Automatic Litter Identification

By default, ASM has a system option enabled called ``Automatic Litter Identification''. This means that any new litters you create will be automatically assigned a unique identifier.

A button is available on the edit animal toolbar allowing you to assign an animal to a litter. This populates the Litter ID field on the animal to show that it is part of the litter.

Once this is done, you don't need to do anything further, as ASM will watch for the animals leaving the shelter and automatically complete the litter for you.

This method is the most recommended and works in the exact same manner as the ``acceptance numbers'' method outlined below.

They are in fact the same, differing only in terminology - acceptance numbers only apply to RSPCA shelters in the UK, litter IDs are generic for any shelter. Note that while ASM will default the litter ID as a number when you create a new one, the litter ID can in fact be alphanumeric and you could use codenames or anything more meaningful as a litter ID (as long as it is unique).

As far as ASM is concerned, acceptance numbers and litter IDs are exactly the same thing and changing a configuration option (Automatic Litter Identification) determines what ASM will call the field on screen.