Record keeping...

[TNRiver]

For those of you that run a Cow/Calf operation, what does your "little black book" or spreadsheet entail? What is the information that you make for sure you write down and keep? DOB, BW, WW, Service Date, Meds given, etc.....

 

[TNRiver]

Anything outside the normal records? Anything in particular you go back to look up down the road?

 

[Silver]

On my spreadsheet I like to take note of calving assists, bad bags, if I have to get a calf nursing, and bad attitudes. And any other unusual circumstances.
In my book it's mostly just calves born, losses, culls and twins.
We've taken to using the Calf Book app this year and while it's had some major quirks we really like it's potential and the fact that you can export your information to an Excel spreadsheet.

 

[Ebenezer]

also calf vigor.

 

[TNRiver]

Thanks for the replies. Just trying to keep better records. Started keeping pasture records this spring too... Fertilize applied, but also height when cows are turned in and when they are rotated off. And rest days between grazing

 

[NEFarmwife]

I don't know how big your operation is but it may benefit you to look into cattlemax. As mentioned above, same info we like to keep. Will paper record, then send to Cattlemax when we have a moment.

We took a couple bulls in to get checked the other day before turning them out. Vet asked "How old is he?" and just pulled that up on our phone. He was surprised we were able to do that.

Yesterday, we wanted a cow that has favored the carrying of an embryo more than once... that we had available to us in that one haul to embryologist. We were able to look through the calving records on our phones to see which would be the best girl to receive the "golden egg"... We wanted our chances to be better on this embryo. There were two that has successfully carried an embryo 3 times, so then I looked at what they wean their calves off at.

All this was available to me, at our fingertips. At a moments notice, away from the house.

 

[snoopdog]

Ours is pen and ink, dob, dam sire, vax, and ww. May change as we expand, if we do, but thats it for now.

 

[TNRiver]

Ours is pen and ink, dob, dam sire, vax, and ww. May change as we expand, if we do, but thats it for now.

That's about where we are at, but we are transitioning into the seedstock side of the business more heavily in the coming years. Right now I use Google Sheets to keep my spreadsheets. It's an app you can put on any smart phone, tablet or computer. You can even a ceas it without WiFi or Cell Service and update your info and when you get service or wifi again it automatically updates.... Pretty neat app and really handy when you are out in the boonies like I am and don't have service.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I have a spread sheet. the columns are: sex, ear tag number, brand (we run 3), birth date, brand date, brief description (color, horns, etc), vaccinations, mother, calves, date last seen, random notes. don't have a scale so I don't do weights. I also try to have photos of everything (in another file, haven't figured out how to merge without crashing my computer) I keep a matching spreadsheet of animals that are gone (sold, dead, not seen in a year or more) I move (cut and paste) the lines to it when something is sold or whatever and can add the date, weights, $$$ etc there.