Hi Guys

I have been following this forum for a while. Happy Malaysia day. It is good to have another public holiday and a good rest.

managing contractors is really key if you want to have your birdhouse completed on time. The contractor will usually start work quickly, they will do all the diggings, and what not until they have done sufficient "damage" that you are committed to them. They will then disappear to attend to other jobs that they have previously disappeared from when they came over to work on your project. They will re-appear again after many many calls and threats from you. They know that you are at their mercy and will entertain you at their own pace. Most of these contractors work on a couple of projects at the same time and have no qualms about starting on any other new jobs while have a few of their customers towed along by the nose.

Jackie

Jz a tot about the sustainabilit of this industry....ie. how many bh can our natural environment support ?

It was mentioned somewhere that there is now some 120,000 bh in Malaysia. For a bh to generate a reasonable income you need to have say... 1Kg nest harvest per month. To have 1Kg nests per month a bh need to have 400 nests and jz a simple assumption of 2 birds per nest, you need 800 birds per bh. So for 120,000 bh to be successful you need to have 96million birds. Each bird requires around 5gm of insects per day. That works out to be 480 tonnes of insects per day. I dunno, but I think that is an enormous amount of insects.


Anyone out there knows how many tonnes of insects our forests produces per day? and of these how many tonnes are the right sized insects for swiftlets. Then you factor in competitions for similar sized insects from bats, spiders, other birds etc.. You can roughly work out how many 1 Kg nests bh our natural environment can support.

Jackie Chow

While doing my harvesting last Sunday I came across a strange thing, there were 4 eggs in one of the nest. The last time I harvested was more than a month ago. So it is unlikely to be any of the birds in my bh that have lost their nest. The possibility is that it could be another bh's bird that has lost its nest and laid its eggs in one of the nests in desperation. Then the nest owner also lay another 2 eggs.

I didn't think much about it but later I realised that I should have shifted my CCTV over and see what's going to happen next, would we have 2 adult parents bringing up 4 chicks. So far we usually see 1 or 2 eggs, sometimes 3. This is the first time I come across 4. Anyone has similar experience?


Another thing I found was that one of the featherless chick had climbed out of its nest, up the plank to the edge of the ceiling. It looked hungry. I put it back to the nest. On hindsight I should have placed it in another nest where there are chicks of similar maturity for the reason that the chick may not belong to the nest that I put it in, and/or the parents could be MIA. I wonder if the new parent will accept an extra chick.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Oct 4 2010, 02:56 PM

[quote=West Wing,Oct 4 2010, 03:34 PM]
QUOTE]unless your is the hot dog type of nest which is made by afew pairs of birds at the same location. Maybe, your's is the starting of a new species of EBN swiftlets and since you are the founder; you got the right to give it a name.........hahahaha.[QUOTE]

It certainly wasn't the hotdog nest but 1 nest by itself, I was pretty amused too when I saw 4 eggs, really regretted that I did not think of setting up my cctv to monitor it. Now I can't even remember the nest's location unless I do another round again which means disturbing them which I don't want to. Hope next time I have the chance again. It would have been interesting to find out if it would be the case of 2 sets of parents fighting over the 4 eggs or one set of parent raising 4 chicks. Would be an honour to name it Aerodramus jackiephagus.

4 eggs should not be surprising, it is whether they can all hatch and whether the parent can successfully raise them. Multiple births out of the norm do occur in all living creatures including human, for instance

Nonuplets (9 babies born at the same time)

Birth Date: March 26 1999
Birth Place: Malaysia
Note: non of the new borns survived more than 6 hrs

Decaplets Are 10 Babies Born At The Same Time Are Decaplets

Decaplets is the highest number of multiples to be BORN at one time. Though higher multiples have been CONCEIVED, ten is the most to be born.
Decaplet Cases:
Birth Date: April 22, 1946
Birth Place: Brazil
There were 2 girls and 8 boys. Whether they survived or not was never recorded.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Oct 4 2010, 08:49 PM

I believe that the eggs on the floor are likely to be due to being ejected by startled bird leaving the nests in fright. I have picked up chicks that just fell from the floor after I enter my bh. It looks like the birds are subjected to sudden noises or something that caused them to jump out of their nest. So the best is to check for source of frequent and sudden noises or sudden intrusion that cause the birds to be startled.

If no source of disturbances then sorry lah, have to check the caretaker

loud bird sound is always the cause of all the complaints, and when they complain to the majlis they will always add in other stuffs like bird shit, health risk etc doesn't matter even if it is a new birdhouse without any birds. It boils down to some of these bh owners who really thinks that louder = more birds. One bh's owner near my place was told by the residents nearby to reduce the loudness but he stubbornly refuse. He is from another town. The resident used a very simple method to jam his locks and each time he had to cut his locks to get into his bh until he finally reduced the loudness. At least the residents did not go to the majlis and complain about nodise, then add in shit, smell etc else every bh also kena. The residents feel that it is ok to cari makan but be reasonable.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Oct 12 2010, 09:23 PM

Hi guys, looks like we will be moving into swiftlet breeding and farming soon. Currently we are all mostly swiftlet keeper just like bee keepers.


http://fanboxblogs.fanbox.com/SinglePost.a...c=1&bts=6&fs=-1

Just wondering how it would stabilise the industry as mentioned in the report.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Oct 13 2010, 01:18 PM

Just did a quick dig around, one of the manufacturer answer

5. What happen when there’s a leak in my roof?
One must understand that the main function of cellulose insulation is to resist the flow of heat that generates in the roof. A minor leak will be absorbed by the cellulose fiber that acts as a sponge without any problem. However, as soon as you notice a wet spot on the ceiling, call the roof specialist for assistance.

So not too sure of long term exposure to high humidity or wetness although they are suppose to be mold resistance but the question is whether they will disintegrate when exposed to dampness for a long time.

Hi guys

more "progress" on the swiftlet industry here in Malaysia with the advent of "swiftlet-free zones", like duty-free zones

http://fanboxblogs.fanbox.com/SinglePost.a...link=10&page=15

It is fantastic to know that the Swiflet association in Sarawak is taking the initiative to fine tune the 1GP. Hope other swiftlet assoications will take similar initiative.

http://fanboxblogs.fanbox.com/SinglePost.a...=-1&bts=1&fs=-1

The news was posted here http://fanboxblogs.fanbox.com/SinglePost.a...=-1&bts=1&fs=-1

Reportedly one of the thing the Sarawak association is trying to do is to adapt the 1GP to be friendly towards town bh. It is a very good initiative and hopefully other associations would take an interest or similar initiative. The least they can do is to give their full support and encouragement when & if needed.

If there is a mountain with plenty of vegetation then there should be plenty of food for your swiftlets. You should focus on getting the other macros conducive for the birds instead of creating fruitflies buffet to attract birds. I presume you have installed nesting planks by now. The most important thing (after you have gotten your bh design and internal environment sorted out) is to have good external and internal sound. Focus on fine tuning your bh.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Oct 26 2010, 05:34 PM

if you can send me a pix of the cement beams then I can see if I can advise you in anyway. Cement beams are not a problem. The problem is that it takes a long time for the cement smells to go away. The birds don't like the fresh cement smell. That's why in the past they prefer pre-war shops. There are many ways to make it easier for the birds to cling to the cement beams. We can talk about that later after I have viewed those cement beams set-up.

Humidification is important. Carrying buckets of water is certainly a no-no. Everything must run automatically and without manual interference as much as possible, unless you are living in the bh

There are so many factors and you really have to identify them one by one and sort them out somehow. Every bh is different, apart from overall macros there is also a need to identify very specific problems that is unique to each bh.

it is a great to see that the birds are already nesting on the cement beams. You must have earlier used some odor remover to get rid of the cement smell.

The birds can actually cling on to even a small crack or rough surface on the cement beam. However you can make it easier for the birds to cling on to the cement beam by installing some "fake nests" in the form of a small rectangular wood pieces or polyethylene foam (those used for packaging hifi goods) with the use of a hot melt glue gun. You can also use the glue gun to create some glue marks or lines on the cement beam that the birds can cling on to. The hardened glue is strong enough for the birds to cling on to to make their nests and can be peeled off easily if you want to remove it.

http://www.howardelectronics.com/steinel/i...s/WGF-3002L.jpg

You need to install more tweeters at the populated area (2nd pix). The problem with cement beam as you would already know by now is the difficulty of installing the tweeters and wiring, much easier with wood planks. Again you would find the hot melt glue gun useful for fixing stuffs to cement beams.

At the corner with seraya planks, you should also install more tweeters and fake nests using polythelene foam, ie. those used in packaging electronic products.

Hope that helps.

I presume that the cement beams are oriented perpendicularly to the entrance hole, ie. facing where the birds would be flying in from. If that is the case then ideally the tweeters should point towards that direction which i think those tweeters on the wood would not be. Your problem is the difficulty of installing anything onto the cement beam, that's why I suggested you try out the hot melt glue gun.

You should focus on the area where the birds are nesting now and install more tweeters near the area and more importantly "fake nests". Try all sorts of fake nests like rectangle wood pieces, poly-foam, plastic nest cups or just simply some stubs of hot glue, this is to make it easier for young birds to cling on to and start making nests. I find that the birds would just make nests on almost anything that make it easier for them to cling on to. Have the fake nests fixed near to the tweeters as well.

Any ammonia base substance should not be sprayed onto the nesting planks or the ceiling. It should only be sprayed on the floor or on the wall at least 1 1/2 ft below the nesting planks.

Find some good external sound for your bh.

There is a recent announcement by Veterinary Services Department on a swiftlet farming grant.

http://fanboxblogs.fanbox.com/SinglePost.a...1&fs=-1&apid=-1

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Nov 1 2010, 04:23 PM

Grooves on planks are important. Under your current situation, making grooves on the cement planks would be a very noisy & dusty affair. Also will be very tedious work and it will disturb the birds. We always plan to work as quietly and quickly as possible when inside the bh. You can achieve similar effect by making lines of hot glue on the cement planks without the noise & dusts or you can just install "fake nests". Make sure the fake nests are firmly fixed. All the birds need is something firm to cling on to make nests at their chosen spots. Try it out where the birds are nesting now then do it for rest of bh gradually when you are happy with the result.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Nov 2 2010, 10:18 AM

The idea is to initially encourage the birds to start nesting. The "fake nests" in any form are to be removed during the first harvesting, some of the remnant of the nests left sticking behind on the beam would help the birds to cling on to make the next nest. If you have observed old bh, the planks and even smooth walls are covered with old nests markings hence no need for any grooves or fake nests.

---

Added on November 2, 2010, 1:09 pmhi ornimann,

these hot melt glue gun are easily available in hardware shops or diy shops. They are not expensive and you have loads of fun with it.

sorry i still dunno how to insert pictures, click here for the picture http://www.howardelectronics.com/steinel/i...s/WGF-3002L.jpg

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Nov 2 2010, 01:12 PM

hi aeiou

Apparently heat of above 121C can kill mold & its spores on the plank. So yea, a heat gun can do the trick but if the planks are moist enough the molds can grow again because the spores are always in the air and there is nothing you can do about that. So after you have blasted the planks you must make sure the planks are dry enough.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Nov 2 2010, 10:13 PM

Hi tweeter

planks get moldy only if they are moist over a prolong period due to contact with water or if they are not dried properly after they are sawn from the logs. As mentioned by aeiou, kiln dry is best if you have not installed the planks yet.

If the planks are dry enough the high humidity even at 95% is unlikely to cause molds. So make sure the planks are not moisted from mist humidifier or roof leaks etc.

I have no problem with my air dried red meranti as well. What type of wood are your planks? From the write-up you posted susceptabilty to molds also depends on wood types.

This post has been edited by swiftcurrent: Nov 4 2010, 11:43 AM