorrow. Why don't U let me have the keys and let me stop by to shut the water and perhaps resolve the leaking?

"Oh yes that's good. I will let U have the keys first thing tomorrow morning."

I took the keys and manage to solve the leaking problem while in Muar. Got myself into a mess when the door have another lock that I cannot locate. Immediately when I pull the door to open the alarm system went off. Oh shit this is not a good thing to happened. All those neighbors were looking at me unsure if I am the owner's friend or a burglar. Luckily managed to phone the owner and told him about the tight door.

"There is another lock inside that you can open with your bare hands. Just try to find that and pull upward."

Okay managed to do as per advised and stop the alarm immediately.

Went upstairs to check why those water water were oozing from. Yes the water hose was disconnected from the humidifier inlet pipes.

Got it fixed and off I go. Second problem solved.

"Pak Harry did you observed those new corners that you recommended to install?

Many of them are now with markings. Yes in just less then three weeks they are making new nests. I would like to thank you for your generous ideas. U are really great and thanks for the tips."

Well I did saw some of the new markings and I am happy for you. Please remember I am nothing more then a blogger who love to share knowledge.

I wish you will cherish all the things that I have taught you. Remember there are thousands more newbies and BH owners who need our helps.

If you learned something, tried and it works, can please spread the ideas to those who wanted to improve their nest population.

My sincere wish to you is that every time you carry out the harvesting, try to allocate about 3-5% of the total to any charitable organisations. Just do that like your token of appreciation on what Harry have done for you?

That was what I told him and I'm glad to have make someone happy.

The next was Mr. M in Muar.

"Pak Harry, I took over this BH from my father, about a year ago and the BH has been with very little success. Can U have a good look and recommend the best solution?"

Hmmm........ The house is not strategically located. Not very closed to any successful BH and I am not sure if I can see the birds flying path.

Went to the back of the BH and asked him where are the successful units around the house.

The moment I entered the BH, I was very disturbed on the flying path from the outside into the roving towards the nesting rooms.

They are a bit awkward. If you are the bird flying in, don't you think you hate to come home? (I asked him)

I told him to perhaps consider realigning the flight path and make the roving areas slightly bigger.

Currently the roving room is less the 10'X10' in size. I recommended to open to at least 15 'X 15'. In doing so he need to sacrifice the two nesting rooms with some nests.

"Pak Harry, I was thinking of doing it as my last resort but since you said that I would like to thank you for your sincere recommendations.

Okay there are many more things that I would like to recommend but the best is to let he draw up the report and email to you soonest.

You need to re look at the nesting planks, the internal sound, the use of black cloud, the aromas and etc.

Hey .... you seem to have adopted my idea about installing tweeters at the back of the rooms playing the external sound?

"Yes Pak Harry, immediately after I inserted two tweeters I got three new nests. Before that there were nothing. You idea works and I am happy to say that I learn so much from you and other bloggers."

Well we have a good assam fish lunch and I promised to submit a full report soonest.

I then started my long journey to Mersing, Johor.

Wow .... it was so far with winding roads and crossing some virgin jungles. Might see some wild elephants !!!

Upon reaching Mersing, Mr L and his partner were there waiting below their BH.

Since the time was getting late I told him let me quickly survey his BH and do the needful.

Wow.... There were about 50 birds in the house.

He learned something new. When carrying the neon light he accidental switch it off temporarily. The birds will automatically switch to using the echolocation sound. The sound was amazing.

Do it again I told him. He did more then three times. Swithed on and then off.

"Oh yeh pak Harry you are right. Those birds switch from no noise to those echo location noises. Very interesting and I am very impressed with this new findings."

Okay let have a good look and see what can be done to improve the situation.

I was asked to climb to the roof top.

Wa leow, so many birds hovering above and the neighbors birds were there too.

I told him let us finish the inspection and let the birds comes in to rest. It was closed to 5.00pm.

The best about this BH was that it is located closed to a successful BH. In fact on the opposite site there were a few more.

Avery morning and evening the number of birds circling above the house is in the thousands.

Mr.L you make a good choice and I am very happy for U. What you need to do now is to work towards a program to maximise the number of new tenants generated from your neighbors.

I shall prepare a full report on what I observed and make all the applicable recommendations for you to consider.

Remember you are beside a swiftlet young generators. Just pull them in and make sure they reject their original home where they were hatched.

I in fact finished my report this morning and sent to him via his email address.

Hope he likes it.

Now waiting for another blog reader who is keen for me to inspect his stand alone BH located in Endau.

Hmmm.... I hope I will not be tired enough to drive back to KL after this........

It's Hard To Keep Everybody Happy !!!

No matter how much you do and how much you have done you just cannot pleased everybody.

Today, again, I received a call from a good friend who told me that there are still a few people who are out to demoralise my effort in writing this swiftlet farming blog.

It is the same group of people who love to see me surrender to them and stop writing this blog.

I simply do not understand their intention and may be they can call me and talk to me.

My phone number is always on my blog site and if they do not have take this number 017 755 1318. My email address is harryswiftlet@yahoo.com.

Yes I do help so many of my blog readers about their bird house problems and some time I am so engrossed with them I tend to forget I got a family to look after.

Today received three calls and one was from Mukah, Sarawak. He was on the phone with me for almost 1 hour and my battery nearly went flat. I entertained him with the best answers without any fee levied.

Just an hour ago, a blog reader called me and asked me to drop by at his BH in Muar to check the water leakage. I happened to be driving to Muar tomorrow and told him that I might be able to deliver the BH keys to his partners in Muar but he said all of them are up in KL. So what is his best option? Okay I told him that I will stop by and shut the pipe. Again at no charges.

On the way back from Rawang Country home another blog reader called. "Harry I need your help. There is something wrong with the BC which I used last week. The sound seem to be jerking. Can I get a fresh copy" Oh yes I am about to reach Sentul, why don't we meet at the Petrol station for the fresh copy. I did all the thing that I can and stop and waited for him to reach there to give him a new copy. Free of charge.

There are many many more activities that I did just for the sake of this swiftlet farming things and I am very tired of hearing people saying bad things on my back.

I can admit that every single order that was placed with me were delivered and no one complained so far.

I do the packing myself and post laju within 24 hours after they cut the orders and make payments. I was given warning by my wife that those aromas are making her sick so I moved out to a rent a room to store them.

I hope my contribution in writing the blog, my ideas, my suggestions , my findings and etc do contribute many sensible ideas to all newbies in the field.

Not many out there are willing to share all the information about swiftlet farming.

They are normally good in criticising others so that they will become the hero and making other people's life difficult. Everything that I do seem to hurt their ego and some are my good friends (sometime back).

There is no use of stabbing other people back. The best ways to prove that you wanted to help others is to start your own blog. Try to do better then me. The best advise is be my friend and do not stab my back.

If they wanted me to sell their aromas please let me have a sample.

If they need me to advertise about their new electrifying external sounds please email a copy to me.

I have no specific reasons to reject their offers. All in all I want to continue helping those who need someone to advise them about their swiftlet farming problems.

Please be honest and help those newbies with their problems. They need our guidance and knowledge. Do not teach them to hate others.

Tun Mahathir Was Born And Raised At This House !!!

While in Alor Star I visited a wooden house somewhere in the town areas.

It was said that former Malaysian PM, Tun Dr. Mahathir was born and raised at this house.

Nice to see the birth place of a person with exceptional gift.

Enjoy these pictures and if you happened to be in Alor Star just drop by.

Sorry was not allowed to take photos inside the house.

You May Want To Record Those Birdcall Sound Using Your Digital Camera !!!

I did a test and it works. Well this was how it happened.

I downloaded "Sony Forge 9" trial copy for Audio mastering a few days ago. While writing my blog about a BH in Tanjung Malim I decided to use the trial Forge 9 to see if it will download the avi clip.

Oh yes it did. When I click the play button, the sound did comes out and the row of pictures of the top move one by one depending on where the moving line is at. Hmm .... very interesting.

My conclusion is that you can capture those sound plus pictures using your digital camera.

Bring them home and download into your computer. Once that is down you activate the "Forge 9" and open the file. Once that is done those sound is in your custody. You may want to copy and insert into a new folder that have stereo charecteristics. If you are not sure sent them over and I know what to do.

Brilliant and nobody have ever told us about this new findings. Trust me you always learn something new when you read my blog.

Not many out there who are willing to share these kind of new things but dont worry you have Harry to learn from.

Someone Is Inside this BH !!!

Someone seem to be inside this BH.

I was passing Tanjung Malim during the weekend and stop by at the back of this building.

I took a vedio clip just to see how those birds fly around and not entering the BH.

I think there is someone in the house doing some inspection or maintenance or "curi sarang". Anyway enjoy the clip.

Crucial : Flight Path Into Your BH !!!

A very crucial aspect of any BH is how those birds, from the outside, needs to fly into the roosting areas inside the BH. How many obstacles they need to pass before reaching their prefer ed nesting areas.

I have seen many types of BH designs and a lot of my time I focus on how the owner designed the entrance hole areas. To me this is one of the most important part of any BH.

You will be surprised that every BH entrance areas are not the same. Each person who DIY have their own design criteria. Different consultants have different ways of coming with the entrance hole.

Some are too small while others are too big.

Some with so many corners and curves while others are straight in.

Some block those lights with petitioning here and there but some never bothered to do any light blocking and so on.

The issue here is that which design gives a smooth path for the birds to enter the house with ease and do not need to maneuver to the left and then the right and again downward and upward.

A few BH I saw was with this design where the birds need to make a U turn (360*) in order to find their nesting areas. Do you think this is the right design?

I wonder why there is no standard design that are proven and well liked by those wild birds.

The Muar BH, with more then 400 nests, which I recently visited seem to be the simplest and I think the birds have the least difficulties in entering.

The top entering design allow the birds to snoop in and quickly enter the house via a door about 4 feet width by 10 feet high.

Upon entering the door the birds enter a roving area about 18 feet by 20 feet (shop length).

While in the roving area the birds can either fly to the bottom floor via the staircase or into nesting room number one or number two on the upper floor.

The owner construct a small petitioning to block those sunlight from entering both rooms.

What surprised me was that the birds, a few, have no problems in building their nests even in the roving room which was quite bright.

I hope that I will continue to make close observation on all BHs that I visited.

Most successful BH have a very simple entrance design with very little obstacles while flying to their roosting areas.

If you wish to have a sketch of the Muar BH entrance design please call me at 017 755 1318. Remember the house currently housed not less then 400 nest and growing rapidly.

I visited the BH a few months back and advised the owner what need to be done to increase the nests population every cycle.

He took my advised and within two weeks he installed all the needful and is enjoying a good growth.

Be Prepared If You Wanted To Trade Those Raw Nests !!!

You might think that trading of raw nests can be a very lucrative way of living.

Yes you just buy those nests and sells them at a handsome profits.

Before you think of engaging yourself in this new line be careful on the followings:

* You need to be sure that what you bought can be disposed at a decent price that you can make a profit. Each kilogram you need to make at least 200-300 rm.

* You need to sort those nests in accordance to their shapes. The full half cup nests (180*) fetch more as compared to those angled (90* and 130*) and the broken nests.

* Get to know from where the nests were harvested. If the nests comes from a new BH you can roughly predict that there percentage of angled nests will be more as compared to those from old BHs. This can be as high as 90 percent.

* The nests will loose weight due to water evaporation. Once you purchased you need to quickly sort, pack and keep them in a cool place. Perhaps spray with some clean water.

* Apply some water. Spray with a little water before you keep them in a cool place.

* Make sure you bring along those portable digital weighing machine. Sort the nests in accordance to their shape and weight them separately.

* Inform you seller before weighing that you are prepared to purchase the nests at what prices for different shape. 180* is say 3,700 rm, the 130* is 3,300 rm, the 90* shape is 3,000 and the broken nests at say 2,400 rm. You only weight them only if your seller accept your offered prices.

* Handle those nests carefully. If they are very dry there is a very strong chance that they will breaks if something is placed on the top of them or smashed by some heavy items. Remember broken nests fetch the least price.


Well if you are not careful you will loose your pants.

Be careful and do not assume that they are easy to make money from.....

Dermacyn: A Miracle Salt Water Wound Care!!!

First I was facinated with EM, the Effective MicroOrganism, which helps to remove odors and help to turn your kitchen garbages into fertilizer.

But wait what about Dermacyn?

This unique product, invented by an Iranian residing in USA, is said to be the best cleanser for any open wounds on your body. Good for those who have a family or friends with diabetic or bed ridden with bed sores.

It actually breaks the outer skin of those microbes that attack your wounds, and kill them.

I found this product a few years ago and always keep in touch with the new development for the sake of helping people who needs to cure their wounds.

Go to:http://www.oculusis.com/us/news/





What suprises me was that both the EM and 'Superwater" technologies came from Japan.

The inventor, an Iranian origin, of the superwater confirmed that he got to know the technology from Japan and he took another four years to come out with a method to produce the superwater in large volume.

Accepted by FDA and now you can buy them from the shelf.

Well as for the EM you know who was the inventor Dr Teruo Higa, a Japanese.

Mist Humidifier in Operation

A vedio clip showing you the operation of a mist humidifier using mist maker.



The model can produce 1500 ml of water per hour.

The Star Metro: Swiftlet Farmers Cry Foul Over Lisences !!!

Friday June 12, 2009

Found At: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/6/12/southneast/4081431&sec=southneast

Swiftlet farmers cry foul

By PHILIP HII


SWIFTLET farmers in Sarawak are crying foul over what they claimed as “double standard” in the authorities not issuing licences to them.

There are an estimated 1,500 swiftlet farms in Sarawak.

Only two, one in Kuching and the other in Mukah, have been given licences to operate. The rest of the 1,498 are operating illegally.

They want to know why when several West Malaysian states can give out licences and provide guidelines for swiftlet farming, Sarawak cannot do the same.

“Even our new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak openly supports swiftlet farming. I just don’t understand why Sarawak cannot follow,” lamented a bumiputra swiftlet farmer from Mukah.

When contacted and pressed on this “double standard” issue, an officer from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd (SFC) who wished to remain anonymous, said Sarawak will not blindly follow all the guidelines and rules which have been implemented in West Malaysia.”


Inspection: Officials at one of the bird houses in Sarawak.

“We have our own rules and we will not implement those rules which clearly contravene our own state rules” hesaid.

Under the 1998 Wild Life Protection Ordinance, no one is permitted to carry out swiftlet farming within the town areas. Under the rule, the edible birds nest of the species aerodramus fuciphagus and aerodramus maximus which are protected animals, are only permitted to be bred in agricultural areas in the outskirts other than its original habitat like the natural caves.

The officer, however, added that the state government always supports legitimate swiftlet farming on agriculture land as it recognises that it is a highly profitable industry.

As for the guidelines, he said this will take time as it involves several ministries and departments.

Malaysia is now the world’s third largest producer and exporter of edible birds nest, producing about 150 to 200 tonnes of birds nest worth RM1bil annually.

The top producing states are Perak, Pahang, Kelantan, Penang and Sarawak is catching up fast if not for the recent raids on illegal swiftlet farms throughout the state.

After several warnings to demolish the farms on their own failed, enforcement officers from SFC sprang into action in October last year. The small coastal town of Mukah was their first target.

Fourteen farms, all converted from the town’s shophouses were raided. In the operation carried out by SFC officers from Kuching and aided by police personnel, the farm owners claimed that hundreds of eggs and young swiftlets were killed, either dropping to their death when their nests were removed or starved to death after their parents were forced to flee.

After several days of protests from swiftlet farmers in Mukah as well as other towns and the intervention of politicians and ministers, the operation slowed down.

Several months have since passed.

There have been a few dialogues between SFC and representatives from the state’s several swiftlet farmers and swiftlet merchants associations.

Most members of the recently formed Sarawak Birdnest’s Suppliers Association (SBSA) are very optimistic that the state government will soon work out a win-win solution for this “smokeless industry.”

SBSA appeals to the authorities concerned to urgently solve the current impasse as any further delay will only contribute to greater financial losses to the farmers as well as the nation.

Meanwhile, the number of swiftlet farms continue to increase all over Sarawak. Sources said that each day at least two new farms are added to the growing list and many of the new swiftlet farmers are bumiputra farmers and fishermen living in the coastal regions.

Mist Fogger Acting As Humidifier For BHs !!!

While writing the mist maker and humidifier using similar technology, I stumbled into a beatiful product at one of my friend's shop. The product is fit for a high end humidifier requirement BH.



I saw it and could not resist to see how it works. I have attached in this article with some clips and pictures.



Very quite and the size of the water mist is so small like those clouds at Genting Highland.



This might be one of the best alternative to using those chicken house humidifier. It gives very little noise except when you put the blower fan at a high speed.

The only disadvantage is the steep price. Nearly five times the price of a normal humidifier.

I think if you DIY it will not cost that much.

Birdhouse El Nino Buster !!!

Hotter days are here for the next three to four months.

This was what being announced by Natural Resources and Environmental Minister, Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas.

According to him the return of the El Nino phenomenon will last for three to four months. Those water reservoirs will slip in depth and if we are not careful there won't be enought water coming out of our kitchen taps.

Well how will this effect our BHs?

I am scared that many of our birds will run away far north. If you take no actions to cool your BH down they will soon be emptied. The moment the internal temperature hits above 32*C you will regret for not doing anything.

Try to do something to cool down the BH at least for the period.

You might want to cover your BH with those plastic sheets preventing direct sunlight hitting the external walls and roof area?

You can start to spray your BH external walls with water at a noon and everning?

Or perhaps you can try this interesting cooling technique that I call "El Nino Buster".

You can actualy DIY to keep the cost down.

Go to this you tube address and learn how to cool down your BH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR9CA8lJGvs

Once ready try to time the operation at the right time of the day where the heat starts to climb (from 10am till 9.00pm) but avoid the time when those permanent residents are coming home (6.00pm till 8.00pm).



You have nothing to loose but I am sure those birds will treasure your effort.

Frankly if I am the birds in your BH I will kiss your cheeks.

Well you might want to use yourself !!! How about try one and see how your kids admire your inginuity.

"Daddy you are damn smart. I want to be like you Daddy."

Remember you copy the idea from me. I should be the smarter guy.

"No son this was what I learned from the smart Uncle Harry."

He he he he ......