Introduction to recording events in animal records

Details of the production and health of an individual animal are recorded throughout its life as a sequence of individual events. These can include:

Fertility events: Calvings, services, pregnancy diagnosis etc

Observation/treatment events: Vaccinations, occurrences of mastitis, lameness, dry-off dates etc

Offtake events: Sale, cull, death

Production measurements: weights and body condition.

Different management practices between farms mean that there is great variation in what events are required. Events such as pre-breeding examinations and synchronisation of oestrus are needed on some but not all farms. In addition, the response to an event can vary considerably between farms. Following a service, for example, the timing of a pregnancy diagnosis may range from 30 to 60+ days later depending on farmer preference, the method of diagnosis (scanner  vs. palpation) or any number of other factors. 

InterBeef can be tailored to the specific requirements of your management system. When you create a data file it will contain an Event Structure. This initial structure, copied from the template file, can be fine-tuned subsequently to exactly meet the requirements of your management system. There is no limit to the number or range of events you can introduce although the essence is to keep it simple. See How do I develop an event structure that is appropriate to my herd?

Entry of events: Events are entered in to animal records in a number of ways depending on circumstances:

If entering single or small numbers of events use the  parity data and events page of the animal record. 
If entering a long list of events in a hurry use the Event pad
A list of weight measurements should be entered using  Weight status and recording
To enter one event in a number of animal records (e.g. for vaccinations, oestrus synchronisation or other block treatments) use batch event entry.

Definition of events: Users with appropriate permissions (see User names and permissions) can develop their own event structure or amend existing event definitions.