A New Swiftlet Hotspot Called Chiku Kelantan !!!

"Pak Harry Kuala Krai is no longer the hot spot for swiftlet farming in Kelantan.  The hottest spot for now is at a very small town called Chiku located between Gua Musang and Kuala Krai."

That was the exact word from a new friend met at Kota Baru during my September 2012 trip.

The moment the word got into my mind I became very curious about this small town.

Three days ago while on my way to Bachok from Kuala Lumpur, about 8 hours drive, I wanted to find this so called hot spot and hopefully with satisfy my desire to see the action.

Checked on my iPhone, there was a word called Chiku but when I zoomed in it was just palm oil plantation.

While driving closed to this particular palm oil area I saw a shell petrol station on the left side of the road.

"I need to ask someone in the petrol station where this Chiku town is". I told myself.

Oh yes it was about 50 meters away from the petrol station to the left.

The moment I turned to this small road there seems to be some swiftlet activities.

Most of the BH was on the right hand side of the road.

I droved deeper into the town and make a U turn to drive closer to a cluster of BHs on one of the side road.

Hmm not that bad.

There were at least 15-20 BH in operation.

Most of them were 3 stories high.

Out of the 15-20 only 5 were with heavy activities on their rooftops.

The rest as usual very little movements and many with no sounds.

Have a look at some of the pictures taken.

Maybe you should try to stop bye if you ever take a drive to Kelantan from Kuala Lumpur Via Raub Pahang.

Swiftlet Foraging of Flying Termite !!!

Usually after a heavy rain you will be able to see lots of swiftlet flying low foraging those flying insects.

Most of the time after rain the soil will be soft and this will be the best time for those termites to take their flight.

The main reason why those termite take their flight is to start new colonies.

Once the source is located those swiftlet will start to gather in a big flock and they will harvest any or all those that take their flight.

Have a look at these video clips and pictures.

(Swiftlet flying low at Pengkalan Chepa Airport)

(Termites come to surface)

(Another video clip on swiftlet foraging flying insects after a heavy rain)

Look at my "Last Tango" idea. It is working !!!

When there is something good I normally try not to keep it to myself.

My objective is to help newbies to do well with their BH.

Today I did some maintenance works at my Kepong BH and one of the thing I did was to install a newly acquired solid state amplifier.



I wanted to see if it really works and how will it affect those birds when the time comes for the last tango.

I was delighted to see that the moment the amplifier was put into operation those birds starts to jump into the entrance hole.

When my last tango timing starts lot more birds join the wagon.

(Last Tango started)

 (before the last tango started)

The last tango do works and I hope those of you who wanted to see more action with their BH try to apply this special technique.

Enjoy the video clip and hopefully all those swiftlet entered straight to the nesting room.

I just sprayed the fake nests in the VIP room with my Super Pheromone.

I am sure they will like the smell.

If you wish to learn more about the last tango technique please call 017 7551318.

Will Rare Earth Factory Affect Your BH Nests !!!

I am not a politician and please try not to link me with any political parties.

A few days back a BH owner whose BH was in Kuantan Pahang called me seeking my opinion about the rare earth factory nearby.

"Pak Harry do you think the rare earth factory will affect my BH nests quality?"  he asked.

A very rare and interesting question.

The first thing that I said was "I think the rare earth project is Gebeng is Politicise by some individual or groups that have an hidden motives." I told him.

The first thing is for us to use our common sense about rare earth.

Can we compare rare earth as those of uranium?

If rare earth radio activity is as little or lesser than those radiation coming from your TV screen, do you think it will affect those birds?

I don't think so but some others might think so.

I told him that those rare earth are those materials that are very rare and found mainly in Australia, China and Canada.

They are now becoming very important in electronics and telecommunication industries.

Go to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element  to see the list of rare earth that are available and their uses.

It is like a kind of blue ocean industries where they are something that are highly sought after.

We are lucky to be chosen for it to be process here and I am sure the present and future government of Malaysia will seriously monitor the factory for any possible "contamination" they will create.

As at today I still there is not a single proof that these rare earth particles will contaminate your bird nests.

Okay now how is your BH in Kuantan doing?

" A bit of stagnant.  The nests number stuck to 200  for the last 2 years.  What do you think I should do?" he ask.

My frank advice to him was to quickly engage a knowledgeable person to come over and conduct some kind of diagnosis.  Make sure he write a balck and white report on the reasons and how to cure them.

If he could not find one let me know. I told him.

Note:  Please take note that I am not a scientist or radioactive expert. I have no political motives and those of you who feel offended with my comments please my accept my apologies.

Read this article from Bernama:

Found at:  http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F11%2F5%2Fnation%2F20121105133859&sec=nation#.UJtMsJkCwZ4.facebook

KUANTAN: A prominent Pahang doctor has rubbished concerted "lies" spread by the Opposition among local residents on radioactive concerns from the recently completed RM2.5bil Lynas rare earth plant here, saying that the anti-Lynas campaign was purely politically motivated to win votes in the coming general election.

Datuk Dr Looi Hoong Wah, a consultant physician with 40 years of interest in nuclear medicine and particle physics, said the anti-Lynas activists had been brainwashing the people here for the last two years despite the fact that there would be "absolutely no radiation waste or any toxic waste whatever" from the plant.

Lynas' safety was verified by six independent bodies, including the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world's highest authority for atomic energy.

"The substance they bring in is just nothing but rare earth oil containing a tiny bit of weak radioactive thorium 232.

“That is an extremely weak sort of radioactive substance and it has a very long life of tens of billions of years.

"And all this anti-Lynas people say...oh our great-great grandchildren are going to suffer for 14 billion years. This is absolutely rubbish," he said. Dr Looi said if one were to look at the half-life of radioactive material (the time required for a quantity to fall to half its value), the longer the half-life, the less dangerous it would be.

"For instance, if half of a house is burned down in 14 billion years, will it cause any problem? No, it won't cause any problem because there is only a tiny fire, whereas if it is burned down in 40 minutes, then a lot of people will get killed or injured.

"The same thing with lead, the one we use in our car batteries. It has a long half-life as well of 19 billion years. “Because it has such a long half life, it is practically non-radioactive when you use it in your cars. So thorium is very weak radioactively," he said

Asked how he got interested in nuclear science and particle physics, Dr Looi said he developed an interest when he was a medical student in Manchester about 40 years ago as one of his tutors was a nuclear physicist.

He said he had put thorium in his hand without any side-effects till today because thorium, when released outside connected with electrons to produce helium gas, just like the one used to fill balloons, which was completely harmless. Dr Looi reckoned that it was purely for political reasons that the Opposition was trying to work everybody up about the Lynas plant in Gebeng.

"The thorium 232 or decay products produce only a tiny bit of electron, which is electricity.

“It doesn't cause any problem. You find that Lynas' radiation, once you are outside of the boundaries of the plant, the radiation is zero.

“There is no instrument on this earth which is sensitive enough to pick it up," he said.

Dr Looi said the disinformation on the Lynas bordered on ridiculous assertions because even in a human body there was radioactivity as well due to potassium, which doctors give to patients to control the intake of salt in hypertension and other cases.

"Even in our body, we have about 4,400 becquerel (Bq) whereas the Lynas waste and ore contain less than 6 Bq per gram.

“This is already 124 times more than the Lynas worst case scenario. So why complain about a Lynas plant in Gebeng here where there are 124 Lynas plants in your body producing radioactivity?" he added.

Asked on the effects on workers, he said what they could possibly get was only less than 20 percent of the permitted dosage. Dr Looi also quoted Dr Nick Tsurikov, the international radiation specialist, as saying that there was no radiation risk whatsoever as far as the Lynas plant was concerned.

He also said that opposition to the plant should take into account that more than 1,000 quality jobs were at stake and these are people with families for them to put food on the table.

"Once you have a rare earth plant around, (other) companies will come, like Siemens (which) is planning to come in and make use of the rare earth. They will produce thousands more jobs because of the spill-over effects," he said.

Dr Looi appealed to non-governmental organisations and the Opposition to "wake up" and realise that the Lynas plant would be of great benefit to the country.

"You can brainwash people for some time but you can't brainwash them forever," he said. - Bernama

Many Birds But Not Many Nests Syndrome !!!!

A burning question about why there are too little nests even there are some many birds inside your BH.

I was driving to Seremban with a BH owner who came from Dungun, Terengganu just to be with me and told me about his weird problem.

"Pak Harry after implementing most of what you taught me I managed to draw about 200 birds into my 6 month old BH.  However the number of nests was only about 10.  What can be the possible reasons?"

I told him that usually those young birds needs some time to get matured once they flew off from their nest.

You might need to get them to quickly mate but creating the right or should I say romantic environment.

You need to play the right sounds.

You must not play your external sound inside your BH after say 9.00-10.00 pm.

The moment I mentioned this particular word he was a bit taken back.

"Pak Harry you mean we cannot play the external sound after 10.00pm?  I have been using the external sound for 24 hours.  I did this because I visited a friend BH and he plays it for 24 hours.  Why Pak Harry?"

Now you know why his BH was facing the problem of "Many birds and not many nests Syndrome".

I explained to him that sounds do give some kind of effects to those swiftlet.

As a BH owner you better try to learn how sound will affect your birds.

If you pay very little attention to these effects you will usually make stupid mistakes like the above.

In this particular occasion the owner plays external sound for 24 hours.

The external sound played were so good he draws in lots of birds into his BH however they refuse to pay their rental fee (never built their nest).

If you play the external sound for 24 hours those birds will be so excited to the tweeter so much so that they will not mate with their partner.  If I am not wrong they go to the extent to mate with the tweeter.

The best thing to do is to stop the external sound to about 9.00pm to 10.00pm and let the internal sound take over the responsibilities to seduce them to mate with their partner.

You must ensure that your internal sound be correct.

Try to choose the internal sound with more of those baby and mating sounds.

The best would be the Super Babyking or the Babyking.

Beside using the right timing and the right sound, I suggest you look into the use of Fake nests laced with Super Pheromone to induce them to quickly lay their first egg.

The moment the couple laid their first egg they will you tenant forever.

He was so glad with my explanations and will promised to get them adjusted immediately.

So those of you who happened to face the same Syndrome try the above idea.

I am sure you will see an immediate surge in the number of nests inside your nesting room.

For more details please call 0177551318

You will get more knowledge by attending my coming seminar.  Call now.

Any Preference Fake Nest Types !!!

This particular article is about Swiftlet's Fake Nests Preferences.

I remembered being asked about which type of fake nests that swiftlet will prefer?

In the market today there are many types of fake nests that varies in its price.

Some are made of plastic, some silicone, some aluminium, some plastic covered with cloth, some are in pine tree leaves and of course those made from cut styrofoam.

So which one will bear faster result or shall I say which one will be a prefered type?

From the many BHs visited and various types that I have used, my conclusion is that these swiftlet have no special preferences.

As long as there is a place to cling to and easier to start making their nest they will use any of those fake nests.

However I observed something.

Those that are located closed to internal sound playing tweeters tends to have a higher degree of occupancies.

I believed when those first time birds that entered your BH in total darkness they will usually find their way inside your BH by following the BH external sound.

Once the external sound is switched off they will move to those internal sound tweeters.

Once they have found a suitable internal sound tweeter they will start to use the chosen as their prefered location.

They will laced the selected tweeter with their body smell and will use the location as their prefered location when they entered your BH the next time.

Usually they will stay at the location for a few nights and when the time have come to breed they will start to hunt for a suitable location to build their nest not far away from their prefered location.

This is why you need to install your fake nest closed to these internal sound tweeters.

My recommendation is not more than 2 inches or preferably 1.5 inches away.

Once they have found the fake nest, the male will check the nest suitability and if this new home is comfortable and safe from predators he will start applying his saliva for markings.

To make these fake nest closed to the affected tweeter more attractive my next recommendation is to spray those "Super Pheromone" on and inside it.

This first step by the male bird will eventually leads to inviting his partner to confirm his finding and when she accepted his selected home, she will allow him to start the love making activities.

The love making will last for about 8 days.  During this love making period both will help in applying their saliva to strengthen the nest.

On the 8th day after the successful penetration she will lay her first egg.

This will be your lucky day.

The moment the first egg is laid both bird will be your permanent tenant.

They will usually stay in until they die unless your BH is not well looked after.

The use of those fake nests is for your to lure them to stay and lay the first egg.

Once that is done the fake nest served its purpose.

My next recommendation is to remove the used fake nest once your tenant have used it for at least one time.

My preference is to allow those wild birds to use the fake nest for two cycles.

You can remove the fake nest and install it at another location a bit far from the initial location.  My advice is to move it to the other floors.

Among the many types of fake nest type I choose the silicone type as my first choice.  The second will be the aluminium and the third will be the styrofoam type.

My reason for using the above are as follows:

1) The silicone is soft and easy to install.  It is also easy to be removed.

2) Silicone fake nests comes in two shapes the 180* and 90*.  I can apply both places if I choose to.

3) The aluminium is simple to use too.  When you installed one, you are actually installing two fake nests.  The aluminium fake nest have two seats.

4) The most exciting will be the used of styrofoam fake nests.  It is cheap and easy to install to.  You can install as many as you like and it cost about 20 sen a piece.

So if you are observant plus have the mission to quickly populate your new BH please consider the use of these fake nests.

To make them more effective try to choose the right locations and use "Super Pheromone" on it.

You will see some difference once you follow this special advice.

Trust me because I have tried nearly all the types available in the market and I totally believed in fake nests.

If you wish to try any of these fake nests let me know.  Call 017 7551318

Comparison Between Two Swiftlet Farmers !!!

Yesterday, October 14th 2012, I was with one of my participants who now owned a BH with about 200 birds after less than 6 months.

He was with me for almost the whole day.

"Pak Harry, can I follow you around for the day?"  he requested.

I told him to hop into my car and we went around town to visit two BHs.

The first was in Seremban and the second was in Hulu Langat.

Along the way we chat about things that we have done and discovered and I was very pleased with one of his real life stories.

" Pak Harry I have a neighbour who by some chance managed to get a few swiftlet in his make shift containers at the back of his shop.

After seeing a few couples he went into constructing his three stories BH.

I told him about attending your seminar and he says that he knows what he was doing.  He rejected my invitation.

I came down alone and attended your seminar.

After learning all those new ideas and new sound I came back to install all the things inside my BH.

His BH was about 100-150 meters away from mine.

What happened now is that he realized that my BH now have more population than his.

One of the most important comment he made was "You think the birds are deaf?" when I played my external sound a bit loud.

After a few short months my BH was having more visitors as compared to his.

Now he started to play his BH sound louder and realized his mistakes.

I now have about 200 birds coming in while his was less than 20 birds.

I still continue to learn more new things and this special meeting with you is to get more ideas on how to improve my BH birds population."

These few words from a newbie is have some important things that you as a newbie should learn.

Try not to think that you know so much when you can get more from learning from Pak Harry.

Come and attend my Swiftlet Farming Seminar and your will have the right knowledge after listening to what Pak Harry have to offer.

His technique is very practical and most of what he will teach you are proven.

All you need to do is to follow his method of how to draw those wild birds to your BH, pull them into the entrance hole and guide them into your nesting rooms.

Once they are inside the nesting rooms they will have all the gadgets that will make they love to stay as your tenants.

Call 017 7551318 to book you seat.

Maggots Lining Up: Something Which You Never Will Think Of !!

When they are ready to transform to pupa they will find a suitable dry place to hide and begins the transformation.

This is what each insect maggot will do once they have reach the right moment after feeding those insect soup.

Something strange was observed during my recent insect generating operation.

I used two layers of old newspaper to cover the soup and within less that 5 days they were all over the place.

Most of these maggots take a special liking to hide below the first layer and get them stuck to it.

The weird thing was that they seems to make a kind of line with their head facing in on direction.

The rest will follow suit and it is interesting to observe them crawling all over the place to find that right spot.

Once the spot is found their will actually stop moving and the transformation will take place.

They will first turned into pupa and later into flying insect.

Have a look at what I have captured and enjoy the pictures provided.

My point here is that these so call insect generating powder works and they can help to generate fruit flies within less than 5 days.

If you follow the right recommendations they will last for about 60-70 days.

After that you need to replace the waste and prepare a new batch.

If you wish to try call o0177551318.

Bachok BH: Second Week Of Installation Works !!!

(Three workers installing those nesting planks)

The internal fittings for Bachok BH is getting to what it should be.

The nesting planks installation took a bit of extra time.

"Pak Harry usually we do it very simple not as how you wanted it to be.  Yours is a bit complicated and more features." said the supervisor in charged.

Beside installing the 3.5 metric tons of 5"x 1" Meranti wood, I also purchased about 1000 pieces of those 45* angled corner covers to create those cluster tweeters.

I added the half sized 90* corners too on a random basis.

The scope increases and the worker knew what I wanted.

This week the second floor will be completed and by next week the ground floor will be ready for tweeter's installation.

All in all I hope the BH will be the most attractive to those wild birds in Bachok, Kelantan.

While waiting for nesting planks installation I installed those fake nests and cluster tweeters.

Hope by next week my wiring man be back in town to finish up the sound system's installation.

There will be a number of partitions and walls to block those bright light.

The owner placed the main entrance window a bit to much to the centre thus polluting the nesting rooms.

The only way out will be to erect a number of partitions and wall to block those light and perhaps move the hole to another location.

Already purchased two pail of black water based paint.

With their application roller ready I will get my general workers to get those critical walls to be painted to minimized the light reflection.

Need about two more weeks to put this BH into operation.

If you wish to have the same installation done please call 017 7551318.

(The middle floor is undergoing the nesting planks installation)

(Top floor VIP room already installed with fake nests and cluster tweeters)

(Middle floor about to complete)

(Nicely done)

(The cluster corner covers installed in random)

(The half 90* corners takes those empty intersections)

Just wait and see when the installation are finished with those kite tweeters, bar tweeters and external sound tweeters.

They will not only looks better but more attractive to those wild birds.

All you need to think of is that the only way to be more successful as compared to your neighbor is to make your BH a 5 stars and not 2-3 stars.

If you wish to visit and have a look at this particular BH please call 017 7551318.

As long as the BH is under renovation you will be given the chance to enter and view the various interesting gadgets.

Once put into operation it will be out of bounds.

Call 017 7551318 today if you wanted to view .

Breeding Of Fruit Fly: Interesting New Discovery !!!

Wanted to share this very interesting new discovery that will help you in getting more fruit flies from your insect generating powder solution.

While in Bachok, Kelantan I was at a BH supervising a group of carpenters to install those nesting planks.

Before they finish with the installation works I kept myself busy with something that will help to bring more birds to this new BH.

What I did was to activate those insect generating powder.  My main aim was to activate about 0.5 kg of powder so that I can bring those insect to be the insect source for a larger mix.

I took about 0.5 kg and mixed it with about 2 litres of plain water.

Place the soup into a container and for some reason I placed two pieces of newspaper on the top of the soup.

The reason being I wanted to protect the soup from drying too fast and at the same time make a kind of shelter from being attack by those green flies (bow flies).

 After 5 days I was surprised with what I saw.

I never thought that those fruit fly can start producing within less than 5 days.

All these while I thought they need at least 8 -12 days.

The maggots were found crawling below the first layer of the newspaper and many crawled out of the tray to pupate.

I am not sure how those two layers of old newspaper helps to produce those maggot but I think it the idea of using newspaper over a prepared soup is great.

Have a good look at these pictures and a video clip see what you think about it.