BEST TIME TO HARVEST SWIFTLET'S NEST

One of the reasons for the dwindling of swiftlets nest production in Madai Caves could have been lack of Good Animal Husbandry Practices (GAHP). If this is the case, then the people who held the rights to the Madai Caves birds’ nests have something to learn from former Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Karim Bujang.

          The New Sabah Times (3rd June 2009) quoted Datuk Karim as explaining that harvesting (of the birds’ nests) must be conducted in adherence to GAHP and only at suitable times.

“The best time to harvest is when the nests are empty, and not when there are eggs or young birds in them,” said Karim.

          A few years back Datuk Karim built a three-storey building in Kimanis specially for swiftlets to colonize but he had to wait for at least two years before any swiflets decided to set up home there.  He had been patient and once a wallet or two started building nests, more will flock in to the building.  

Now he has a few hundred “wallet” birds in his building but he is not in a hurry to harvest the nests just yet. He wants them to continue building the colony. He also does not want to disrupt the birds’ environment at this moment as the birds might just leave for good if the peaceful environment is disrupted.

The population of wild swiflets also decreased due to the destruction of their habitat.