The Kapar BH Revamp Progress So Far !!!

As at this afternoon the top floor modifications were completed.

My boys now are on the middle floor.

The installations of wood crossings were on going and by tomorrow all crossings installations should be wrapped up.

There will be two VIP rooms one each at both ends of the floor.

The works on erecting the partitions with about 5 feet wide doors were half way.

I am quite pleased with the progress so far after two days away in Mersing, Johor.

I planned to be back to site on Monday March the 17th 2014.

Hopefully the revamp operation will be completed by end of next week.

What I am looking for is the rain.

The area now is dry and hazy.

Very little nests are with any eggs.

Those birds are waiting for the rain to start so that they can start breeding.

Will post any new development on this revamp project.

A BH About A Shop House At Jalan Sekerat Sungai Patani !!!

 

(Similar to this BH)

At first the owner wanted just my pheromone.

I was very curious and asked him what's wrong his BH?

"Well Harry my BH is 3 years old but with only 4-5 nests.  I think something is not right." he uttered.

He was hoping that the super pheromone might be the quick solution.

After listening to his sad story I asked him why don't get some one to visit his BH and check what is wrong with it?

That was when he invited me over to perhaps tell him what can be wrong.

Last Sunday I happened to be back in Sungai Patani and told him that I would be very happy to be of help.

We met and he opened the BH doors.

I took about a few minutes to discover the followings:

1) Those five nests have this strange behavior.  They prefer to have their nests closed to the monkey house opening.  I quickly advised him that his main entrance hole is facing the west.  I was on the dot.  Why don't you open another window facing the east.

2) The nesting room seems to be bare and totally opened.  No VIP room and little gadget to attract those wild birds.

3) The number of internal sound tweeters were few and the way they were installed seems to be awkward.

4) The ventilation holes were with no extension pipes.

5) From the front end I can see some gaps on the side.

6) The consultant used these spray method to apply those black paint.  He actually sprayed on those nesting planks.

7) Lots of the nesting planks were full of shoe markings.

8) The connecting window between the monkey house roving and the nesting room was not proper.  He should have a door instead of a window.

9) There was not a single fake nests inside the BH.  If he wanted to quickly populate his BH i told him to install as many fake nests as possible.  Spray each of the fake nest with the super pheromone.

10) The BH walls were too dry.  I advised him to perhaps spray some water on the wall and the floor.  Give about 20 minutes and I guarantee him that the water will be dried up.

11) The two chicken coop humidifiers are old fashion.  He need to upgrade them to those without the blade fan.  He needed at least three to wet his BH.

12) The amplifiers were those very simple type,  Perhaps upgrade at least the external with a higher grade.

13) The three amplifiers were not properly set and the volumes were not proper.

14) He need to change his external sound at least once every 6 months.

15) The internal sound he used was those noisy colony sound which was not proper.


After the visit I listed my comments and recommendation.

If he wanted me to help to revamp I will be very happy to do so.

The cost quoted to him was reasonable and affortable.

If you too face the same problem call me at 017 7551318.

I am doing as a favor.

A Birdhouse Owner Who Wanted To Opt Out !!!

 

(The Water Retention Pond)

He owned four BHs and each is worth about 650,000 - 1,000,000 rm.

I met him once about three to four years ago.

He wanted to have my set of good sounds.

I met him at his BH and saw what was inside.

After three years into operation the BH he showed to me collected only about 14 nests.

The second unit after 1.8 years, a four stories located in a palm oil plantation, was with only 12 nests.

The third after about 1.5 years, a factory lot converted into a BH, was with about 10 nests.

I was given the opportunity to view all the three and he wanted my expert opinions.

"Harry what do you think about all the three units?  Do you think they can be revamped and populated?" he asked.

Well since he asked my frank opinion I told him a few interesting obsevations:

1) All the three were well done and were pretty cool inside.  The overall designs were OK.

2) Among the three I inclined towards the number three.  Why the 3rd?  I told him that the unit is very closed to a retention pond.  Just look at the number of birds around 5:00pm -7:00pm.

3) The only problem was that the main entrance hole was facing the wrong direction.

4) My second preference will be the 1st unit situated in a middle of a paddy field and closed proximity to Muda river.

5) The only set back is that the entrance hole was not facing the east.  The BH could have done better if he make the necessary relocation.

6) The number 2 unit was with a top entrance system.  The unit has 4 floors to cater and due to lack of lighting not a single couple is on the 1st and ground floor.

After listing some of those things that might help his BHs he said something that took me by surprise:

"I wanted you to take over and manage the three BHs on a JV basis?" he explained.

He was very disappointed with the performances and at the same time busy running his Tiles and sanitary product supply shop.

Now he wanted me to take up the offer with very little financial outlay.

I was a bit surprised but need some time to think about it.

My biggest concern is it distance with Kuala Lumpur.

I need to drive about 4.5 hours up and down to look after the three BHs.

But I was honored to be given such a beautiful offer.

I don't think I have the money to own three BHs costing about 2.2 million ringgit.

So what do you think I should do?

Began Mobilizing My Workers To Kapar, Kuala Selangor !!!

The weather was scotching hot and what was agreed upon must be done.

After the long trip from Sungai Patani, I quickly got my boys to Kapar.

The owner was waiting for me and my workers.

The moment we arrived I took my workers inside and told them what I wanted them to start with.

The first will be to erect those walls or partitions to guide the new birds down to the lowest floor.

"Our design criteria is to block them or make it more difficult to stop at the top and the middle but push all to the bottom floor." my advise to my workers.

It is also important to allow those morning light to enter the LALs and allows it to guide those birds out in the morning.

The connecting door between the monkey house and the top floor LAL areas need to be relocated.

Once that is done I wanted a kind of total closure of the top floor with a small door for those old tenants.

On the middle floor I also wanted the LAL areas to be tighten up.

The moment then start going down the first LAL I wanted them not to stop at the middle floor but fly right to the bottom.

It is a known fact that the ground floor and the middle floor are the most conducive with lower temperature and lesser light.

We need to pull them down and prevent them from nesting on the top most floor.

Once these partitions are done I will focus on the creation of VIP rooms on the middle floor and ground floor.

They will be with more wood crossing, cluster tweeters, fake nests and perhaps perfume garden.

Once ready I will post some pictures for all to view.

Super 2X Pheromone Used As Perfume Garden In Sungai Rambai, Malaka BH !!!

 

(Perfume Garden In Vietnam)

I introduce the perfume garden idea many years ago.

Many who copied the idea seems to be happy with it.

Perfume garden is where you install those bottles capped with cover drilled with lots of holes and filled with nesting planks aromas.

Main objective is that for as long as the aroma inside the bottle stays it will provide the long lasting smell inside your VIP room.

Recently I wanted to test the Super pheromone  (SP) liquid used at the fill.

Bought from a plastic shop a number of plastic bottles with lit cover.

Drill their cover with lots of holes.

After that was done I choose a number of locations inside a VIP room in a BH in Sungai Rambai, Melaka.

My main purpose was to test if the 2X concentration SP works.

For this trial I only hug about 8 bottles.

Let's hope that withing the next few months there will be some result.

If the result is good will let you all know.

 

(Perfume Garden in Raub, Pahang)

Conducting Swiftlet Farming Site Inspection In Mersing and Cini !!!

A couple of months ago I received a call from someone I have never met.

He wanted to meet me for a small chat about swiftlet farming investment.

Well with nothing to loose attitude I accepted his invitation and met for about one hour over a cup of coffee.

After that there was no news about the things he told me.

I remembered about his company being approached by a big palm oil estate owner who wanted some help in erecting a couple of units of swiftlet houses in Sandakan.

Well a few days ago someone from his company called and wanted me to meet him for a possible site inspection.

I again with my nothing to loose attitude met him and answered all his questions on swiftlet farming.

This meeting was more like wanting to really know me especially my knowledge and experiences in swiftlet farming.

It went pretty well and I managed to convince him about what should be done before starting a BH.

We parted but before that he promised to let me know about the outcome of his board meeting.

Yesterday he called and informed me about an email he send a few minute earlier.

I told him that I would be happy to reply but my PC was out of operation.

Managed to get my PC back and replied to him that I will be very happy to accept his offer to conduct site inspections at Mersing and Cini both in Pahang.

The job he wanted me to carry out is to check the suitability of two pieces of land that were earmarked for swiftlet farming.

I remember telling him that before he erect a BH it would be very important to conduct the study.

First of all he need to check how many birds respond to a bird call test.  This sound test use a gadget playing a sound which I called "Duress".

The second important issue will be where they fly to in the evening.  I term this as their flying path.

The third important thing to check will be on the morning sun direction.  If the sun direction is the same as the flying path it will be a perfect match.

The fourth important issue is the location of any water sources for example lakes, ponds, rivers, sea or fish or prawn farms.  If there is none, it might be good to allocate some land to dig them.

The next issue, the fifth in my list, is where are the nearest successful BHs. Where are they located, how many and how many birds are staying inside.  These successful BHs will be the young birds generators.

The sixth issue will be the access road to the location.  If there is no proper road, the owner will need to invest lot of money to get them ready to allow those heavy lorries to deliver building materials.

The seventh issue will be the power supply.  To run a BH effectively you need electricity to power the amplifiers.  If there is no power lines the owner have to opt for electrical panel using the sun.

The eight consideration shall be the condition of the land.  Will it need lots of piling works to support the whole building.  If the land is swampy it will be costly to pile it.

The ninth consideration will be possible attack by predators and burglars.   Are there any possibility of owl colony around the areas. 

The tenth issue will be something about prone to flood.  If the location have a history of being flooded year in and year out, it might not be wise to erect a BH.  If the owner insisted the BH design need to be with appropriate flood proof features.

The eleventh point have something to do with the distance from a residential home.  My main concern will be who will be looking after the BH.  Who will alert the owner when the sound system is not working?

There are lots of things to be looked into if you really wanted to start your BH.

For the two site inspection the owner wanted a kind of BH sketch which I think is suitable for his next phase of operation.

I am looking forward to the site inspection and I am sure each location will have its pros and cons.

You are welcome to join the fun.

Call me at 017 7551318 for more details.

The Perfume Garden Used In Raub, Pahang !!!

I was a kind of resting after a one day maintenance works at a BH in Melaka.

Whole body aching and the owner of the BH suggested to me to go for a full body massage.

Well I did not answer his request but how I wish he should be the one who sponsor the rub.

During yesterday's maintenance visit I was a bit upset that the owner did not shut his water tap.

He must have forgotten about it and the whole ground floor was flooded.

Since I wanted to do something on the affected floor I did my best to scoop the water and that might be why my body was aching.

This trip to this special BH is to apply the double concentration liquid pheromone.

What I did was to select the most active location on the floor and clean those nesting planks.

I can see that there were a number of them with white colored patches.

Once cleaned I installed about 50 styrofoam fake nests.

On every of them I applied the double concentration liquid.

I added the room with about eight pieces of containers filled with the liquid.

The 8 bottles were locked onto the nesting planks.

I used to call them Perfume Garden.

Today a BH owner from Raub called.

"Hey Harry I followed your idea installing those perfume garden and it works!!!"

To proof his point he whatsApp a couple of pictures.

Upon viewing those pictures I told him that nearly all his fake nests were with nest.

He should look into deploying more but this time with a special mission.

His special mission right at this moment is to encourage his BH tenants to start building their nests on the flat areas and not the 90* angles.

He agreed with me and he promised to carry out my idea as soon as he visit his BH.

Happy for him and I am so glad that he was keen to share his success.

 

Tawau Now Has at least 500 BHs And 300 Plus Are Sick !!!

 

(One of the BH designed by him. 3 nests after 3 years)

I was not surprised when someone told me that Tawau, Sabah, has about 500 BHs.

Many were stand alone on agricultural land however there are a number in Tawau town itself.

Someone told me that one the first BH in Tawau town is above a supermaket.

The story about how it started was very interesting.

Many years ago when bird flu SARS was reported in Malaysia, all building were inspected in Tawau.

One of the many building was this supermarket.

The owner of the supermarket were told that after inspection the Health department found that one of the room was with swiftlet nests.

The owner was very surprised but immediately after that he got hold of a "Consultant" to convert his top floor into swiftlet house.

Now it seems that it become the landmark in Tawau.

A supermarket with a huge BH on its top floor.

I also discovered something interesting about a very successful consultant who owned at least 10 successful BHs all over Tawau but when he erect BHs for others nearly all were not doing well.

I visited three of his design BHs during my trip and observed some very strange things on how he design the BHs.

One distinct design was the use of cement block as nesting planks.

All the three uses cement nesting blocks and a few were above 1 foot width.

I reserve my comment about whether those birds love them or not.

One thing for sure is that it will be very difficult to install tweeters on the hard cement.

Another unusual idea is to erect half wall using bricks and plastered with cement in a ziz zag manner from the back to the front.

When I posted why the consultant erect such a weired manner all the three BH owners claimed that swiftlet love to fly in a ziz zag manner.

I later discovered that this idea of ziz zag flying manner came from the Ketua Pengarah Perhutanan of Sabah.

I don't think so but most Sabahan think so.

Another interesting  story was about how a group of Malay entrepreneurs being dupe by a Doctor from Semenanjung.

All together 30 of them who invested more then 3 million ringgit and all now owned BHs that are not functioning.

The "Semenanjung Dr" promised them that within one year they will be able to harvest 10 kg of nests. (Very Karut)

So far after almost two years not one BH even have 1/2 a kilogram.

The group are still hoping that the same Dr will one day turn up to resurrect their fate.

From what I can see, he will not turn up anymore since he is currently active in duping more Sabah people for being so naive.

It seems that he is now active in Keningau and KK with his mode of promise.

10KG of nest within one year.

I told the group assistant leader to make a Police report and once done submit to the Jabatan Immegresion to stop this person from stepping into Sabah.

They need to stop such a person who have been cheating many Sabahan time and again.

Fake Nests: What Styrofoam Thickness Should You Use ???

This is something new which I did not report much earlier.

All this while I was using a thinner Styrofoam materials.  The thickest was 3/4 inches.

Then when I visited this Kinarut BH I was fascinated on the numbers of those fake nests being occupied.

The size seems to be the possible reason.

If you measure those swiftlet when they are not flying or when they close their wings the body measurement if about 1 inch.

So if the fake nest width is 1 inch it snugly fitted the swiftlet body.

Initially they will hang at the fake nest however after some time they will actually climb and lay on the top of the fake nest.

They usually mount the fake nest and their body will be totally on the top of the fake nest.

If your fake nests is let say half and inch, the birds will have half of its body on the fake nest while the other half is not properly supported.

This will irritate them and they will not be happy with the configuration.

To make them very happy to be your tenant the 1 inch size is far better.

The moment then take position on the top of the fake nest they will then start to erect some sort of curb to prevent their eggs from dropping.

They do not need too much of their saliva since the bottom part is already ready due to the styrofoam support.

This is where these birds can minimize their time in starting to lay their eggs.

If they go on the conventional nest building method they will need at least three to four weeks.

Using the Styrofoam fake nests they only need less than a few days.

Once the curb made of their saliva his about half a centimeter they can start copulation and within eight days the first egg will be laid.

The moment the first egg is laid you have a permanent tenant.

Others might disagree with me but I still believed that using fake nests is something that will help to quickly populate your new BH.

Once the wild birds used the fake nests for two breeding cycle you can remove them.

Try to install about 100 - 200 per VIP room.

If you wanted to make the fake nests more desirable try to spray their side and top surface with the Super Pheromone.

I can assure you that those birds will take notice of the sprayed fake nests more than those that were not sprayed.

Try to prove that I am wrong.

For any quires about this article please call 017 7551318

The Kapar BH Owner Confirm To My Revamp Recommendations !!!

I was waiting for my car to be ready today and received an urgent request.

"Pak Harry can you meet me and my partner at the BH tomorrow at 1:00pm?"

He wanted to meet at the BH and discussed in detail about what I planned to do.

I was very glad that he accepted my recommendations.

My main idea are as follows:-

1) I wanted to install one hexagonal tweeter just above the main entrance hole.

2) The hexagonal tweeter will be modified so that the its sound will not be facing a school at the back.

3) I also plan to install a couple of power tweeters around the monkey house roof areas.  These tweeters will be used only during peak hours.

4) The main entrance hole will be modified to resize the opening and perhaps to smoothen the covered areas.

5) The tweeters arranged at the main entrance hole to be increased and slightly face upwards.

6) The door connecting the monkey house roving areas and the nesting room of the top floor need to be realigned.  Current placing and size are not proper causing lesser birds to fly to the lowest floor.

7) The LAL of the three floors will be properly install with partitions to mainly draw more birds to the lowest floor and the middle floor.  I plan to make it difficult for them to enter the top most floor.

8) Even though the BH is with double layers walls I still believed those birds should be nesting more at the lowest floor.  The lowest floor will be the most conducive, cooler and darker.

9) My main modification shall be on the middle floor.  This floor will be properly allocated with two VIP rooms and each will be installed with at least 100 internal sound tweeters.

10) I planned to install a number of wood crossings inside the VIP rooms to provide additional nesting space and additional 90* corners.

11) There will be about 200 fake nests laced with super pheromone liquid.

12) There will also be a number of perfume garden bottles filled with liquid pheromone.

13) Two set of chocolate tweeters will be used to draw more birds into the VIP rooms.

14) The BH humidity system shall be improved.

15) The staircase area will be equipped with a number of external sound tweeters to pull those wild birds down to the lower floors.

16) The external sound system will be using a set of two amplifiers that operates two different volume and sounds system

17) The Last tango sound system shall be make available.

18) I plan to test the most effective sound at this location and recommend to the owner which and how to use them.

19) Plan to try running a new internal sound which I recently invented.

20) Will look after the BH for at least 6 months.

If you think you wanted to learn as much as you can you are welcome.

With a small fee you will have the best experiences in your life.

Call me at 017 7551318 for any quires.

Somewhere In Kapar Along Pantai Remis, Kuala Selangor BH!!!

 

(Kapr BH with about 65 nests after one year plus into operation)

Today Tuesday February 25th 2014, I was invited to carry out inspection of the above BH located along a road to Pantai Remis, Kapar, Kuala Selangor.

Before proceeding to carry out the inspection I queried the owner what was wrong with his BH.

The answer is very simple.

His BH after more than one year into operation the nests numbers are not moving that fast.

Currently about 65 nests mainly on the middle floor.

There was no history of owl attack or burglary.

We proceeded to the BH and upon arrival I was quite pleased with the building.

Three stories about 40feet wide and 80 feet long.  Each floor was about 9 feet high.

Quite a resonable number of ventilation holes and the entrance hole used was a monkey house.

Main entrance hole was at the corner of the wall half facing south and the other half facing the east.

The monkey house area was about 40 feet wide by 20 feet.

The LAL holes were at one side of the building with staircase included.

The following observations were recorded:

1) The data room was quite sizable with four amplifiers.  Three running the internal sound and one external sound.

2) The setting for treble knob was at 12:00 noon, mid at 12:00 noon and bass at 7:00 am.

3) The monkey house was without any hexagonal tweeter.

4) There were two tweeters on each side of the main entrance window frame.  The two were of different shape and probably from different manufacturer.

5) The top part of the entrance window were shut about 2 feet from the top.

6) The lower part of the main window ended like a triangular shape hole.

7) There were electrical wires on the lower part of the window frame.

8) The ground floor was with the least number of nests.

9) The ground floor was dark but not enough.

10) There was no external sound at the furthest part of the wall from the staircase.

11) The internal sound on the ground floor was not operational.

12) The number of internal sound tweeters were about 100 plus.

13) Only one humidifier was used on the floor.

14) The middle floor shows the largest number of bird shit spots indicating that the birds prefer to stay on this floor.

15) Most of the nests were precisely above the internal sound playing tweeters.

16) There was no external sound playing tweeters inside the nesting room areas.

17) There was no room and the whole floor uses the open concept.

18) The number of internal sound tweeters were about 100.

19) The top most floor shows about 20  bird shit spots and all were at the end of the floor.

20) No room found on the floor.

21) The nesting planks used were the Meranti wood arranged about 2 feet apart and with wood crossings about 5 feet apart.

22) Many of these planks looks never been cleaned before.  Lots of white markings and some with light weight fungus growth.

23) The two floors were with two chicken coop humidifiers placed at the center of the floor.  Each were using hager timer on 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off from 8:00am till 22:00 pm.

24) The monkey house was very big about 40 feet by 20 feet and about 20 feet high.

25) There was a water pond about 20 feet by 20 feet.

26) Both the top and middle floor were a bit too bright.

My comments and recommendations will be in the next article.

Kuching BH Owner With Slow Growth Problems !!!

With so many BHs having problems all over the country I just could not cope to visit all at one time.

This particular person whatsupp his disappointment:

"Pak Harry, I have a 2 stories BH (20'X70' & 10' ceiling height) in operation for 2 years and 2 months. The population growth seems rather slow. Top floor is 36 nests while below only 9."

" I used all your tricks such as liquid pheromone, fake paper and Styrofoam nests."

"I will send some pictures for you to evaluate"

I told him to be very grateful that after following my advises he still got 45 nests.

There many who went into swiftlet farming blindly that can only see one to 10 and some are dead.

His achievement is better than many others.

His only setback is that he could not master all the things that is necessary to be a very successful BH owner.

By reading his first sentence I told him that his ground floor low population must be due to difficulties for those wild birds to find it.

He need to reevaluate where the LAL is located and make sure it is easy for those birds to find.

I told him that I was proud to see that those fake nests were helping him to get tenants inside.

But how much more can he go without proper knowledge and hands on experiences.

After about 30 times exchanges of messages I told him why don't he get someone to visit his BH and provide the latest health state of his BH?

He could get some one he knows in Kuching or perhaps engage me to fly over and help to diagnose his BH problems.

Just imagine by simple follow by blog he can get 45 nests.

If he is smart he should get closer to Pak Harry by attending his seminars or better still invite him over.

Call me at 017 7551318017 7551318

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My Very Long Time Friend With His Successful BH Above His House !!!

(A BH above a two stories Bungalow House)

I took a bit of my time to recall when was the first time I met this person.

When on my trip home from Sandakan to Kuala Lumpur I received a message from a Brunei BH owner.

"Pak Harry I and my family will be driving from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu.  I would like to meet you in person.  Please change your itinerary."  he requested.

After failing to cross Beauford town (under severe flood) a week ago he insisted to still drive up to meet me in person.

With honor I told him that I will reschedule my flight just to meet him and his family.

He picked me up at KK International Airport and after a brief introduction he wanted me to visit an old friend who happened to be his relative.

I vividly remember this person but I was curious what he was up to.

The moment I reached his two stories bungalow house I saw the very strange thing in Sabah.

His BH was above him, where he is staying.

He converted the top floor of the Bungalow house into a BH.

A very unusual thing in Sabah but I wanted to see for myself how successful it was.

"Pak Harry I met you a few years ago in Kuala Lumpur and we have breakfast at Saloma Restaurant along Jalan Ampang." he was trying to recall my first meeting.

With that statement my mind recalled quickly about the meeting.

At that time he was a high rank officer with Persatuan Peladang.

Now retired and doing something good for the swiftlet farming industry in Sabah.

I was given the opportunity to enter his highly successful BH, 3 years with 400 nests.

It was a very impressive view inside.

There were lots of birds (about 200 at least) flying around and a few times the flew and hit my head.

The best thing he did was to pour some fresh aroma into his mist spray machine.

The aroma smell was very nice and effective.

I have a very strong feeling it was my Mutiara Aroma.

"Pak Harry, any good advice from your about my BH?"  he ask my opinion.

After a short moment I came out with a few interesting ideas on how to optimize his 400 nests with at least 1,300 birds inside.

I told him to focus on how to reduce the number of cornered nests.

He showed me a few bags of raw nests he harvested and nearly 80% were cornered nests.

The time have come for him to device some steps to reduce the cornered nests and more 180* shape nests to be produced.

Cornered nests fetch a lower price as compared to 180* shape nests.

My best advice was for him to consider using stainless steel plate to cover all those corners that are currently occupied with nests.

During your nest harvesting operation try to get ready those steel plates and once you removed the nests cover you 90* corners with them.

He said that I make a lot of sense.   He will look into my idea.

I did showed to him to reduce the door size of the main roving area.

What pleased me was that he keep saying that he learn a lot after meeting me in KL twice.