Creating a Breeding Record
A breeding record tracks a single breeding event for one female animal. You can create breeding records from the Breedings screen or from an individual animal’s record.
How to Create a Breeding Record
- Navigate to the Breedings screen, or open an animal record and go to the breeding section.
- Click Add Breeding.
- Select the breeding method:
- Natural Selection — For pasture breeding.
- Artificial Insemination — For AI. This opens additional data fields.
- Fill in the core fields:
- Animal — The female being bred (pre-filled if creating from an animal record).
- Breeding Date — The date of breeding or bull turn-in.
- Sire(s) — Select one or more sires.
- Comments (optional) — Any notes about the breeding.
- For AI breedings, fill in additional details as available (see Recording AI Details).
- Click Save.
What Happens After Saving
- The animal’s breeding status is updated to Exposed.
- An expected due date is calculated as breeding date + 283 days.
- The breeding record appears on the animal’s record and on the Breedings screen.
Monitoring Flags
You can set flags on the breeding record to help with monitoring:
- In Heat — Flag the animal as currently showing signs of heat.
- Watch Close — Flag the animal for close observation (e.g., approaching due date or history of calving difficulty).
Tips
- Record breedings promptly. The breeding date drives the due date calculation, so accuracy matters.
- Use the end date for pasture breeding. Recording when the bull was removed helps narrow the conception window.