What Are Animal Mobs?

Animal mobs are groups of animals managed collectively rather than individually. Instead of tracking every animal's complete lifetime history, mobs focus on population-level data. Total count, demographics, group health, and collective management.

Mobs provide appropriate oversight for large populations while keeping administrative effort reasonable. You track the group, not each individual member.

When to Use Mob Management

Use mobs for:

• Commercial livestock - Large herds sold in groups (50+ head of cattle, market lambs, feeder pigs)
• Large flocks - Poultry operations (hundreds or thousands of chickens)
• Wild populations - Wildlife census data where individual tracking is not feasible
• Production groups - Animals managed for production without need for individual histories
• Aquaculture - Fish populations in ponds or tanks
• Transitional groups - Young animals not yet requiring individual records (move to individual tracking later if needed)

Do not use mobs for:

• Breeding stock requiring detailed genetic records
• High-value animals justifying individual attention
• Endangered species where every individual matters
• Clinical patients requiring medical histories
• Animals with legal individual identification requirements
• Situations where individual traceability is mandatory

Common mixed approach: Breeding animals tracked individually, offspring/production groups managed as mobs. Circumstances may later require individual tracking. Examples include health issues, breeding selection, or regulatory requirements.

Creating a Mob

Basic Mob Information:

• Mob Name - Descriptive identifier (e.g., "North Paddock Ewes", "2024 Spring Calves", "Market Pigs Batch 12")
• Animal Type - Species (all mob members must be same species)
• Initial Count - Total number of animals in the mob
• Current Location - Where the mob is located (location and subdivision)
• Breed - If applicable (e.g., "Merino" for sheep mob)

Demographic Information:

• Males/Females - Gender breakdown
• Juveniles/Adults - Age category distribution
• Average Age - Estimated mean age
• Age Range - Minimum and maximum ages in group

Optional Details:

• Acquisition Method - How mob was acquired (born on facility, purchased, etc.)
• Acquisition Date - When mob entered your care
• Source - Where mob came from
• Production Type - Meat, dairy, eggs, wool, etc.
• Management Context - Livestock, wildlife, conservation, research

Mob creation process:

1. Navigate to Animal Management → Create Mob
2. Enter mob name and select species
3. Set initial animal count
4. Assign to current location
5. Add demographic breakdown (optional but recommended)
6. Save mob

Mob is now active and ready for management.

Mob Demographics

Demographics provide population structure without individual tracking.

Gender Distribution:

• Number of males
• Number of females
• Total should equal mob count

Age Distribution:

• Number of juveniles
• Number of adults
• Average age estimate
• Age range (youngest to oldest)

Why demographics matter:

• Breeding ratio planning (males:females for reproduction)
• Age-appropriate management (juveniles need different care than adults)
• Market planning (separate mature animals from immature)
• Nutritional planning (different age groups have different dietary needs)
• Predictive modelling (estimate future population structure)

Updating demographics:

• Update periodically as mob matures (juveniles become adults)
• Adjust after births (add juveniles)
• Modify after removals/sales (reduce relevant categories)

Demographics stay current through population change tracking (covered below).

Mob Observations

Record observations for the entire mob or affected subset.

Mob-specific observation fields:

• Observation description - What you observed in the group
• Number affected - How many animals show this condition
• Percentage affected - Calculated automatically from number and mob size
• Affected demographic - Which subset (e.g., "Juveniles", "Males", "Older females")
• Group-wide phenomenon - Yes/No (affects entire mob vs. subset)
• Environmental factors - Weather, habitat conditions contributing to observation
• Location context - Where in the location observation occurred (e.g., "Near feeding area", "At water source")
• Severity - Low, Medium, High, Critical

Example mob observations:

Livestock:

• "15 ewes showing signs of foot rot, primarily older females in wet paddock areas" (15 affected out of 200 = 7.5%, High severity)

Wildlife:

• "Entire elephant mob observed at northern waterhole, all animals showing good body condition, calves playful" (30 affected, 100%, Low severity - positive observation)

Poultry:

• "Approximately 200 chickens in flock showing reduced egg production, no other symptoms visible" (200 affected out of 1000 = 20%, Medium severity)

Mob observations support population health monitoring without individual animal identification.

Mob Treatments

Apply treatments to entire mob or affected subset.

Mob treatment fields:

• Treatment category - Antimicrobials, parasiticides, vaccines, other
• Medication name - What was administered
• Number treated - How many animals received treatment
• Treatment date
• Administered by - Person who gave treatment
• Batch number - Medication batch for traceability
• Dosage and route - Amount and administration method
• Withdrawal period - Food safety compliance for food-producing animals
• Notes - Additional details

Example mob treatments:

Vaccination:

• "Entire flock vaccinated with 7-in-1 Clostridial vaccine" (1000 chickens treated, Batch VAC-2024-105)

Deworming:

• "All ewes treated with ivermectin drench" (200 ewes, no withdrawal period for wool animals)

Targeted treatment:

• "15 ewes with foot rot treated with oxytetracycline spray" (15 out of 200 treated, linked to previous observation)

Mob treatments create treatment history for the group, supporting:

• Medication inventory management
• Withdrawal period compliance
• Treatment cost tracking
• AMR stewardship (if antimicrobials used)
• Veterinary record-keeping

Population Changes

Track changes in mob size over time.

Change types:

• Births - New animals born into mob
• Deaths - Animals died (disease, injury, predation, old age)
• Purchases/Acquisitions - Animals added to mob
• Sales - Animals sold from mob
• Transfers In - Animals moved from another mob into this mob
• Transfers Out - Animals moved from this mob to another mob
• Escapes - Animals escaped or disappeared
• Promotions to Individual - Animal moved from mob to individual tracking
• Other - Custom reasons

Recording population change:

1. Open mob record
2. Record population change
3. Select change reason
4. Enter previous count and new count (or enter change amount)
5. Optionally specify demographic changes (which categories affected)
6. Add notes explaining change
7. Save

Example: Mob had 200 ewes, 25 lambs born. Record change "Births", new count 225, specify +25 juveniles.

Population change history:

• View complete population trajectory over time
• Identify patterns (seasonal births, disease mortality spikes)
• Calculate growth rates
• Audit mob count accuracy

Weight Tracking for Mobs

Track weight at population level rather than individually.

Mob weight record fields:

• Record date - When weights measured
• Average weight - Mean weight across sample or mob
• Minimum weight - Lightest animal measured
• Maximum weight - Heaviest animal measured
• Sample size - How many animals weighed (if not entire mob)
• Weighing method - Sample, individual weighing of all, estimate
• Unit of measure - kg, lbs, etc.
• Notes - Conditions, observations

Weighing methods:

• Sample - Weigh representative subset, extrapolate to mob
• Individual - Weigh every animal in mob, calculate statistics
• Estimate - Visual assessment or industry standards

Use: Monitor mob growth, identify underweight groups, verify adequate nutrition, market readiness assessment, calculate feed conversion efficiency

Mob Movements

Move entire mob between locations.

Mob movement process (similar to individual movements):

1. Select mob
2. Record movement
3. Specify from location and to location
4. Enter movement date and reason
5. Save

Mob movements create:

• Movement history for the group
• Traceability for mob (regulatory compliance)
• Location inventory updates (old location count decreases, new location count increases)
• Contact tracing data (biosecurity)

Split before movement: If moving partial mob, split mob first (creating two mobs), then move one mob to new location.

Splitting Mobs

Divide one mob into two smaller mobs.

When to split:

• Moving partial mob to different location
• Separating by sex (males and females into different management groups)
• Separating by age (juveniles and adults)
• Market selection (keeping some animals, selling others)
• Breeding groups (creating specific breeding ratios)
• Disease response (separating healthy from sick animals)

Split operation (conceptual):

1. Start with one mob (e.g., 200 mixed sheep)
2. Define how many animals to split off (e.g., 80 animals)
3. Specify demographics being split (e.g., 80 females)
4. System creates new mob with split animals (80-animal female mob)
5. Original mob reduced (now 120 animals)
6. Both mobs continue as independent groups

Split record maintained: System tracks that these mobs originated from common source (useful for traceability and genetic lineage).

Merging Mobs

Combine two mobs into one larger mob.

When to merge:

• Combining small groups for efficiency
• Reuniting temporarily separated mobs
• Consolidating mobs after selection/sorting
• Creating larger groups for management economies of scale

Merge operation (conceptual):

1. Start with two mobs (e.g., Mob A = 100 animals, Mob B = 75 animals)
2. Select mobs to merge
3. System combines counts (new mob = 175 animals)
4. Demographics combined
5. One mob becomes primary (keeps history), other mob retired
6. Merge record maintained for traceability

Important: Merge only compatible mobs (same species, similar age, compatible management contexts).

Mob Smart Badges

Like individual animals, mobs have interactive badges on their profile pages:

Mob Quarantine Badge:

• Shows mob quarantine status
• Initiate group quarantine
• Track health checks for mob
• Release mob from quarantine

Mob Tasks Badge:

• View tasks assigned to this mob
• Add mob-specific tasks (e.g., "Vaccinate entire flock", "Move mob to south paddock")
• Complete tasks

QR Code Badge:

• Generate QR code for mob identification
• Useful for paddock/enclosure signs showing which mob is present
• Quick mobile access to mob records in field

Individual Promotion from Mobs

Occasionally, an animal in a mob requires individual tracking.

Reasons to promote:

• Health issue requiring detailed medical management
• Selected for breeding programme (now needs pedigree tracking)
• High-value animal identified within mob
• Regulatory requirement (e.g., animal requires individual health certificate)
• Behavioural issue requiring individual attention
• Show animal selected from production group

Promotion process (conceptual):

1. Identify animal within mob requiring individual tracking
2. Create new individual animal record (basic information)
3. Link to original mob (traceability maintained)
4. Reduce mob count by 1 (record population change)
5. Manage animal individually from this point forward

Animal's mob history remains part of traceability chain. Complete record from mob membership through individual tracking.

When to Use Mobs vs. Individuals

Indicators favouring mobs:

• Large population size (50+ animals minimum, hundreds or thousands ideal)
• Uniform management (all animals treated similarly)
• Production focus rather than breeding focus
• Limited individual identification
• Administrative efficiency priority
• Short-term management (animals will not stay in system long)

Indicators favouring individuals:

• Breeding stock or genetic improvement programmes
• Long-term animal management
• Regulatory individual traceability requirements
• High-value animals justifying detailed records
• Clinical patient management
• Public interest (zoo animals, conservation species)
• Detailed reproductive records needed

Mixed approach often optimal: Breeding animals individual, production animals mobs, flexibility to promote as needed.

Mob Management Examples

Example 1: Commercial Sheep Operation

• Mob: "2024 Spring Lambs"
• Count: 250 lambs
• Demographics: 125 males, 125 females, all juveniles, average age 4 months
• Management: Group deworming every 8 weeks, weigh sample monthly, observe for illness, sell at 6 months
• Outcome: Efficient oversight of large group without individual records

Example 2: Wildlife Census

• Mob: "Northern Waterhole Impala"
• Count: ~75 impala (estimated)
• Demographics: Approximately 60 females, 15 males, 20 juveniles
• Management: Quarterly population counts, observe for disease, habitat condition monitoring, no treatments (wild population)
• Outcome: Population trend tracking without individual identification

Example 3: Poultry Production

• Mob: "Laying Hens - Barn 3"
• Count: 2,000 hens
• Demographics: All females, all adults, average age 18 months
• Management: Daily egg production tracking, feed conversion monitoring, vaccinations, deworming, culling as needed
• Population changes: Record mortalities (deaths), new acquisitions (replacement hens)
• Outcome: Production metrics tracked efficiently for large flock

Example 4: Conservation Breeding (Mixed Approach)

• Individual: 12 breeding adult rhinos (detailed pedigrees, reproductive records, health histories)
• Mob: "Supporting Wildlife - Zebra Herd" (35 zebras, basic population monitoring)
• Rationale: Conservation focus on rhinos (endangered, every individual critical), zebra managed as mob (stable population, supporting ecosystem role)

Mob Record Accessibility

Who can view mob records: Same permissions as individual animal records. Based on user type and permission level.

Who can edit mobs: Standard permissions or higher

Mob data exports: Export mob records for reporting, analysis, regulatory submissions

Traceability: Mob movements and treatments create traceability events (collective traceability for the group)