Two Failed BHs Because Of Wrong Location !!!

Two BHs located just to the side of those overhead high voltage electrical lines failed after years in operation.

While in Manjung, Perak, the local council of Manjung representative took all of us to visit a few BHs.

The organiser, Mr.L, took us to his BH (not that successful) and two stand alone BHs situated just beside those high voltage cable pylons.

I was accompanied by Mr. George who happened to be a qualified professional electrical engineer. He used to measure these low frequency electronic wave radiation generated by using some specialised gadget and determined how dense they were.

The moment Mr.L indicated that the two BHs failed, Mr.George whispered to me what is wrong when your birdhouse is located below those cables.

According to George, the electrical cables do produce a kind of low density electronic wave radiation that are very sensitive to those birds navigational system.

According to him the radiation normally can disorientate the birds flight pattern. Their navigational capability will be greatly affected when they passes the radiation. Once this happen they will not be able to locate their house or even the entrance hole???

As such he stressed to me that try not to built your BH too closed to these high voltage cable or pylons.

Well I am not an electrical engineer but I hope the advise given by Mr. George is of use to all newbies.

If you need more clearer explanations please contact George directly. His contact number is 012-6096371.

Well I managed to enter one of the two and from what I saw there were more then those electrical radiations.

The BH, I entered, have many things that were not right. The humidity, the internal darkness, the temperature were not right.

The owner have little knowledge about swiftlet farming.

The two i.e. those radiation plus little knowledge might be the core reason why these expensive building are rotting away with no birds.

First It Was George, then Chow then Bernard & Lawrence & Dato Chang !!!

"Hei Harry this is Bernard and we, with Mr Lawrence, are on the way up to BM to meet U".

That was what happened yesterday and in the end my trip back to KL was delayed till 9.00pm.

After doing my birdhouse things in Setiawan, myself and George (a newbie) hurried up to BM to be with Dr.K.

We reached very late and have about 20 minutes to view the birds flying back home.

The next day started our day at the site for two hours. Applied those aroma and check the BH for anything unusual.

After two hours proceeded to my SP birdhouse to view the insect barn in operation. There were three trays of pinapple strips and were spewing those fruit flies.

Many managed to escape the Barn and my data room was full of those fruit flies escaped from the barn. They were almost everywhere.

I keep thinking on how to recapture them back into the Barn.

What came to my mind was this simple bottle biology technique found at: www.bottlebiology.org/.../fruit_fly_trap.html. The best, according to this site, is to recycle those mineral water plastic bottles.

Take a dry empty bottle and cut the bottle into two. Take some slices of bananas and put into the base of the cut bottle. You then flip the top part of the bottle upside down so that the original mouth of the bottle is inside upside down. You use masking take to stick them together.

In this way the fruit fly will enter the bottle and trap inside. You can then release them back into the barn.


Hmm.... I need to figure out how to insert the trap bottle effectively.

Set the barn's blower fans from 7.15pm till 7.45pm for the trial.


After this short trip to SP rushed back to BM with George. Upon reaching BM, Mr Chow from Kampar was at Summit Hotel, picked him up for the BH familiarisation.

I was dead sure that I can start my trip to KL at about 5.00pm.

I was wrong. The moment Chow was in the car, Mr Bernard called.

"Harry I understand you are in BM. I and Mr.Lawrence are on the way to BM from Gopeng. Please wait for us we need to meet you urgently. We are now near Juru exit."

Oh my my. It will be a long day I guessed.

Once they arrived and have a short familiarisation visit at Dr.K BH. They insisted that we make a trip to Mengkuang Dam, to conduct a birdcall test on a piece of land there. I told them it was okay but will take off after that.

After about 15 minutes of successful test, they then insisted to give a very special dinner at the Famous Bukit Tambun Seafood Restaurant.



The dinner was accompanied with Dato Chang, the owner of Honey Bread chain of bakeries and kopitiam. A very popular Bakery in Bukit Mertajam for many years. He was Mr Lawrence's father. He claimed to be the "Sponsor" of many well known badminton players of Malaysia.

The dinner was fantastic and we finished at about 8.30pm. After this special occasion we speed back to KL. Lawrence was luring me to stay back for a karaoke and do a birdcall test on a few pieces of suitable lands in Nibol Tebal and BM.

I turned down because I promised to be with my love one for the weekend. I also need to prepare myself for the prearranged Kuala Krai visit on Monday afternoon.

Reached home late 1.30m in the morning. What a back breaking trip.

If All Sounds Failed To Draw Those Wild Birds, What Next?

"Harry, I have run every sound that I have and those birds simply refuse to come near my new BH, what will be the next step?"

Something unusual and "Kepala Pusing" question.

I must say that things can happen where you expect so much but no matter what you do you still could not get the expected result.

There was this BH owner who owned a very successful BH with more then 10,000 birds occupying his four stories BH near a large dam.

In view of this success he decided to construct one more unit about 1.5 kilometers from the first.

He built exactly the same as the first in fact better. He place the everything the same. The entrance hole, the humidity, the sound, the tweeters, the amplifiers, the temperature and everything that you can think off were the same.

After more then two years not a single bird enter his new BH.

Hmm .......

What can be wrong Harry?

I don't know and I really don't know. Maybe he vowed to God that he will do something good if his 1st BH is full of birds but he has forgotten the promised. Maybe he have not been charitable enough or maybe the house "ada hantu".

The other case is a house after testing with all the sound that the owner has never draw any birds to his house.

The best, according to some special friend in Pahang, was to run "Duress" sound for a specific period of time and after that switch to a strong external sound.

The reason given by him was that the house was very new and the cement smell might be too strong.

The second reason being the young birds are not yet out for the season.

The best is to run "Duress" sound and introduce the new BH to everybody around.

Let the Duress run for at least one month and later slowly use new sound that can pull the birds into the house.

After one month and there were nothing that scares the wild birds they will no longer feel threaten by the sound.

At the same time during the one month there will be thousands of birds that become familiar with the location.

Once you stop the duress, they will still hang around but with the new sound they will come and perhaps stays in your BH.

This method was said to be successful in Pahang and after three months the owner has about 80 nests built.

So this is something that you might want to try but remember this is something unusual and don't blame anyone if it does not work.

I am just posting this special method to those who have a brand new house and have great difficulties in luring those birds to their BH roof.

It is not recommended to those BH with ready occupants in them......

My Itinary For The Week !!!

Today: Driving up to Sri Manjung. Meeting with Mr.D and collect some bird shits.

Tommorrow: Meeting JPBD KL committee in Manjung. Not sure what they are up to.

Day After: Will be in BM to test some new sounds and deliver fresh birdshits.

Sunday: Driving back to KL.

Monday: Invited to be in Kuala Krai For Krai Ecopark Visit.

Got two newbies following me to help with the sound test and birdshits delivery.

Any Other Ways To Choose The Right External Sound??

I was on the way back to my Apartment when I received a call from my blog reader from Johor.

"Harry I need your help to get the right external sound for my Birdhouse. Currently the house is empty and no birds wanted to enter the house."

Hmmm ..........

This is nothing unusual and I am sure there is something wrong with the sound that she is using.

How old is your new BH?

"About 5 months old." She said.

Have you tried using my Black Cloud?

"Yes but I was not very sure how to operate it. I am desperate to get the birds into my BH."

That is very sad and I am sure I can try to come out with something for her and hubby.

What I actually have in mind is mind blowing. I told her that the best method is to test all the external sounds that I have with me.

I will carry with me about 200 sounds and try one by one. From the 200 maybe 5 to 10 will be effective.

The effective sound shall be retested for the second time to eliminate those that are not that good among the 5-10.

Once that is completed then I will get them to use the new sound.

Perhaps I will let them have at least three of the 5-10 effective sounds chosen.

I told her that this is my contribution to lend a hand but there is some cost to it.

Told her to think carefully and call me if she is agreeable with my terms and conditions.

My cost is marginal and there is no guarantee that there is a quick solution.

My gut feeling is that among the 200 there must be some that are effective.

Those that face a similar problem you should think of doing the same. There is no need to call Harry but get someone that can help you to do what I have outlined above.

With luck and god helps I am sure there will be an answer......

Best of luck to all .........................

Thank You Letter From Kedah JPBD !!!

Before taking the lift up checked my post box.

Hmm ... a letter from JPBD Kedah. I wonder what the letter was for.

Upon opening and reading I am glad to know that the Department wanted to thank me for my small contribution during the Kedah Exco Meeting.

The letter, as translated from Malay, looks like this:

Re: Meeting of State Planners for the 104 (1/2009).

With due respects on the above subject matter.

2. On behalf of Kedah Planning Department I would like to thank you for your kind contribution on the Presentation title: The temporary relocation of swiftlet house during the 104 meeting of Kedah city planners.

3 Your kind contribution and cooperation should be continued in the near future.

"Serve The Nation"

Yours Sincerely,

Hj Noran Bin Sharif, PPT, ANS, BCK
Pengarh
Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa
Negeri Kedah Darul Aman.

Well the letter is good enough for me even I need to travel for 5 hours and put a night in SPatani just for the 10 minutes allocated. All expenses was on me.

I have done a very small part and I hope to continue playing a role in making sure that the industry is protected.

Some Interesting Events !!!

These are some events that are useful for all my blog readers:

1) GAHP Seminar on April 4th, 2009

To those that stays in KL or Selangor and have never attended the Seminar, please try to enroll at this GAHP seminar. Going to be held at Putra Hotel, Jalan Tun Razak. Cost is 580 per head and there is an early birds package at 480 for the first 50. If U wish to get registered by me please SMS your full name and IC number to 017 755 1318.

2) JPBD Meeting in Sri Manjung.

The Garis Panduan drafting is slowly taking off and there will be a meeting in Sri Manjung this weekend. I am not too sure of attending but I am curious what they are up to.

Will consider to drive up there and perhaps attend the meeting. In this way I can get to know their latest move. Well I hate the long journey from KL to Sri Manjung.

3) JPBD Perak Garis Panduan Committee Meeting.

I was make to understand that there will be a short meeting soon. I was verbally invited and present a short paper on swiftlet farming.

I hope to get to know what the committe is all about and perhaps try to make them realise the potential of the industry. They should be supportive and not destructive.

4) GAHP Seminar In Kuala Trengganu.

I was make to understand by Dr.Reduan that he was invited to give another GAHP Seminar in Kuala Trengganu, Trengganu. The organiser was said to be by a Swiftlet Birdhouse Owners Association.

This will be sometime in early March 2009. Those who wanted to attend please sms to me your full name and IC number.

5) Swiftlet Farming Recommendation Papers for Johor.

Something that I wish to make a short remarks. The paper was said be forwarded on March 4th, 2009.

In view of very little feedback from the all Johore Swiftlet Farmers Traders or Associations, the paper might not be good and can cause lots of harship to Johorian.

The MB of the state is not very supportive of the Swiftlet Farming Industries and his intervention will be tought.

6) Arranging a Trip To Bangkok for Birdhouse visits.

I was given the opportunity to visit a BH with friendly birds. According to this friend in Bangkok these birds were breed and become very friendly with human.

He have been asking me to drop over and perhaps bring some friends. Anytime next month I will flying in for a closer look.

7) Kota Bahru Invitation.

Received a call to visit Kota Bahru Kelantan. My good friend whom I used to visit wanted me to make a few calls at some of the BHs in Kota Bahru.

Plan to confirm and make the trip.

8) Meeting A Cambodian Birdhouse Investor.

Last week set down with him in KL before his trip to Cambodia. He joined my trip to Tampin, Melaka. He bought one unit of the Birdcall Gadget and brought to conduct birdcall test in Cambodia.

He is back in town and called me late last night for a quick meeting. He sound very excited.

Just Be Nice And Stop Critizising Everything Around You !!!

I received many friendly calls telling me that there is always a guy who love to criticize everything that I did. Some time he will stood so low to attack on personal matters like what I eat and drink. May be one day he will attack on how I sit in the toilet to shit?

I told them nicely that I love swiftlet farming and I am not bothered and affected by what this guy is trying to achieve. I have never known him personaly or attack him before. I was made to understand that he saw me in Pontianak, months ago at a Seminar, and from that day onward he started his hatred campaign against me, Pak James plus Pak Jeff of KT.

Every body are bad and wrong except himself.

One of my blog reader told me that this guy might be the same guy who used to be "Skynest" who alway hates my articles. The reader believed that he came back and change his identity. He started where he left. If you read his blog and compare with his old blog (already erased by him) the concept is nearly the same. He loves to talk about politics, racial matters, religion and of course those things that are not related to swiftlet farming.

I spoke to my good friend from Jakarta and sms to get his opinion on the person. The answer I got was : "Ya Pak, Saya sendiri juga tidak tau mengapa begini."

I always believed in making friends and not creating enemies. What do we get by talking bad about others?

At the same time received this special story that I am happy to share and perhaps learn from it:

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Life Is a Gift

Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who died too early on this earth.

Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.

But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without imperfection.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.

Rediculous Training Cost !!!

"Harry what do you think the training cost to process those raw birdnests?"

Well about 3,000 ringgit complete with the write up, those twigs, the cup shape former plus some accessories to complete the work.

"Well you might be right but my husband came across a guy who claimed to use the so call dry nest processing system and he asked for 300,000 ringgit for the know how? What do you think?"

Uugh .......

That much? I am sure I said 3,000 rm but not 300,000 rm.

"Yes the guy asked for 300,000 ringgit for the know how. What do you think."

I think it is better for you to use the money for some other things. The figure is just too much and throat cutting.

I do have a friend who can provide a course for two days plus practical at about 1,000 a day. So total cost for two days it will be 2,000 ringgit only. Lodging and meal on your own. Cheap and reasonable.

If you are keen let me get a slot for you.

So that was my conversation and I am happy to be of help to this newbie.

How First Generation PC Looks Like !!!

While googling today I came across these pictures on how old or first generation personal computer (PC) looks like.

I remembered buying one that looks like one of these for my wife's Dental Clinic. They were pretty expensive as compared to today's PC cost. She did not used it since it was so complicated, she said.

Remember they uses those floppy disc to store the imput data/ information.

Enjoy these pictures or pehaps they bring back those old memories:

Insect Breeding Barn Ready and Tested !!!

"Harry, we are fixing the pipes to get those fruit flies on the top of the roof into the entrance hole."

That was the message I received today from my birdhouse caretaker in Sungai Patani.

I have been thinking about building an insect barn for quite sometime.

First I got the sketch out and then asked my caretaker what he needed. His answer was simple, give the money to buy those welding machine, a steel cutter, those raw materials to built the frame, the side board panels, the pipes and two exhaust fans.

I got him what he wanted and he started the construction a couple of weeks ago.

When the unit was up I told him to cover all those gaps that might push those small flies out.

He did that and in the meantime he started to breed those fruit flies using ripe pineapples and some yeast.

The moment the barn was ready, the trays holding the pineapples were carefully stacked inside the allocated holders.

He shut the doors and started the exhaust fans. For test run he did not connect the exist hole on the top part of the barn to the roof. The moment the fans operated, all those flies were blown out.

Hmm ..... not bad they works well.

Today after the test the pipes to push those fruit flies to the top of the BH was fixed. I wish I was there to observe the installation.

If this insect breeding system works, there might bring more birds above my BH. The barn is located in the Data room on the ground floor below the entrance hole on the 1st floor.

To those who have never thought about this unique ideas, you might want to contact me at 017 755 1318.

My "Sifu" never taught me on this idea but I did on my own to test the fact that there is nothing wrong to go for new technologies.

Swiftlet Robot Surveillance Technology !!!

One of the best method to conduct air surveillance of your neighbourhood is to sent this robot swiftlets flying high about without getting any attention from anyone on the ground.

You never thought that this is possible but nowadays nothing is impossible.

With its 50 cm wing span and 80 grams of weight, this high tech bird is ready to infiltrate swift surveillance squads next summer.

Aerospace engineering students at TU Delft, together with the Department of Experimental Zoology of Wageningen University designed the micro airplane that uses wing–morphing for steering.

Doing so, the Roboswift becomes highly maneuverable at very high and very low speeds, just like the swift. During it’s test–flight today, this one ended up in a tree. But who knows… perhaps in the future they will be swarming the skies.

Found at : www.nextnature.net/index.php?tag=robotics&paged=2

The Best Way To Prevent Those Barn Owls From Entering Your BH !!!

I was having some discussion with Mr Goh of Sepang.

He drove to KL to meet me for those "Black Cloud" birdcall sound. Beside the BC he wanted nearly all my best collection.

While downloading those sounds he described about how many BHs he has (some are on JV). He admitted that currently has 7 BHs. A few in Selangor and some in Melaka.

One of the event that happened to his BH was the attact from barn owl. The BH that was attacked used to have 300 nests. When detected, less then half were gone. Most ran away while others became the food of the owl.

It seem that the barn owl started to built her nest in the BH.

I asked him, what have he done to prevent the same from happening?

"Well Harry I have install those electric wires around the entrance hole. The electric wires are similar to those electric fence system where those electric wires are connected to an energizer. The energizer will deliver a high voltage electrical pulse every 2 seconds or so. Once those predators touches the wire, either stepping on them or touches them, the will be jolted from the pulse."

"The system not only will scares the predators but it they continue to cross over, like snakes, they will be dead."

"I have seen many dead predators on my roof top. There were snakes, house lizards, wild lizards and so on. I think it works."

"For Barn Owl, since they need to perch at the area surrounding the entrance hole, they will accidental land on the wires. With the jolt they will not try their luck. The system is very suitable for the open roof entrance type."

"The cost of the system was about rm700. You need to add some installation cost."

From wikipedia:

Electric fences are designed to create an electrical circuit when touched by a person or animal. A component called a power energizer converts power into a brief high voltage pulse.

One terminal of the power energizer releases a high-voltage[clarification needed] electrical pulse along a connected bare wire about once per second. Another terminal is connected to a metal rod implanted in the earth, called a ground or earth rod.

A person or animal touching the wire and the earth simultaneously will complete an electrical circuit and will conduct the pulse, causing a painful electric shock.

The effects of the electrical shock depend upon the voltage, the electrical current used, and the degree of contact between the animal and the fence or ground; it can range from barely noticeable to uncomfortable, painful or even lethal.

Project: Save Those Young Swiftlets !!!

Just arrived home from the 4 gruelling hours of driving from BM to KL.

The GAHP seminar was not able to be conducted since the number of participants were less then 5. The organiser was not very experienced and did a mess.

While in BM spoken to Rocky of Taiping, Perak. He was they guy who, together with wife, look after 20 birds and after 45 days they flew away without any trace.

I asked him for his small favor to outline the best ways to look after any young swiftlets that are abandoned or falls from their nests. Very important to those in Sarawak whose BHs are being harassed by those so called "The Protectors of Endangered Species".

This was what he mailed to me:

Save the chicks

Dear Harry,

So shocking to hear those in authorities can do such cruel thing. Instead to protect those birds, they are mercilessly murdering them.

To save those chicks the following are my sharing to feed and care for them.

Step 1. Those young chicks should be protected from cold and wind. It means put them in a box so that no moving current to reduce the temperature. Light up a low wattage bulb (5 w) with a variable resistance control to regulate the temperature. Temperature should be controlled at around 30˚C .

Step 2 Make a nest for 1 to 3 chicks. Use small plastic containers lay them with tissue paper, with crumpled one at the bottom and flat double layer at the the top. On top of the paper put a small piece of plastic mosquito netting. ( for the claws to hold to enable comfortable feeding)

Step 3 Feeding need too be done at least 4 times a day.

Step 4 Preparation of food : Steam the insects first unless you can ensure they are free from bacteria. Cut the insects into fine pieces using a small scissor. Mix the various insect pieces well and use hard boiled egg yolk as a binder.

Step 5 Food can be used should be suitable and easily available. Recommended food : cricket, breadworms , bloodworm, dry earthworm and egg yolk. ( can buy from pet shop). Breadworms can be used as main ingredient.

Step 6 Feeding spoon can be modified from a small rubber tubing, slice one end at an angle and taper off the sharp point.

Step 7 During feeding it should be done within the box, even to transfer chicks from box to another box close them up to protect them from air movement.

Step 8 All food after sterilization should be handled by clean equipment.

Step 9 Newly hatched can take 1 or 2 spoon feed. Later 3 to 5 spoons are required.

Hope my recommendation can be helpful to Dr Khoo and other swiftlets lover.

Things can look simple but it take efforts to practice.

If you have any doubt or things which my words did not accurately describe, please contact me (Rocky Loo ) at 016-4512025


Thank you very much Rocky.

Wanted Procedures To Nurse Those Young Birds !!!

"Harry the Sarawak Birdhouse owners are again being harrased by those Perhilitan, the local council, the police and many more. They are forcing into all BHs in Kucing, Miri, Sibu and Bintulu and take away the sound system plus those valuable nests. Many young birds are being thrown on the floor. Can you help to get those guideline on how to nurse the young birds?"

I was in Kedah attending the Kedah Exco briefing on swiftlet farming when Dr Koh of Kucing send me the sms message.

I felt horrible and during tea break I called Dr.Koh and asked me what he wanted me to do. Here they go again killing those protected and endangered species. Last time it was in Mukah and now in four Major Sarawak towns simultaneously.

"I need some write up on how to look after those young birds. I contacted my Australian friend who is familiar with birds but they said they are not suitable for young swiftlets."

I know Mr. Rocky of Taiping who took 45 days to breed 10 young birds until they flew away without saying goodbye and thank you for nursing me. His wife cried for a couple of good days and everyday she keep hoping that one of them will turn up at her front door.

I will ask him a favour to draw up the guideline.

In the meantime I will write a short blog and hopefully there might be some blog readers who can give their assistant.

If you happen to read this article and you do have the write up please call me at 017 755 1318.

The Advantages Of Buying A BH With 300 Nests !!!

"Harry, if money is not a problem, what is the best method to start my BH project?"

My answer: Buy a matured BH with at least 300 full cup nests.

I received a call from a newbie who have spend about 10 hours reading my blog.

After 10 hours he finally decided to call me directly and perhaps have a cup of teh tarik.

I call him Mr.B.

He is an American citizen but was born in Gopeng Perak.

After a few minutes talking about how to recognise those swiftlet, I asked him what he actually wanted to do.

His answer was: I wanted to convert one property, a shop house, into a BH. I also wanted to buy two more empty shops in the same row.

Hmm ......

I took a very deep breath and told him about the new Garis Panduan.

So what will be the best option?

Up to you but if I have the money I will go for a BH which is already matured with about 300 nests. All the nests must be more then half cup in size.

What is so special about it? It will be very expensive? Nobody will want to sell?

Well I have my reasons and let me share some of it:

1) When you take over a BH with 300 nests, you now have a valuable asset. The house, if you know how to take care, can be easily populated to the optimum. Remember these 300 nests can produce 600 young birds every 4 months. Within 12 months. 0ne year, there will be at least 1,800 young birds. Just imagine if you can get 20% to stay?

2) Everything in the BH are your assets. This include those bird shits, the eggs, the nests, the babies, the nesting planks laced with those nests markings, those tweeters with nests build on them, those fake nests that were occupied, those corner covers that are full of new markings and so forth. You can make money from them if you know how to.

3) Okay now if you wanted to start a new BH you have a very high privileges. The first is your experiences in running a ready and occupied BH. You also have the asset with you that can be moved into the new BH. These items that are laced with those swiftlet nests can be moved into the new BH and this will be a big plus to attract those young birds to move in.

4) If the 300 nests are white nests, I will look into the possibilities of getting the BH treated or modified so as tho change those white nests into red. I know there is a technology in getting this done and I will surely persue the matter. The advatage in having white to red is the price. I was made to understand that red nests are 3 times more expensive then white. The moment they change colors I already got back my investment. Yes I now will/can sell the whole house 3 times the amount I paid when it was white.

If you are new, have no BH and wanted to built from zero, I would think you will be climbing a steep hill before getting the right number of nests every year. If you are lucky and the property is at the right place you might be successful. Or else it will be a very long wait.

So my personal view, if you have that extra cash, buy a BH with a reasonable nests numbers and maximise the benefits when you start those new BHs.

Been Invited By Perak JPBD

When I thought the Garis Panduan issues are over , I was again invited to be in Ipoh to deliver a 30 minutes talk on Swiftlet Farming Practise.

This time the invitation came from JPBD and they too are looking are their own Garis Panduan.

I am not invited to talk about any other matters except on How To Be A Successful Swiftlet Farmer. At least this time I am pretty safe from those back stabbing people who love to let more people hates me.

I have accepted their invitation and will start to prepare my PowerPoint presentation within the next few days.

Remember, this talks are not sponsored by any one. All my expenses will be from my own pocket. I am doing this as my contribution to the Malaysian Swiftlet Industries.

I do not hope for any compensation but a small appreciation from the swiftlet community.

I will try to highlights on all the positive things about the Industries and How it contribute to the Country as one of the largest foreign earning.

How nice if I can invite all those from Perak to attend the briefing ......

Yesterday Was In Alor Star and Today I am in JB....

After the 10 minutes talk at the Kedah Exco meeting I rushed to BM to get those birds into the new BH.

The weather was not helpful, too hot without much rain.

At about 6.40pm the rain came but a small drizzle. I was very pleased and was hoping that they will enter the new house.

I sampled some new sounds and not one seem to attract their attention. I was so frustrated and switched back to my "Black Cloud".

The moment the sound was on those external tweeters, I saw an immediate responds. There were at least twenty birds flying in and out. I am not sure how many really enter the BH but I was hopeful.

I stayed until darkness (around 8.00pm) and make my way back to Kuala Lumpur.

This morning I make my way for a short meeting with Garry and wife at old klang road. Garry is a newbie and wanted my Black Cloud to test in Muar.

After one full hour I started my trip to Melaka to meet Mr. Andy who have a brand new BH in Merlimau.

Met him at one of his BH, the one I was asked to turned around. Replaced one of the amplifier and inspected the BH. Lots of fresh bird shits on various parts of the house and while doing so two birds entered the house.

One of those Styrofoam fake nest seem to show some black markings on it. There many signs indicating that those birds are making love in the house. Yes lot of those wing feathers on the floor.

After that we adjourned to Merlimau and instructed where those external tweeters need to be located. Since those tweeters placements cannot be readied by the end of the day I decided to drive down to JB to meet a friend.

Staying a Susana hotel until noon tomorrow. Planned to drop by at Merlimau for the final touch before set the new BH into operation.

On Friday will collect some items in Klang and proceed to BM for the GAHP seminar. Mr Lee of Sabah will be joining the trip. He wanted to have the GAHP certificate and badly wanted to set foot in a bird house......

Presentation At Kedah Exco Meeting !!!

I was given 10 minutes to talk in front of about 30 people inclusive of all the Kedah Exco with Dato Seri Azizan, the Menteri Besar, as the Chairman.

Something that I was not expecting.

Before that I was given the opportunity to meet YB from Bakar Arang who is in charge of the State's Alam Sekitar.

During my meeting with him he mentioned about the problems that Kedah Excos are facing with Swiftlet Farming Industries.

All complains were directed to him.

Initially he wanted to close all these BHs but after listening to BH owners it seem that the industry is a very important income generator to the country and the town.

This make him realised the important of working together with the BH owners and find a win win solution.

I was interviewed by him and we exchange lots of important ideas and I feel good to have met some one who have the right vision in looking at both angles.

During the Exco meeting there were many important figures that I was given the opportunity to meet. The Mentri Besar was the first in my list. Dato Beh, the owner of at least 100 BHs in Peninsular Malaysia, was sitting at the back on me. I was introduced to him by Dr Reduan of Putrajaya.

Hj Aziz of GEM was also there with David Lim of Sungai Patani. They were not officially invited but make their way in via the back door I guessed.

I was not very pleased to be given a note to cut short my talk from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.

What can I talk for 10 minutes.

What I did was to rush on each topic.

The message that I put forward was that there is no proven technique to move BHs from one location to another. The best is to introduce a kind of stringent health check on every new BH in town and make sure they complied to the PBT requirements.

Those that are located at the protected zone should be removed. Every removal exercises must be with care not to harm those protected species and perhaps give compensations or options for the affected BH owners.

The state have to be careful not to cause any negative views from the public and those who own BHs.

Hj Noran, the head of Kedah PBT came to congratulate me for the short talk and he said that what I have done is good for the state. At least now you have put "The ball in their Court."

I am delighted with what I have done and I hope the result will be known soon on the next steps to be taken by the Kedah State.

I need to drive up to Melaka now so need to stop writing until tomorrow.

Time For A Small Joke !!!

Title: The Miracle of Toilet Paper !!!


Fresh from my shower, I stood in front of the mirror complaining to my husband that my breasts are too small.

Instead of romantically telling me this is not true, he uncharacteristically comes up with a suggestion: 'If you want your breasts to grow, then take a piece of toilet paper and rub it between them for a few seconds every day'

Willing to try anything, I got a piece of toilet paper and stood in front of the mirror, rubbing it between my breasts. How long will this take?' I asked.

They will grow larger over a period of years,' my husband replies.

I stopped. 'Do you really think rubbing a piece of toilet paper between my breasts every day will make my breasts larger over the years?'

Without missing a beat he said 'Worked for your bum, didn't it?'

He he he

You Can Make One Mistake and Learn From It !!!

There is nothing wrong to learn from your mistakes. Everyday you learn new things and more often then not from making mistakes.

Small mistakes is pretty okay but gross mistakes are just too expansive and it might cost your life.

The above pictures show how mistakes were repeated.

This type of mistakes are shear stupidity and you might want to laugh about it but somewhere in your life time you do make these kind of mistakes.

In swiftlet farming, I would say that lots of newbies makes mistakes.

The biggest mistakes is to rush into building his dream BH and later found that those birds refuse to enter the house.

This are normally due to lack of knowledge or the consultant that he engaged cannot deliver his promised.

Just be careful and try to learn as much as you can before you embark into building your first dream BH.

Three Birdhouses And How Do You Look At Them ??

Three pictures of three different designed birdhouses in Sarawak.

If you are the local council what is your judgement on how these BHs helps to beautify your major towns.

Two of the buildings are massive. They are much larger then any bungalows nearby. Taller then 5 stories but no windows or perhaps pattern to camouflage with the surroundings.

They were not painted and how do you think the local council will act?

Frankly the first picture looks more like and unfinished building with those window covered with bricks without any cement plaster.

The iron reinforced rods jutting out of the building and it looks very sore to the eyes.

The second picture is like a cement block. No windows, no paint and only those ventilation holes.

Can this blend with the surrounding? Will you have a unit in your housing area or town?

The bottom picture is located in a town and was said to be heavily populated with those swiftlets.

The owner have been harvesting about 15 to 20 kilograms a month but they are not bothered with the general external looks of the building.

Should have taken some initiative to at least pain the external walls to make it more environmentally friendly.

Will these odd looking buildings will be accepted by the local councils?

If you think the answer is yes then go ahead and approve the building of more BHs in your town areas or residential areas.

But if you think other wise, then try to be more considerate and beautify your surroundings.

You need to have some obligation to your surrounding.

PS: The pictures used above are just for illustrations and there is no malice to any person or people who are from the area or state or country. If I have offended any person, I am sorry and please understand that the idea to put up any of these pictures are inpromto.

Safety Railings In Your Birdhouse !!!

Safety railing is a must in all BHs. Just look how simple they are. Their purpose is to let you, your visitors and your generations to live longer.

Many consultants are reluctant in deploying these railings thinking that these railings might be hazardous to the flying birds.

What about human beings who enter the BH to carry out their inspections or harvesting or maintenance?

I believed human life is as important as those wild birds.

My wife recently met an old friend. While talking about their past they touched on swiftlet farming.

One of their poker kaki was a millionaire and after migrating to Vancouver, Canada, decided to coma back to Malaysia after a bad marriage.

When he was back in Malaysia he got himself involved with swiftlet farming. Remember a millionaire getting involved in swiftlet farming.

So he bought himself an Agri land and built a huge BH on it.

After having the BH up and ready he went in for his last inspection. Yes it was his last.

He fell down the LAL and died. That was his last visit and he never have a chance to see those birds entering his new BH.

So now do you think these safety railings are not important?

Think wisely and make the right choice.

Remember those swiftlets have their echolocation to detect these railings in the dark.

Black Cloud In Sarawak Video Clip !!!

This video clip was taken by Mr.O in Sobong Sarawak.

I was very impressed with it and I asked him what sound he used.

"Harry that was your Black Cloud."

Hmm.... not bad and it works in Sarawak too.

"Well Harry the birds seem to be attracted with the sound but unfortunately they refuse to enter the nesting rooms. They just came in as far as the roving room."

Well did you install any tweeters at the back with the same sound?

"Nope"

Why don't you install one and see what happen?

"Okay that will be carried out when we are back in Sobong."

Good luck to you

"Pasir Mas" Is My New Found Birdcall Sound !!!

"Harry I need to let you know that my new BH is getting around 20 new nests every month. Just to say thank you for the "Pasir Mas" sound that you send me."

This was something that I love to hear from one of my blog reader.

He tested with black cloud and DHoney but nothing compares with "Pasir Mas (Golden Sand)" he said.

Hmm .... I told him that I never gave any attention with the sound but I think the time have come to start looking at it seriously.

This month alone the number of new nest grew by 16 new nests. Last month was 20 plus nests.

"By the way I followed your advise in using those insect generating technique. They really works. Thank to you for the second time."

"Harry remember if you are in Alor Star please let me buy you a lunch or dinner."

"Every morning I look forward to start my day by reading your blog. It is inspiring and full of valuable informations. Please keep writing."

I told myself that this is the type of people that makes me feel happy. Those who love to critisize make you feel sick however there are many out there who appreciate all the efforts that I put in writing my blog.

Lots of pictures, lots of data, lots of logical explainations and lots of passion.

All I want is some appreciation. I just want all my blog reader to understand that I love to be what I am and I do not wish to make any enemies.

I prefer peace and love then hatred and war.

I never want to claim that I am a great sifu but I prefer to be called a passionate swiftlet lover.

For as long as I live I would like to do what I like. I like to be very nice to everybody who appreciate my contributions.

I answered every call who needs helps. I guide all those who need advises.

My only request is that do not listen to those who love to create unnecessary hatred among us. There are still so much for us to learn about those swiftlets and let us put all our mind to it.

A Grass Carp From A Pond In Swiftlet Farming Area !!!

Video Clip on Grass Carp Fish.

This grass carp was fished out of a pond belongs to Mr.O who have just purchased this piece of land for 200K.

He got with him three acres and five fish ponds.

I was invited to the site to make close observations of those swiftlets.

We were there from noon till 7.oo pm.

While waiting for the sun to come down we did some fishing. His son got a few red Talapias while he got two, almost 4 kilos each, of the grass carp.

His plan was to built a BH on one section of the land facing the five fish ponds.

The fish ponds will be used by him to attract those wild birds over. I told him to let the entrance hole to be facing the ponds.

He also planned to breed some carp, talapias, ikan hantu, leaches and keli.

Those empty lands will be filled with Gaharu plants. Each young plant was said to be about 15 ringgit. Upon maturity plus contaminated with those fungi solution they will be worth about US 20K per kilo.

The Gaharu project seem to be well promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture.

I was amazed at his deep knowledge on those new things but I prefer to focus on swiftlet farming.

Fish Pond Number One

Fish Pond Number 2

Look at the size

Each Kilo is 20 Ringgit.

A Birdhouse On Stilt and Made of Wood !!!

These pictures were from Mr.O's digital camera.

He showed to me during my last meeting and during my trip to evaluate his agricultural land in Tampin, I quickly copied them into my PC.

My main reason is to blog a story about this unique BH that Mr.O converted in Sobok, Sarawak.

He actually bought the land and the house about a few months ago.

Total cost of the land and the conversion was less then RM80K.

The birds have started to occupy the house and his construction technique was so simple and I am amused with the way he built them.

He have been giving me lunches many times and now I know what comes out of those lunches.

He even used my Black Cloud to lure those wild birds.

Yesterday I told him to modify the sound system so that the Black Cloud can lure the birds deep inside the house.

House is on Wooden Stilts !!!

Got Aircondition too???

The Verandah at the back

Entrance Hole

Inside a bit.

Workers at work.