Excel vs Pedigre Pro for Keeping Pigeon Records
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Excel / Paper Notebook | Pedigre Pro |
| Setup | Instant, a tool you already know | Free account, a few minutes |
| Multi-generation pedigree visualization | You have to draw it by hand | Automatic, up to 4 generations |
| Duplicate/incorrect ring number check | You have to check manually | Warns automatically |
| Flight/speed/distance statistics | Can be set up with formulas, takes effort | Calculated automatically |
| Professional certificate/PDF output | Needs a separate design tool | One click |
| Access from multiple devices | Cloud sync has to be set up manually | Automatic (web, Android, iOS) |
| Adding photos | Separate folder, link can break | Directly attached to the record |
| Reminders/notifications | None, manual tracking | Vaccination, feed, flight reminders |
| Risk of data loss | Lost if one device/file breaks | Backed up in the cloud |
| Sharing (via QR/link) | Sent manually as a file | One link, instantly |
Green = strong point, brown = possible with extra effort, gray = not available.
Where Excel is genuinely good
If you have a small number of birds and are already comfortable with spreadsheets/formulas, Excel is an honest starting point — you don't need to open another account and you stay fully in control. The problem appears as the loft grows and pedigree relationships come into play: there's no mechanism guaranteeing the "father" info you typed into a cell actually points to the right bird, and manually tracking a tree four generations back becomes practically impossible.
What Pedigre Pro does differently
Pedigre Pro keeps ring numbers as linked records — when you pick a bird for the "father" field, the system already knows that bird's own record, so you never re-type it, and it automatically prevents inconsistencies such as a bird forming a cycle in its own lineage. On top of that, flight tracking, health/nutrition/cost records, and reminders live in the same system, so you never have to switch between separate spreadsheets.
Which one should you choose?
If you're just starting out with a small one- or two-bird hobby, you can stick with Excel. But if you take your bloodline seriously, track more than one loft/bird, or race regularly, switching to a system that makes the data work for you saves time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move my records from Excel to Pedigre Pro?
You can add your records manually, or in minutes with AI-assisted pedigree scanning; contact our support team if you need a large-scale bulk import.
Is Pedigre Pro free?
You can start with a 7-day free trial account; after the trial, a yearly Premium membership is required for unlimited records.
Is my data safe, can it get lost?
Your records are stored and backed up in the cloud; your data won't be lost even if a single device or file gets corrupted.