Tasks and SOPs

An SOP is a checklist. A Task assigns work. A Schedule template plans a sequence of tasks from a Lot's placement date.

Tools

Open Planning > Tools for farm calculations. The top-bar Tools shortcut opens the same tools in an overlay. Open in Planning keeps the current calculation inputs when moving into the workspace. See Farm tools.

SOPs

1. Open Planning > SOPs > New SOP.
2. Enter name, SOP code (up to 40 characters) and Applies to: Lot, House or Site. Default assignee role is optional.
3. Add checklist instructions. Keep Required checked for mandatory steps.
4. Select Needs a reading where needed; optional lowest/highest limits flag out-of-range results. Blank limits collect readings without judging them. Compare with breed target (temperature or humidity) checks a Lot task's reading against the breed guide for the flock's age instead, where the guide covers that day.
5. Use + Add step or + Add note, then Create SOP.

Edits create versions, preserving the wording used by earlier tasks. Managers and Owners see Adherence, with links to missed steps and readings.

Tasks

1. Open Planning > Tasks > + New task.
2. Enter Title, Scope and its Lot/House/Site, and Due date.
3. Set the 24-hour Due time (starts at 08:00), then Set time.
4. Choose an assignee or leave it open, then Create task.

Open a task to Complete, Skip or Cancel. Skipping/cancelling needs a reason. Outcome records who closed it, when and why. Scheduled vaccination or medication tasks offer Record treatment.

Use status pills or Filter for Lot, Status, Assignee and Scope. A selected Lot can include house/site tasks. Clear filters keeps the Lot; choose All lots to remove it. Counts and CSV follow the filters.

Review

To complete a checklist:

1. Tick Done only for steps performed; explain skipped required steps.
2. Enter requested readings as measured, even outside limits.
3. Add notes if needed; Edit reopens a folded step.
4. Choose Complete task.

Managers and Owners use Planning > Review for the last seven days' completions, missed work and flagged readings/steps. Open each row to investigate. Workers use their assigned task list.

Planning calendar

Open Planning > Overview for tasks, withdrawal clear dates and feed changes. Use Previous, Today and Next. Phone shows an agenda; laptop shows a month grid. Done/Skipped tasks stay visible on their due dates; cancelled tasks are omitted. Overdue colours apply only to open work.

Schedule templates

1. Open Planning > Templates > Schedule > New template.
2. Enter name, code (up to 40 characters), operation type and category.
3. Add each task's title and whole-number Day: 0 is placement day.
4. Set time, or All day. Keep Required where necessary; optionally choose an SOP instead of No checklist.
5. + Add task as needed, then Create template.

Fix field errors before saving. Unfinished drafts restore on this device. Queued offline means submitted: wait for sync, then check Templates before creating another copy.

Preloaded SOPs and schedules

Every farm starts with ready-made SOPs and schedule templates taken from published breed guides. Edit or archive them like your own; PoultryDesk never overwrites your changes.

• SOPs: House preparation before chicks arrive (3 weeks to 1 day before), Chick arrival, Brooding check, Sample weighing, Lighting change and Vaccination.
• Broiler schedules: brooding checks for days 0-14 (twice a day for the first 5 days), weekly weighing, the Ross 308 and Cobb 500 lighting programmes and a vaccination programme.
• Layer schedules: brooding checks for days 0-20, body-weight monitoring (weekly to week 32, then every 5 weeks), lighting programmes for Hy-Line Brown, Lohmann Brown and ISA Brown / Bovans Brown, and a vaccination programme.

A schedule's page shows Recommended for with the breeds whose guide uses it. Seeded SOPs and schedules you have not edited are updated when the guides in PoultryDesk change; once you save your own version, yours is kept.

Chick arrival and Brooding check readings are compared with the breed target for the flock's age. Completing the task shows the target, and a reading outside it is flagged on the task and in Review, and managers get a Reading out of range alert; it never blocks completion.

The vaccination programmes are a common starting point, not advice for your farm. Confirm vaccines, days and routes with your vet before applying one. Run House preparation as a task on the house before the chicks arrive.

Schedules imported from your previous system

Schedules brought over in a data import follow the same layout as the preloaded ones. They carry the note Imported from your previous system, each daily task lands on its own day (a 7-day course that starts on day 2 runs days 2-8), hatchery vaccinations and tasks marked optional become optional, and vaccination tasks open the Vaccination SOP checklist. A schedule that runs past week 12 is marked for layers. A schedule you have already edited is left as it is.

Applying a schedule template to a lot

Open the Lot's Planning > + Apply schedule. Templates recommended for the Lot's breed are listed first and say recommended for the breed. Apply them on placement day so no early task is skipped. Placement date determines due dates, except that breed-guide schedules count from the hatch date when the Lot records an age at placement, so pullets placed at 16 weeks skip chick-only tasks. Apply complementary plans separately; each can be applied once while in use. Remove it before reapplying. Closed Lots accept no new plans.

Use the Lot's Open/Overdue counts, completion rates and Needs attention links to review work. Skipped tasks count as due but not missed; cancelled tasks are excluded from rates.

Feed templates

1. Open Planning > Templates > Feed > New feed template.
2. Enter name and Operation type; breed is optional. Operation type stays fixed in later versions.
3. Add phases: name, whole-number End day, Daily feed in g/bird, optional Daily water in L/bird and Feed item.
4. + Add phase or notes as needed, then Create template.

The first phase starts day 1; each next phase starts after the prior end. Feed must be more than 0 and at most 500 g/bird/day; water, if set, more than 0 and at most 5 L/bird/day. Blank water means no target. Fix invalid ranges before saving. Drafts restore locally; do not resubmit a queued template.

Archiving a template

Archive unused SOPs and templates to stop new selections. Existing tasks, versions and Lot feeding programs keep working unchanged.

What you get

Assigned checklists, a due-work calendar and completion history. Use SOP Adherence or Planning Review to investigate exceptions.

See also

Health · Lots