The Importance Of Keeping Poultry Records

Keeping poultry records when starting a poultry flock is important to planning your operations effectively. You’ll want to know how much feed your birds are getting, how often they are eating, and if they’re gaining weight.

What Is Record Keeping?

Record keeping is taking notes about what happens on your farm. This includes recording information, such as feed, water, medicine, and other items used on your farm. It also includes documenting any problems or events that happen on your farm.

You can use many types of records. You can write notes in a notebook, use a spreadsheet, or use a computer program to keep track of your records.

If you have never kept poultry records before, you may wonder what type of records you should keep. The best way to determine what to keep is to consider what you want to know. 

For example, if you want to know what happened to your chickens when they were sick, you will need to keep a record of their health. In addition, you can use this information to help plan for future needs.

The first step in keeping records is deciding what information you want to collect. You may want to keep track of:

• Your flock’s general health and performance

• What diseases and parasites are affecting your birds?

• How much food and water does each bird get?

• The medications you give your birds

• The time each bird spends outside

• The date of birth and death of each bird

• The date you put each bird into the flock

A good record keeper’s goal is to gather enough information to make informed decisions about the health and well-being of your flock.

Identifying problems early on helps to improve your chances of treating illnesses and avoiding losses due to sickness and death.

Why is record-keeping so crucial in poultry?

Here are seven reasons record-keeping is essential to a successful poultry operation:

Keeping accurate records will ensure you can provide evidence of all decisions made on the farm. Frequently, poultry farmers find themselves in a position where they cannot voice their opinions about their farms. 

Without documentation, it is difficult for poultry farmers to remember events from months or years ago. Farmers should be diligent in keeping accurate poultry records to track their daily activities.

Keeping records in poultry farming is crucial as it enhances the overall reliability and credibility of your farm.

If someone decides to challenge your decisions or legitimacy, poultry farming record-keeping will provide evidence to support your decisions.

2. It helps you plan

It is important to keep records of farm activities and workers’ performance regularly to evaluate effectively. Record keeping is a useful tool for a successful poultry business.

3. It helps you keep track of your costs.

By recording how much feed you’re using, you’ll be able to keep track of your costs. This will help you keep track of your expenses and identify where you might spend too much money.

Also, record-keeping is essential for tax purposes. You’ll need to keep track of your expenses and income. This is important for calculating your tax return.

4. It helps you spot problems.

Record keeping will help you spot problems early on. You’ll be able to see if your birds are getting sick or not eating. This can help you avoid problems before they become serious.

Monitor your birds’ feed intake closely to identify any issues, such as insufficient eating or lack of weight gain.

5. It strengthens your farm’s integrity.

Poultry record-keeping is important because it strengthens your farm’s integrity. If someone challenges your decisions or legitimacy, poultry farming record-keeping will provide evidence to support your decisions.

Keeping records of all farm activities and workers’ performance on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis is crucial for evaluation. Record keeping is a useful tool for a successful poultry business.

6. For Monitoring and Evaluation

It is the history of the past and the present of an organisation. We can use it for forecasting, planning, and decision-making.

From field experience, most poultry farmers don’t keep records at all, while some keep incomplete or inaccurate records. Accurate record-keeping is necessary to monitor and evaluate performance in the poultry business.

7. Profitability Analysis

Record keeping can be beneficial, including enhancing profitability in a poultry farming operation. It can keep track of how many birds you sold, what the average weight was, and how many eggs you produced.

It can determine how many birds you need for the next breeding season. Record keeping can help with the overall success of the business.

Characteristics of a good poultry record.

A record will become useful only if it has the following characteristics.

• It must be timely in the recording.
• It must be meaningful in the presentation.
• You must date it by month and year, otherwise such a record may not be useful in the
  future for us for prediction and forecasting
• It must be accurate and unaltered. At times, mortality is registered even when such dishonest practices have not taken place. Entrepreneurs must be vigilant against these erroneous records that can hinder effective management.

Classification of Records.

Poultry records are classified into three major categories.

1. Production record.
2. Management records.
3. Financial records.

1. Production records are essential for tracking birds’ performance. Production records should contain information such as the date, opening stock, mortality, and closing stock.

Other crucial factors to consider are the percentage of egg production, feed, and water consumption per bird, as well as medication, vaccination, and other relevant information.

2. A management record is a document that keeps track of activities related to birds, including bird transportation, quantity received, deworming, debeaking, beak trimming, and more.

3. The financial record is documentation of all the financial transactions of the farm, such as
as expenditure and income. 

The calculation includes different expenses like buying young chickens and replacement hens, medical costs, depreciation, housing, and equipment.

SYSTEM OF KEEPING POULTRY RECORDS.

There are two ways to record and retrieve information. These are the manual record system and the electronic record system.

1. The manual record system records information using the traditional methods of
record-keeping that involves the use of pen and paper. It is easy to do if the person taking the record has some level of literacy.

2. The electronic record system includes the use of computer spreadsheets, electronic
mail, tablets, and phones to keep records.

Each farm chooses its system of record-keeping based on its personal preference. Regardless of the chosen system, it must be easily accessible, dependable, functional, and user-friendly.

Advantages of record-keeping to determine profitability

·         To evaluate management efficiency

·         For prediction and forecasting

·         To determine profitability

·         For prudent financial decisions

·         To contain the spread of diseases

·         For performance evaluation

·         For financial audit and loan facility.

Types of Poultry Records

The record you keep depends on the type of poultry farm you have. If you only raise chickens, you’ll need to keep records of the amount of feed and water each chicken consumes.

When raising chickens and turkeys together, it’s important to track the amount of feed and water consumed by each turkey. Also read: 7 Reasons for Keeping Accurate Poultry Records.

Examples of poultry records

In the poultry enterprise, some of the records being kept include sales records, raw materials inventory records, and production records for chicks, growers, and layers. Others are financial records, records of staff, Records of disease outbreaks, etc.

· Mortality record. 

This shows the number of birds on the farm. It is also called the flock record.

· Egg production record. 

Recording daily egg production is crucial for assessing the performance of the flock. You can summarise this information as needed.

· Feed Consumption Record. 

The record of feed consumption is essential for calculating the efficiency of the conversion of feed to eggs or flesh. This is known as the feed conversion ratio.

· Egg quality record. 

Without a record of egg quality, the egg production record is incomplete. The combination of production and quality is a deciding factor in the magnitude of the profit margin. Records assist in the detection of management errors that might give rise to egg quality defects.

Other poultry records are: 

• Staff nominal role
• Vaccination/medication records. 
• Depreciation records. 
• Sales records. 
• Miscellaneous items record. 
• Records of disease outbreaks

Conclusion