Regardless of whether we keep a backyard flock of four or a hobby-farm flock of 100, we can always use a helping hand when it comes to managing our chickens. Over the years, my husband Jae and I have used white boards, journals, ledgers and our own questionable brain cells to try to keep track of everything on our farm.
Several years ago, I decided to explore digital options and found a handful of poultry-related applications to help organize our birds. Since technology continually strides forward, I decided to investigate the latest innovations. Amidst the many chicken sounds, recipe, sticker and game apps, there were a few gems programmed to help poultry farmers.
Here’s a summary of five that particularly caught my eye.
birdBreeder
by Jason Fishbein
The app for serious breeders, birdBreeder allows you to conveniently record and input data while inspecting your pens, brooders and incubators.
Keep tabs on the health and production records of each hen. Monitor and analyze your hatching results. Create records of your sires, their descendants and the different species you raise. You can even customize data fields to record data specific to your operations.
Use birdBreeder for your chickens, ducks, turkeys and other species of bird you raise!
Read more: Here are some more smartphone apps that can help with gardening and more!
Chickens Magazine
by Beckett Media LLC
If you love Hobby Farms, then you’ll love our bimonthly sibling publication, Chickens! This app allows you to keep oodles of information about poultry breeds, predator prevention, coop maintenance and much more right at your fingertips.
No more searching the house for your latest issue.
The Chickens app downloads for free but requires in-app purchases to obtain the current issue as well as back issues. A subscription to the magazine can also be purchased within the application.
Count Your Eggs
by RoleModel Software, Inc.
If you’re just looking for an app to help you keep track of your flock’s egg production, look no further than Count Your Eggs. This intuitive application allows you to easily adjust the number of eggs your hens lay on a daily basis.
Its history function displays your layers’ weekly, monthly and yearly production data both in a graphic chart as well as in a chronological list. It may not feature bells and whistles, but it’s straightforward and simple to use.
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FlockPlenty
by George Lee
If you’ve ever wanted to keep a digital diary about your flock, FlockPlenty is the answer you’ve been waiting for!
Take notes on your chickens’ day-to-day behaviors, number of eggs collected and amount of feed given. Photograph and keep track of expenditures over the course of a day, week or month with FlockPlenty’s interactive reports.
Input important data in a matter of seconds with easy-to-use features that don’t take important time away from your chicken chores.
FlockPlenty allows you to go back and update existing entries as well as export your data for use elsewhere. It’s the perfect app for the serious poultry farmer.
Mother Hen
by Weston Bustraan
Created by a husband to take the place of the outdated app his wife had been using, Mother Hen features three functions.
- It helps you track your daily egg count, so you can watch for how factors such as weather, temperature and daylight affect your flock’s production.
- It allows you to record data on the individual members of your flock, including photos, and keep track of the different bloodlines in your yard should you breed your birds.
- Finally, the finance function helps you keep track of your expenses as well as whatever income your chicken-keeping earns you.
So head to your phone’s app store and check out one (or all) of these apps to make your poultry tasks easier and more fun.
