Sedili BH: Why They Populated Only On Top and Bottom Floor !!!

(This was the LAL that was opened by my workers)

This will happened in any BH that was wrongly designed.

The nests distribution goes haywire.

A good and well designed BH plus proper entrance hole orientation will usually gives a kind of nests distribution as follows:

If you have say 300 nests, the lowest floor will have 200 nests, the second floor may be 60 nest and the top most floor is  40 nests.

Yes most of those nests are at the lowest floor while the middle floor will have lesser but more than the top floor.

But this is not very common.

You want to know why?

Because most BHs are wrongly designed, wrongly orientated and the main entrance hole are not properly located.

I received a short message from a BH owner whose BH is in Sedili.

I was asked to revamp and at that time after 1 year 4 months into operation the number of nests was 2 (two).

Managed to check at this URL: http://swiftletfarming.blogspot.com/2013/10/sedili-bh-after-operating-for-1-year.html

Now he claimed that the total number of nests have increased to 40 plus 24 semi finished nests.

His complain now is that the nests were not properly distributed.

Most of the 40 complete nests were on the top floor (29) and bottom most (10).

Its middle floor only one (1).

So now what do you think we have to do?

The first thing that came to my mind was about his BH entrance hole(s).

I remember I opened two entrance holes.

One for the top most floor while the second using the wrongly designed monkey house for the 2nd and ground floor.

The first entrance hole was on the wall of the top most floor facing those flying home birds path.

While the second was a bit further.

No matter where those birds are staying I think he should not be overly worried.

He should blame the BH design.

If not because of my idea to open both entrance holes and at the same time hacked a big LAL on the 2nd floor he might have zero nest on the lowest floor.

I think the current result is outstanding as compared to his first 1 year and 4 months (only two nests).

Now after my revamped, about 1 year and 7 months, his nest number jumped by (40-2)/2 x 100 =1900%.

This is equivalent to 2 nests per month.

On the top of it he has another 24 semi finished nests coming soon.

A very good or I should say outstanding performances.

What I need to do now is to visit the BH perhaps change the external sound.

At the same time check on his BH humidity condition.

All those 24 semi finished nests must be NKS.

I hope I can teach him what to do.

All Nests Produced Inside This BH Are Not 180* Shape !!!

I was offered to view some old nesting planks harvested from a BH in Penang.

The offer was made by a guy who co-owned a BH in Taiping.

At first I was keen to see how many markings are there on these recyclable planks.

My main intention was to get those with markings only.

During the inspection I only saw one.  How unfortunate.

After inspecting those used nesting planks the owner invited me to view his BH just beside the store room.

Hmm... I told him that I have entered his BH before about 2 years ago.

His wife invited me to view and I remembered there were many rooms on every floor.

Since I was asked to enter I agreed just to look see  only.

He was proud to show me the BH but when I was told on how many nests there were I make the following comments:

"If you BH is almost 5 years, the total number of nests should be around 1600 nests.  If the nests number is 450, I think your BH is facing some internal problems."

Well when I entered the BH I found that nearly all those nests were on the corner woods.

Not a single nest on the straight planks.

I wonder he realized it or not.

After the inspection I make my point clear.

"I think all your nests are 130* shape.  All your nests are erected on those corner woods and from my experience this will give you a grade B or C.  You need to do something to improve those grade to A.
You need to force those birds to erect their nests on those straight planks or cover your corner wood with something slippery".

If nothing is done he will continue with the Grade C harvesting forever.

I elaborated to him about what happened to BHs after crossing their 3 years old of age.

His BH now is 5 years old.

I told him to be careful with "Dry BH syndrome".

This is when his BH is too dry and most baby birds will refuse to return home after their first flight out of his BH.

Gave him some free advises on what to do and I hope he appreciate my small contributions.

His BH was using 5 amplifiers and with different sounds.

Three internal sounds and 2 external sounds.

Well as far as I can hear they seems to be some mixed up of sounds.

This might be due to lack of deep understanding about BH sounds.

I did not make too much comments on this matter.

Have a look at some pictures taken during my visit.

Belara BH Revamp Operation: Finally Confirmed !!!

After almost 4 months waiting for approval I am happy to inform that the Belara BH owner approved my proposal.

I was taken to view the BH in February 2015 and submitted my views about the poorly performing BH.

This BH already with 800 ++ nests however it stopped multiplying.

Prior to the Feb 2015 visit I did another inspection 10 months earlier.

The number of nests increased was way below what a good BH should be moving to.

In my visit report I told the owner that I will be able to double the nests population within 10-12 months after the revamp works.

Which means that after 10 months he will see the total number of nest to touch 1600 nests.

If this come true I think I deserve a big bonus and I will use this example as my reference in any talk that I deliver.

Main areas which I planned to tackle the BH problems will be on the following areas:

1) The BH badly in need of a good sound system.  The monkey house roof areas need some modifications.  A hexagonal tweeter will be essential.  The main entrance hole need to be widened.  The external sound tweeters need to be added  so that I can draw those wild birds to where they should be.  The number of internal tweeters needs to be increased to at least 300.  Those defunct amplifiers need to be replaced.  I have some idea what kind of sounds will be used to attract those wild birds.

2) The BH top floor is a bit too bright.  I planned to block those bright light and making sure that those new couples will start making their nests the very moment they stayed in the BH.

3) I planned to open a new LAL opening to make these birds to populate the lower floors.  At the present moment nearly 70% of the 800 are found on the top most floor.  They could not find their way down to the lowest floor.

4) The BH floors will be wet and moist.  Main purpose is to cool and make the three nesting rooms humid.  Wet floor will help to reduce dust from flying all over the floors.  The lesser the dust the better will be the nest quality.

5) I fully believed in VIP rooms.  Each floor will be erected one VIP room.

6) To bait those young couples I planned to install a large number of fake nests sprayed with super pheromone.

7) There will be a number of new cross woods.  These cross woods will create a large number of 90 degrees corners.  Swiftlet love 90 degrees corners.

8) All those 90*corners with tenant will be covered with steel plate.

9) The BH will be properly treated with insecticide.

10) I will never forget to make sure those owls will not be able to enter this BH.

11) The main entrance hole is facing the West.  This is not a very well design features.  The only way out is to open a new window just to allow the morning light to enter he monkey house.


This project will be a good reference to all my followers and student.

I need to make sure it will have the highest number of nests every year immediately after the revamp operation.

Will start mobilizing equipment and staff before June 2015

Which Mist Maker Is Better For Your BH ???

I was asked about which kind of humidity generating gadget is better for a BH.

First let me write about these three types that are commonly used.

1) Chicken Coop Humidifier.

 This seems to be the most commonly used.  Nearly all used this type but it is not necessarily is the best.

The machine use a rotary motor that will turn a blower plate.  It used to have the fan on the top but now moved to the bottom.

Its lifespan is about 3-4 years.

Main problem will be the ball bearing that mount the motor.  Once the motor reached its lifespan it will start a kind of sound that generally not attractive to those birds.

It also pushes those fine water droplets to the top part of the gadget.  If your ceiling is too low these mists tends to reach your nesting planks.

The only way out is to place a cover to divert the mist to its sides.


2) Ultrasonic Mist Maker.

Ultrasonic mist maker seems to be very popular in recent years.


Much more expensive as compared to chicken coop humidifier.

The method of operation have something to do with this plate that will vibrate at ultrasonic speed and convert water in liquid form into gas form.

Once water turned gas/mist it will flood above the water surface and all you need is a blower to push the mist out of the container.

The mist maker life is largely dependent on how long those vibrating plates last.

When the vibrating plate shakes it tends to generate heat and during the conversion there will be lots of scale deposited onto the "eyes".

The moment these so called scale covered the eyes surface there will be no mist from your machine.

The only was to go is to replace the eyes.

If your water supply is not filtered or cleaned the scale will form much faster.

I have seen so many units laid idle in BHs with this kind of problem.

I also have many experiences with this kind of gadget but stop using them.

3) The mist pump using hose and brass nozzles.

This might be the best among the three types.

The system consist of a water filter, water pump, high pressure hose and those brass nozzles.

Once you switch on the water from your tap will be sucked into the pump after a filter casing.

The pump will provide the necessary pressure head and push towards the hose connected to it.

The nozzle will allows those high pressured water out of the pipe and form a kind of mist.

You can install more nozzles if your pump is well chosen.

This is where the pump with nozzle is more efficient.

The pump can be mounted on the wall and those hose and nozzles at the walls too.

You will have no gadget on the floor.

My best recommendation is to deploy mist pump with at least 10-15 nozzles per floor.

Each nozzle is similar to a humidifier.

My recommendation is to fix those nozzle to face about 5 degrees towards the BH floor.

The wet markings on the floor will help to maintain the floor wetness.

You can either use a Hager timer or a Hygrostat to operate the pump.

Your main objective to have your BH floor wet so that it will make your BH humidity high, cool the BH a bit and at the same time reduce those dusts in the air.

The lesser those dusts are the whiter your nests will be.

Try to have two water filter types.  One to remove those debris while the second is to remove those chlorine.  You will be surprised when you see your nests transforming its colors.

Just try this idea and I am sure you will realized what you have been missing all these years.

He Copied Exactly The Design !!!

The owner of the above shown BH thought that by copying exactly the design on a BH which he was involved in should solve all his problems.

He never have any idea what is swiftlet farming is all about.

Never attended any course on swiftlet farming and he DIY the whole thing just by looking at what his client asked him to do.

He thought it was as simple as breeding those ducks.

He told me that at one time he was the most successful duck breeder in Melaka.

Got a big prize for being able to breed almost 10,000 ducks.

His main output were those eggs which he turned them into salted eggs.

That was many years ago when he was about 23-25 years old.

With very little knowledge he managed to breed 10,000 duck so why can't he have this swiftlet farming?

That was what he thought.

I was given the opportunity to view his so called DIY BH which he claimed to be stranded due to short of fund.

The building was partially completed and the sounds system was half done too.

His two amplifiers were dead.

The BH was a bit warm, I told him.

He opened a bit too many of those ventilation holes with very short extension pipes.

His only tenant is an owl.  I would say a big one.

The BH floors were littered with owl shit and vomits.

He need to clean them up and spray with some aroma.

So what do you think we can do to help this guy up?

I have make him an offer.

I will arrange to get him some tweeters and amplifiers.

My plan is from now on I will collect all old tweeters and amplifiers that are still usable for his to use.

Maybe help him a bit with his BH brightness and warmness.

Will find some way to help this poor guy up.

A Very Poor Choice Of External Sound !!!

Four years plus with only about 10-12 nests.

Nearly all were on the top most floor.

The moment I heard the nests number and where they are located, I told the owner a very simple predictions.

His entrance hole must be facing the west and at the same time the LAL is not easy to find (by those birds).

I was right on both predictions.

However what upset me most was what the owner used as his external sound.

He was playing "Duress" sound.

Absolutely uncalled for and this might be the reason why his BH nests number was not high.

Upon asking a few question I begin to understand why.

His knowledge about swiftlet was negligible and he did the BH all by himself.

Attended a swiftlet just one time and he erected a BH.

A very brave man but unfortunately he make so many mistakes.

These were some of his mistakes which if avoided can have a much better result:

1) He used "Duress" as his external sound.

2) His main entrance hole was facing the West.

3) His monkey house hat was a bit too long.

4) He never heard of hexagonal tweeter before and never installed.  Only recently his son and wife attended my Swiftlet Seminar at Port Dickson and she bought one unit.

5) He painted all his walls (inside) will black paint all over even the floor.

6) Each floor was empty with no partition to create any room.

7) All his air vent extension pipes were too short (1 foot long).

8) The LAL on both the top and middle floor were wrongly located.

9) There was no external sound at the end of the nesting floor.

10) All 90* corners were covered with 45* edges wood strips.

11) The number of internal sound tweeters was not adequate, about 40 per floor.

12) Never install any fake nest.

13) His top floor roof was made of cement board about 1 cm thick.  This makes the top floor very warm.

14) His internal sound was weird with no baby sound at all.

There were a number more things and I think I have enough for the moment.

The moment you observe all these errors you might want to vomit.

It is very sad and there are more to come.

Let me know if you wish to be around during my next trip.

Call 017 7551318

Belara BH: Let Me Show You How Bright Is The Top Floor !!!

My simple rule of the thumb to gauge the right brightness of your BH nesting room should pass the 2 feet test.

You simply stand about 2 feet apart and make sure you cannot see the other person's face.

Those birds tends to react negatively if your floor darkness is not proper.

One very common behavior is that they tend not to build their nests.

Yes they will stay inside your BH but will refuse to erect their nests.

My prediction is that they do not feel comfortable to start a family.

They will stay single or refuse to make love since those light are just too bright.

This will eventually result in lots of birds staying but the number of nests are too little.

Basically those light will come from two sources.

Main culprit will be the main entrance hole(s) and those air ventilation pipes.

If you look at these 2 pictures you can figure out how bright is this BH.

The first picture was taken from the right wall while the second was further back standing on the left wall.

This shows you how bright this BH is.

I wonder how come the BH consultant took no precaution to block them with some walls.

If he is a true consultant he should have done something.

Well maybe at that time he was still on a learning curve and have little idea about what brightness the nesting rooms should be.

The best solution is to erect at least two set of rooms to block those light.

My plan will be to erect something like this sketch:

Two rooms at the front and a VIP room at the end of the floor.

All ventilation holes pipe extensions will be extended to about 2.5 feet long.

I am 100% sure those birds will love the new environment.

Darker and they will feel more comfortable.

The moment they feel comfortable those young couples will begin to mate and present the BH owner with nests.

This might be one of the many ideas that will help to increase the nests numbers immediately after revamp operation.

On The Roof Top Of A House !!!

Visited this BH located somewhere at Tanjung Rhu 10 off Setiu Trengganu.

My first visit was about a month ago and my second about a week ago.

When I first opened my car door I was wondering where is this owner's BH.

The moment I heard the external sound I looked up on the house roof and there you are a very small jack roof that was a bit too tight for those birds to enter.

I shook my head a number of times and keep asking what was the owner trying to do.

This is very unusual and I am not very sure if the local authority allows such place.

Well since I was there to carry out some sort of inspection I found my way up to the BH floor.

I need to cross the main hall of the house in order to climb a wooden ladder to reach the top.

The floor in this small room was filled with lots of rubbish.

The data room looks more like a chicken shed.

When the owner opened the entrance door into his unusual BH I was shocked to see how the renovation was done.

The nesting planks nearly touches the floor.

The BH was very bright and main culprit were the main entrance hole and the air passage ( his consultant use those flower bricks).

The main entrance hole was facing the east but not facing the birds flying home direction.

The light from this opening was never blocked with any wall.

I admitted to the BH owner that I have never visited any BH that looks like his.

It was therefor very difficult to give the precised recommendations.

Those that I remembered telling him were:

1) He need to open a new entrance hole so that it will face the birds flying home.

2) The current hole should be left at it is but he can remove those tweeters.  This hole was facing the morning sun so he can allow the morning sun to come in.

3) To block the bright light coming from two entrance holes he need to erect a wall with a door.

4) All those ventilation hole bricks need to be properly shut off.  I did a sketch on how he must do and hopefully he will.

5) I selected two locations to be used as VIP rooms.

6) The temperature inside his nesting room need some kind of attention.  It was a bit too hot.  Perhaps he can shield them off by using my recommended heat shield material.


I can assure him that he might get much better results as compared to now.

He only has one full nest and about 4 half nests after almost 2-3 years into operation.

This was not a very good decision and he agreed with me.

Have a look as some of those pictures taken: