The most highly anticipated and talked about Swiftlet Eco park that was built in 2011, now has become a Swiftlet Ghost Park.
70-80% of the Swiftlet farm here is not running, means without sound or water supply. I guess most owners had given up hope. Electric fuse boxes and water meters were removed, either by the authority ( unpaid bills) or by thieves.
Windows and front shatters were removed by thieves. It is an abandoned town. I though it was supposed to be a gated Eco Park with security, but it is not.
For those who have a Swiftlet farm here knew which Swiftlet Eco park I am referring to. Yes, it is the Kuala Krai Eco Park which launched about 3 years plus ago.
There are about 60 units here, only a handful still operating. There are no best Swiftlet farm here. The best ones barely touch x...number of nests. The rest totally failed.
No one wants to build a failed Swiftlet farm. There is a saying " No one plans to fail but failed to plan". But as for this Eco Swiftlet park it seems it was planned to fail.
Why I am saying this? Well....lets see below the inside of the farm you would know what I mean.
I was in Kuala Krai last week on an invitation of Mr. Y to salvage his Swiftlet farm. He has a unit here. It was not easy to get one when it was launched 3 years ago. It sold like hot cake. People talked about it. Those who have bought it considered lucky. The feeling was like striking number.( 4D)...laughing all the way to the bank. In reality it is not so.
The name "Kuala Krai" does has its effects. A place of million birds but don't forget whatever numbers of birds in the sky it doesn't belong to you if you failed to build a Swiftlet farm that could attract them to stay and build nests. Mr. Y has done everything but to no avail.
He has attended seminars, has read many books but still couldn't figure out why his Swiftlet farm failed. He is not alone.....there are many who shared the same faith as him. They could blame it on the location, on the timing and on luck and faith, but they didn't realize it is more that.
I was there to teach and help him to find out what are the underlying causes. Out of curiosity I asked him ..."why did you engage me to help you as there are so many so called experts and Sifus out there? He replied " you included citation in your writes ( blog) where others don't...that really impressed me".
Oh.....I see. I was just trying to make it easy for people to understand. There is a saying " If you can't explain in details to others that means you are not sure what you are writing".
Mr.Y's Swiftlet farm is a pre-renovated unit. It was done by the developer. In other words most of the farms here are ready made. In such cases, the developer must be skillful and has vast knowledge in Swiftlet farming otherwise how could it undertake a huge project like this.
Thus the chances of success is high. I am sure most would think the same. "Such a huge project must be by experience and skillful people". Don't forget we are here to build Swiftlet farm not Shop lots or houses. Yes, shop lots and houses you need reputable developers but Swiftlet farm you need people who knows the behavior of birds. Why I am saying this again? See below picture.
The person who designed this building should know the limitations, advantages and disadvantages as well as Swiftlet flying behavior. This would enable him to create an environment that is friendly to Swiftlet.
But the 7 feet wide roving defeat the whole purpose. Why a beam is erected 7ft from the wall? Birds need a minimum of 12 ft to have a smooth manuvering. This not a normal random Shop lots where we have to improvise its structure if we were to convert it into a Swiftlet farm. This is a Swiftlet Eco park. It is specially built for Swiftlet farming, why it is built this way? I think you all already have the answer..
The beam shouldn't be there if this is to be a Swiftlet farm. This really hit my head, does this person know what he was designing? Well I am not going to eleborate on that person Swiftlet farming skill. You judge it yourself.
Secondly the entrance hole from far left with a fall of 24 ft right to the 1st floor with a sharp 90 degree turn would be impossible for young birds to negotiate that turn. Unless the width of the roving is more than 12 ft ( minimum) , but as you could see it is only 7 ft. So the problem arise here.
From the observation I knew why this farm was made this way. Because of the narrow roving of 7ft, the distance between the 1st entrance hole and the 2st entrance is very close therefore light could easily penetrates into the nesting area. To avoid this the builder has no choice but to opt for a small 2nd entrance hole so as to reduce the light. Small 2nd entrance hole is not good for Swiftlet farm. He is creating a mess and covering up the mess at the same time. I wonder did he know that? What say you? Definitely he didn't know otherwise he wouldn't have created a 7 ft roving.
So it doesn't solve anything. The catch is " Why want to create a mess at the first place?
To reduce the light further he painted all roving, ceiling,etc black. This really kills the farm. Often people always ask me is it necessary to paint the farm black? My answer is " NO".
Because the farm's design itself has already reduced the light density, which means we already know the exact darkness we wanted with the partitioning and the sizes of the entrance holes prior to building the farm. If black paint is needed, often it is painted at the roving not the nesting areas.
If after the farm had been built then only the whole internal is painted black it shows the person who designed this farm did not anticipated or know the out come of the light density. To him it is more of a guessing game. "Build first if it is too bright then paint black". Building a good Swiftlet farm shouldn't be like this.
Because of this practice now it has been a norm that all Swiftlet farms must paint black. It is very misleading. And it seems many Sifus still encourage people to do the same.
The Tweeters formation is totally fail. Only 2 tweeters on a roll of 10 planks. Tweeters at the edge of the wall are most important . These are the places where young birds build their nests. Why no tweeters here? To save cost?
Probably he has been influenced by the technique of having more tweeters installed at the middle of the farm which has been misleading many people. Birds fly in a circular motion , if birds were have to stop and hang definitely at both side, left and right not at the middle.
Now you could clearly see the importance of understanding of birds flying pattern. If you don't understand how they fly how could you create an environment that are friendly to their flying patterns?
8 Vent Holes on both end of each wall. Too much movement of air. Sometimes I wonder, is it a Vent hole competition. See whose farms have the most the more the better. Most have perceived the purpose of Vent hole is to cool down the farm. If Vent hole could cool down the farm effectively then why we need double layered bricks wall, double roofing,etc? Just build a single layered wall Swiftlet farm and put as many Vent holes as possible. Perhaps every 2 inches 1 Vent hole. This would save cost and time. In fact most failed farm are associated with plenty of Vent holes.
Too many exit. The birds could access both floors by the staircase and the second entrance hole. It seemed it was designed more for the convenience of people rather than birds. This is an Eco Park they should have known this prior to building. It confused the birds. Light ray came from more than 2 areas. Young birds that are yet to fully develop the echolocation sound would circle both exit until they tire and drop dead. To them these might be the exit.
Structural this building is not created or designed for birds. We just have to accept it this is market economy, this is how it works. It was built because there was a demand.
There are hundred of mistakes here which I can't finish writing. Mr. Y knows what I mean. I explained every each with detail...as he had said "citation". I guess this is the best way to help people to understand.
Now you know why a Swiftlet farm fails? It is more than just location. Kuala Krai...how could it fails? A land with millions birds. As I have said before and I will say it again. The rule of the thumb is...We are here to build a Successful Swiftlet farm not a building. But in reality 90% of the people in Swiftlet farming is building a building.
Since 80% of the farm here is no longer running therefore it is to M.Y advantage if he revamps it now as competition is at its lowest.
So it is not just about location. It is all in a package in order to have a good successful farm. The design, sound system, internal enviroment, Aroma enenhancement etc.
Good Swiftlet farming all.
