SIL Administration Data Tools for Bureaus
Implemented July 2007 Updated February 2008
Prepared by Neville Amyes
10 data administration tools are available on the SIL System for bureau use to assist in
deriving reproduction and survival traits, updating animal statuses, changing animal tags,
pedigrees and traits plus deleting animals and traits. A detailed description of the use of
these ten data tools follows. Data Tools 3 & 6 were updated in February 2008.
Accessing Data Tools
Select the Data Tools option from the Toolbar (the hand with the spanner) or select Data
Tools from Data drop down menu.
The 10 data tools will be displayed as below. Select the activity you wish to perform from
the list by highlighting then ‘Ok’ or double clicking.
1. Flock – calculate derived traits
This will calculate reproduction and survival derived traits including Birth and Rearing Ranks,
Age of Dam, NLB, Survival etc.
Enter the flock number and check the year range is correct, then click “OK”. A Derived Trait
request will be submitted on SIL and results emailed back to you on completion.
It is recommended that you derive the current and previous two years if the flock has had full
lambing data added.
The email file gives the numbers of animals derived traits are done for plus reports any ewes that
have progeny in 2 different flocks in one season.
‘Calculate dead lambs’ should be run before derived traits are calculated if SNLB or animal
Birth Ranks without dead lambs have been added in the animal file loads.
2. Flock – calculate dead lambs
This needs to be run if ewe SNLB or lamb’s Birth Rank have been added in the animal file loads
for the latest birth year. This tool will create Born Dead lambs when the number of progeny on
SIL is less than the SNLB or Birth Rank value.
Enter the flock number and check the year range is correct, then click “OK”. A Check or Calc
Dead Lamb request will be submitted on SIL and results emailed back to you on completion.
It is strongly recommended that you use the “Just check for required lambs without creating
them” first. This will indicate how many dead lambs should be created without actually creating
them yet. After checking the request report, unclick this box and resubmit the request to actually
create them.
It is recommended that you include the current and previous two years if the flock has had full
lambing data added. A ‘Calculate derive trait’ needs to be run after this is completed.
Messages in the email file are also given if the number of progeny is more than the SNLB / Birth
Ranks value and if the progeny of a ewe has different Birth Ranks.“
3. Animals – fate off lambs without weaning weights
This enables you to update the BFATE and the STATUS of lambs that don’t have a WWT when
a breeder is prepared to say that “all live lambs have been weighed at weaning” i.e. any lamb
without a weaning weight must have died pre-weaning.
Enter the flock number and check the year range is correct. Select the ‘Check’ button to display a
list of live lambs without weaning weights. These animals will actually be fated off by selecting
the ‘Update’ button. A Derived trait request should also be submitted by selecting the ‘Re-calc
derived traits’ option. Or select ‘Cancel’ to exit without any updates.
A BFATE of 1 and STATUS of 1 is added for those lambs in SIL plus a date can be entered for
STATUS DATE (suggest you use the WWT date).
SIL has added 3 extra improvements to this tool to assist with fating off lambs.
Other later traits recorded can now be checked for and if the mouse is hovered over the tick
box, the traits checked for are displayed.
Dead lambs can be also included to be checked for by clicking the ‘Include dead lambs’.
This is useful if you are not sure if all your dead lambs had a dead BFATE in your animal
load.
Once the collection of lambs is displayed, individual lambs can be highlighted and removed
from this collection so that they do not receive a dead STATUS and BFATE.
4. Animals – set statuses from a file
Live animals (STATUS of 0 or 2) in the Current Flock that are NOT in the file will have their
STATUS updated to cull (4) and the trait STATUS is added in SIL. Animals that are in the file
and are not alive in SIL will have their STATUS updated to alive (0).
Use a comma-delimited file of current/kept animals – the Current Id (current flock, current tag,
birth year) of the animal must be in the first 3 columns of the file. Birth Id is also checked as
long as the animal is transferred into the given flock.
Enter the flock number and check the year range is correct. Enter or locate the animal file and
indicate the sex of animals in the file. Select the ‘Check’ button to display a summary of the
number of animals to be culled, plus animals not found or of the wrong sex or not alive are
displayed in the ‘Animals’ box. Select ‘OK’ to proceed to cull the animals or ‘Cancel’ to exit
without any changes. When animals are updated a log file of ewes not found and ewes whose
STATUS is updated is written out to where the submitted file was held.
5. Animals – change birth and current tags
An animal’s Birth Tag, Current Tag or Birth Year can be corrected here.
Enter the flock number and birth year and type the animal tag (if known) then click ‘Find’ which
will populate the Animals box and select the animal to be corrected.
To correct Birth Tag type the correct birth tag in the ‘New birth tag’ box and make sure the ‘New
birth year’ is correct. If the current tag also needs to be corrected, check the ‘Change current tag’
box is clicked on. Then click ‘Ok’ to action.
To correct Current Tag only, type the correct current tag in the ‘New current tag’ box, make sure
the ‘New birth year’ is correct, then click ‘Ok’ to action.
To correct Birth year select the ‘New Birth Year’, then click ‘OK’ to action.
6. Animals – move progeny between sires and dams
This enables you to move progeny of animals in your bureau to other sires or dams that are in
your bureau.
Find the sire or dam by entering its Birth Flock and Year in the “From animal” tab, then click
‘Find’ which will populate the Animals box and highlight the required animal. The sire or dam
tag can be entered if it is known. Highlight the progeny in the Progeny box that are to be
moved.
The new parent animal is found through the “To animal” tab as above and ‘Ok’ is clicked to
move the highlighted progeny from one parent to another. The number of progeny the selected
new parent has is displayed underneath the Animals box in ‘Dammed’ or ‘Sired’.
The layout of this screen has been altered with a “From animal” tab and a “To animal” tab. All
animals on SIL can now be found by Birth Id but only the progeny in your bureau will be
displayed in the “Progeny” box and can be updated.
The breed of the animal is displayed and if the “From” parent’s breed is different to the “To”
parent then you need to get a SIL Administrator to derive the breed for the progeny of the new
parent.
If animals are moved from one dam to another dam, the progeny and the dam’s reproduction
traits are automatically rederived.
7. Animals – delete by year range
*** Use with caution ***
All animals for a specific year for a flock can be deleted by entering the Flock number and the
Year.
Enter the flock and birth year for which the animals are to be deleted and then click on ‘Check’.
A summary of the number of animals to be deleted and animals that are unable to be deleted will
be displayed. Animals that have progeny can not be deleted.
Click ‘Ok’ to remove all the animals in the specified year and remember that once it is deleted, it
is gone for good including any trait data.
8. Animals – delete from a file
*** Use with caution ***
Animals can be removed from SIL by providing their Birth Id in a comma-delimited file
Specify the Flock, Year range and locate the file, then click on ‘Check’. A summary of the
number of animals to be deleted and animals that are unable to be deleted will be displayed.
Animals that have progeny can not be deleted.
Click ‘Ok’ to remove these animals and remember that once it is deleted, it is gone for good
including any trait data.
9. Traits – delete for year
*** Use with caution ***
Trait data that has been incorrectly added to SIL can be removed from SIL by adding the Flock
and the Recording Year then highlight the required trait and clicking ‘Ok’. Sex can be chosen if
trait data for one sex is needed to be deleted.
10. Traits – change one trait to another
Traits incorrectly entered with the wrong trait name can be corrected to another trait.
Specify the Flock and Recording Year of the incorrect data. Highlight the incorrect trait then
find the correct trait in the ‘Change trait to’ box. Sex can be chosen if trait data for one sex
needs to be changed. Click ‘Ok’ to rename this trait data e.g. LW10 to LW8.
This will not remove any data errors if you received some while loading the old trait data. You
will need to delete that data then reload with the correct trait name.