Production records are important to ranch management. Records help track inventory, project future calving dates, and monitor performance. Records also help monitor change over time and progress toward goals. Producers use records to track traits that are economically important. This site contains links to information on scoring cattle characteristics like feet and udders, guidelines and factsheets, and performance and health record forms. A list of recommended software providers to assist with cattle record keeping is also included.
The ideal time to evaluate hair coat shedding is at the start and end of the spring breeding season
| Score | Coat |
|---|---|
| 5 | Full Winter Coat |
| 4 | Coat has some shedding |
| 3 | Coat is about half shed |
| 2 | Coat is mostly shed, but has some remaining patches |
| 1 | Coat is fully shed to a slick summer coat |
Udder and teat scores should be taken within 24 hour after calving, preferably by one person and on the weakest quarter.
American Hereford: Udder Score
| Score | Udder Suspension | Teat Size |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Very Tight | Very Small |
| 7 | Tight | Small |
| 5 | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| 3 | Pendulous | Large |
| 1 | Very Pendulous/Broken Floor | Balloon Shape |
Source: Beef Improvement Federation Guidelines 9th Edition
Guide to measuring pelvic area. The pelvic area is calculated by multiplying vertical and horizontal dimensions of the internal pelvic opening.
Pelvic Area Measurements in the Management of Replacement Heifers
| Age of Heifer |
Pelvic Area (cm^2) |
Division Factor | Est. Calf Size (pounds) without assistance |
|---|---|---|---|
|
12-14 mos. (600 lbs) |
140 160 180 |
2.1 2.1 2.1 |
67 76 86 |
| 18-19 mos. (1,800 lbs) |
180 200 220 |
2.7 2.7 2.7 |
67 74 82 |
Guides for determining foot score, using cattle foot angle and claw set. Scores should be determined prior to hoof trimming.
| Score | Claw Set | Foot Angle |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Extremely weak, very open, divergent: unsound | Extremely straight, short toed: unsound |
| 2 | Open, divergent: marginally unsound | Straight front and rear pasterns: marginally unsound |
| 3 | Moderately open/divergent | Moderately straight front and rear pasterns |
| 4 | Slightly open/divergent | Slightly straight front and rear pasterns |
| 5 | Ideal. symmetrical |
Ideal. Approximately 45-degree angle from hoof to pastern joint to leg with good toe length and heel depth. |
| 6 | Slight claw curl | Slightly shallow heel and long toe |
| 7 | Slight claw curl with one claw becoming noticeably greater than the other | Moderately shallow heel and long toe with somewhat weak pasterns |
| 8 | Moderate scissor/screw appearance: marginally unsound | Shallow heel and long toe: marginally unsound |
| 9 | Extreme scissor or screw claw with excessive curling: unsound | Extremely shallow heel and long toe with extremely weak pasterns: unsound |
Source: American Angus Association
Foot Scores and Angle Scores could be reported separate or combined (such as 15).
A guide fo determining the age if cattle by teeth courtesy of The Stockman's Handbook by Ensminger, 2nd Edition.
Aging Cattle By Teeth
Guide to body condition scores for cattle.
| Condition | BCS | Description |
| Very thin | 1 | Emaciated |
| Thin | 2 | Poor |
| Slightly less thin | 3 | Thin |
| Borderline | 4 | Borderline |
| Ideal | 5 | Moderate |
| Slightly larger | 6 | Good |
| Fat | 7 | Very goof |
| Fatter | 8 | Fat |
| Fattest | 9 | Obese |
Source: Beef Improvement Federation Guidelines 9th Edition
Ideal times to BCS cattle are 90d pre-calving, calving, breeding, weaning.
Official US Standards for grade of thrifty feeder cattle for frame size and thickness.
A guide to using international year/letter designations for animal identification.
International letters are designated for each year of birth. This option is easy to use in conjunction with numbers. For example, X001 and X002 might be used to indicate the first and second calf corn in the year 2010.
Note: The letters I, O, Q, and V are not used.
Source: Beef Improvement Federation Guidelines 9th Edition
Guidelines is a publication of the Beef Improvement Federation that outlines procedures for recording beef cattle performance data.
2018 BIF Guidelines
This chute side worksheet is used for recording animal type, weight, body condition score, reproduction tract score, and pelvic measurements. There is also a comments column that can be used for additional scores, such as disposition, or health notes.
Herd Reproductive Screening SheetFSA3010 addresses the serious issue of dystocia (calving difficulty) and offers instructions for properly measuring pelvic area in heifers.
CES405 provides a detailed spreadsheet for recording and maintaining cattle breeding details, along with cow/calf management codes and scores.
The Beef Herd Health Record booklet contains information related to cattle vaccination and processing, and provides tables for maintaining treatment records.
AG803 - Livestock and Forage Record Book
AG803 is a pocket book that can be ordered through your County Extension Agent. It
contains management tips and record-keeping resources for cattle and forages.
| Company Name | Cloud Access | Website URL |
|---|---|---|
| Cattle Max | Yes | https://www.cattlemax.com/ |
| Herdone | Yes | https://herdone.com/ |
| Cow Sense | Limited | https://midwestmicro.us/products |
| Cattle Pro | No | http://www.cattlepro.com/ |
| BovIQ | Mobile Device | http://boviq.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ |