Manage Animals
Use the Animals tab in DC on Mobile to quickly see all animals in your herd. Tap on an animal to view its detailed CowCard.
Expand the sections below to learn more:
In the Show field, select one of the identification types to list the animals by that identifier: BarnName, ControlNum, Registration, or ElectronicID. If an animal doesn’t have that identification type, the animal won’t show up in the list.
Only users who are assigned to a Role with Herd Write permissions can use this feature. If your account only has Herd Read permissions, you will not be able to use this feature. See Edit Dairy User Permissions and Manage Dairy Roles for more information.
To add a new animal to the herd, open the Animals tab and tap the Add Animal
button at the top right side of the screen. Enter and save its identification details, including birth date and breed, to see it in your herd. Follow the guidelines below when you add a new animal:
The app automatically assigns the next available ID to the animal. You can also manually enter a new animal ID: tap on the ID field, delete the default ID, and enter the new ID.
The app works best when you select a unique, numeric identifier for each animal record. Make sure you refresh your herd data before you add a new animal. If you are in offline mode, you could accidentally add a duplicate ID if your data is not up-to-date with PULSE.
You must choose a pen for the new animal. If you selected a default pen for new animals on the web version of PULSE, the app will not automatically assign the animal to that default pen.
To add a new cow, you need to enter reproduction details. If you switch the animal type from a cow to a heifer or bull, the system won't show the reproduction fields. However, if you switch the animal type back to a cow, the system will retain the reproduction details you entered.
Tap Filters to limit the animals shown by reproductive code (RPRO).
At the top of the CowCard screen, you'll see the animal's ID, milk and meat withholds, and animal details, such as pen number, lactation, RPRO status, etc. Directly below the animal details, you'll see a row of CowCard tabs:
-
Tasks
-
Items
-
Events
-
Testdays
-
Lactations
-
Daily Milk
Only users who are assigned to a Role with Herd Write permissions can use this feature. If your account only has Herd Read permissions, you will not be able to use this feature. See Edit Dairy User Permissions and Manage Dairy Roles for more information.
Follow the steps below to continue:
- Navigate to the CowCard for an animal.
- Tap Edit Items at the bottom left of the screen. Select items become editable.
- Adjust items as needed and tap Save. Changes made are recorded in the Transaction LogTransaction Log (v2).
TIP: Don't see the Edit Items button? This option is only available when your device is online. See Online & Offline ModeOnline & Offline Mode (v2) to learn more.
- CBRD: Cattle Breed
- DBRD: Dam Breed
- PSTRG: Permanent String or Pen
- CODA: Wildcard 1 byte item (any character)
- COD1: Wildcard 1 byte item (0-255)
- COD2: Wildcard 2 byte item (0-32000)
- XDAT: Wildcard Date item
- NOTE: Permanent Note
- GSAMP: Genomic Sample ID
- GSDAT: Genomic Sample Collection Date
- VATAG: Velos Activity Responder
- NDPRS2: Nedap Responder 2
- CUT: Cut field for sort gates
- HTTAG: Allflex SCR Tag for Pocket CowCard
- TRANS: Transponder Number
- RESP: Responder Number
- BNAME: Barn Name
- MTAG: Calf Vaccination
- USDA: USDA Number
- VISID: Visual ID
Other items must be updated from PULSE or DairyComp.
Only users who are assigned to a Role with Herd Write permissions can use this feature. If your account only has Herd Read permissions, you will not be able to use this feature. See Edit Dairy User Permissions and Manage Dairy Roles for more information.
- Navigate to the CowCard for an animal.
- Tap Add Event at the bottom right of the screen.
- On the Add Event screen, scroll to the event you want to add and tap the event name.
The mobile app opens the event-specific screen. All required fields are marked with the * (asterisk) symbol.
- Tap Save.
Once added, the event is displayed on the Events tab of the CowCard.
NOTE: Saved events display on the CowCard after a brief delay if you have MyDC. If you have DCU, saved events display after the system synchronizes with the on-premise DairyComp. If you do not have an active internet connection or are using the app in offline modeoffline mode, added events will sync to PULSE as soon as your device is back online.
When you're viewing an animal's CowCard, you can swipe left or right on the animal's ID number at the top of the screen to switch to the next or previous animal. The selected CowCard tab (like Tasks, Items, etc.) won't change when you switch animals.
Animals with active withholds are flagged with a red background at the top of the CowCard. Animals with no withholds have a green background. Tap the milk 
or meat 
buttons to see whether the animal has a milk or meat withhold and the date the withhold began or was cleared.
Only users who are assigned to a Role with Herd Write permissions can use this feature. If your account only has Herd Read permissions, you will not be able to use this feature. See Edit Dairy User Permissions and Manage Dairy Roles for more information.
The Items tab in the CowCard may contain a lot of data inside multiple items cards. Scroll up and down to see all items. To expand and collapse an item card, tap the 
and 
icons to the far right of the title card.
You can also add, edit, or hide the items shown in the mobile app. Go to the web version of PULSE to customize your CowCard items. See Items for more information.
If an animal is included in one or more tasks lists, the app displays them on the Tasks tab on the animal's CowCard. Be sure to scroll up and down to see all of the animal's tasks.
TIP: You can also Add Tasks to an animal from the Tasks tab if you have an active data connection. This option is not available in offline modeoffline mode.
If you are working in online mode, you can add a custom task for your animal by tapping 
Add Task at the bottom of the Tasks tab screen. Enter your custom task name, which can't exceed 30 characters, and custom task's date. The system warns you if the date you selected is more than a year away from the current date.
The Lactations tab in the mobile app only displays the most recent lactation. Scroll left and right to view all items. You can view the animal's full lactation history in the web version of PULSE.
Herds with a meter configured for daily milk readings can view an animal's daily milk production on the Daily tab in the CowCard.
Each shift is color-coded. If the animal is identified while entering the parlor, but its actual milk weight for a shift is not captured by the parlor equipment, the shift average is added as an estimated milk weight. On the bar graph, estimated milk weights are represented by diagonal stripes. If an animal fails to be identified in the parlor for a shift, no data is included for that shift.