A lot of those "successful" birdhouses are exceptions

Don't be misled by a superficial assumption from observing a lot of those successful birdhouses and try to copy their characteristics. A lot of those are exceptions, especially the ones that are naturally occupied without any of the owners' manipulations. Those places like temples and long-time neglected factories, old cinema theaters, or shop-houses.
Otherwise, you will come to the conclusions that :
1.the place doesn't need to be dark
Why the swiftlets make a lot of nests in places so bright with light and they even make nest in the day time ?
2.the place doesn't need to be damp
Why they make a lot of nests in places with no humidifier, no water pool, no water spray, no nothing ?
3.the place doesn't need to be quiet
Why they make a lot of nests in those shop-houses in the middle of the city with zillion of people with the worst traffic jam all the time of the day ?
4.the place doesn't need to be cool
Why they make a lot of nests where, when you are inside, you feel like you are in an oven ?
5.the place doesn't need to be ventilated
Why they make a lot of nests in places with no ventilation opening or not a single hole to be seen ?
....... and why ? , why ? , why ?

The answer is : it's only a matter of trust. If the conditions are not that extreme, and if they feel they are safe enough to nest and feed their youngs until they can fledge there, they will do it. And if they have done it once, they will do it again.

So, what is the definition of your "success"? Get one couple to stay and make babies, enough? 2 couples ? 3 ? 100 ? 10,000 ?
And what is the time span are you expecting ? 1 month ? 3 months? 2-3 years ? 8 ?

From a hobbyist's point of view, if you can get one couple to stay and nest and finally produce fledging offsprings. You are already successful. Still there are plenty of progress and improvement to be made.

Just don't jump the conclusion too fast from observing those "successful" birdhouses and copy them.

Essential basic books to read on swiftlet farming

There are not that many books about swiftlet farming in English. But, from a hobbyist's point of view, you actually don't need that too many. Follows are a few that I think essential.

1.Swiftlets of Borneo BUILDERS OF EDIBLE NESTS by Dr.Lim Chan Koon and Earl of Cranbrook (2 most authoritative specialists on this subject), published by Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd.

See if you can get it from :

http://www.nhbs.com/swiftlets_of_borneo_builders_of_edible_nests_tefno_126856.html

This book is excellent from the academic point of view. It introduces you to the nature of swiftlets, their ecology, breeding biology, human exploitation, bird's-nest cave management and conservation. It touches only slightly on the topic of swiftlet farming, but enough for the purpose of the book. You will learn a lot about these tiny little birds we've fallen in love with.

Both of the authors are very famous in this particular subject. Earl of Cranbrook is a legend and a hero in my own world of swiftlets. You may have heard of the name of Lord Medway in many reference books and papers. It's his past title. But, you know what ?, for all the knowledge they have, their hobby is not swiftlet farming, one of their hobbies, I heard, turned out to be collecting gemstones !

2.The Guide Book on Farming Edible-nest Swiftlets in Indonesia by Dr.E. Nugroho, DVM , Dr.Whendrato, DVM, SE, SS, MBA and I.M. Madyana, BA

3.The Secrets of a Successful Swiftlet House by Dr.E. Nugroho, DVM

4.The Farming of Edible-nest Swiftlets Aerodramus Fuciphagus in Indonesia by Dr.E. Nugroho, DVM

5.Nesting Plank The Key to a Successful Swiftlet Home by Dr.E. Nugroho, DVM

You can get all the books from number 2 to number 5 from http://www.birdnestcenter.com/

at the following page : http://shop.birdnestcenter.com/books-in-english.php

These books of Dr.Nugroho are on basic subjects that I think we hobbyists have to read to get to know the basic requirements of swiftlet farming with quite a bit of pictures and drawings. Somethings are considered obsolete by current practices, some drawings create more confusion than clarification, but overall in the big picture, I think these books are still the best for laying ground for a good foundation of the practice of swiftlet farming. Don't believe all what the books say, you will find what is right for you when you actually do it and experience it yourself.

I don't know about thier choices of payment now, or if they currently accept credit card payment or not, but if there is still only one choice via bank wire-transfer, it may be more cost-effective for you to pay via Western Union than wire-transfering money through the bank. Their exchange rate may not be that good, but the transfering fee is lower and the publisher can get the payment in their local currency directly, without having to pay the bank's collection fee on their side. Please ask them if it's O.K. to do so.

6.Make Millions from Swiftlet Farming : A Definitive Guide by Dr.Christopher Lim, MB BCH BAO, MRCP, FAMS

This book is O.K. for a newbie. Not bad to add it to your bookshelf. It has a section telling you how to turn a shop house into a swiftlet farm. The practice that seems to be not favored by governmental authorities in the long run, especially in the residential area in big cities. It should be more helpful if the author tells more about the building of a stand-alone farm in agricultural area, which seems to be the right decision to make for the newcomers in the long term.

You can visit the author's website at : http://www.swiftletfarming.com.my/

and see details of the book at : http://www.swiftletfarming.com.my/contents.php?id=100004

That's about it for the books.

Try surfing those sites, if you are interested, get them and ......... enjoy reading !

Swiftlet farming : Make it your new hobby and have fun.

Make it your new hobby and have fun. That, I would say, is a better approach and it will make your life easier.

When we indulge ourselves with the things we like, be they food, drinks, music, games, movies, sports, shopping, etc. , we don't think much about the time and money we are spending. We are just having fun.

So, why not making swiftlet farming a hobby? It's interesting , it's challenging, and if you are good at it, you can get a bit of money out of it too. It will still be fun as long as you don't feel that you are destroying the real meaning of a hobby by making a lot of money out of it, if you are so successful.

Don't let the greed rules in the first place. That will surely spoil the soup. Let's get a casual approach. We have some cool cash to spare. Time is what we have , equal with everyone's. Then, it's time to start getting some basic books to read.

Swiftlet Farming Reality Check : What the "consultants" haven't told you !

It's fun, it's rewarding, but it takes a lot of love, knowledge, and a heavy investment of money and time. "Patience" is the holy rule of the game. Waiting for success is often too much to bear for those who are in for a quick monetary return.

It always sounds tempting whenever we hear some people talk about swiftlet farming. One-time investment and you will have unlimited supply for life of this gluey substance that comes from the saliva glands of the sexually-matured couples of those small greyish black birds that is used to form the nests for thier babies.

The legendary "bird nest soup" , the "Cavier of the East" or the "Food for the Emperor" that the Chinese of all classes want to have whenever they can afford it. Tagged with high price, equivalent to those of the precious metals, it is called "white-gold" by some folks.

Money , money , and money is the reason most people want to get from swiftlet farming in the first place. There is nothing wrong with that. But then, that is the reason so many people are disappointed when they've plunged into the business and things are not as easy as they've previously thought.

What those "consultants" haven't told them are :

1.It will surely take a while (sometimes too long) before you get your money back. Typically 4-6 years , 8 is a better number to expect. And this means you have to have the right designs of the swiftlet home or condo, too.
Think of it as you are investing in growing big fruit trees or rubber trees. It's agricultural thing, you know. That time frame is a realistic approach.

2.For that long wait, you must have a "cool" cash reserve. That means it will make your life much less stressful if you do not have to borrow any from the bank or from anybody. Use your own saving and make sure you can part with that money for at least 8 years with no problem.

3.You will have to have some basic knowledge of swiftlet farming from books, websites, and , if lucky enough, from one of your friends who have at least a successful farm and , of course, if he doesn't mind helping you.

4.The most important thing is : you will have to have your own birdhouse to really learn the secrets of swiftlet farming. Not any one of the so called "consultants" will ever tell you everything, especially the one who toot thier own horn about how good they are to lure the newbie to part with their hard-earned cash. The best "sifu" always kept silent. Those guys just knew that they are still some kind of students of the world of swiftlet farming. There are always many new things to be discovered everyday.