(did you notice any problem with this partition?)Mr. G has been persistently calling me. He wanted to meet up with me to collect Love Potion directly from me In K.L. Unfortunately I was not free as I have other things to attend to and I was very tire from my travelling( Farm visiting). He came all the way from Parit Buntar. In fact I do go there when I travel to the North I would make it a point to stop by to meet some old friends and some readers as well.
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But last month my schedule was very tight and I only managed to stop by Taiping, Trong and Pantai Remis. After that I have to rush back to K.L because the next day I have to be in Melaka.
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He calls again and again as I reached K.L it was already 7 pm. I even offer to courier the Love Potion he ordered and the postage I absorb but he still insisted he wanted to see me. His persistency really impressed me. I was very tire but I make it a point to meet him.
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Finally we met at USJ 16. He was a young farmer. He was very happy to have met me. He told me he had wanted to go into this business since year 2000 but unfortunate he doesn’t has the fund then. After convincing some friends and partners and from his saving now they owned a stand alone farm which started in May 09. He told me as today it has more than 60 birds.
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I told him, Mr. G …. It is good to see you. Sorry for pushing away the appointment earlier. What can I do for you and how can I help you?
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Mr. G.You may ask any question you want be it anything but making sure it’s related to swiftlet farming….I smiled.
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He was muted for a while and I told him next time you may write it down in a piece of paper it can be hundred questions or thousand questions, no problem!
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One of the questions he asked that I would like to share with you all is “Should a farm be partitioned or not”
1) Well it depends on the size and the design of the farm. If the farm’s design permits too much sunlight getting into the farm then partitioning is needed.
2) If the farm is too big 30x 100 ft and sort for then partitioning is needed. This is to create a cozy environment. Otherwise a trick partition is needed.
3) Partitioning also can be use as a tool to control the internal micro. (Temp & Humidity).
4) Partition also can be use as a tool to control the flying path of the birds. In other words it works as directing swiftlet to certain parts of the farm. * This has to be done perfectly and by with people with in-depth knowledge of birds flying path otherwise it will threat.*
5) The material of the partition is also very important. If the material is of soft material that absorb sound then the echolocation of the Swiftlet ( sonar) cannot work effectively and making flying difficulty in dark and swiftlet will not stay to make nest.* I have witness myself a Swiftlet banged on the partition right in front of me when I inspecting a failed farm in S. Bakap.*
6) ……………………………and many more…….
You see just about partition there are already so many do and don’t what about Darkness, Temp, Humidity, Design, Material, Location, etc. Many farmers think it is simple as long they get the above correct in fact I can tell you it is definitely more than that. That is why 80% farms failed even they can get to the above perimeter.
This is how it makes Swiftlet farming so interesting so much more to learn. For sure you can’t be an expert in just 3 or 5 days talks. It takes years.
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Unfortunately I could only spend an hour with Mr. G. as I have to rush back home to pack my things and get ready for tomorrow travelling.
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Nice meeting you Mr. G… hope you have learned.
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Good Farming All!
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