Sorry Again, For Not Writting For 3 Days !!!

So sorry that for the last three days I was totally away from home attending the Seminar at Pulau Kapas in Kuala Trengganu.

To those who have orderred some stuff for their BH, I will try to sent them shortly while those who are waiting for more interesting articles, please wait for my new articles that I have gathered while in Trengganu.

The trip was pretty tiring but the seminar was worth the effort.

Meeting Pak Hendry Mulia in person is something that I am very proud off.

Beside the two days on the beautiful resort island, managed to stay in Kuala Trengganu for two nights watching those birdhouses in action. Both in the morning and the everning the activities which those swiftlet performed were incredible.

The more you watched them the more you want to see their behaviours and those sweet love music chasing each other.

On the last day of my stay in KT, managed to buy a trial unit of the Ultrasonic Sound Converter, a gadget that can minimise noise pollution for your birdhouse.

I will be cover the product descriptions and a trial test report once completed.

Also visited a total of about 7 BHs in Trengganu including Tirok's.

A very tiring trip however the people I met and the new ideas forwarded by Pak Hendry and Pak Irman is worth every minutes of my time in Trengganu.

Just wait for all the things that I will be writting for all of your to read...

I have to than Pak Jeff for all the efforts in putting the seminar together. A very friendly and jovial person which I always likes to be with. Also met are Pak Ben of Miri, Pak WaletKedah, Victor, Justin Tan, Zul, Tiruk, Nik, Wan, Oswald, Alvin, Patrick&Wife, ParrickPng, and many more ...

Today The Whole Day in Ipoh and Setiawan And Tommorow In KTrengganu !!!

Ladies and Gents,

Today started my journey to Ipoh, Perak at 7.00 am. Reached there by 9.30am and after some unsuccessful birdcall tests went over to Setiawan, Perak.

I feel very honoured to meet Mr.S from Ipoh. He is the Pomelo King in Tanbum Valley.

In Setiawan met a very humble Contractor named Mr.D. He owned more then 10 BHs and about to start another 5.

Visited three of his BHs and when asked how many nests are inside one of the house visited, he said I lost count. When he took over the number was 800 and now, after one year, must be 1,600 only, he commented.

One of the unit was pretty new and the third was his first BH. This maiden unit is doing very well too.

Mr.D, what do you want me to do? I asked him.

"Harry, I am not happy with the number of nests. I want my house to be filled to the brim. Yes all those empty planks, I want them to be lined with nests. Please advise me what need to be done".

Oh my god, this is not a very easy task but very challenging. I was speachless but keep thinking, can it be done or not? He have never appoint any consultants and all what he has were based on Do It Myself (DIM)techniques.

Very impressive and some of those features that were not normal are giving a positive results.

Hmmm ....... This is why they call this town as Setiawan (Faithful Clouds). The single largest town in Perak with more then 1,500 BHs (estimation given by Mr.D. Might be the largest BH population in a town in Malaysia.....

Beside the 11 operational BHs, Mr.D showed a row of new shophouses that will be ready within the next three to four months. He make an offer to Mr.S to convert one of the unit for his 1st on a 50:50 JV.

I told Mr.S, you are a damn lucky person ..... A millionaire in Setiawan offered a JV to a Pomelo merchant....

Well thats what happened when you take the trouble to carry two big Pomelos to Setiawan. I called it as "Pomelo Scandal In Setiawan".

I am very happy to see both Mr.D and Mr.S become a good friend. Both are by blog readers. Both thank me for starting the swiftlet blog ....

Will write a full recommendation to Mr.D while in Kuala Trengganu this week end. Meeting Pak Jeff and Pak Henri Mulia there.....

Is It Wrong To Have More Then Two ????

Just call your SIFU and ask him about your Bird House (BH) sound system.

" SIFU, what do you recommend for my BH, the number of sound system that I should have?"

Most SIFUs will say, two is more then enought. One for the external and one for the internal.

Is it wrong to have more then two? Why must it be only two?

I am sure you can guess my thought about how many should I recommend?

Well how about five? Yes FIVE or Lima? Why five and not six?

My real answer is as many as you wanted to. It is your BH and you have the right to install as many as you wanted to. Right? .....

The only thing is why must you have more then two? Just stop and think deeply for a few seconds and give me a good answer(s).

I personally would like to have more then two.

Let me give my reasons why you need more then two.

1) Internal Sound.

If you have more then one floor, can you have different sound on each floor? Is that wrong? Will it cause the birds to be confused? I don't think so. If it is yes then prove me wrong. If you choose the right chicks and love making songs for both floors you might give the birds more then one options to choose where to stay. Some colonies prefer the top floor while the other prefer to be in the lower floor. Let the bird make the choice.

2) External Sound.

External sound is the key to your BH success. If you play the wrong sound at the wrong time of the day you will eventually have very little birds in your house. Many BH owners have complained that most of the time there are lots of birds outside but they never seem to fly into the house.

What if you modify your sound system so that you play two diffent sounds that are timed differently? Will that help? If the answer is yes then you can have two different sounds for the external call.

You should look at having two sets of tweeters playing the sound at a different time. If you are smart you can guess what I have in my mind. Yes just try to read my mind.....

3) Lock me in please.

This is something that you have never heard before. You play a sound at the end of the day, just before darkness, which I call "Lock Me In Please". You will be wondering what is this uncle Harry trying to say. He must be mad ....

Yes I am and you are too. I keep saying that only mad people mixed around with mad people. Now just start that thinking cap of yours ticking and just ask yourself what was I trying to say: " Lock Me In Please".

So now you can count how many sounds are we playing.

No more two but five .....

I have not talked about the six (sound for your Bazookas) and the seven yet (sound for your Hexagonal Tweeters) ..........

He he he

Special Note: This article is just my own ideas which I believed should be considered. There is no fast rules in applying this idea. All you need is some planning of all the things that are viable in bringging in those birds into your BH. Please do not bother to use them if you feel the current two sounds system is more then adequate. Take it that I was just trying my luck to change your mindset.

Port Klang: Old BH To Be Reconstructed !!!

While on the way back from my home town, received a friendly call from Mr.K about his venture in Port Klang (PK).

He would like me to drop by at PK today as soon as I touch down KL. I told him, how about 5pm? To me this will be the best time to see the unit plus the fact that I can take note of those birds when they come back from their feeding routine.

I took the KESAS highway toward PK till the very end. He pick me up at the first Petronas Petrol Station as agreed. Sharp at 5.00pm I was there waiting for him.

I followed his car and it takes less then 10 minutes to reach.

The moment I step out of my car I can clearly see the long row of shop houses, three stories high and facing the two tier bridge, about three stories high running just about 10 meters infront of the building. There were at least 10 lots per row of three shop houses.

Out of the 30 lots, at least ten units were converted to BH.

The back portion of the targeted unit there are a few apartments about 5 stories high plus a mosque.

Hmm ......... Looks very interesting but there lots of questions to be answered ...

Once the surrounding were inspected, went upstairs to inspect the two floors that Mr.K is keen to have it converted to be his maiden BH.

The two units, top most and the second floor looks pretty good. It was previously tenanted by also a BH enthusiast but after 3 years have given up the hope. There were at least 30 nests just before he ripped all the gadgets installed and now bare. The top floor ceiling were taken down and the floors were littered with planks, dust, ceiling boards, window panels and etc.

I am very amused at some of the BH features left by the old tenant. The way the wooden nests were installed and those ventilation holes on the walls. There were no smell of any aroma or birdshit in the house.

The only floor with 30 nests were the top most floor. The lower floor have zero nest after three long years. It seem that the designer have block the path to the lower floor. I told Mr.K that the previous owner seem to have very little idea of how birds move in a restricted areas.

Mr.K remarked that the guy who owned the place is also an active consultant to many others in the area. Hmmm .......I am pretty sure his clients are facing the same problems of not enought birds accupying their BH. On the bright side of thing if he was the one who provide consultancy to those owners on the same row, we have a very good opportunities to bring all those birds to a new home.....

After the 40 minutes inspection we set down for a cup of coffee to come out with a rought sketch of how the unit should be modified.

Mr.K seem to be very well prepared. He took out a sketch which he have been working on for some weeks. Just wanted me to make some comments plus any changes that are deem fit.

I was pretty impressed with what he did with the little that he learned from my blog but a few things were very clear that need my immediate intervention.

Well, all in all, he will start the operations immediately and he have agreed to have me to be his advisor. Works will start tommorrow and we have agreed to use the open roof concept with tunnel features.

Best of luck to Mr.K and I wish him well .....

How To Choose The Direction Of Your Entrance Hole(s) !!!

Received this frantic call from a newbie about his new birdhouse.

" Harry I need your quick advise on how to select the best direction to open the bird entrance hole. I have one which is about to be ready and one more about to be converted. Frankly I am very new in this and the only knowledge I have no is from what I read in your swiftlet farming blog. "

Well, sound very interesting and familiar. Many newbies jumps into this BH venture with little or no knowledge at all. They depend so much on their so call SIFUs and when they receive their BH keys, it is just too late to do the right things.

Even if the entrance hole direction is right and proper, will those birds stays?

Are you sure that when they entered your BH, they will at least stop by to take a good look at it, internally, and will perhaps decide to make your BH their permanent residence?

Are the smells of your new house right and is as good as those caves or are they like a new house with those awefull cement, welding and wood smells?

Well that is not an easy question to answer ........

Anyway, coming back to the best ways to choose the direction of your BH entrance hole(s), these points might be worth considering:

1) I will make every effort to observe, for at least three days to a week, where those birds are flying to every everning (From 5.30pm to 7.30pm please). If you are very sure that your BH is below the swiftlet flying path, you should be able to see which direction they are flying. Once confirmed, then that should be the right direction for your BH. (Pheww...... I hope I am right !!!).

2) The next best method is to visit all those successful BH within 3 - 5 kilometers from your BH and look at the holes direction. Bring with you a compass and take note which direction those holes are facing. If they are to the north east, then check with the rest to do some comparison. Make sure you select those successful one.... Once you have that in hand then you now have a kind of guide which direction your BH entrance should be facing to.

3) If given a chance, I will have more then one entrances. If you have a kennel extension on your BH, why cann't you open one for every side? You make it such that you can close those that are not suitable later. By having them inbuilt, you have a much wider options. If your SIFU says no need, then you tell him that it is your BH and you have the right to choose what is best for you.

4)Those who opt using the open roof type, the above steps might not be very crutial. However you still need to know which direction you want your external tweeters be facing to .....

Use lot of your common sense and do not always follow what your SIFU tells you. Some of these SIFUs are very old fashioned and they tend to have their mind set that are no longer valid.

You need to choose those that have an open mind about using new technologies and concepts on how to increase your BH swiftlet populations.

I am not saying that they are always wrong but what will happenned is that using their methods might delay the time to populate your BH. For example: his methods might take 5 years to achieve, let say 500 nests, while using new methods you might cut short the time to say 3 years.

The decision is yours and it is you who will reap the benefits ...

So be a bit more wise in making the right decision ....

Note: The above recommendations should only use as a guidance and you must always remember we are dealing with wild birds. Some places they works perfectly but in some instances they defy logic. What you need to do is to comply to the most logical design criterias, ensure that the house microhabitats are perfect, the sound system you used are crystal clear, the sound played are those that do not chase the birds away and the rest you depend on some luck.

Weekend: Missing In Action. !!!

Gentalmen,

I have decided to be back to my home town for a very short break from Kuala Lumpur traffic jam.

At the same time since next week I will be attending Pak Jeff Swiftlet Workshop in Kuala Trengganu, I decided to come back home and do some works at by BH.

There are some interesting developments with the BH and I am very happy to be back and do some aroma theraphy.

The whole day looking at anything that are not working and make the necessary replacements.

The sound system was replaced since the sound seems to be a bit not crystal clear.

Replaced the hygrostat and this time I am very sure my BH will be at the right humidity. I bought a new unit and the first thing that I did today was to install the unit and observed the RH% variations. It works perfectly.

The sound system have not been good lately. Bought a replacement and put them back in perfect operations.

Got two new digital timers and using this timer will give me less stress.

The aroma therapy is the best part of the visit. I love to apply them onto those white walls. They smell very much like those fish oil.

One more thing that I install is the fermented birdnest water in special jars that are so wonderfull to me. I bought a few special clay pots and store them for them to leach out form the wall.

The insect powder seem to work pretty well. Lots of those maggots floating on the surface. Pour some of the water out. Now have two pails of those activated insect powder....

As precaution, place a number of cockroach repellant at various corners of the BH...

At 4.00 pm left the BH and came back to observe those birds coming back ...

I have to admit that they seem to flying in and out of my BH more as compared to the four other BHs around my unit. I keep telling myself that they must like those music that I just changed or perhaps those aroma which I know will makes them crazy (I am so crazy. hmmm hmmm hmmm !!!!. Just humming the old song from Herman Hermit ) ....

I left with a very happy heart and I will be back within the next two weeks to count my new comers (more new nests marking and more birdshit spots) .....

One Sure Way Of Having Your New House Full Of Birds !!!

Before you buy or lease a property for your swiftlet ranching you must ensure that the location is right and the property lies below the flight path.

You must also ensure that every time you conduct those birdcall tests, there are at least 100 birds responded positively to it.

Once these two criterias are met, you can then select the type of birdhouse design that will suit the property.

You need to carefully check the direction of the sun moving from the east to the west. The sun path will tell you how your birdhouse should be orientated so that the sun will not hit the wrong sides of the external walls of your birdhouse.

You must also ensure that those birds movement in the everning. From which directions they are coming from and which directions they are going to. This will allow you to choose the right location(s) of your birdhouse entrance hole(s).

Well the rest, internal design of your birdhouse, need little to say. They must be provide the minimum design criterias of a good birdhouse. Complete with a high quality sound systems, nesting panels, humidity controllers, aroma application, insect producing powder, temperature monitoring equiptment and etc.

If you are the first person who built one in a virgin area then your problem will be less as compaired to those with lots of swiftlets houses.

But there are exceptions.

I visited the same town where a few months ago I was given the opportunity to enter a newly converted birdhouse located in an old shophouses row.

I did not realised that the unit was just next door to another birdhouse which is very very successful. This unit seem to be the pioneer in the town and the bird population that I saw was substential.

The issue here is, since the second unit is just next door, the rate of birds populating this new house is pretty high. I believed that this is one of the very good way of making sure that your investment is safe.

Immediately after launching there were already birds coming into the house even before the sound were played.

The first month, there were already more then 10 nests. The next, the figure jumped to 30 nests. Now at three months, the number is getting close to 100 nests.

I am pretty sure the house will be full within less then three years.

The lesson here is that, if you know that your neighbor's birdhouse is successfull, you have a very good chance to populate your birdhouse. The best is to be located just next door and your house entrance hole(s) is just the opposite of your neighbors unit.



In Segamat, Johore, a similar situation happened. If you have any house just below the 20 stories birdhouse tower you stand a very good chance of populating your birdhouse to the maximum. There are many now and I am very sure more buildings around this tower will soon become swiftlet houses.

The above recommendations are merely from my personal observations and I do not warrant that they are always right.

You need to digest and do your own homework. If you find my observations are right then do the needfull. However if they are not then do the necessary .....

IGP: This Morning Got Fiece Scolding From Wife !!!

I need to relate this wonderfull story about the life of a swiftlet enthusiast.

He have this gift in writing various articles about swiftlet farming.

He spend almost all his free time on his personal computer to crack his head in coming out something which he can relay to his blog readers. Each of his blog is with some message that will guide them in becoming a good and responsible swiftlet rancher.

At time he will put efforts in introducing new products that he feels will benefit his friends and of course he do conduct some trial at home.

One of his favourite is the Insect Generating Powder (IGP).

He got them from his importer and tried at home. He activate them in a pail and waited patiencely until those maggots turned into pupa and then into those insects.

Since he was staying in an apartment, where else do you think he can keep those smelly container? The laundry drying areas.

This morning, after about two weeks, he peeked into the pail and oh my god, there were so many flies. He do not have the heart to kill them. He come out with the idea to put them in a special netting to bring it to his birdhouse. While doing that those flies have came out and most of them stays in the drying area.



The next thing he heard was his wife screaming at him:

"Harry what are you doing with my drying area?"

"How come there are so many insects in this place?"

I saw her rushing to the kitchen and by then you know what gadget was in her hand, the insect spray.

Oh no. No no no no. Don't kill those beautiful babies .... They are for my swiftlets .....

"I am sorry they are going to haven, now, right now ........"

Oh shit she kill all of them ........

The lesson I learned here is that, do not activate those insect powder at home especially when you stays in an Apartment....

The insect powder do works and be prepared for the worse. They comes in hundreds...

Your wife is alway right. She is always the BOSSS in your house .....

He he he he he ....

I hope you have a good laugh and at the same time just learn what I went through ...

Mr.J Email On How Easy To Harvest 300 -500 Kg A Month !!!

I received this email from one of my blog reader who described about his recent trip to Semarang and Surabaya. Just read it and imagine that the harvest belongs to you every month.

Yes 300 -500 kilogram a month. In Ringgit this is 1.35 million - 2.25 million a month.

Quote:

Dear Harry

How have you been? Its been long since i wrote to you. I have been real busy with my business.

I did keep in mind to email you, Anyway I have some good news, my dad agree to let me rent his shop house in PS.

If I am not mistaken it's near M. I m looking to get some consultants to give me a quotation. So Maybe you might be able to help me out a bit.

Let me update you on what i have been doing. Well i went to a few friend's farm in Indonesia. MAN they are huge ! They turn out like 300-500kgs of raw birdnests each month. Then other friend has about 500 workers doing processing. I mean its really crazy there.

I did managed to visit some, coloured bird houses. Anyway it's really good. I was at Smr and Srb.

I have something which I don't quite understand.

I find that the nests there have stronger aroma and more "gao". Maybe you have some answers to share with me. I really want to know why.

Ohh yeah i have already added birdnest into my trading business now besides my abalone.

Anyway hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards

Unquote:

More Calls And More Quiries Everyday !!!

These days time passes so fast that I feel that I am having too much things to do and there is not time left.

I take it as a great way of bringing together many birdhouse enthusiasts together and I hope I will continue doing so.

This afternoon a newbie from Malacca drove up to Damansara, just to have a cup of coffee me. I nearly missed my lunch with my beloved wife.

He came so far and I am sure he has something important to discuss with me.....

His name is Mr.T and has been doing lots of observations on swiftlet farming in Malacca. He seems to know many birdhouses units in Malacca and the best is located at a road junction beside a big sign board. The sign board seems to act as a beacon when night falls. Just like your wrote in your blog. Unfortunately there are rumors that it will be removing to give way to the road expansion.

He seems to make a serious observation on a birdhouse closed to his house. The unit is closed to the sea front there are lots of birds passing by but do not seem to stop at the house. His question: Why Harry?

Hmmm ..... a very tough question since I have not visited the site.

Can U tell me the direction of the building? Where is the sun path? Which way the birds are flying in the evening? Where is the entrance hole? How long have the house been in operation? Is the sound on all the time?

Based on his answers, I concluded without guarantee, the house microhabitat is not right. I believed the house internal temperature is pretty high. Looking at the sun path and the direction of the building, I think the building was not in the right orientation. The side walls are in direct path of those hot sun rays.

The entrance hole is also not perfect. How can the hole be in the opposite direction of the bird flying home path? Mama mia, this owner will have a tough time to get those birds in his house.

There were many more reasons that I explained to him and I don't know why Mr.T is so concerned about it. Mybe the owner is his brother?

I told him to follow up with the observation and if he has the chance to meet the owner why don't he arrange for Harry to pay a visit.

Let us hope that we can do something while the sun is still shinning.

He took one of the birdcall gadget and two birdcall sound. I still owed him the Duress and Talk2me.

Let Us Protect Our Swiftlet Industries In Malaysia !!!

This was the stinging words that keep ringing in my brain.

Yes the person who said this word was Hj Mohammad Razuan Malik of Jabatan Haiwan Putrajaya.

One of his biggest concern is what will happen if the industry is not being properly look after by certain individuals.

We need to get more birdhouse owners in Malaysia to know more what the Jabatan Haiwan of Malaysia is doing to protect the industry and how each and every one in the industry can contribute to the success of the Industry.

I was given the opportunity to talk to Hj Mohammad yesterday during a coffee break.

He is very concern that the industry if not properly looks after, will cause major turmoil especially with countries that import the product.

The Industry currently is very much at it infant stage and there are lots of things that needed to be done both by the Malaysian Government and the Public Sectors.

He would like to remove the misconceptions that the Public have about Jabatan Haiwan on Swiftlet Farming. They are here to give a helping hand and not to treat birdhouse owners as their enemy number one.

They wanted to protect and not to persecute for any mistakes that they have done.

They wanted all birdhouse owners to look after those wild birds with respect and ensure that they will propagate and not harming their population.

He gave me the assurance that there will be more seminars on swiftlet farming thought Malaysia for the next 9 months. Every month they will conduct one, if possible in every state. Seats will be limited to 50 per session.

His service is available one a 24 hours basis. You can meet him at his office at Jabatan Haiwan Putra Jaya, Aras 2, Lot 48-1.

His mobile phone number is 019 210 3344.

He is a true protector of your swiftlet farming venture.

If you have a personal diary, I recommend that his mobile number be listed as one of the most important person to contact when you have problems about your birdhouse.

Please exclude Harry. He he he

The GAPH Seminar At Mandarin Court Hotel.

After registering all my 9 blog readers I decided to stay until the talk was over.

I was trying to ensure that all my blog readers whom I promised to take care feel at home and provide them all the neccessary techniques what they should do and reap the maximum benefits from such a wonderful Seminar.

One of the most important reasons why they attend this Seminar is of course the Certificate of Attendence issued by Jabatan Haiwan. This certificate is compulsory for birdhouse lisence application with the Local Authorities and will be usefull when you deal with Bank Pertanian and Mara.

The next thing that I personally advised them to do is to get closed to those speakers who delivered the speaches. These Heads of Departments of various relevant Government Ministeries could be someone that might be of helps if they have problems in the near future with their birdhouses.



Mr Azman of BAN is someone special since he is very closed to the Bank and Ministery of Agriculture. I talked my guys to zoom on him on those big borrowings with the Bank. Yes if you need to borrow say a million to a maximum of 5 million go with Mr Azman. I believed he have a strong cable with the Ministery of Agriculture and Bank Pertanian.

The exhibition by one of the swiftlet equipment supplier was also an eye opener.

During the Seminar, I feel very honoured to meet many other readers of whom I have never met before. Some came to shake my hand and said " Harry, I am truely honored to meet your in person. I have been reading your blog and please continue writing."

I feel like are celebrity throught out the seminar. Lots of new friends and I am so happy that what I did for those nine were well appreciated.

Also to mentioned one of the participant hailed from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah followed me to my house to get some birdhouse sketches that I did for some friends. After sharing some light moments I send him back to Pudu Raya. He was a very happy man.

What impressed me most about this GAPH Seminar is the way those speakers delivered their speaches. All of them are a kind of very passionate over their roles in the promotion of Birdnest Industries in Malaysia. You can see the genuine effort in telling all the participants that they are there to help and they would also like to protect the Industry with their life (sort of).



Mr Reduan, the main speaker indicated that he have lined up 12 talks for 2008. The next will be in Kedah at Grand Continental Hotel on 29th April 2008. His idea is to have the most above 50 participants on each occassion. This number is much easier to handle as compared to 100 or above.

Mr Mohamad Raduan Malik, seem to have this passion of defending the birdnest business in total. He used to fight with various Local Government Departmental Heads and the Banks just because of his clients. He believed that Birdnest business is in its infant stage and there are lots of things that need to be done. His motto is to promote and not to kill this highly profitable business. The foreign exchange generated from this business is enormous. He also advise all participants to look after this business to the maximum. Do not make any negative remarks or comments that will eventually cause harm to the industry. Be carefull on what you write plus those pictures posting on the internet,he said. There lots of people out there who try to find faults with the Industries.



What impressed me most was the talk by Bank Pertanian Malaysia. The speaker, a very Senior Manager from HQ, seem to know lots of things about Swiftlet Farming. The way he talks makes me feel that he too have his own birdhouse? The best remarks he made was the amount of fund made available to Swiftlet Farming. There is still about 200 million from a specific fund suitable for swiftlet farming. If this 200 million is exhausted, he can channel your application to another fund which is "unlimited". The 200 million is opened to all races, to individual or companies, interest rate of 3.75% a year, maximum is 5 million and collateral needed was about 50% (negotiable).



Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) also have a reasonable allocation to fund swiftlet farming. They have never done this before but now they are keen to helps Bumiputra's land owners to be swiftlet owners. Maximum allocation is RM250,000 with yearly profit sharing (untung) of 4%.

Mr Azman of Bina Agro Nusantara seem to be the biggest star of the day. His talks plus those pictures and video clips seem to pull the audiance to him like those swiftlet birdcall tests. He seem have the formula to ensure that your birdhouse will be filled with nests within 2-3 years. I am not very sure about it but I am certain that he can be a good source to get the 5 million loans from the bank provided that you have a big swiftlet project in hand.

I enjoyed the day very much and looking forward for the next one in Alor Star. Hope to get as many blog readers there so that they have the licence to operate legal birdhouses in Malaysia.

So my beloved blog readers, please try not to miss the next talk. To me this certificate of attendance is like having your driving lisence approved.

Once you have this certificate you become a qualified birdhouse owner or potential owner. The most important is that you now know what are the things that you should do or follow and your name now will be with the Jabatan Haiwan database .....

GAPH Seminar At Mandarin Court, Kuala Lumpur !!!

Been running around to a few places to help my blog readers to attend the Seminar.

So far six blog readers have confirmed their seats. Most of them are from Klang valley but one was from Kota Baru, Kelantan.

The guy from Kota Baru arrived last night and put up at Midah Hotel.

Met him for a cup of coffe and told him to be ready for me to pick him up this morning.

I hope the other five will be at the registration counter before 9.00am.

Will see how big the crowd looks like.

I might stay for the talk or may be not depending on the schedule for the day....

Ball Park Cost To Convert A Shop House To A Birdhouse !!!

"Harry, this is so and so from such and such. I need your quick advise please.What is the cost to convert a two stories shop house to A Resonnably Nice Birdhouse?".

Hmmm .................

Again, Where are you from?

"Such and Such town in West Malaysia".

Hmm .......................(pondering and with lots of deep though....)

(What is this guy trying to do? Is he trying to test me or wanted to check on how smart my intelectual brain is or may be he is dead serious about building one? What answer should I give him. Hmm .......What if my price is too low or too high? Man, this is a tough job. Answerings peoples questions and not being paid for it? Ai yah, banyak susah. Boh Swei Loh .........)

Okay can I know what do you mean by reasonably nice? How many stars are you looking at? Two, three, four or five?

" Three stars okay loh !!!"

Hmm ........

Okay for any number of stories that you have (20 feet X 70 feet), the cost will be based on the first floor size multiply by RM 25 per square foot and the second floor will be the floor size (sq feet) multiply by RM 20 and the third floor will be the floor size (sq feet) multiply by Rm18.

"Harry what about those staircase, air vents and toilets and also those data room?"

(This guy is too much. Everything also want to ask. Some more FOC !!!)

Well you can deduct the total the area by about 20% loh.

"What about those roof top? My shop have a roof top made of concrete slab and you can go up and walk, upstairs."

(Ai yah, never finish with questions. May be should ask him to turn the top floor to become a disco tec. Can lance (dance) with the birds mei!!!)

"Should I built a water pond or just cover them up with some awning?"

Up to you loh but I would prefer the top roof be covered with those awning because water pond tend to retain those heat and very slow to cool down.

"Okay, okay, thank U very much. Oh yah, how much should I budget for the awning?"

(Never finish with asking question la this fellow. He think everything is in my brain. So stupid and never want to learn himself .... Ai yah I also don't know lah !!!)

I think you should allocate about seven thousand ringgit plus minus....

"Okay okay okay Harry. I thank you very much. Once my house is up and full of birds I will take you for a good dinner and we yam cha okay."

(He thinks I can wait that long before being given a cheap dinner and yam cha ? Wah like this kind of people I think I better find a new job....)

(Becoming a birdhouse advisors will cripple by bank book because every body seem to have this thinking that once they read my blog they become sifu themself ....)

(Hai yah, susah mau cari makan.)

I think I need to activate those Serai Plantation.....

Birdhouse, too many SIFUs and all are copy cats ....

He he he he he he .....

Human Made Cave Birdhouse In Vietnam !!!

One thing about people's mind is to come out with something that might work just for the sake of those "White Gold".

I met Mr.Hoang of Hanoi, Vietnam last night. He was staying in Federal Hotel, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

We have many things to talk about and of all the things that I spoke to him, I was very impressed with some photos that he showed to me using his lap top.

In Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Mr. Hoang was given the responsibility to look after a piece of land, 10,000 square meters, that have on it an array of caves plus a Pagoda (embedded with gold lining).

The one that attract me most is not the Pagoda with gold lacing but those swiftlets caves. Yes human made caves.

The caves were made using cement reinforced with steel bars and internally being layered with Styrofoam to insulate the heat.

The shape of the caves, internally, is very much like normal caves with all those stalagmites and stalactites plus areas where swiftlets can build their nests.

Some pictures shown are those with the birds already with white nests.

I am indeed very impressed with human ingenuity.

I will try to get those photos for all to see......

Hmm ...... I think now I have the solution on how to lure those cave swiftlets into my own house ......

Hmm....... Hmmmm ...........

Waiting For Patrick From Ipoh About The Test Unit !!!

This morning spend some time with Mr.M from Kiara discussing about his BH in TM and the Seminar to be held at The Mandarin Court, KL.

Mr.M confirmed of going. He filled up the form and paid his fee of RM680.

After the 1 hours meeting received a frantik call from Mr.D from Gopeng, Perak.

He sound as if he strike a lottery or something.

"Hey Harry, this is Mr.P from Ipoh. Remember I came down to Taman Tun with my wife and I picked those Birdcall test unit?"

" Oh yah, I remember you. We have roti canai together".

" You know something? The test unit was incredible and fantastic."

" What Do you mean."

" It works very well and when I tested, there were full of birds responded to the Duress CD sound".

" Harry, what is Duress and Awesome means ha?".

"Well, Awesome, I think, the birds calls their gang when they find food, while the Duress is when a baby bird being squeeze and calling for help".

" Oh ya ka, very good man and I am very happy for you help. I surely appreciate your help. You are a true Sifu."

" Mr.P try not to praise me so much. Afterward I might fall down. Anyway can you write in details about your Birdcall test experience in Ipoh. I really need to share with my blog readers".

"Okay, okay will do for your sake, and thank you very very much for introducing me what to do and what not to do. I will surely will refer to you if there are any things to do before I fork out those monies in BH."

"Well thank you and thank you and thank you. What are friends for."

Right now I am eager to receive the email report form Mr.P and get the actual description of his 1st Birdcall test experiences.

Let me share it with all my blog readers.

Those who are in doubt, please call me so that I can send Mr.P hand phone number and let him explain to you in more details ......

No secret and no lying. U get him to tell you the actual story ...

I got three more new sets, just arrived at my home, ready for those who wanted to try one. The unit consisted of 4 tweeters plus an amplifier and cables to connect to your car CD player and electrical supply. It cost not more then RM 600 plus Duress and Awesome CDs.

Just pick up the phone and call this number 017 755 1318.....

Marvellous Idea On How To Apply The Birdhouse Aroma !!!

Last night received an email from Mr.L of Segamat.

When opened I was suprised with what he have in store for me.

He came out with these pictures showing how to apply the Aroma without the use of those roller brushes.

I never thought about it but it looks good.

Precaution:

Please use a rubber glove to avoid those nasty, smelly liquid fallen on your hand.

Hope all of you enjoy having a look at it .............









Not bad. A Very Good idea from my blog reader ....

Thank you Mr.L.

Terima Kasih .............

Instant Swiftlet SIFU !!!

One of the easiest way to be an instant SIFU (not instant noodle) is to carry with you a Birdcall test unit plus the Duress, Awesome and Talk2me. Of course U need to do some small homework by reading those relevant articles written by master sifu Harry.

Mr.K met me the other day after visiting a few towns in Malaysia.

Everywhere he goes he will conduct the birdcall test using the four tweeters birdcall unit plus those three sound Cds.

It seem that everytime he carried out birdcall test, people who passed by will stop and watch those flock of birds above his sound player.

The moment the number of birds are big enought, more people will stop by and some will have those weired looks on their face which tells us that they are being mesmerised by those birds.

On several occassions these people will immediately ask Mr.K to be their SIFU and you will be suprised what kind of offer they make.

One person offered Mr.K to be his JV partner and his task is to convert 5 shop houses to BH. No upfront, no capital outlay just the expertise in calling the birds into the BH. Hmm ...... what an juicy offer ........

I laugh about those offers but the idea of getting people to make those offers are interesting....

So if you want to be an instant SIFU make sure you get hold of a birdcall set plus a few good CDs that will bring those birds above your car.

You must not forget to read all those relevant articles at Harry's swiftlet farming blog ...

Just try and see how people react on your birdcall test ....

Bird's Nest Essence Masks Launched !!!

In today's The Star Newspaper:
Found at: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/3/15/central/20630706&sec=central

Store launches three beauty products inspired by traditional ingredients
By NURBAITI HAMDAN

WATSONS Personal Care Store Sdn Bhd launched three new beauty product ranges, designed for Asian skin at the Khareyana spa recently.

Inspired by traditional Asian beauty remedies, the first product on the list was the Watsons Essence Mask with two different facial masks namely Bird’s Nest Essence Mask and Green Tea Essence Mask.

The next to be unveiled was the Watsons Olive Facial Care range with seven products for complete facial care, an extension of the existing Olive Body Range.

Check it out: Maffey showing the latest beauty products from Watsons.

The final product on the list was the Watsons Honey range, a complete line of body care products that contain honey and milk extracts.



According to Watsons Malaysia general manager Neil Maffey, the products were created based on their research on what customers wanted.

“We view ourselves as a brand that our customers can always rely on for all their personal needs. Each product comes with great value, great price and of course, great quality,” said Maffey.

In line with the products main ingredients, guests were also treated to a buffet spread with items made from olives, honey and green tea.

According to Maffey, the Bird's Nest Essence Mask has been the bestseller so far throughout their outlets in Asia.

To mark the launch, Watsons will be giving away 2,400 pieces of the Bird's Nest Essence Mask and Green Tea Mask at the Watsons One Utama Road Show from March 14 to March 16.

Customers need only bring an empty box of their current Watsons facial mask to the road show and they can redeem it for any of the new Essence Mask Range. Redemption is based on a first come first serve basis.

Rarest Items in the World: Birdnest Soup Is One Of Them !!!

Rarest Gems

The world's rarest gem is believed to be painite, a gem that most have never heard of. The painite is orangish or reddish brown and was first discovered in Burma in the '50s. Within the last couple of years, the source of the two original painite crystals was discovered and now a few hundred faceted stones exist. A more well-known (but still very rare) gem is the red diamond

Rarest Signature

He may have done a lot of writing, but with only 6 of them in existence William Shakespeare's signature is one of the rarest of all and is valued somewhere around $3 million dollars.

Rarest Cats & Dogs


Of the rarest cat breeds, the Ashera (pic. left) is the most expensive ($20K+), the Sokoke the most exotic (from the wilds of Africa), and the Egyptian Mau has the coolest history (lived with the Egyptians). As for dog breeds, the one that keeps popping up on all the "rare" lists is the Lundehund, originally bred by the Vikings to hunt Puffins. Other rare breeds include Otterhounds and Stabyhounds.

Rarest Stamps

According to Wikipedia, the most expensive item by weight and volume is the Treskilling Yellow stamp from Sweden. It has a current estimated worth of $2.3 million. Here's what makes it so valuable: In 1858, when the currency was known as the skilling, the 3-skilling stamp ("treskilling") was printed in blue. And an 8-skilling stamp was printed in yellow. But due to a printing error, a few 3-skilling stamps were printed in yellow.

Rarest Sea Salt

The earliest known sea salt produced by the Japanese may be the rarest of all. Called Amabito No Moshio ("Ancient Sea Salt"), unpolluted sea water is collected from the Seto-uchi inland sea, infused with seaweed to develop the "unami", and then processed by cooking in an iron kettle, put into a centrifuge, and finally, cooked over an open fire while stirring constantly. The salt is worth over $40 per pound.

Rarest Jeans

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most valuable jeans are an original pair of Levi Strauss & Co 501 jeans aged over 115 years old which were sold to a collector in Japan for $60,000 through eBay in 2005. Quite rare indeed considering a new pair sells for $46.

Rarest Baseball Cards

In February 2007, a "near mint-mint" Honus Wagner sold for $2.3 million, at that point probably the highest sale for a baseball card in history. Then, in September 2007, the same card was reportedly sold again. This time for $2.8 million to a private collector. The card in question, aT206 Honus Wagner, was made by the American Tobacco Company in 1909. It has been called the "Mona Lisa of baseball cards."

Rarest Comic Books

One of the rarest comic books still in existence in near-perfect condition is an issue of "Amazing Spider-Man #1," rare not only because of its singularity but also because of its quality. The comic book sold for only 12 cents per copy when it was published in March 1963, and is now worth over $40K -- not an exceedingly high price for comic books -- but extremely rare in such pristine condition.

Rarest Real Estate

At the intersection of location, exclusivity and history you find some of the rarest pieces of real estate. With that criterion, Luxist.com blogger's pick for the rarest piece of real estate currently on the market is Bran's castle, the castle in Transylvania that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is expected to fetch upwards of $135 million.

Rarest Horses

The Sorraia Horse is said to be the direct descendant of the wild Iberian horse but only 200 currently remain living in South Iberia. The Tiger Horse is a rare breed which is said to have existed in Ancient Spain and the beginning of the New World. Rare in terms of its abilities and characteristics, is the Lipizzaner (pic. left). Bred for its military prowess, one of these animals can sell for up to $100,000.

Rarest Books

There are countless rare books in the world, but by most experts' standards the rarest of them all is the Gutenberg Bible. It was the first book ever printed back in 1456, and although several hundred copies were originally printed finding a complete first edition would net you $25-$35 million. In today's market single pages alone go for $25K each, and several years ago just 1 volume (it's a 2 volume set) sold for $5.5M.

Rarest Necklaces

In the world of rare necklaces, a couple million dollars doesn't get you much. Even ten million dollars is cheap for these babies. The most expensive necklace may likely be one built around the Blue Empress, a rare natural blue diamond. The pear-shaped diamond weighs about 14 carats. It is set in 18k white gold and surrounded with white diamonds. It's estimated to be worth $16 million.

Rarest Wine


One of the rarest bottles of wine ever sold was purchased by Christopher Forbes for a mere £105,000 ($160,000). It was an unmarked green glass bottle with the inscription of "1787 Lafitte Th. J." (now known as Lafite and thought to be owned by Thomas Jefferson), found behind a wall in Paris.

Rarest Vases

In 2006, a 20-inch high blue and white Yuan Dynasty vase fetched over $2 million. That sounds rare but at the end of that year, casino owner Steve Wynn paid even more for a rare vase. The small copper red and white porcelain vase, is a 14th century Ming vase (pic. left) decorated in scrolling flowers. It is from the exceptionally rare Hongwu period and went for around $10.9 million, making it the world's most expensive.

Rarest Coins

As a general rule the more rare a coin is the more it's worth, so what's the rarest coin ever? It's a debatable subject as not all experts always agree, but if the Double Eagle isn't at the top of that list it's sure near it. Back in 2002 the only Double Eagle coin left to be in private hands (or so everybody thought) sold for $7.9 million dollars.

Rarest Travel Trips

What is the rarest trip? There's no real consensus on this, but Luxist.com blogger Deidre Woodward says that the trek to summit Mount Everest still remains among the rarest trips in the world. But even this has become something that is accessible to more people. In two months and for around $60,000 you can join a group and make the attempt of a lifetime.

Rarest Food

Served in China for over 2000 years, the primary ingredient in bird's nest soup or "Caviar of the East" is saliva nests built by cave swifts. Among one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans it is believed to aid digestion, raise libido, and even alleviate asthma as it is dissolved in water to create a gelatinous soup. In Hong Kong, a bowl costs up to $30. Red version can cost $10K per gram.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KURSUS GAPH, MANDARIN COURT HOTEL, 19/3/2008

Latest from Mr Jack.

There will be a one day seminar on Swiftlet Farming to be held in Kuala Lumpur.

Title: Kursus GAPH dan Pengurusan Burung Walit.

Place: Mandarin Court Hotel, Jalan Maharajalela, Near Choo Cheng Kay Apartment off Kampung Attap, Kuala Lumpur.

Date: 19/03/2008



Details of the talks are as follows:

Pendaftaran
Ucapan Alu aluan
Pengenalan dan GAPH Burung Walit: By Dr Redzuan Ibrahim, Ketua Seksyen Aneka Haiwan (JPH Putrajaya)
Minum Pagi
Perundangan Veterinan Bagi Burung Walit: By Pengetua Penguat Kuasa
Penyakit Pensampelan Burung Walit: By Dr Nor Faizah Abdul Hamid
Perlesenan Industri Burung Walit: By Pegawai Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan.
Makan Tengah Hari.
Kemudahan Pinjaman Bagi Industri Burung Walit: By Bank Pertanian Malaysia
Kemudahan pinjaman bagi Industri Burung walit: By MARA
Rekabentuk dan pembinaan Perumahan Burung Walit: By Bina Agro Nusantara.
Minum Petang.
Penyampain Sijil: Pengarah Jabatan Haiwan Putra Jaya.

The certificate shall be from Jabatan Haiwan of Malaysia.

Seats are limited and You need to act now.

Cost : RM680/person.

Please call Harry 017 755 1318 for seats allocation.

Dengkil Trip Report !!!

I felt a bit unhappy over what I saw in Dengkil but the job was about to be completed.

The shophouse belongs to the land owner who actually wanted to turn the unit into a Makan Stall (MacDonald or something like that). But due to some reasons it was stranded until being approached by my Enterprising friend.

My friend managed to convince the owner to transform the upper floors to a BH.

The floors were made up of three shoplot units. Each about 20 feet by 70 feet. Total is about 3 X 20 X 70 =4,200 square feet. Hmm ..... pretty sizable.

What I was not happy about was why he did not discussed with me prior to the renovation works? I was on the phone with him twice a week.

He should at least let me have a look at the sketch on how he wanted to allocate those open roof windows, the roving room, the nesting rooms and the data room.

He did it by just reading some books and without having a third party to advise on how he can transform the house to a five stars BH.

The following were things that I saw and concerned about:

1) The open roof seem to allow too much light into the roving room.

2) The open room entrance is big and good to have those birds swooping into the house.

3) The opening between the open roof vent room into the roving area is not in the right position. It should be nearer to the side wall and not in the middle.

4) The opening is a bit too big allowing too much light into the roving room.

5) The roving room was way to big. It was about 19 feet wide by 30 feet length. He need only 12 feet by 12 feet. As such he wasted lots of valuable nesting areas.

6) There was no tunnel concept. This is something I prefer to have. Once the birds swoop into the house they need to pass the tunnel and come into the roving area.

7) The nesting rooms are still not fully completed thus the lighting is very bright.

8) The walls facing the sunrise and sunset is a single layer. I am not very confortable on this matter. There will be a very high risk of high temperature in the future.

9) There were no air holes provided. I am feeling a bit giddy on this. I told him to provide at least 6 ventilation holes. Or else he will have a tought time to regulate the internal temperature and humidity. Plus the fact that we need to supply enought oxygen to these birds.

10) The wooden panel looks mostly okay but could have been better. The gaps between the wood and the ceiling, were a bit serious in some areas. The straightness of the wood is a bit worrysome. There were a number of planks that have cracks but still been installed. When the ceiling were painted with the black emulsion paint some planks were affected.

11) The data room location was a big issue. He wanted to do them on the staircase and I told him no. The best is to have it just after he enter the BH i.e. the main door. He shud make it confortable and equipt with proper table tables, chairs, rack and fan. This is because that will be where he will spend most of his time when he visited the house.

12) There were a few gaps on the floor that he needed to shut them off and must be air tight.


Well I guess I talk to much and I am in no position to turn it around.

I just hope he will be successful.

No mater what he shall remain my friend .....

Swiftlet Farming Seminar By Jabatan Haiwan !!!

Received a special call from Swiftlet Impact Enterprise informing me about about their next scheduled Swiftlet Farming Seminar.

Their Managing Director, Mr Azahari, called me and told me that he was very impressed with my swiftlerfarming dot blogspot dot com blog website.

He also indicated that his next Seminar, similar to that he held in Seremban, N9, will be held in Kedah in April 2008.

He will send me the exact date and schedule. Please be informed in advance and ensure you will not miss this. Mr Chua of Seremban please read this.....

Those of you who have yet to attend this Seminar, accompanied with Certificate of Attendence issued by Jabatan Haiwan, please try to make the necessary arrangements for a seat.

Let me know in advance so that I can block a few seats for all my blog readers.

Just doing my part to ensure that all my blog readers are going to be a five stars BH owners.

I might be invited to be a guest speaker.

Mr Hoang Of Hanoi Confirmed His Trip To Kuala Lumpur !!!

Yesterday received a confirmation that Mr Hoang of Hanoi, Vietnam will be in Kuala Lumpur from the noon of the 17th till the 21st.

His plan will be more towards preparing the itinery for those Government officials and investors who would like to know more about the Malaysian Birdnest Industries.

He have indicated what he wanted to see and I have done some prelimenary visits plans to a few locations.

It will be very interesting to know what they have in mind and how will it be beneficial to Vietnam.

Those of you who have additional or unique ideas for me to consider please drop a line.

There is nothing wrong in giving suggestions. If you wish to meet Mr Hoang you are welcome too......

How To Get Bitten By AF Birds !!!

You might want to try this. Be bitten by your own birds ....

Perhap there is something that you can learn from it ....

And perhaps you can lure those birds into your BH .....

I was with one young BH owner, last night, and we have some beautiful chat about swiftlet farming ....

He is pretty young, about 31 years old, but already have three birdhouses under his wing. His name is Mr.D, hailed from Banting, Selangor.

We met for the first time when I brought him 4 pails of those 2 kilos insect powders.

Among the things that we talked about was about something perculiar that happenned to him recently.

One day he went up to the roof top of his birdhouse wearing black pant and shirt. He also got with him a piece of cloth, also black, with him.

While walking and being blown with those wind, his black uniform and the piece of black cloth make him the target of these AF. They actually swoop on him and a few bit him.

Until today he could not understand why but he wanted me or my blog readers to try .....

Well since my birdhouse is without any roof top, it might not be possible ....

How about getting my blog readers to try and see if it is true?

I will appreciate to get some result from my dear readers. Just try and kindly report to me ....

I could not find any clear reasons. So it is better to admit and not to make any wild predictions ...

Those who think that they do have some good ideas please write in as your comment ....

My question is: Can we use this strange phenomena to bring the birds into our BH and how???????

Precaution: Please wear a safety glass or goggle to protect your eyes.....

PS: One blog reader called and told me that may be the birds think that you are a prediator so they will attack to safeguard their nests. Hmmm... good reason.

Making My Own Aroma Strips !!!

One of the most exciting thing about being semi active BH owner is the ability to think and do something that might helps in increasing the birdhouse population.

Everyday there are new news about new technologies that can help BH owners to improve their BH birds population.

Some will work on one area and yet many will fail when used in different location.

The only thing that you can do is to keep searching for those that can works and drop those that are not showing any improvement.

I have been very facinated with the use of aroma strips on the wooden planks and so far have not be able to locate who can supply them.

I wish there is someone out there who happened to read this article will call me at 017 755 1318 to resolve my curiosity.

In the mean time I am ready to make myself using some cave nests that I have in hand.

The idea is to soak the nests into plain water and once soft will grind to pieces.

Once that is done will keep in a container for a few weeks until the sludge is pungent enought for me to apply to a fibre or cloth strips.

Once soaked will let the fibre/cloth to dry.

Upon drying will put them up onto a selected wooden planks in the nesting areas.

I am looking forward for a positive result.....

If someone out there do have the ready made aroma strips please don't forget to call me.

Let us share with all my blog readers .....

PS: The fermentation have begun and the smell is getting thicker every hour. There seem to be lots of bubbles coming out from the bottom and some of those black feathers are floating to the surface. Also there are lots of unbroken gas bubbles floating on the surface.... Hmmm I am in love with the aroma but my wife is getting piss off with it ....He he he he ....

So far received one call from one of my favourite blog reader and he told me something that he have found out about aroma strips ... If U want to know call me ...

Beside the Walls Where Else Should You Apply Those Aromas???

When one talk about Aroma application, our mind will imagine that there is this pungent birdshit smelly liquid applied to the nesting room walls.

The BH owner will, on a regular basis, spend a few hours every month to uncork those aroma container's cap, pour the liquid into those container, roll the paint application rollers and apply the liquid onto the walls.

He will start from one location and move to one end and again moved to the next until he finished the whole length of the room.

Where else do you think you should consider applying these aromas?

Have you ever thought on the floor?

Have you ever tried onto those walls in the open roof areas?

Have you ever thought of the tunnel walls?

Hmm ...............Never ever think of such thing, Harry.

I am not trying to give any wild ideas but why don't you give a small thought about it.

Just list down the advantages and disadvantages....

If they bring more looses then benefits then scrap this idea but if they can bring lots of benefits to your birdhouse population, why not?

Best of luck and keep on the good works in bringging up your birdhouse population.....

Bentong Birdcall Experiences !!!

Yesterday's trip to Bentong, Pahang was enlightining and at the same time met a new friend who is genuinely facinated with swiftlet farming.

He was never a swiftlet farming enthusiast before but after reading my swiftletfarming.blogspot.com he is more then convinced that swiftlet farming is the best among all those that he have come across.

He tried to be a forum member of a popular forum chapter but was flatly rejected. You can imagine how one feel being rejected more then three times.

I consoled him that at least he stumbled into my blog and there isn't any rules and regulations to stop him from reading my articles.

Whatever said and done I still feel very sad that this can happened to a reputable Bentong resident who have more then 5 pieces of landmarks properties in Bentong alone.

Well I guess you cannot win all the time.......

What really interest me most while in Bentong was the way those Bentong Swiftlet Species responded to my Birdcall tests.

The first test was conducted on a piece of land just after the Khidmat Negara Camp. I played all the three Cds (Awesome, Duress and Talk2me) and the birds respond was bad. I did feel desperate, stressed and unbelievable. How could that happen to me? ...

It could be due to the sound or the time or the location .......

After my late lunch, 3 pm, we proceeded to the 4 stories building to take the necessary measurements.

After that we went over to Mr.B Bungalow and start the song playing time.

I played almost 8 to 10 sounds and only one seem to be giving the right entising sound....

In the beginning I was pretty desperate but the last Disc did a very good job.

I played for almost 30 minutes. We sip some plain tea while watching those swiftlets swooping above the car roof top.

The lesson learned here is that if you want to conduct a birdcall test in a place that is remote, you need to bring along more then one / two CDs. You need 10 or more. I was lucky since I have a full bag of 48 CDs.

So to all my blog readers, especially those who ordered and collect their birdcall test units please be informed and if you need any help please call me for additional CDs ..........

My Next Trip Shall Be To DENGKIL, Selangor !!!

A friend of mine have invited me to view a BH that he build using someone's shoplot. This shoplot is somewhere in Dengkil and the owner have agreed to go on a 50:50 profits sharing with my enterprising friend.

A very noble way of owning 50% of a birdhouse but with very little capital layout !!!

The unit is just about to be completed and he wanted me to inspect and make some constructive comments before getting the house into operation mode.

I will be meeting him at IOI Mall in Puchong tomorrow March 14th 2008 at about 10.00 am and proceed to the BH.

Those who have never seen or entered a BH before and would like to join the trip please call or PM me soonest.

I will be happy to have two persons to accompany me .....

Not only U will have the chance to view a new unit but also meet me and my good friend. Who knows he might be an asset to U in you next BH project ....

Bentong: A Town With Lots of White Gold Opportunities !!!

My journey to Bentong Pahang started about 9.15 am yesterday. I took less then one hour to reach Bentong using the Karak highway.

I hit Jalan Kuching and turned to the MRR2 and later turned into the Karak highway. After the Genting Sampah R&R, I took about 25 minutes to be in Bentong. It was drizziling all the way.

The main town was small and the most there were about four rows of old shophouses pitted buy a few new shophouses and budget hotels.



My eyes was always on the sky looking for any sign of those beautiful swallows. Yes there were many, except they look more like those House Swallows (White spot on their back). I was not very sure if there are any other types of swiftlets (edible birdnest birds).

I parked my car at the Post office and call Mr.B to meet me there. While waiting I walked along the walkways infront of those old shop houses.



No suprise at all. I saw so many house swallows nests, made of grass, on the ceilings. A few are those made of mud. One of the mud nests seem to be tenanted by grass swallows. Just see one of the picture I posted.



MR.B took about 10 minutes to arrived and the moment we met he took me to one of the building on the same row which I took my walk.

There it was. A four stories building, the highest in the row, not fully tenanted. We walked up and he showed me all the floors that were suitable for a birdhouse conversion. We went up to the top most, roof top, to view the two air vents that can be used as the bird entrance hole..... Hmmm ........



It looks that this will be the BH of Bentong one final day and if fully occupied it can provide a four month harvest of 50 kilograms. Hmmmmm............. Well what if we can entend the rooms to the to more floors below ? Hmmmmm ............(I am in deep thought of how one day I am going to the bank with a big smile on my face!!!!)

Once finished, he took me to a few housing areas with bird houses in operation.

Both areas confirmed that there are lots of AF in Bentong and the town is about to be turned into a Swiftlet City of Pahang. I believed it will an explosive one......

Now his offer !!!

He is looking at me and my blog reader to be the investor......

He is willing to lease the building to any one and the group will take charge of the cost to convert. The first 6 years free rental and after the 6th year he will charge a norminal rental fee of RM 1,000 a month per floor.

He would like to share 50:50 of the harvest, less cost of operations.

Hmmmmmmmmm ...... Not a bad deal.

Okay, those who read this blog, U can just tell me yes and how many lots are you able to take up. Minimum is one and maximum is 4 lots.

The cost to renovate is not more then 25K a floor. We attack the top two floors. So we only need about 50K. Any extra, if required, shall be negotiated.

I wanted to have about 10 people who have 5K to hold one lot of the share.

I already have 2, I need at least 3-5 more.

I think I can use this unit as a training center for all those newbies who are keen to own a BH but could not effort to own the whole unit.(Cost to own one is at least RM 250K)

It will also be a good trainig ground for those who one day will own their own unit.

The choice is yours and it will be on first come first served basis ....













PS: So far I have received a total of four parties taking up 8 lots and nearly taken up. I am very suprised that within less then four hours they are nearly fully taken.....