Calving and Lambing Records: What to Keep
Calving and lambing records preserve what happened at a birth. Keep the original observation separate from a diagnosis, a program score, or a later decision about the dam.
Record the birth
| Field | What to preserve |
|---|---|
| Dam and offspring IDs | Known identities; flag uncertain matches |
| Sire or exposure group | Source of the parentage information and any uncertainty |
| Date and time | Observed birth time or time found, clearly distinguished |
| Birth outcome | One entry per calf or lamb; born alive, born dead, or unknown |
| Litter size | Total born, separate from the number later reared |
| Assistance | What happened, who helped, and when |
| Weight | Actual measurement, unit, date and time |
| Follow-up observation | What was seen, when, and by whom |
| Rearing | Birth dam and rearing animal or method, with change dates |
“Found cow 1417 with a live heifer calf at 06:00; birth not observed” preserves the limit of the observation. Keep the original note when transferring from a pocket book to a spreadsheet or app. Check tag numbers and dates against it.
Use your program's assistance codes
There is no universal numeric scale to translate every birth into. Canadian Angus's data collection guide defines its own calving-ease codes. Use the definitions for the program receiving your records, and keep the program name and version beside the score.
Describe assistance in words as well. A score or repeated assistance does not diagnose a cause or decide whether the dam should stay. Take the dated history to the person reviewing the case.
Record losses without guessing a diagnosis
Record the animal, date found, last known alive time if available, and concrete observations. Store a veterinarian's findings with the author and date. Leave the cause unknown when it is unknown. An unobserved birth does not establish that a lamb or calf was born dead.
Keep death and transfer entries connected to the same birth cohort used in the lambing calculator.
A field worksheet
Birth record
| Dam ID | Offspring ID | Date/time and source | Sire/group | Alive/dead/unknown | Assistance observation | Weight/unit | Rearing | Observer/notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The lambing template includes a printable sheep sheet. Record any separate professional care instructions with their source; this worksheet does not prescribe care.
Ranch.Bot's current record fields
Ranch.Bot stores a name, date, description, record type, and animal or group links. Birth details belong in the description today. Review the proposed animal links before saving; automatic offspring creation and parentage linking are not supported. Sheep Records explains the current limits.