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Record keeping

Introduction				Record keeping for Chicken production
Record keeping for Cattle production				Record keeping for Camel production
Record keeping for Pig production				Record keeping for disease management
Record keeping for Fish Farming/ aquaculture

Introduction

What Is Record?

Record is information that has been systematically and carefully collected and appropriately stored for intended use. To be able to run any economic enterprise successfully, carefully thought out, properly collected and kept records are a must. For the purpose of keeping track and decision making in any economic enterprise, comprehensive and well kept records must be kept.

The records will:

Be used in determining profitability of various techniques of production or systems
Be used to compare the efficiency of use of inputs, such as land, labour and capital, with that of alternative production activities
Help the investor in improving the efficiency of farm's operations
Be used to preserve institutional memory of the enterprise for future reference

Records should be used for decision making on a farm/ranch and should be interpreted in the right way, otherwise there will be a waste of time, money and energy. Too often, records are only kept for the purpose of official reporting, e.g. to the Ministry headquarters for the parasitical and not used as a tool on the farm/ranch for making the decision in time. A good memory can be very useful but it is never entirely reliable. Good facts tend to be remembered and the others forgotten.

Adequate and correct record keeping is also a valuable tool for assessing the performance of your herd or flock and making good management decisions.

The records should be simple, easy and quick to interpret.
In all records, there should be a 'Remarks' column/entry explaining the reasons behind any unusual observation. This is very essential in interpreting the implications of the records, particularly for a third party who may have not been directly involved in taking the records, but needs to make informed/accurate decisions.

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Record keeping for Cattle production

Excellent records are the cornerstone of building a financially successful beef/Dairy enterprise and they will be of great help in the development of the Beef/dairy husbandry and beef/dairy industry of any country.
In summary, the importance of good record keeping include:

Aids in efficient management of the herd
Improves bargaining power on products
Evaluation of livestock for selection
Adding value to livestock
Control of inbreeding and aid in breeding planning
Aid in culling low performers
To assess profitability/losses
Aid in gross margin analysis
Credit/loan access
To rationalize labour
Aids in disease management
Aids in feed planning and management

Types of Records

The major types of records are:

Physical (identification)
Breeding
Production (Performance)
Feeding
Health
Financial records

Identification Records

The needs are for an identification method that is cheap, not damaging to the animal and reliable at a distance of at least 2-3 metres and by preference permanent.
Identification of animals is usually through use of numbering, by marking of the animal and by description of certain characteristics of the animal. Methods of identification can be subdivided into 2 categories: permanent and non-permanent.

Permanent Identification
1. Tattooing (ear or under)
2. Description (diagrams, sketches and photographs)
3. Ear-notching/Punching
4. Brands (Hot iron, freeze and chemicals)

Non-Permanent identification
1. Tags (Ear-tags, Flank-tags, tail-tags and Brisket-tags)
2. Collars or neck straps (chains)
3. Paint and dyes
4. Hair Braiding
5. Naming

Breeding Records

The importance of breeding is to measure the productive efficiency of the herd and to enable culling and selection exercise to be carried out for breeding and genetic improvement. A good farmer would like a cow which gives a calf yearly. Therefore, an accurate breeding record of each individual cow which is up-to-date is needed and also a breeding record for the total herd. An indicator for that is e. g the number of inseminations needed to get a cow in calf. In addition to this, the data for the breeding record provides information about when certain cows have to be dried off and when certain cows are due to calve while others need to be insemination for proper herd management. The important data in breeding records include:

Pedigree/parentage (Dam name, grand dam, sire name, grand sire)
Growth (Date of birth, birth weight, date of weaning, weaning weight, sale weight, sale date)
Fertility (Age at first service, age at first calving, date of calving, number of services per conception)

Production (Performance) Records

These records are useful in measuring the performance of the herd/flock and for the economic appraisal of the enterprise. Production and breeding records will give the farmer direct profit but also indirect profit by using progeny tested bulls from Artificial Insemination (AI) stations. Progeny testing is only possible if production and breeding figures of daughters are available. At the moment many farmers in Africa are importing semen of purebred and progeny tested bulls from Western Europe, North America, New Zealand, and Australia to improve the genetic ability of their cattle. This would have been impossible if those countries did not have a highly developed recording system. Breeding recording system would be a great help in selecting the bulls for the National AI services and would make imports of often very expensive semen superfluous.

Records however, are worth the most when they are used the most. For dairy industry, the important records are:

Daily milk yield
Milk content (Butter fat content, protein, Solid Non Fat)
Lactation length
Milk fed to calves
Milk consumed at home
Milk sold
Milk spoilt

Feeding Records

These should indicate the amount of feeding given as well as the type of feed. Feeding records should be used the most for day-to-day management, evaluating pasture management practices and for planning of activities in the future. The day to day management decisions which are to be made are for instance, which cows need concentrates and how much, cows to be culled and why etc. Thus the important records are:

Available fodder on farm
Quantity fed
Concentrate supplemented
Minerals
Left-over ( per head and per feed, if possible)
Spoilage (per batch)

Health records

Health records are needed to do the required vaccinations at the right time and to prevent disasters like foot and moth epidemic. They also provide information about the health status of each individual animal and the whole heard. Only with the breeding and health records can a good and wise decision be made.

Vaccination
Dipping/spraying
Treatment
De-worming
Postmortem

Financial Records

The records of the expenditure and revenue should be kept for cash analysis and enterprise appraisal. Economic records are of paramount interest in providing the farmer with information concerning the profitability of his farm. Moreover they are of great help in decision making at the right time.
For example, is it profitable to feed concentrates, is it advisable to apply for a loan or credit to invest in a machinery or technology, is it more economic to raise the calves with whole or skimmed milk? Answering these questions is only possible if adequate records are available. Moreover, for tax purposes and for the purpose of getting loans or credit, economic records are required.

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Record keeping for Pig production

The prime objective of a pig farmer is to manage his farm in such a way that it is a continuing source of income. In order to achieve this he needs to implement a set of good management measures and technical skills through good record keeping and administration. This makes it possible to control and monitor production and reproduction activities and to identify the results both technical and financial.

Identification Systems

A means of animal identification is an essential part of any record-keeping system. The most common identification systems are ear notching, tattooing and ear tagging. Other identification systems include, naming, colour differences, ear shapes, however this is only applicable for small number of sows.
Being able to identify the pigs is essential if records are to be kept and for managing the pigs accordingly. As long as you do not have large numbers of pigs there is no problem recognising them and no need to worry about marking them. However, when you have more pigs it is needful to introduce an identification system. All the animals should be marked when they are young.

Notching

Notching involves cutting small pieces of skin out of the edges of the ears. This is a very cheap method of marking using only a very sharp knife. The wounds made by the cutting should be disinfected with iodine. By having different patterns of the cuts, these can be used for the identification of pigs.

Example of notching on the ears of a pig

Notching step-by-step:

Catch the pig and secure it well.
Clean the ears with methylated spirit.
Clean the knife or pliers to be used for cutting with methylated spirit.
Cut off the edge of the ear flap on the parts of the ear that correspond to the number you want to give the pig
Apply some disinfectant like iodine, healing oil or wound spray to the cuts in the ear flap.

The picture on the left shows the right ear of an adult pig with notches, which were made when the pig was very young.

Example of ear notching codes

The disadvantages of the method are that it takes time 'to read' the patterns (or codes), and that problems can arise if the ears are damaged.

What does record keeping involve?

Good record keeping means noting down all important details and events, in a simple and clear manner. It can also be used to provide and record information for future activities. To keep records, use a notebook or exercise book. Dedicate a few pages for each pig, and a few pages for what you buy and what you sell. Other information should also be marked on a calendar (sow calendar), so that any necessary preparation can start well in advance (for example preparing the farrowing pen for the sow).

Records will help when comparing the production or growth of different animals. Records will indeed make it easier for you to carry out day to day activities on and for the pigs. When pigs are sick, you may note down the symptoms, the treatment, and whether the pig recovered or not. This will improve your knowledge on how to treat your animals successfully. It will also help you to keep track of expenses and incomes from sales. This information will tell you whether you are running a profitable business or not.

Records

Litter records
-Birth weight (1.5.kg is good)
-Weaning weight (18kg is good)
Dams record
- Number of piglets weaned per year (18 is good)
Marketing
- Age and weight
Conversion rate
- Pigs that gain more weight from a given amount of food.
- A satisfactory conversion ratio should be 1 kg live weight gain for 3 to 5 kg of feed.

NB: Simple and necessary record should be kept for all piglets e.g. date of birth, dam and sire record, and weaning weight, feed type and feed consumption, decrease etc.

A good record keeping system will permit constant surveillance and monitoring of animal health and performance. It will assist the farmer in maintaining a steady flow of pigs through his enterprise and in identification of problem areas in the production programme.
Considerations to be made while designing a record keeping system

The records should be as simple as possible
Records should be kept in a place where they are readily accessible
Transferring of information from one record sheet to another should be minimized
The information that should be included in the records varies with the type of operation being run. A swine operation that is engaged in an expensive breeding stock improvement programme will require more detailed records and more individual pig records than will a commercial operation
Individual records are of value in culling non-productive breeding stock and in selecting replacement animals

Individual records

Sow identification
Reproduction Records
Date of first Oestrus/heat, Breeding dates, Farrowing dates, Number of pigs born alive and number born dead, Average birth weight (comments on evenness of litter should be included) ,Abnormalities
Weaning Records
Weaning date, weaning weight
Litter management records
Dates of routine management practices e.g. Iron treatment, castration
Health Records

A record sheet summarizing important aspects of herd production on weekly or monthly basis should be kept. The farmer can compare these records which are a good measure of production efficiency with previous figures as well as with production goals he has set for his production.

Herd records should include:

Reproduction Records

Females services (categorise as to the first and repeat breeders).
Litters farrowed
Pigs born alive and number born dead

Feed Consumed

Either herd total or by ration i.e dry sow, starter finisher etc
Pigs marketed (sows, boars, market or breeding stock)
Pigs added (breeding stock from outside the herd)

Market Information

Age at marketing of at least a sample number of pigs and their weight
Carcass indices of pigs marketed.

The data above can used to compute the following parameters:

Average litter size born and weight
Average litter size weaned and weight
Percentage of pigs born dead
Percentage death loss in any category
Repeat breeding as a percentage of the total breeding
Feed conversion ratio (fcr), - Average daily gain (adg)
Average market index

NB:

The above indicators tell how well the production programme is managed.
The secret to the success of any record keeping system is not the particular design of the system but rather regular manner in which the records are kept.

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Record keeping for Fish Farming/ aquaculture

The main drawback on the economic operation of aquaculture investment in Kenya is lack of deliberately kept economic records of production operations. Investors who operate without records are likely to make wrong decisions. The best sources of information needed to advice on proper running of aquaculture investments are farm records.

Good records will, for example;

Be useful in projection of expected production
Be useful in determining the amount of inputs requirements for specific ponds at various stages of production
Be useful determine the expected harvesting time
Determine the financial health of the enterprise

Record parameters in aquaculture

Important record parameters in aquaculture include:

Total area under culture
Individual pond identity
Individual pond treatments
Stocking densities and time of stocking
Species stocked
Kinds, quantities and cost of inputs used
Pond productions in amounts and values
Other productions and values
Daily occurrences

Aquaculture records can be classified into:

Daily records kept for input usage like feeds, fertilisers, labour and daily occurrence
Occasional record which are kept for events that do not happen on daily basis. Such records would include:

Specific pond production (Quantity and values) by species
Costs of acquisition of inputs
Cost incurred in new constructions or repairs
Salaries (both in cash and in kind)

How much and how comprehensive kept records are, is dependent on:

Level of investment; Complex investments require complex records
Motivation of investor; Serious investors will have more comprehensive records
Level of aquaculture management: Intensive operations will have more complex records as compared to semi intensive operations
Skills of the investor (or manager); Well trained managers will keep better records

As the management levels rises, culture systems become more complex and so is the record keeping. This is the reason the farmer must think very carefully of what he needs to record.

Examples of aquaculture records

Fish farming biological management records
Financial management records

Purchase of inputs
Salary records
Inventory of equipment
Records on payment of rents and hire of equipment, machinery, services etc

Occurrence book

It is very important for individual farmers to clearly know what they need record and the intended use of this. This will assist them in preparing the most effective way of capturing the needed information.

Examples of aquaculture records would include (but not limited to) the following:

Pond management records

Pond identity	.	.	.	.	.	.
Date	Type of input	Rage of usage	Total usage	Unit cost	Total cost	Remarks
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Stocking records

Date	Pond identity	Size (m2)	Species	Source	Stocking rate	Average Weight	Total number /weight	Unit cost	Total cost
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Harvesting records

Pond No.

Date

Amount sold

Amount consumed on farm

Amount given away

Payment in kind

Total value of produce

Species harvested

Quantity harvested Kg

Quantity Kg

Unit Price Ksh/Kg

Total value Kshs

Quantity Kg

Value Kshs

Quantity Kg

Value Kshs

Quantity Kg

Value Kshs

Cash flow records

Cash inflow				Cash outflow
Date	Source	Amount	Comments	Date	Source	Amount	Comments
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Other records could include

Salary records
Inventory of equipment
Records on payment of rents and hire of equipment, machinery, services etc
Pond sampling records

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Record keeping for Chicken production

Management of poultry requires detailed records on a daily or weekly basis. It is important to spend some time each day observing your flock carefully. In this way early signs of disease, malnutrition, or other problems may be detected and the necessary action taken.

Table: Record keeping for small-scale chicken production

Month _____________________________
No. Cocks ______________________________
No. of hens______________________________

Date	Age(wks)	No. birds	Mortality	Feed	consumed Eggs	Sales	Remarks
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Materials and feed

Records should be kept on all poultry noting their approximate age or time of hatching. Most hens under good management will start laying at 22-32 weeks of age. Keep records such as age at first egg and production over time. If egg production is delayed or drops suddenly check for housing condition, access to feed, water etc. However, when egg production drops gradually, it may be a sign of old age. Sell the older hens in the flock and replace them with young hens. If your costs for feed exceed the income from selling cocks and/or eggs, you may also consider selling birds, or reducing the amount of feed given.

All expenditures for feed or feed ingredients should be recorded carefully, noting quantities, price and date of purchase. If purchasing commercial feeds note the name of the seller/manufacturer and the time of purchase to keep track of poor quality feeds. Keep records of disease control activities such as type, price and date of vaccines and medication purchases.

Supplementary feed consumed on a daily or weekly basis should be noted for each flock housed separately. Sudden changes in feed intake may be the first indicators of poor health. Income from sale of eggs, cockerels or chickens should also be recorded. Gifts and consumption of eggs and birds by house hold members and others should also be noted.

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Record keeping for Camel production

Why keep records

By keeping records, a camel keeper can monitor the camel herd in terms of trends which are occurring. This is important for planning.
Records provide information which can be used to make decisions on future management of the herd in terms of when to breed, which camels to keep and which ones to sell, when to market and the quantities of products and income which may be expected, among other information
Records help the camel keeper in doing economic analysis in order to assess the profitability of the camel rearing enterprise.

Some worth keeping records, suggested recording interval and importance of the records

Type of records	Recording Interval	Why keep these particular records	Useful tools for record keeping
Herd size	At the end of every calving season	To know whether the herd is growing or not
Live weight estimation	Every two months	To know the growth performance of calves and decide on feeding regimes including milk allowance, know when the camel is likely to be ready for breeding etc To estimate the sale value	Cloth tape measure (in metres)
Milk yield of individual camels	Every two weeks	For selection and breeding, deciding on which camels to keep and which to cull	Milk measuring jug (plastic)
Reproductive performance of individual camels (bull and females) including: number of females served, number conceived, cases of heat repeat, cases of abortion, incidences of difficult birth, cases of deformities	During breeding seasons	For selection and breeding, deciding on which camels to keep and which to cull	Record sheets Writing materials
Mortality rates, main causes and the seasonality	As they occur	Plan the health management in terms of drugs that may be required and when
Economic data including cost of labor (hired or family), drugs, mineral supplements, water fees, money value of camels which may die, equipments, materials, value of products consumed at home, income from milk sales, live camels, meat & hides	Monthly	Assess profitability of the enterprise

Samples of data collection sheets

Milk production data

Milk yield (cups of known volume/litres)

Camel name/brand number

Week
1

Week
2

Week
3

Week
4

Week
5

Week
6

Week
7

Week
8

Week
9

Week
10

Week
11

Week
12

Week
13

Live weight data

	Live weight (kg)
Camel name/brand number	Period 1	Period 1	Period 1	Period 1	Period 2	Period 2	Period 2	Period 2
	Heart girth (m)	Abdominal girth (m)	Shoulder height (m)	Heart girth Abdominal girthShoulder height*50 is a constant factor**	Heart girth* (m)	Abdominal girth** (m)	Shoulder height*** (m)	Heart girthAbdominal girthShoulder height50 is a constant factor**
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Reproductive performance data

	Reproductive parameters
Months	Number of dams ready for service	Number of dams served	Number of dams conceived	Number of females that do not conceive	Number of abortions	Number of calves born alive	Cases of difficult birth	Calves born with deformities
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Economic data

Cost (KES)

Cost items

Months
1

Months
2

Months
3

Months
4

Months
5

Months
6

Months
7

Months
8

Months
9

Months
10

Months
11

Months
12

Months
13

Months
14

Family labor

Hired labor

Drugs

Mineral supplements

Water fees

Equipment & material

Money value of dead camels

Value of products consumed at home

TOTAL

Income Items (KES)

Income from milk sales

Live camel & or meat sales

Hides sales

TOTAL

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Record keeping for disease management

Some important records for planned disease control include the following:

1. Calf management and disease control records sheet

Calf identification Number			.	Sire Number		.
Date of birth				Dam Number
sex
	Kg	Date		Remarks	date
Birth weight				1st insemination
Weaning weight				2nd insemination
Age and breeding weight				Date due to calf
Average pre weaning growth rate (grams)				Bull used
Average post weaning growth rate (grams)
Body condition score				Vaccinations

2. Cow cards for planned fertility management

Cow No.
Last calving date	Date of vet examination	Examination remarks e.g. pregnancy diagnosis	Service date	Expected calving date
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3. Disease occurrence and treatment record sheet

Date	Animal no.	Kind of disease	treatment	Remarks
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4. Mastitis management and treatment record sheet

Farm code

1st treatment

2nd Treatment

3rd treatment

4th treatment

Cow no.

Quarter

Sample

Remarks

date

Sample results

5. Vaccination records for planned disease control

Date	Vaccination done	Type of vaccine and quantity	Remarks
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6. Deworming records for planned disease control

Date	Deworming done	Type of drug and quantity	Remarks
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