The Muster Routine: Count Your Herd and Catch Losses Early

Why counting on a rhythm beats counting when worried

Stock theft is discovered late because absence is invisible — nobody misses a beast they think is somewhere on the veld. A regular muster turns “somewhere” into a dated fact: present on the 14th, gone by the 28th. That two-week window is what gives the police, and your search, something to work with.

The routine

1. Same rhythm every time — say, every second week at the evening kraal, and always after moving camps.
2. Tick beasts present in the app as they come through — by tag, or by photo when you can’t read the ear.
3. The app shows percent accounted for and names exactly who wasn’t seen.
4. For each absent beast, record a suspected cause — strayed, taken, unknown.

When one is missing

• The app opens a case with the animal’s full identity — photo, brand, BAITS, last-seen.
• For suspected theft, it drafts the police-report details for you: everything the charge office asks for, from your records. You file the report; walking in with tag, brand and dates is the difference between a report and a shrug.
• Recovered later? The muster reconciles it — tick it present and the case closes.

The quiet benefit

A herd that is counted, photographed and papered is a hard herd to steal quietly — and word of that travels.

Keep these records without the paperwork

Thuo Tech keeps every animal on record — photos, brands and BAITS tag numbers, treatments and withdrawal periods, weights, breeding, movements and sales — on your computer instead of in a book in a drawer. Built in Botswana, from P100 a month per farm.

Try the whole system free for 14 days — no joining fee. Questions? Email info@thuotech.co.bw or call 72114791.