ANIMAL GROUP MANAGEMENT TOOL

CHAPTER 1 – Adding animal/s and/or animal groups - I>

Animal groups are unions of individually registered animals, grouped on basis of various parameters (default selection, males, females, age groups etc.), as defined by the user.

The Animal group menu is in the farm holding sections. On how to access a farm holding please refer to the Holding’s manual.

Creating a new animal group (through the group screen)

	Step 1: After the holding has been entered, click the ANIMAL GROUP button in the left panel. Valid animal groups will appear on the left side of the table, in descending order. Inactive groups will be shown in the right screen along with their status. Invalid groups are shown in the right side of the screen.
	Step 2: To Add new animal group, select the ADD function.
	Step 3: In the new pop-up window, you should add: 1) Animal group ID (automatically generated ID of the group on basis of the Holding number); 2) Animal group type (mandatory) - select the species of animals to be included in the group; 3) Name (group name) and 4) Contact person (person responsible for the animal group, for instance for grazing purposes); Note: Once the information has been provided for creation of the group ⇒ SAVE.
	Step 4: The newly added animal group will be visible on the left section of the screen with Valid status.
	Step 5: Alternatively, Animal group can be added by selecting the ACTIONS button in the ANIMALS section, and choosing Add animal to animal group ⇒ Add to a new group. Proceed following the above provided instructions.

Adding animals to the animal group

	Step 1: To add a new animal, in the animal screen select one or multiple animals and then choose ACTIONS ⇒ Add animal to animal group ⇒ Add to existing herd.
	Step 2: After choosing the animal/s, click on the animal group in which you want to add the selected animals.
	Step 3: After the animals are successfully added to the existing animal group, enter the animal group. From the left side menu, under the ANIMALS button, you can preview the animals added into the group.

Adding animal to animal group (through the group screen)

	Step 1: Enter the created animal group by clicking on it.
	Step 2: Under the animal group screen in the animal preview section, click on the ADD ANIMAL TO GROUP.
	Step 3: After selecting the animals, click on the Add animal to group. After adding the selected animals, the full list can be previewed in the ANIMALS screen.

CHAPTER 2 – Remove animal/s from the group

Step 1:

Removing an animal from the group is possible from the animal group screen. Select the animal/s you want to remove and click the Remove animal from Group button. Then on the pop-up screen confirm your choice.

CHAPTER 3 – Retire actions

Step 1:

Animal group statuses can be changed as in individual animals and flocks. Access the ACTIONS menu and there select Retire. In this section are listed: slaughtered, dead, lost, sold and absent animals.

CHAPTER 4 – Activity actions

	Step 1: Standard Activity records can be added to animal groups as in individual animals and flocks. Select the ACTIVITY button and select the activity to be added to the records.
	Step 2: Confirm the appropriate action when prompted. The records of the actions will be shown in the individual animals records for all animals from the group.

CHAPTER 5 – Movements

	Step 1: Movement of Animal groups is managed (initiated and canceled) like that of individually registered animals. For details see the Movement manual.
	Step 2: When confirming the arrival of the Animal the user can select the Accept full group action to accept all animals from the group in the destination holding. All the animals will appear in the Animal section, while the group with the animals will appear with changed group ID (according the destination holding ID).
	Step 3: If the destination holding does not have a group, Merge full group action can be performed, and all animals from the group will be added to the Animal section of the destination holding, while the animal group is added as INVALID group in the right screen.
	Step 4: If Merge partial group action allows to add the selected animals from the group to the animal screen, not assigned to any groups, while the with the rest of the unselected animals remain in the group.
	Step 5: When Accept partial group action is performed, it allows introducing of the selected animals as a new group in the destination holding, while the not selected animals are sent back to the original group in the origin holding.