Create Litter

This procedure links multiple animals that belong to the same immediate family, either as siblings or as a mother and her offspring. Linking animals in this way allows the user to apply information to the entire group simply via the bulk updating menus and helps track related animals should the need arise.

1. Obtain the Animal ID of all of the animals that belong to the litter.
2. Search for the first animal in the litter:
   • Use the mother is one is available, but if no mother entered care then any in the litter will suffice.
3. On the Edit Animal Details page, click on the Create Litter link in the right hand Animal Menu.
4. On the Create Litter page, you will be offered two steps:
   • Step 1. Select the Mother: The Animal ID of the record that is open will default in this field.  If this is not the mother of the litter but is rather a part of the litter, remove the number in this field.  If it is the mother, leave the number in place.
   • Step 2. Enter the number of animals in the litter: Enter the total number of animals in the litter (not including the mother if she is part of this process) as a whole number, e.g. 3
   • Click Next to proceed.
5. The next page will offer you the same number of text boxes as you nominated as the number in the litter. The Mother will be auto-populated as designated in Step 1 and not appear on this page, however if no mother has been assigned then the first box for the litter will auto-populated with the Animal ID number used to reach the Create Litter page.
   Because most litters are entered sequentially, the easiest way to populate the boxes is to use the Use an animal ID range of option. Enter the first and last number in the series and click Set Ids Below to populate the Animal ID boxes:
   
   Or alternately, you can simply manually type Animal ID numbers for the remainder of the litter as demonstrated below: 
6. Click Next to proceed.
7. A Popup Window will ask if you wish to continue adding the litter. This is a safeguard in case something isn't right. Click “Yes” to continue.
8. Shelter Buddy will then link the nominated animal files as a litter, and display them thus:   
9. If a mother was present, the information will be displayed thus:   Note: Each member of the litter is identified in the Link column as either Mother or Sibling. If the animal is no longer in care, the Physical Location and Shelter Location will no longer be displayed via this link.
10. Use the View link to go to the Animal Details page of any member of the litter, or the Remove link if a pet was added erroneously.
11. The Add animal to litter link that can be seen at the top left of this page can be used to add more animals to the litter if required.
12. Once added to a litter group, the Animal Details Page for each member will display a new link at the top left of the page marked This animal is part of a litter: 
13. Click this link to return to the List Litters page.
14. Once a litter is created, it can be used in the bulk updating menus to add the members of the litter in bulk via the Add Animals by litter link: