An important part of regular animal and flock monitoring is daily record-keeping. Keeping records and analysing them facilitates the early detection of issues such as infectious diseases, changes in footpad health or the occurrence of pecking damage.

The following points, amongst others, should be noted on the house record: 

• Animal losses: It is important not only to record the number of animals that have died or been culled, but also the cause of death (e.g. pecked to death, moribund, weak-legged, stunted). 

• Feed and water consumption: Feed and water consumption should also be documented and assessed on a daily basis. It is advisable to place the target range, in printed and laminated form, directly next to the barn chart. This allows a quick glance at the chart to check whether the farm’s feed and water consumption is in line with the target values.

• Animal weights: As with feed and water consumption, animal weights – which are ideally recorded automatically using a weighing scale in the barn – should also be documented daily. If the weights deviate from the expected range, the possible causes should be investigated immediately. 

• Uniformity: Uniformity is calculated to identify any potential divergence within the herd. From an animal welfare perspective, this is particularly important with regard to the height adjustment of feeding and watering equipment. The uniformity calculated at specific times (assessments, feed changes, etc.) can also be used for internal comparisons across several batches. Inadequate uniformity or weight gain may, for example, indicate restricted mobility, errors in feeding or (subclinical) disease. 

• The use of any supplementary feed (including feed and water additives such as vitamins) must be recorded and evaluated. Should problems arise in future batches, this will allow a quick review of the measures taken in previous batches and whether these were successful. 

• Treatments and vaccinations must be recorded. Veterinary homeopathic remedies labelled as such may be administered without consulting a vet, provided they are not subject to prescription. They must be administered in accordance with the package leaflet (Section 50(4) of the German Veterinary Medicines Act (TAMG)). In the case of food-producing animals, the administration must be recorded in the same way as for allopathic medicines. If homeopathic medicines intended for human use are to be used, it must be noted that these may only be administered to animals if they have been prescribed by the treating veterinary surgeon for a specific case. They must then be administered in accordance with the written or electronic veterinary treatment instructions. Human medicines, including over-the-counter medicines, must not be administered without a prescription (§ 50(2) TAMG)¹⁸. 

• Miscellaneous: Use of additional enrichment materials = so-called ‘emergency kit’

Even under optimised husbandry conditions and with the constant use of enrichment materials and the provision of structural elements, conspicuous pecking behaviour may occur in flocks of turkeys, for example in connection with changes in the weather, heatwaves or storms. It is therefore recommended to keep an ‘emergency kit’ containing additional enrichment materials on hand, which can be made available on an hourly basis during critical periods to ^increase enrichment16^,17. 

Digital house plans are already available online from various providers.