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Record Keeping

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mhskobir
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14 views

Record Keeping

Uploaded by

mhskobir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is 'keep records'?

➢ To keep records is simply to collect relevant information that can help you
➢ to take good decisions and to keep track of activities, production and important events on a farm.
➢ Records can be about any performance of the animals, economic development, or any activity of the farmer or
veterinarian.

The records can:


➢ Be used in determining profitability of various techniques used at the farm
➢ Be used to keep your memory on what you did and/or what happened
➢ Be used in decision making, especially on a strategic level
➢ Be used to compare the efficiency of use of inputs, such as land, labour and capital, for example when
implementing a new / alternative systems
➢ Help the farmer / investor in improving the efficiency of farm's operations

Records are important in (animal) farming because:


• To keep track of all animals (Identification records)
• Evaluation of livestock for selection (breeding records; financial records; production records)
• Control of inbreeding and aid in breeding planning (breeding records)
• Aid in selecting animals with the right characteristics for breeding (production, health, feed efficiency) to
improve the herd or flock
• To rationalize labour
• Aids in feed planning and management
• Aids in disease management; keeping track about treatment (disease records)
• Aids in finding the effective treatments
• To assess profitability/losses (financial records)
• Improves bargaining power on products, because you can see the investment and the price of the production
(financial records)

• Credit/loan access (financial records)

Types of Records
The major types of records which are all described below:
1. Identification
2. Breeding
3. Production
4. Feeding
5. Disease and treatment records
6. Financial records

1. Identification Records
➢ An identification method should be cheap, reliable
➢ Identification of animals is usually through
▪ use of numbering,
▪ by marking of the animal and
▪ by description of certain characteristics of the animal e.g. the different color spots of the animals, or certain
cowlicks, or taking photos

Methods of identification can be subdivided into 2 categories:


• permanent at and
• non-permanent.

a) Permanent Identification
• Tattooing (ear or under
• Brand (Hot iron, freeze and chemicals)
• Ear-notching, Punching
• Tags (Ear-tags, Flank-tags, tail-tags and Brisket-tags; permanent if they do not fall off)

b) Non-Permanent identification
• Paint and dyes (can be very animal friendly, but if the paint is full of chemicals it is not healthy and is not
recommended)

2. Breeding Records
The importance of breeding records is
❑ to measure the productive efficiency of the herd
❑ to enable selection. For example, many farmers would like a cow or a goat which gives birth yearly.
Therefore, an accurate up-to-date breeding record of each individual female is necessary. An indicator for
fertility/efficiency of mating or inseminations is e. g the number of matings or inseminations needed to get an
animal pregnant.

If many matings or inseminations are needed-


❖ it can indicate that there is a problem with the female or the male,
❖ or it can indicate that the observation of the heats is not efficient,
❖ or the semen, the technique of insemination is insufficient,
❖ or the feeding is imbalanced.
❖ If the cow is taken to a bull, it can be the cow or the bull which has a problem.
Data for insemination or service with a male also is needed to be reminded when the female should be prepared
before giving birth, e.g. like in the cow's case, to be dried off in time.

The most important data in breeding records include


• Pedigree/parentage (name or other identification of parents and grand parents)
• Fertility (dates of all services (this also allows calculating the number of services per conception), dates of
giving birth (allows to calculate the age of first calving/giving birth and the period between successive birth)
• Birth details (number and weight of newborns, was assistance necessary? Stillborn / perinatal deaths / vitality
score)

3. Feeding Records
➢ Feeding records give information about the amount, type and quality of the feed.
➢ Feeding records can be used both for day to day management and adjustment of the feed ration.

The important feeding records are:


▪ Produced and available fodder on farm;
▪ quantity and if possible quality of the different feeds. Including content of energy, protein and minerals

A feeding plan which tells


❖ how much feed is required per day per animal in different age groups (grown-ups, newborn, pregnant the first
time etc.) or per group of animals (hens):
❖ Left-over feed if any (per head and per feed, if possible)
❖ Spoilage (per batch)

4. Disease and treatment records


❖ Disease and treatment records are necessary to keep track of the disease events in which each animal is
involved during its lifetime.
❖ This can guide to better management practices of certain vulnerable groups of animals over time .
❖ It provides information about the health status of each individual animal and the whole herd, and
❖ It can help ensuring important vaccinations given at the right time.
On basis of the disease and treatment records, success of interventions both for prevention and treatment can also
be evaluated.
Disease and treatment records can for example involve:
• Disease occurrence and date
• All handlings to cure diseases (also non chemical treatment)
• Vaccination
• Dipping/spraying
• Treatment
• De-worming

• Postmortem

5. Financial Records
The records of the costs and earnings related to the animal farming be kept for cash analysis and enterprise appraisal.

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