You will be up and running in 5 minutes

Getting Started with Shira

No training needed. If you can use WhatsApp, you can use Shira. Follow these 5 steps and you will be recording in under 5 minutes.

Quick Start Guide

Create your farm

Tip: Use the same phone number you use for M-Pesa — it makes payments easier later.

Enable your modules

Go to Settings and turn on Dairy, Poultry, or Swine. You can enable or disable modules anytime — your data is never lost.

Tip: Start with one module. You can always add more as your farm grows.

Add your animals

Register your cows by name or tag, create poultry batches, or add your pigs. Enter as much or as little detail as you want — you can always update later.

Tip: For dairy, start by adding your milking cows. You can add dry cows and calves later.

Start recording

Record milk yields, egg collections, feed purchases, health events, and more. Each record takes under 10 seconds. Data saves on your phone and syncs when connected.

Tip: Your herdsman can record from his phone too — invite him as a team member.

Invite your team

Add herdsmen, recorders, vets, or accountants. Each person gets their own login with the right permissions — they see only what their role allows.

Tip: Team members receive their login credentials via SMS automatically.

First steps by module

Once you have created your farm, here is what to do first depending on your module.

Dairy

1 Add your milking cows (name, tag ID, breed)
2 Record morning and evening milk yields
3 Log any health events or treatments
4 Check your dashboard for daily production summary

See all dairy features →

Poultry

1 Create a batch (layer or broiler, breed, bird count)
2 Record daily egg collections by grade
3 Log feed purchases and daily feed amounts
4 Monitor hen-day production on your dashboard

See all poultry features →

Swine

1 Add your pigs (name/ID, breed, group)
2 Record breeding events and expected farrowing dates
3 Log weights to track growth against benchmarks
4 Check batch economics on your dashboard

See all swine features →

Farm Terms Glossary

Common abbreviations and terms you will see in the app, explained in plain language.

SCC — Somatic Cell Count — measures milk quality and udder health. Lower is better. Above 400,000 usually means infection.

BCS — Body Condition Score — rates cow fatness on a 1–5 scale. Target: 2.5–3.5 for dairy cows.

HDP — Hen-Day Production — percentage of hens that laid an egg today. A good layer flock should be 80%+ at peak.

FCR — Feed Conversion Ratio — kg of feed per kg of weight gain (broilers) or per egg (layers). Lower is better.

ADG — Average Daily Gain — how much weight (kg) an animal gains per day. Used for broilers and growing pigs.

AI — Artificial Insemination — breeding technique using stored semen. More predictable than natural service.

WAC — Weighted Average Cost — your blended cost per kg of feed across multiple purchases at different prices.

VWP — Voluntary Waiting Period — days after calving before attempting breeding. Typically 45–60 days.

PAYE — Pay As You Earn — Kenya income tax deducted from employee salaries. Shira calculates this automatically.

NHIF — National Hospital Insurance Fund — mandatory health insurance deduction from Kenyan salaries.

NSSF — National Social Security Fund — mandatory pension contribution deducted from Kenyan salaries.

KPI — Key Performance Indicator — the important numbers on your dashboard (milk yield, HDP, ADG, cost per litre, etc.).

Lactation — The period a cow produces milk, typically 305 days from calving to dry-off.

Farrowing — When a sow gives birth to a litter of piglets. Gestation is about 114 days.

Dry period — The 60-day rest before a cow calves, when she is not milked. Important for next lactation performance.

Still need help?

Our team is happy to walk you through the app. We can also arrange a free 15-minute video call for your team.