On the egg form AIMS records the method by which each egg is fertilised.
The preferences holds an entry which is the default setting for an egg which is laid by a new female and male combination
The first time you enter an egg into AIMS for a particular female and male combination, be that a natural pair or a female being inseminated, AIMS fills in the method of fertilisation from the setting in the preferences form.
You can change the entry then to suit what the actual method of fertilisation is.
The next time you enter an egg from this female and male combination AIMS will fill the method of fertilisation based on the entry for the last egg from this pair combination.
As an example.
Preference setting is Natural
Pair of Birds, Female A, Male B
1st egg AIMS takes the preference setting of natural.
When she lays this egg you inseminate with male C.
2nd egg laid you select male C as the father as he was used for the insemination.
AIMS fills in Natural from the preferences, as there is no previous entry for the new Female and male combination. You then alter that to Forced AI and save the record. After this egg is laid you insemination again with male C.
3rd Egg is laid, you enter the pen number and AIMS fills the parents with the natural pair, as these are the two bird in the room when the egg was laid. You alter the male to male C and AIMS will automatically update the method of fertilisation from Natural to Forced AI.
After this egg you stop inseminating as you have seen the pair mating.
Egg 4 laid you leave the parents as the pair that are in the room. AIMS fills in the method of fertilisation with Natural, not from the preferences this time, but from egg 1 setting as that is the last fertilisation method used for this female male combination.
This saves time once you have an egg entered for a pair combination.
Prior to version 7.4.14 when you tabbed out of the width field you would be taken into the method of fertilisation field to make your selection, then into the method of cleaning and then into the incubation started field.
With the auto fertilisation method and the fact that the method of cleaning is now populated from a preference setting you now go from width straight to the incubation started.
When entering a number of eggs at a time this saves a lot of time in having to select the fertilisation and cleaning method.
You can use the mouse to alter either of these for a particular egg, but once you have the entry for a pair combination the likelihood is that it will always be the same and you method of cleaning will similarly usually always be the same method for every egg.
