The weather is extremely hot and dry. Haze is building up.
Now most Swiftlet farm’s humidity level are at its lowest. A full blast of humidifiers would only help a
little. Nests cracked, they are getting smaller and thinner, with plenty of
feathers on it, dirty and poorly shaped. They are caused by the internal and external factors. There
are fewer birds in the sky now. We could hardly see them unless during the
homecoming hour at dusk.
The number of birds returning to farm is reducing. Most have
ventured far to places that have rain. They may not return if they found a place
that have rain that could support the growth of insects which their survival depended
on it. Swiftlet could fly a distance of more than 500 km. They could be heading
to Thailand or Indonesia that is not impossible, as they could fly with a speed
over 160 km/h. It had happened before, during the forest fire in Indonesia in
the 80’s and 90’s big migration of Swiftlet from Indonesia take place. They
decided to make Setiawan, Parit buntar, Taiping, Segamat, etc their homes. With
their arrival these places flourished and now they are well known for Swiftlet
farming.
During this period most nests are empty without eggs and chicks. This
is the best time to harvest as most of the nests could be taken unlike the
month of Oct- Jan where most nests are occupied with eggs and chicks.
Due to drought, the
food ( insects) is scarce. No rain or water means no survival. Insects can’t
reproduce without rain, they rely on water and rain to start their production
cycle. No insects means no food for the chicks and their survival is affected. Therefore,
parents would hold on or delay their broods to a period that have plenty of
food (insects). This is nature, they knew with such condition the youngs may
not survive.
By understanding the insect reproductive cycle and the weather it helps you to better
prepare and reduce the effects of drought.
There are few things we need to focus on during this drought
period.
1) Increase the
humidifying time. A longer timing of interval eg: switch on for 30 – 45 minutes
every 2-3 hours. It is not recommended to switch on the humidifier for
continuous of more than 1 hour. (Hot air and water droplets encourage fungus to
grow)
2) Manage ventilation
holes well. ( Some vent- holes have to be closed to prevent hot and dry air
from entering the farm).
3) Recommended to have water pool or pond in farms. ( Pail
and bucket filled up with water)
4) Remove carcass of dead birds on the farm’s floor. (It is
common to see dead young birds on farm’s floors due to extreme temperature and starvation)
5) Install water sprinkler on the roof or at the entrance
hole.
6) Exhaust fan: Bear in mind, I personally do not encourage
exhaust fan inside the farm. What gets sucked out actually come from outside.
When air is sucked out it bring in hot air. If you don’t understand this simple
theory, then Swiftlet farming is not your cup of tea. The exhaust fan
Should be installed in the ceiling, sucking hot air in the
ceiling out so that the temperature of the ceiling could be lowered.
7) Provide insect powder. An extra food for the young birds
in the farm (Use Hi-Nests Insect Powder)
Now is the best time to find out whether your dream Swiftlet
farm is being built properly.
It is a testing time. Is the wall being insulated properly?
Is the Ventilations being placed at the right place?
Your double layered red clay bricks sandwiching an inch
thick Styrofoam pays off now. Paying extra money for the double layered bricks
make more sense now. Now you appreciate and feel damn lucky you had opted for the double layered clay
bricks while your friends whose laughed at you for paying extra for the unnecessary
bricks are crying.
Swiflet farmers are very much related to Feng Shui, a
balance of all entities if one wants to achieve and see good result. ( Cannot
be too dark or too bright. Cannot be too hot or too cold. All must be in balance
just the right amount, in the middle…. should I say the middle path is the right
path.)
In Swiftlet farming, we cannot totally separate good and bad
or advantages and disadvantages. We cannot totally eliminate the bads, but to
make use or adapt to it to take advantage of it and turn threat into opportunity.
This extreme weather has its advantages too. Now is the time
to lure and capture all young birds from poorly built farms, farms that are too hot
with rising temperature, farms that have single layered bricks…. and so on.
When the weather is good with the rain, it is not easy for
you to capture and lure your neighbors’ birds. This is the time. The young birds are willing
to leave now. The extreme temperature in their farms forces them to look for a new home. So don’t lose this opportunity. It
only happens once in many, many years. Well, it is recommended to use 3RD Love Potion to capture and Lure those
young birds to your farms. Many successful farmers are using it now to capture
their neighbors’ birds.
If you understand Swiftlet farming well every threat could
be an opportunity for you.
Good Swiftlet farming All.
