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Thursday, February 28, 2013

My Next Two Projects Will Be.......!!!!

(A very happy owner of Bkt Selambau BH)

The revamp job at Bukit Selambau Kedah was over and right now me and my workers wanted a short rest.

It was something that I feel very proud to have installed a number of new gadgets inside plus the fact that it was the first place where some research works were carried out by a local University.


I told the owner not to disturb the BH for about two to three months and we shall see the outcome after that.

My promise to the owner was:  If your BH runs as per its design for with no sound failures there will be at least 100%  or more increase in the number of new tenants inside.

They will start choosing their favourite spots to start their nests.

Some will immediately start doing those markings, some will rework on those harvested nests markings and many might stay for sometime before proceeding with nests building.

Let them choose where they wanted to build and once we know their favourite locations we shall try to make them feel comfortable.

Before shutting the door down I did some final touches:

1) Make sure the BH sound system works to its most desirable conditions.  The pulling sound at those door frames need to be loud so that they are able to pull any new visitors straight into the nesting rooms.

2) The internal sounds were played at the right volume.  I prefer a loud volume but not until your ear drums will be affected.

3) Install a medium size bazooka on the monkey house roof top area.  The owner's son bought a unit asking me to get my boys installed facing the entrance hole of our neighbour's BH.  It was a slippery occasion when my workers complained that the roof surfaces were very wet and slippery since it was raining the whole day.

4) I full filled my promise to apply those insecticide application.  Once the cement pavements were completed around the BH I took the trouble to spray those Fendona mixture with plain water.  Applied mainly those areas where the wall meets the cement floor.

5) The Fendona preparation was also applied inside the nesting and roving room.

6) I did a bit more things with the left over aroma and applied on the top most floor.

7) The four wet floor system were flooded with water one more time and those left over bird shit was poured into them.

8) One of the most interesting work that I did was to climb those ladders to spray all those active spots on the nesting planks with "Super Pheromone".  All the selected spots were those with signs of fresh bird shit spots on the floor below them.  This exercise is mainly to force the tenant to proceed building their nest when they return on the same night.

9) I wanted the ground floor to be wet.  All the floor and the walls, up to about 6 feet high, were wet with pipe water.

Oh yes I pray hard that this BH will have a very unusual result.

I have this gut feeling that it will easily have at least 300 nests within the next 8-9 months.

Bye bye and I will continue helping this BH to achieve a reasonable number of nests within the next 12 month contract period.

So where will be my next project?

No problem in getting job but the travelling and staying in remote locations are very taxing and hard to an old man like me.

The two BHs that I went for site inspections was a done deal.

The two owners called and wanted me to mobilize my workers to their BHs.

"Pak Harry can you move to my BH as soon as you finish the Bkt Selambau BH revamp?"

My answer to them was like give me a short break and let me assemble those items recommended in my visit report.

Once those items are ready and I have a good rest I will be there soon.

Need to start with the Taiping sick BH first and soon after the one at Dengkil Selangor

You are wellcome to join the fun and maybe you will learn a lot if you are serious in becoming a successful BH owner.

Please call me to know the terms and conditions.

Call 017 7551318 now.


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Cross-Leg Tweeters Arrangement !!!


A very popular method in tweeters arrangement inside your VIP rooms.

Common practise in Vietnam where you put two tweeters closed to each other but they faces the opposite direction.

To make it more effective install another set at the other side of your room facing it.

You can install one set or more than one set in one room.

The trick here is to use external sound on it.

Some prefer to use internal sound.

I have applied this new technique at a BH in Bukit Selambau with external sound on it.

Let see the outcome after three months from now.

If you need further details please email to harryswiftlet@yahoo.com







Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Research Works With A Local University Has Begun !!!


A proud moment in my life as a swiftlet enthusiast.

As I always mentioned I am not a "Consultant" but a passionate swiftlet farmer.

My objective in life now is to help the swiftlet industry to minimize failed BH by about 3-5 percent.

After toiling with swiftlet activities on my own for almost 4-5 years I told myself to get some small help from some Government Related bodies to be involved in some kind of research.

With that small idea I approach a local University and put forward my plea for their help.

That was at the end of 2012.

During my first meeting with them I explain the special reasons why something have to be done for the sake of this very interesting industry.

It used to bring in billions of ringgit into Malaysia and yet there seems to be very little attention given by any relevant department in Malaysia.

What we urgently needed is some support to help the industry to prosper and to do that we need some research to be done on a professional basis.

After the brief meeting I told myself that if they should reply I will be the happiest person on earth.  However if they did nothing to my plea I have to be happy with myself that I have done my part to open their heart to this lovely industry.

Four days after the briefing I received a call from one of the attendee during my first meeting and he confirmed that he accepted my challenge.

"Pak Harry I am a bird man.  I love breeding bird and during your last meeting with me you actually activated my mind to explore something new that is swiftlet farming.  I wanted you to help me and a team of my student to step into doing some research in swiftlet farming.  Please assist me to help the industry."

It was something unbelievable and to receive his call was the highlight of my career.

After that first phone call I met the person in charge a couple of times and we set some itineraries to push forward with the whole research ideas.

"Pak Harry let me get my stuff ready and by February 2013 we shall be ready to run."

Now with February 2013 about to end we have indeed started to carry out a number of projects and I can see the enthusiasm shown by him and his students.

There is a very strong chance that we will soon hear some great findings and if applicable we should try to use them.

I feel very honoured to be given the opportunity to activate a local University to be directly involved in research works in swiftlet farming.

I would like to reach to all my blog readers about helping each other in this matter.

Please write to my email address harryswiftlet@yahoo.com if you own a BH and willing to allow the University to use it for their research purposes.

At the end of the day it will help the swiftlet industries.

I am just helping them as a person who love swiftlet farming.


Monday, February 25, 2013

Inspected Two BHs 250 Kilometres Apart !!!

Today inspected two BHs and the two units were about 250 kilometres apart.

All in all because my of my love to his field call "swiftlet farming".

My plan today was to make a day trip to Dengkil, Selangor to attend a request by one of my student who attended my seminar conducted at Shah Alam.

"Pak Harry I need you help to check what is wrong with my BH in Dengkil.  It was put into operation about 8 months and it seems that those birds stayed but they are not making any nest."

I told him of my plan for today however this morning read an email from one more newbie from Taiping Perak who sprang a surprise wanting my service to view his problematic BH.

"Pak Harry after six months into operation there was nothing.  Not a single bird shit spot on the floor. Please help me quick."

I took the trouble to call him and told him of my plan to drive down to Dengkil and will be passing Taiping.

He was so delighted and waited for me for 1 1/2 hours before I landed in Taiping.

I told him that I do not have much time but willing to take a look at his problematic BH.

Followed his car and reached his BH within less than 5 minutes drive from the centre of Taiping Town.

Took a good look at the BH and found the usual phenomena.

The BH was too bright and the entrance hole seems to be very poorly designed.

A couple of trees need to be taken down or trimmed to allow an easy access to those wild birds.

After about 1 hour with him I told him that he need to re look into the main entrance hole position and all partitions to be relocated.

"Mr O, I do not wish to make bad remarks about the so called consultant of your BH.  I think his knowledge about swiftlet is very shallow and not ready to be a good consultant."

The top floor was so bright that if you stand at the furthest wall you can still see the other wall which is about 50 feet away.

I reminded him about the rule of the thumb.  The right lighting is when you stand about 2 feet apart you cannot see each other's face.

He nodded and agree with my explanations and supporting reasons.

All his BH ventilation holes were not properly covered.  The consultant have this feeling that those birds do need those light when they fly inside.

After having a light lunch with him I promised to submit my visit report and if he wanted my personal attention to let me know.

Left Taiping at about 12 noon and proceeded to Shah Alam, Selangor to meet the second BH owner.

After 3 hours drive I managed to call him meet me at 3.30 pm. He was there five minutes before I arrived.

Took a cup of chendol and we proceed to his farm using his new car.

We took about 30 minutes to reach Dengkil.

Due to the very rough terrain we change car to a 4X4 wheel drive.

The moment I entered his BH I told him that his main entrance hole is facing the West.

Those bird shit signs on the floor told me so.

All those fresh bird shit spots were only found near the main entrance hole areas.

I took out my iPhone and show him the compass apps confirming my prediction.

"Mr M, these birds needs to fly out as early as they can every morning to search for food.  If your entrance hole faces the west they will not stay far from the entrance hole.  The morning light will be from the East and I think you need to open a new hole facing the East."

He was a bit puzzled in the beginning but after my detail explanation he honoured my description.

There were a few other things that I discovered but the second point of interest was the BH LALs positions.

They were in the middle part of the top and second floor.

"If you wanted those wild birds to build their nest on the lower level you need to guide them to fly above the LAL".

It was a very tiring but exciting day in my life and I am enjoying every minute helping these poor guys who were wrongly advised by their so call consultant.



Sunday, February 24, 2013

Why You Should Have Those Proper Cement Pavement Around Your Stand Alone BH !!!!


I was about to pack up my workers when the owner wanted my opinions on what else can be done to improve his BH at Bukit Selambau, Kedah.

Among the things that I told him to look into were:

1) Build a concrete pavement around his BH.  Currently there external walls were exposed to the surrounding without any pavement to block those crevices from becoming the breeding centre of spiders, ants, millipedes and many others that might harm his tenants.

2) To cover his electrical meter installed on the BH wall.  Currently exposed to rain water and every time it rains the power supply will trip.

3) To install an auto starter.  According to those who stays around his BH they power disruptions is a common issue. There will be power trips when lighting occurs plus on many occasion power failure.  If there is an auto starter his BH will face lesser chances of power stoppages.

4) Plant a number of figs trees around the BH.  The open area is suitable to plant figs and what he needed are some holes.  I will supply him with the figs plants.

5) Need to watch out for those owl.  If there is any chance they disturb his BH he need to install the owl traps.  Yes try to install at least one on each entrance hole.  His BH has three entrance holes and three traps will be adequate.

6) Need to cut those bushes around his BH.  Reason being there are lots of snakes that might enter his BH.  In the beginning he assumed that those snakes will not be able to climb his BH but I proved him wrong.  There was a time that I saw with my own eyes a snake climbing his BH.

7) Try not to enter the BH for at least two months after putting it back into operation.

Among the seven he solved item number one and two on an immediate basis.

The number two he sought his own electrician to come over to install a cover with a see through glass.

The number one matter was handed over to me.

"Pak Harry please proceed with the pavement laying.  Let me know the price and please get your workers to finish them up before you leave."

Since my boys were free we continue with the pavement constructions.

Initially I thought it was a simple down to earth job with very little problems.

However when we started and after viewing the BH perimeter walls we realized that the BH was not with the same hight.

The back was higher than the front by at least 10-15 inches.

It baffle me for a few minutes and my workers explain how to solve the problems.

The work went well and by February 25 2013 it should be completed.

As long as it bring benefits to the BH I need to help the owner to stabilize his BH.

While cleaning those debris left due to excess cement we found that below every debris there will be some kind of insect breeding below.

Now once the pavement is completed it will reduce these so call predators and the joint between the BH walls and the pavement can be easily applied with Fendona liquid.

To prevent those snakes I recommended the use those sulphur.

















An Interesting Development From A Cambodian Newbie !!!

I nearly forgot about him.

He came to Kuala Lumpur just for one day to meet me for some advises about his sick BH.

I told him to bring along some photos and sketches of his BH.

After reviewing all those pictures and sketches I told him to follow some of my recommendations.

I made a long list of things that might help.

I also asked him to get some new sounds and a few things that might help to improve his BH.

Finally he wrote an email which explained why he was pretty quite for some time.

Read his very recent message:

Dear Harry,

Greeting from Cambodia,

How are you Harry? Hope you and your family are fine. Do you remember me? We met at Melia hotel last November. After I bought the sound, fake nest and aroma I haven't have a chance to use it cuz after you told me to make the partition, and all that, you know what happen? The lightning strike my BH so it damaged my CCTV amplifier and some other electrical devices. Finally, now I have a chance to start it again. I started last week only, after I pray then I play the Maverllous Cloud for external and Baby king for internal.

I was so impress, right after the sound has started, around 50 birds are coming, which rarely happen before. But after few days, hundred of bird are playing round the monkey house. Now I realize that two shit spots on the floor in the VIP room on the top storey, and one small spot.

Can you please tell me why they don't stay? I can tell you that 95% are big swiftlet, not the baby one, and the two that stay they stay on kite tweeter. Should I play super baby king now or keep playing baby king for a while?

I believe your external sound is the best, cuz most of the time the bird come and play around, may be 10 hour per day.

When should I use the fake nest and aroma?

It is good to use the real bird shit to make the smell?

Your little advise is much appreciated. If I have a blog, I will write on your blog about your sound, so that your blog reader can read it.

Regards,

HS

Saturday, February 23, 2013

A Success Story From Vietnam !!!


It is very very rare to receive pictures and mail from the so many blog readers.

In this case is exceptional.

I have never met him and suddenly he send his first email as follows:



Dear Shifu Harry,

I'm sorry my English very bad

I have read all his posts, from the very old to the latest, I have followed his ideas, so far all all activities very good.I have a BH, has been in operation 1 year. I do get all the, excluding building. far there are about 500 to 600 birds nest to o. toi want to buy from him the after voluntary day. Toi try new ideas from him, I would like to call him Sifu, someone I always admired.

His most recent was pictures taken outside and inside his BH with all the gadgets that he installed.

Have a look at all these pictures submitted for my reference.

It is nice to have some one who is willing to share his success with others.

Thank you Tung Vu of Ho Chi Minh City:

















Friday, February 22, 2013

All You Need Are Some Additional Gadgets !!!

If you wish to draw more birds to your BH monkey house rooftop areas you can follow my proven ideas.

It is simple and yet very effective.

Just view this video clip first before you proceed reading my posting.




You can see that they came very closed and some even hang on the monkey house walls.

What do you think I did?

Very simple and every new BH owner should insist that your contractor install this beautiful idea.

All you need are some power tweeters arranged around the monkey house.

In this particular example I have at least two sets of two power tweeters on each of the four walls.

For each wall there will be four power tweeters.  Two will be connected to the same sound volume generated at the main entrance hole while the other two I blast my last tango sound.

It is simple but if you practise this method all your neighbours swiftlet will be all over your BH.

One important point to consider is to choose the most effective sound for that particular location.

They will simple become crazy and if you flew around the monkey house area they will find the main entrance hole.

These birds once they got themselves crazy with a good sound will quickly try to find the entrance hole.

The moment they found the entrance hole they will jump into it and usually will move to the nesting rooms if you know how to draw them inside.

Once you copy this idea it will no longer a secret.

Trust me this interesting idea will be an important tool to populate your BH.

Call 017 7551318 if you need more information.










Thursday, February 21, 2013

Swiftlet Preferred Larger Entrance Hole !!!



During my recent revamping job in Kedah I can safely says that one of the main reason why the neighbour's BH is doing very well was the size of its entrance hole.

The two units were erected by the same contractor and just about 100 meters apart.

They went put into operation on the same day, according to the owner.

After 20 months into operation his BH was with about 300-400 nests while the sick BH was only having 44 nests.

The rest, from view outside, were the same except the main entrance hole of his was larger about twice as big as the sick BH.

I told the sick BH owner that he needed a larger entrance hole and the recommended size was 3 feet wide by 4 feet high.

I wanted to proof that I was right and managed to take some video clips showing how easy it was for those swiftlet to fly in and out as compared to prior to its enlargement.

Have a good view of these two clips and you might observe the differences.




Before enlarging




After enlarging operation to 3'x 4'



Very clear indication of how important is the size of your entrance hole.

To those who are new you might think or being wrongly advice about those negative points example to much light and air flow but if you are an experience person you will figure out how to minimize the light and air flow by erecting those partitions.

The key point here is to let those wild birds feel at ease when entering and leaving.

There is no use of blocking them from smooth entry into your expensive BH.

If you need more advices on this issue please email your view to harryswiftlet@yahoo.com or call 017 7551318

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

I Wanted To Test The New "SwiftPheromone" Liquid !!! !!!


I was very lucky to given the opportunity to meet an old friend who developed the "Super Pheromone" canister.

During my conversation with him I managed to convince him about expanding the use of his formula inside a BH.

One of my idea was to get him to supply me with the raw liquid to be used as the layer applied on those nesting planks after it installation and cleaned.

I love to test his formulation.

The best and the latest was to try inside the recent BH at Bukit Selambau, Kedah.

The moment my workers completed their crossings and tweeters installations works I quickly took over the ceiling and prepare to apply the new liquid.

What I did was to clean the planks with cleaned water mixed with some salt and a small cup of the liquid.

I focus on specific zone which I believed will be the centre of attention when the BH is put into operation mode.

You can imagine how dirty these planks were.

The water in the pail turned almost chocolate colour and have to be replaced with a new mix after every zone being cleaned.


Once the plank dried I will now apply a layer of the liquid hormone using those fine hair brush.

It was a very tedious and back breaking however once you have done it you feel so marvellous.

"Yes I have done something new and wonderful and I hope those birds will choose these zones applied with the new super pheromone liquid." the thing that came to your mind after finishing my job.

If the liquid is the same as what was inside those canisterised containers I can be rest assured that those birds will got stuck to the plank.

I remember these words from the producer:

"Pak Harry the pheromone is actually a liquid that produces a special kind of smell and when those birds landed on it will that to produce those saliva and they will immediately start putting it on the planks.  Even if they are not ready to start a family they will still become crazy of spitting their saliva."

I hope he is right and if it works I can give my assurance to this BH owners that he will soon have all his nearby neighbours birds to move into his BH.

Let see after two to three months from its operating date of February 16th 2013.


Still wet at the lower part of the nesting planks.


About to be dried after cleaning and before applying the swiftpheromone liquid.