Swiftlet Farming is one of the most potential Agro related business. This Swiftlet Farming Blog was created to reveal and expose the insight of Swiftlets farming. Swiftlets farming is viable in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia,Cambodia,Myanmar, Laos, Philippine and Brunei
Dead birds without heads in Swiftlet farm! That is not common but it happens. Mr.Low from Perak desperately wants to know what causes this and which predator so slick that only eat the head and leave the body.
He has asked many Sifus and consultants, surfed the net and forum but no one could confidently answer his question. Most of them assumed …….but no specific answer.
I have realized that I didn’t write about this in my blog and I guess it is good to show and explain what causes dead birds without head in Bh.
First of all the predators have enter the Bh , then attacked the Birds. It shows there are Predators in this Bh. But what kind of Predators that only have the exquisite taste for bird’s head? Many couldn’t answer this because all killings happened inside the Bh during night. And this happened without the presence of the Bh’s owner. If lucky it may be recorded by the CCTV but most CCTV are not installed inside the nesting areas. Most are installed at the Roving area and Entrance hole and the predators are too slick (too fast) to be recorded.
We could assume Owl, Eagle, etc… Owl and Eagle do attack birds as it is part of their diet. They catch birds with theirs claws, their sharp talons kill the bird instantly and there is no chance for escaping. They hold bird with their claws with their body weight on top forcing onto the bird between their claws. From here they would strip the feathers and tear the meat with their powerful curl beak, feeding on the slices of meat they have torn from the bird’s body. They prefer meat from the body not the head.
It is not easy to find out unless one has experienced such incident before. This predator leaves no trace, unlike the Owl with vomit pellets. They don’t stay long in the Bh, once they have indulgent themselves by ripping of the bird’s heads they would leave immediately (except the birds’ body).
( The Predator Love the head , without eating the body) （獵食動物只愛吃頭、 不吃身體）
So what is the cause of dead birds without head in Bh? The answer is…….. Civet cat. Civet cat likes birds’ brain. They are naturally born with the love for small animal heads. They like crushing the skull of small animals. Civet cat is omnivorous, large portion of their diet are fruits but occasionally they hunt for small birds and small mammals. Given the opportunity of a Bh with many birds inside which is easy prey, they would turn the Bh their favorite hunting ground for brain and skull.
(The above movie shows how a young Civet Cat eats bird. Crushing and chewing the head as it likes the brain. Most bodys are left behind. It is eating a sparrow, it does the same to Swiftlets)
It doesn’t mean Bhs located in urban areas are safe from this Skillful and cunning predator. Both Bhs in rural and urban are alike. Few years ago I caught a Civet cat in my house ceiling. For your information I live in an urban town call Subang Jaya.
I have been hearing noisy sound in the night. It came from the ceiling, sometimes rough scratches sound and like someone walking in the ceiling. It really scared me. It happens almost every night. Civet cat would be the least that I suspected. I am living in a town not in a plantation or a Kampong. Few days later I went up the ceiling with a flashlight and to my surprise I found some shits near the water tank. They must have liked the cool area there. I thought it was cat shits as my neighbors love cats. It is common to see cats sneak into my kitchen looking for food. As I look closer I discover it is not cat shit. As an animal lover myself, I really have interest in this and I could easily differentiate them. I knew it is Civet cat.
The next day I made a cage big enough for an adult cat to sit in it, with the features similar to the small cages that we used to catch mice but with rubber tube from my old bicycle as the spring. I put some bananas tying them together with some chicken meat and hooked it onto the release hook in the cage. I place the cage inside the ceiling at 9.30 pm, this is the time where the rough sound often came.
After setting up the trap, I went out to meet a reader who came all the way from Singapore. He had called me many times, he wants my consultation on the design of his soon to be Bh in T.Karang which he has a piece of land there. Minutes into our discussion my wife calls me, she was in panic. She asked me to come back as soon as possible, she was frighten by the violence sound from the ceiling. I have to cut short the meeting and I promised that I will be back in an hour time or more.
I went up the ceiling, the moment I flash the light onto the cage I see this big dark fur cat inside the cage. It was a Civet cat. It tried to escape violently banging the cage with its head. I knew if this going to go on the Civet cat would injure itself so I took a cloth and cover the cage before I took the cage down. (The Civet cat has been surrendered to Perhilitan)
This is what happened in my house. So don’t think that Bhs located in town there will be no Civet cats.
Besides this I have also seen cats, Stray Cats attacking birds. They share the same behavior as Civet cat and cat both like skull and brain. Some Stray cats don’t eat the head but just enjoy crushing and chewing them. This is their animal instinct and behavior.
This often happened to Open roof type Bh or Bh Entrancehole without spikes or nails. Civet cat could easily enter these Bhs thru the Entrance hole.
So now you know why your Bhs have Dead Birds without Heads.
Note: You could trap the Civet cat with Cage make sure the cage is big enough.
( 4 eggs in a nest. The bottom nest is 1 chick and 2 eggs)
If you see this in your Bh chances are the number of nest will multiply rapidly. Swiftlets normally lay 1-2 eggs per clutch. It is rare to see 3 eggs in a nest. The above picture shows 4 eggs.
Lately I am seeing this in my Bh . I hardly see nests with single egg now, most of them are with 2 eggs at least, and now there are some with 3 eggs and even 4 eggs. The number of nest has increased tremendously and there are many new Nest Markings. This indicates the internal environment control is at its best level and the birds like it.
I was trying to find out what has caused this abnormal phenomenon. I have discovered something that I had done prior to this which has caused rapid nests growth.
Every time after I’ve visited my Bh I always jot down and record all the things that I have done. I would compile all datas and records, and compare them. From here it would help me to identify the cause of such phenomenon.
I shall explain why this is happening in my Bh in my next article.
“Hi Sifu James, Is there anything I could use to improve my BH?”
This is what Mr. L asked when he called me this morning.
I recommended him to try the Love Potion.He is not confident with aromas as he had tried numerous types of aromas except Love Potion. All the other aromas that he had tried shown poor results.I supposed he had bad experiences with those aromas.
“James, I had tried many aromas but the result of my BH remains the same.”
“Mr. L, have you tried Love Potion?”
“No, James.I have not tried Love Potion.I did hear tons about Love Potion, but I have not tried it yet.”
“Mr. L, where is your BH located?”
“It is in Mentakab, Pahang.Have you ever been to Mentakab, James?”
“Yes. I have a lot of customers in Mentakab, all of them are using Love Potion and their BHs are doing very well.There is one particular BH located in Jalan Matahari has been using Love Potion since 2008.Currently, it has about 3000+ nests.He started using Love Potion with less than 100 nests.”
“Mr. James, my BH is located at Jalan Matahari too.”
“What a coincidence!”
“This BH is the top here. Yes, I know which one you are talking about James. That BH is my neighbor.”
“Are you sure, Mr. L?What is your shop's number?”
“James, it is number…..XX…”
“Mr. L, your BH is just next to this top BH.Did you not meet the owner and ask for his advice, and what he uses for in BH?"
“I did, but he does not say much.”
"Well, that is part of the parcel in swiftlet farming. People just don’t reveal the secret except us teaching many people and reveal it thru our Blog….we bloggers must be silly..ha..ha..ha. Tell your neighbor that I told you about his secret..Love potion.
“James…don’t say that…I really appreciate the free information you provide in your blog.
“James, I had suspected that he must have used something special.I never expected that he used Love Potion.His BH was not doing well before 2008..there were not many birds then. Now, his BH is the top here.James, how did you come to know the address? You must have very good memory.”
“No, Mr. L.I send Love Potion to him very often.He uses Love Potion regularly. That is how I remembered his address.You should give Love Potion a try.”
“Yes James,please sends 6 bottles to me.I will follow your advice and will let you know the results. I should have used it when I started my BH 4 years ago. I should have contacted you earlier for this.I should not have listened to some of my so-called good friends. They discouraged me to use aroma.That is why after trying a few other brands of aroma, I give up..and stopped using aroma”
“Never mind about that Mr. L.Nothing is too late but ignorance will only prevent you from being successful.Do contact me if you need more advices. I shall send you Love Potion as soon as possible.”
“Ok, Thank you, James.”
Mr. L had called me before, he often asks about Bh’s micro and other things. He never asked about aroma until this conversation. I guess he does not believe in Aroma. Now he could check with his neighbor and can’t deny the power of aroma..Love Potion.
Received these pictures from a reader. He wants my comment and opinion. He wants to know whether this design is good or….as he had never designed a Bh before and this is his first Bh. Some sections and parts of the design is copied from the web while others like measurements, size of roving, entrance holes, etc were derived from the discussion with friends.
It is a 2 storey 30x 45' that many are adopting now, a smaller size Bh which often refer as Kampung style Bh especially in East of Malaysia (Sabah &Sarawak) and Indonesia. One of the reasons this Bh is preferred because is it cheaper to build.
Obviously smaller Bh is cheaper to build compared to bigger ones. Bear in mind our purpose here is to build a successful Bh not for cost competition. Of course if we could have both (cheap and successful Bh) that would be the best.
This Bh is using single layered brick with zinc outer to reduce cost. I would still prefer double layered red bricks for long term. The single layer bricks arrangement is not efficient enough to reduce heat if it is not done properly. The concrete pillars are still exposed to the sun which absorb heat and release it into the Bh.
There are advantages and disadvantage of a Small Bh, we need to understand both and find out how it could affect the Micro of the Bh. With this in mind it would help us to build good Swiftlet farm.
The width is 30' and the length is 45' with a Dog kennel at the far end. With 45' length, light can easily penetrate into the Bh if partitioning is not done properly. A longer Bh that is more 70' would have less light control problem.
This Bh has many openings (Entrance hole) at the Dog Kennel cited the owner "easy for the birds to fly in and to accommodate birds from all directs". More openings mean more light which requires more partitions to block the light. More partitions would restrict birds from maneuvering easily (flying path). Therefore deciding the exact place to erect the partitions and how many partitions are needed are very important and can not be taken lighly.
Some may argue that to solve this problem a can of Black paint would do the job. Bear in mind Black paint kills Bh because it creates no contrast. Young birds (echolocation not fully developed) unable to differentiate the tone of darkness. Unless you know where and which wall and partition need to be painted black. There is no guessing game here. Any mistake made, it would prevent young birds from flying into the Bh.
Different people have different opinions, for me one Entrance hole is good enough furthermore this is a small Bh. The Entrance hole should be pre-anticipated, if many Entrance holes are needed at the Dong Kennel must well make it an Open Roof type instead, where Birds can flying in from all directions. (Note: The Designer should pre-anticipate the right location of the Entrance Hole. Not after the Bh is completed or operated).
Since it is a small Bh the designer should consider its space limitation. The sections A, B & C has taken 2/3 of the Bh space. Birds rarely build nests here, this has reduced the nesting area size of the 1st floor to 450sf . In other words this Bh is only maximizing on the 2nd floor. I wonder does the owner take this into consideration when he designs it.
Due to the Interhole position right at the Roving door (B) there is intent light density here. There are good and bad, easy exit for birds from 2nd floor but too bright for those who want to make nests.
With the current design if birds were to build nests it would be at the 2nd floor room. This Bh only has a nesting area of 450sf (if birds choose to build nests in this Bh). 1st floor is too bright.
The owner didn't mention about the height of the floor, material of the partitions so I would leave this comment aside.
It seems that there is roof over the nesting area (D) to reduce heat the other areas are without zinc roof. This is for cost saving but it is very unwise. All sections of the Bhs are somehow interrelated. The heat from A, B & C would move into the nesting (D) thru its door and exit thru the Vent-holes on the wall if the wind direction comes from the front, making draught air flowing into the nesting area and seriously affect the Micro. I am confident that if this Bh design remains, it needs many humidifiers running for many hour to keep the Rh high.
I didn't comment about the size of the Entrance hole, there are 3 Entrance holes here. No point of doing so as there are more important things this Bh design needs to rectify.
Though there are many Bh designs available free from many sources. Make sure you know which and what could be adopted. And you must have some basic understanding of how the Internal and External factors works before you apply them into use.
As I have said building a Bh is no turning back. The only turning back is revamp & renovation which would burn more holes in your pocket.
How are you going to make your Swiftlet farm standout among all other Bhs if your Bh is located in an area like this. Competition is stiff here, only the best build, best design and best managed Bh would survive. This is reality.
( All Entrance holes almost identical)
One Bh next to another with all sorts of different external sounds, different types and sizes of entrance hole. Which Bh is going to be chosen by Birds when they decide to roost for the night?
There are plenty of choices here for the birds to choose from. The birds could fly into one Bh and fly out next, trying out, and choose those that suit them. This means the best design Bh with the best micro will win. Do your Bhs have all these qualities? Sometimes it is good that we question our ability, the advantages and disadvantages our Bhs. This helps us to address any shortcoming.
This applies to areas that are dense with Bhs and Eco parks. There is no guarantee having a Bh here would assure success even thoughone may sees thousands of birds in the sky after rain.
Birds come and go, providing extra food doesn’t guarantee success too. They may come for free lunch after that they would fly back to Bhs that have good micro quality to stay and build nests.
I have seen many Bhs of such and have corresponded with many Bh owners that are facing such problem.
( Back to back all Swiftlet Farms)
In order to standout in such competitive areas the external and internal sounds have to be extraordinary. It must have the ability to attract birds to fly into the Bh at the same time entice them to stay. Not all sounds are the same as I had mentioned previously. Due to commercialization many have copied swiftlet sounds from unknown sources without knowing and understand the content of the sound, then duplicating them over and over again selling it in the market. If the content consists sounds that would frighten birds then the Bh that played this sound will suffer. I wonder whether they know what good sound is. Are the criteria of a good external sound is having the ability to attract large number of birds in a short period after it is played? If yes then Stress Sound would be the most preferred sound.
It is common to receive calls from readers sharing their experiences about how their Sifus played Stress sound in their Bhs to please them because they wanted to see Birds. At the end these newbies Bhs will lose out. Because of the craving of wanting to see birds the unknowledgeable Sifus resorted to using Stress Sound.
( Unable to decide which is the best entrance Hole)
To avoid such disaster make sure you get your sound from reliable people, those who have experience and those who know the right tune and frequency of birds’ sounds.
Have you ever wondered why old successful Bhs could continue to attract birds to stay in their Bhs even though their Bhs are over populated with birds? And why new Bhs are hard to get 10 birds to stay for a night?
( All Entrance holes look the same. Nothing special It won't attract many birds.)
Birds live and build nests in colonies. These mean Birds are not solitary by nature. In recent research it shows birds could sense odor. It influences their mating behavior, breeding and production cycle. This could be clearly observed when one visits a successful Bh with few thousand nests inside. The smell inside is different. I like the smell it is hard for me to explain here with words, it is different. The smell in the Bh tell tales. With such knowledge and understanding therefore Love Potion was invented.
Well for me beside location, the most important criteria a Bh must have are Smell, Sound, Internal micro, flying path, material and design.
(Internal micro: Temperature, Humidity, Density of Light,)
