How to delete a bird — and when NOT to

Deleting a bird is permanent. The app protects you from several directions so you do not lose data you actually want.

When deleting is the right thing

You imported a CSV and ended up with duplicates — the same bird twice, or a test row that is not real. That is what deletion is for: clearing out what should never have existed.

1. Open the bird's page.
2. Scroll down to Delete bird.
3. Press it and confirm.

When the app stops you

If the bird has race results, descendants (it appears as sire or dam on another bird) or pairings, deletion is blocked. The app tells you how many of each: "Has results: 3, descendants: 5, pairings: 1. Change its status instead."

Why? If you delete a cock with five descendants, those five are orphaned — their pedigree loses a whole branch. The same goes for race results, which are left without a bird. The block is in your interest: it protects your own history.

What to do instead

Sold a bird? Lost one on a race? One died? Change its status:

1. On the bird's page, press Change status.
2. Choose: Sold, Lost, Deceased, Retired, Donated, Loaned, Transferred.
3. Confirm.

The bird stays in the database with its history intact — pedigrees, results, pairings. It simply stops appearing as "Active". You can filter the list by status to show or hide inactive birds.

Careful with public birds

If the bird has its public page turned on, the app warns you again: the public link, and any QR code already printed on a pedigree, will stop working. Think twice if you have shared that link with a buyer.

A tip

If you are not sure, change the status. You can always set it back to "Active" later. Deletion cannot be undone.