Livestock Record-Keeping for Ghana Farms

Three goats in one pen look the same until one goes missing

Walk into a pen with four goats and ask which one kidded last March. Most farmers will point at one, then change their minds, then guess. The animals look alike, the notes are on a scrap of paper in a shirt pocket, and the kid that died in the rains has no entry at all. That is the problem livestock record-keeping is meant to solve, and it is harder than poultry records, because the animals live longer and each one has a history.

Poultry records work batch by batch, and our poultry record-keeping guide covers the daily numbers for a flock. The same discipline works for larger animals, but the unit changes from the batch to the individual, and that changes what you need to write down.

This guide starts where a livestock keeper should start: with identification. Nothing else in the book is worth much until each animal can be picked out of the pen with confidence.

Identify every animal before you record anything else

A permanent ID is the single most important part of livestock records, and it is often the cheapest to get right. Numbered plastic ear tags are the most common in Ghana, because they are easy to read at a distance and they cost little. Tattoos in the ear are permanent and clear, though they need a steady hand and good light. Neck chains or collars with a number plate suit larger animals, and a paint mark on the back can help you tell animals apart at a glance, though paint fades in the rains.

Whichever method you use, make the number unique for the whole life of the herd. Do not reuse a number when an animal dies or is sold, because a new animal with an old number will mix two histories together. Keep a simple chart of the numbers in use, and write each one against the animal's entry in the register.

Fit the ID when the animal is young, while it is still handled easily, and record the date beside the number. A kid tagged on the day it was born has a complete start in the register. An adult tagged years later has a gap that no amount of careful note-taking can fill.

The animal register: one page for each animal

The animal register is the core of the book. It holds one page, or one row in a spreadsheet, for each animal, and it stays with the animal for as long as the animal is on the farm. Keep it simple enough to fill in on a wet morning. Each page should show the animal's number, sex, date of birth or estimated age, where it came from, its colour and markings so you can recognise it without the tag, and its dam and sire.

The dam and sire fields are the ones most farmers leave blank, and they are the ones that matter most later. Without them, you cannot tell whether two animals are closely related, and you cannot choose a buck or a ram that improves the herd rather than copying its faults. Write the parents' numbers on the birth record, even when the parents are old or have been sold. A herd with a family tree can be managed; a herd without one is a guessing game.

Add a field for the animal's status: alive and on the farm, sold, died, or moved to another holding. A register that shows every animal, past and present, is a complete record of the herd, and it is the first thing a buyer or a vet will ask to see.

• Number, sex and date of birth or estimated age.
• Source, colour and markings.
• Dam and sire numbers, or the name of the source if the parents are unknown.
• Current status, with a date for every change.

Breeding records: heat, service, kidding and weaning

Breeding records keep the herd growing in the right direction. Each mating should have a date, the number of the female, the number of the male that served her and any notes on how she came into heat. The gestation period sets the date she should kid or lamb, and the log should show that date so you can prepare the pen and watch her in the days before.

In goats and sheep, gestation is about five months, roughly 150 days, and does and ewes come into heat about every 17 to 21 days if they are not in kid or lamb. Cattle carry a calf for about nine months, and rabbits kindle after about 31 days. These are typical figures, not promises, and your own animals may differ. Record what you see, not what you expect. If a doe returns to the buck after three weeks, write it down, and check again at the next cycle before you assume she is in kid.

At kidding or lambing, record the date, the number born, the number that survive to weaning and the birth weight of each young animal. Add the dam and sire to each new entry, as the register does. Weaning is the next event to log, with the date and the weight, because the weaning weight is one of the clearest signs of how well the dam milked and how well the young animal has been fed.

Weights and growth: the cheapest measure you will ever take

A weight record costs nothing but a few minutes and a reliable way to weigh. A spring scale hung from a beam will do for young goats and sheep, and a weighing tape measured around the chest gives a rough figure when no scale is available. The tape is less accurate, so use the same method every time and record which method you used. Weigh on the same day of the week, at the same time of the morning, before the animals have been fed or watered heavily.

Weights tell you whether the feed is working. A group of young animals that gains steadily on the same ration is doing well. A group that stalls after the dry spell starts is telling you the grazing has run out, and that the feed budget needs a second look. Compare the weights of the animals in one pen with the others, and watch for a single animal that falls behind. That animal may have worms, a sore mouth or a dominant pen-mate, and you will see it in the numbers before you see it in the pen.

Ask a local buyer or an extension officer what weight animals need to reach before they sell. Target weights vary by market and by species, so treat any figure you hear as a question to check, not a rule. Write the target next to the growth figures, and you will see how far the herd is from the market at each weighing.

• Weigh young stock every two to four weeks.
• Use the same scale or tape and the same time of day each time.
• Note any animal that is more than a little behind the group.

Health records: what to write, and what to leave to the vet

The health record holds the dates of vaccinations, deworming, treatments, vet visits and any sign of illness. It does not need to hold drug names, doses or formulas, because those belong on the label and in the vet's notes. What it does need is the date, the animal number, the reason and the name of the person who gave the treatment. When a buyer or a vet asks what was given and when, the record should answer in one line.

Pin a health calendar inside the shed, where you pass it every morning. Mark the vaccination and worming dates your vet or agric extension officer has agreed for your site, and tick each one when it is done. A calendar you can see is one you will follow, and a record kept in a book that stays in the house is one you will forget. Our disease prevention calendar for poultry shows the same habit applied to birds, and the principle carries across to other stock.

Record withdrawal periods on the animal's entry if a vet tells you that a treatment carries one. Meat from an animal treated too recently can reach a buyer with residues in it, and the only defence is a clear record that shows when each treatment was given. Ask the vet to write the withdrawal period on the label or on a card, and copy it into the register. Never work out a withdrawal period yourself from a neighbour's advice.

Record every visit, even a short one. A vet who sees the same animal three times in a year will spot a pattern that a single visit would miss.

Mortality: count it, date it and give it a cause

Every death goes in the book, with the date, the animal number, its age and a suspected cause. Write "unknown" when you do not know, because an unknown cause is still information, and the pattern of unknowns across a season often points to a problem. A cluster of kid deaths in the first week of the rains, or a run of sudden deaths in the dry spell, is a signal to call the vet before the next animal dies.

Give each death a category. Simple groups work well: disease, accident or predator, poor birth or weak at birth, feed-related, heat or cold, and unknown. Review the categories every month. If the same category keeps coming up, look at the management that feeds it. Accidents at the fence line suggest the fence needs work. Weak births at one time of year suggest the mating dates or the feed in late pregnancy need changing.

Count the animals each month and check the count against the register. The difference between the expected herd and the animals you can see is a loss you have not yet explained. Track it until it is explained, and do not let it drift into the next month.

1. Date and animal number for every death.
2. Age, sex and the last weight recorded.
3. Suspected cause, or "unknown" with a note of what was seen.
4. Monthly count reconciled against the register.

Feed, forage and pasture rotation in the book

Feed is the largest running cost on most livestock farms, so the feed record deserves attention. Log each delivery of feed, hay, crop residue or concentrate, with the date, the quantity, the price you paid and the supplier. Log what you give out, by pen or by group, on the days you feed. You do not need to weigh every handful. A weekly total by group is enough to show whether the feed is going where it should.

Pasture needs a record too. Note which paddock or grazing area each group used, from which date to which date, and how long the grass took to recover. A paddock grazed heavily in the rains and rested for a month will carry more animals than one grazed without a break. Rotating animals through three or four paddocks, and writing down the rotation, is one of the cheapest ways to improve grazing.

The dry spell is the time when these records earn their keep. Look at the feed totals for the last rains, and compare them with the first months of the dry spell. If the feed bill rose sharply, you will know by how much, and you can plan the stored feed for next year with a real figure rather than a guess.

Sales, purchases and the festive calendar

Sales records show you what the herd earns and when. Log every sale with the date, the animal number, the weight at sale, the price, the buyer and the reason for the sale. Include animals sold for breeding, for meat and for any other purpose, and note the reason, since a culled ewe or a surplus buck tells a different story from a market sale.

Purchases belong in the same book. Record the date, the source, the price, the weight or age, and any health papers that came with the animal. A purchased animal with no record is a risk, because you will not know what it has been treated for or whether it came from a herd with a disease problem. A new animal should stay separate until the vet has seen it, and the separation period should be recorded too.

Look at the sales against the calendar. Festive periods such as Eid al-Adha, Christmas and Easter bring their own demand, and a record that shows what sold in each of the last few years, at what size and price, lets you plan the next cycle. Our guide to choosing livestock covers the demand pattern in more detail, and the sales book is where you will test it against your own farm.

Movement, traceability and the papers buyers ask for

Traceability means being able to follow an animal from its birth to its sale, and then to the buyer. A buyer who asks where an animal came from, when it was treated and whether it has moved from another district is asking for traceability. A farm that can answer from its records earns trust, and a farm that cannot may lose the sale.

Ask the district veterinary office and the Veterinary Services Directorate what papers are needed when animals move between districts or leave the farm. Requirements change, and they can differ by species and by the purpose of the move, so confirm the rules before a sale. Keep copies of any certificates, receipts and vet notes with the register, and file them by animal number or by sale date.

Keep the paperwork together. A folder on a shelf with a clear label is enough for most farms, and a photograph of each certificate on a phone gives you a backup if the folder is lost in a storm or a flood.

Choosing a system: cards, a ledger or a spreadsheet

The best record system is the one you will fill in. Many Ghanaian farmers start with a card for each animal, hung on a nail at the pen. The card holds the number, the breeding history and the health dates, and it moves to the register when the animal leaves the pen. A card system works well for small herds, and it keeps the record next to the animal.

A bound ledger suits a larger herd or a farmer who writes slowly. Keep one book for the register, one for breeding and one for health, so you can find each entry without leafing through the whole stack. A spreadsheet is useful when you want totals, charts and reminders, and it can be backed up on a phone or a memory stick. Whatever you choose, keep a copy in a second place, because a single notebook in a damp shed is the most common way records disappear.

If you already use a record app for your poultry, check whether it can hold larger animals too. Our review of record-keeping apps for Ghana poultry farms sets out what to look for. Pick the system that matches the herd you have, and change it when the herd outgrows it.

A monthly review that takes an hour

Set aside one hour at the end of each month to read the book from start to finish. Reconcile the animal count against the register, check every death for a cause, look at the weights of young stock, and compare the feed bill with the month before. Note the animals due to kid or lamb in the next six weeks, and make sure the pens are ready.

The review is also the time to spot questions for the vet or the extension officer. A rising mortality rate, a group of animals that has stopped gaining, or a feed bill that has jumped without explanation are all questions to take to the next visit, with the figures in hand. A vet who can see the book will give better advice than one who is told the story from memory.

Do the review on the same day each month, so it becomes part of the routine. Farmers who review monthly catch problems while they are still small. Those who review once a year find the same problems grown into losses.

Records to start on the first day

If you are starting a livestock book today, these are the entries to make before the first animal is fed.

1. Numbered ID on every animal, with the date it was fitted.
2. An animal register with number, sex, age, source, colour, dam and sire.
3. A breeding log with a space for heat, service, kidding and weaning.
4. A weight sheet with a date for each weighing and the method used.
5. A health calendar on the shed wall, with the vet's dates marked.
6. A mortality page with a cause for every death, and a line for "unknown".
7. A feed book with each delivery and each day's feeding by group.
8. A sales and purchases page, and a folder for certificates and vet notes.

If your flock is the next thing you add to the compound, our day-old chicks page sets out the breeds we hatch, and the order form is there when you are ready. Current starting rates are on the prices page, and the delivery page explains how an order reaches you. Larger farms that want a longer working relationship with us can read about partnering with us, and for questions before you order, call +233 24 915 1503 or write to support@halaalfarms.com.

Questions farmers ask