Setting Up Alerts on Shira — Get Notified When Something Needs Attention
A guide to configuring farm alerts in Shira — heat detection reminders, production drop warnings, vaccination due dates, and feed inventory alerts. Only the notifications that matter.
Setting Up Alerts on Shira — Get Notified When Something Needs Attention
The point of a farm management app is not to give you more things to check. It is to check for you — and tell you when something needs your attention.
Shira's alert system watches your data continuously and sends you notifications for time-sensitive events. But only the events that matter. Here is how to set it up so you get the right alerts at the right time, without drowning in noise.
The alert categories
Shira organises alerts into five categories. You can enable or disable each one, and set thresholds for the ones that use numbers.
1. Breeding alerts
Heat watch reminders. When a cow or sow is approaching her expected heat date, you get a notification 2 days before the window opens. This gives you time to arrange extra observation.
Return-to-heat check. 18 days after insemination, the app reminds you to watch for signs that the AI did not take. If she does not return by day 24, it prompts you to schedule a pregnancy check.
Calving/farrowing countdown. At 14 days and 7 days before the expected date, reminders to prepare the calving area or farrowing crate.
Overdue breeding. If a cow passes 90 days post-calving without being bred, or a sow passes 10 days post-weaning without coming into heat, you get a flag.
2. Production alerts
Milk yield drop. If a cow's 3-day average drops more than 15% below her 7-day average, something changed. The alert names the cow and shows the magnitude of the drop.
HDP threshold. For poultry, you set a minimum HDP percentage. When the 7-day average crosses below it, you are notified. Recommended setting: 5% below your breed standard for the flock's current age.
FCR spike. If weekly FCR increases by more than 0.2 points compared to the previous week, the alert fires. This catches feed waste or quality problems early.
3. Health alerts
Mortality spike. If daily mortality in a poultry flock exceeds your threshold (default: 0.1% of live birds), you get an immediate alert. For dairy and swine, any death triggers an alert (since individual animals are higher value).
Vaccination due. Based on the vaccination schedule you have set (or the default breed-specific schedule), the app reminds you 7 days before each vaccination is due.
Treatment follow-up. If you recorded a treatment and set a follow-up date, the app reminds you. This prevents incomplete treatment courses.
4. Feed and inventory alerts
Feed runway. You set your current feed inventory and daily consumption rate. The app calculates how many days of feed remain and alerts you when stock drops below your reorder threshold (default: 7 days).
Feed cost alert. If you update the price per kilogram and the new price is more than 10% higher than the previous entry, the app flags it — because a price change affects all your cost calculations.
5. Financial alerts
Revenue threshold. Set a minimum daily revenue target. If your estimated daily revenue (from production × price) drops below it for 3 consecutive days, you get a notification.
Monthly cost alert. If total costs for the current month are on track to exceed a budget you have set, the app warns you at the 75% mark.
How to configure
In the app, go to Settings → Alerts. Each category has a toggle (on/off) and any numerical thresholds.
Recommended starting configuration:
| Alert | Enable? | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Heat watch | Yes | 2 days before expected |
| Return-to-heat check | Yes | Day 18 post-AI |
| Calving/farrowing countdown | Yes | 14 and 7 days |
| Overdue breeding | Yes | 90 days (dairy), 10 days (swine) |
| Milk yield drop | Yes | 15% below 7-day average |
| HDP threshold | Yes | 5% below age-expected |
| FCR spike | Yes | +0.2 weekly increase |
| Mortality spike | Yes | 0.1% daily (poultry), any (dairy/swine) |
| Vaccination due | Yes | 7 days before |
| Feed runway | Yes | 7 days remaining |
| Revenue threshold | Optional | Set based on your economics |
| Monthly cost alert | Optional | Set based on your budget |
Alert delivery
Alerts appear in three places:
In-app notification. A badge on the dashboard showing active alerts. Always available, no configuration needed.
Push notification. Sent to your phone's notification bar. Requires allowing notifications when first prompted. Best for time-sensitive alerts (mortality spike, heat watch).
SMS (where available). For critical alerts only — mortality spike and calving/farrowing imminent. Uses your registered phone number.
The anti-noise principle
Too many alerts is the same as no alerts — you start ignoring them. Shira is designed to alert you only when action is needed, not when data is merely interesting.
The system does not alert you when:
- HDP drops by 1% for one day (normal fluctuation)
- One cow gives 0.5 litres less than yesterday (noise)
- Feed cost changes by KES 1 (irrelevant)
It alerts you when:
- A trend has changed direction and sustained for multiple days
- A threshold that matters financially has been crossed
- A time-sensitive management window is approaching
If you find yourself getting too many alerts, raise your thresholds rather than turning alerts off entirely. The goal is 2-5 alerts per week that each require a decision or action, not 20 alerts per day that you swipe away.
Configure your alerts at shira.farm.