A good Nesting Plank arrangement would help Swiftlet farm increases its birds population. There are so many ways of setting up the formation. The most common ones are the two below.
Boxes Plank Type.
Besides choosing the right type of wood for your Nesting Plank the arrangement of the plank is also important. In general there are two ways of arrangging the Nesting Plank......................................................................................................................................................................
One is to create many boxes the size of 3-1/2 x 1-1/2 ft .This type of arrangement is to maximize on the 90dg corners that favor by young adult Swiftlets. ...........................................................................................................................................................................
With many 90gd corners it is easy for young adult Swiftlets to choose and to make nest. The young Swiftlets are some what lazy I guess. ...........................................................................................................................................................................
Young adult Swiftlets prefer to make nest on 90dg corners because they are inexperience in making nest and less saliva is needed. ............................................................................................................................................................................
Due to this, it takes a shorter period of time for the Swiftlets to complete their nests. With this type of arrangement the Swiftlets population in the farm would increase faster. ..............................................................................................................................................................................
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(nest at 90dg corner)...................................................................................................................
The disadvantages are, the nests from the 90dg corners are smaller in size thus the value of the nests are much lower. .............................................................................................................................................................................
More planks are needed to form the small boxes of 16"x40". In a area of 12x12ft which consisted of boxes of 16"x40" there are about 184 90dg corners compared to the same size area if without the boxes formation there are only about 46 90dg corners...............................................................................................................................................................
As such majority nests are in triangle shape...................................................................................................................................................................
Straight.Plank.Type........................................................................................................................................................................
Where as for the Straight Plank Type most nests are in full cup size and the value of the nests are higher. Less usage of wood planks thus saves money. ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Less 90dg corners mean less area for cockroaches, lizards, ticks, etc to hide or make nest. Only 10% of nests from such formation are 90dg corner size.
The disadvantages of Straight Plank Type, it takes a longer period for Swiftlets to adapt to making nest on a flat surface especially for young adult birds. Initially population increase is slow. ...........................................................................................................................................................................
It may take up to 8-12 months for adaptation. Both formations are widely used in farms. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.