Dog kennel (DK) VS Open roof (OR) entrance opening

Pros & Cons : Dog kennel (DK) VS Open roof or air well type (OR) entrance opening

Dog kennel entrance (Cons)

1. It will cause uncontrollable noise nuisance. It is not advisable to have this type of entrance for the town BH.

2. It is prohibited by the new guidelines for swiftlet farming.

3. Higher construction cost. Consultant or contractor will charge extra for the additional works.

4. It affects the appearance & façade of the building. This is why local council disallows it.

5. The size of entrance opening has to be very precise to create a good flying path. If the entrance opening is too small it will be hard for the swiflet to maneuver. The minimum opening size shall be 2 x 3 ft. For a new farm the entrance needs to be large, its size can be gradually reduced when the population increases.

Dog kennel entrance (Pros)

1.It is protected from the wind draught. The air flow is more stable and air turbulence is less. The swiftlet will feel safer to stay inside. This works better during the initial stage of new BH.

Open roof (Cons)

1. Must provide proper drainage system to ensure that the rain water is fully discharged off, or else water ponding in the air well would cause breeding of mosquitoes.

2. It brings security problems. The thieves can easily break into the BH through the air well if CCTV or alarm systems are not installed.

Open roof (Pros)

1. It saves cost because less modification needs to be done to the existing shop house. Nowadays, most 3 storeys or higher shop houses will have air well. This air well can be used for the birds to glide in and the air well itself is an insulation wall for the BH as air is a good material for heat insulation.

2. The external & internal sound will not be heard from the outside of the BH. The sound is facing upward and there are lesser complaints from the neighbours.

3. There are more successful farms of open roof than dog kennel. Among the new generation of BHs in a new area, the OR type BH’s growth rate always emerged as the champions among other types operated same time.

4. It is rarely the air-well type being intruded by the owls as compared to other types.

5. It has room to accommodate the error related to flying path.

6. Local council cannot complain about its appearance.

7. The odour and air pollution problem is less than the rest types.

(Reference : West Wing, Lucas 1, James of Lowyat Posts)

Conclusion

There are pros and cons for both types of entrance openings. The above is only my personal research & findings. OR or DK, which one is better? There is no absolute answer for it. You are free to choose and the choice is yours. However, for sure it is not encouraging to have DK for your town BH.