Pens

In DairyComp 305, there are various pen management tools that you can use to your dairy's advantage.

Use the ALTER\4 command to open your Pens List window. From here you can add, edit, and delete pens, modify multiple pens, and set up pen capacity. You can also view a historical pen inventory.

Expand the topics below to learn more:

  • Each dairy can use pen numbers 0-999 in the current version of the cowfile (Version 9) and 0-250 in the older cowfiles.
  • Keep in mind that some users may have limits on what pen numbers they can use due to the limits of their DHI testing service.
  • Avoid assigning pen number 0 (zero) because the program uses it during record transfers. If you assign it for other purposes, it may cause the program to miss animals that need pregnancy checks.
  • There are 7 categories or types by which a pen can be defined, according to an animal's reproductive or health status. You will need to select at least one pen type when adding or changing a pen. See Learn about Pen Types to learn more about each pen type.

Click the pen type name to learn more about how the animals in each pen type are processed:

When an animal is moved to a bull pen, the program identifies when she potentially has been exposed to a bull and adds her to the appropriate veterinary exam. An animal in a bull pen will have a heat date assigned to open animals. An open animal in a bull pen will always be a BRED repro status since she is exposed to a bull at all times. A pen cannot be AI and BULL at the same time.

The AI pen type can be used for both cows and heifers that are ready for artificial insemination. When a heifer pen is designated as an AI pen, the program will automatically set the AIDAT in the animal's record when she is first moved to that pen (see example below). The Advanced section is where the heifer AI item can be mapped to AIDAT if this feature is requested. A pen cannot be AI and BULL at the same time.

A MILK pen is a specific pen type for lactating animals and should only be used for animals that are producing milk.

Dry pens are used for closeup and dry animals. When an animal is dry and moved to a dry pen, the dry date (DDAT) is stored in the animal's record. To prevent a dry animal from entering a milking pen, DairyComp gives a warning message to alert the user.

The Hospital pen is used for sick animals with special needs. When an animal is moved into a hospital pen, the hospital date, HPDAT is recorded.

Calf pens are used to identify youngstock. A calf pen can also be an AI pen when heifers are ready for artificial insemination.

The USER pen type allows you to enter your own user‑defined pen type.

To add a pen, click Add [Ins] in the Pens List window, enter the new pen number, and click OK.

Define the pen details in the pen details pop‑up window using the following guidelines.

  • You must select one or more of the 7 pen types to use for this new pen. See Learn about Pen Types to learn more about how the animals in each pen type are processed.
  • Define the pen Capacity and add a Label if you would like. Both of these fields are optional; however, they will help identify your pens (see example above). (To learn more about setting up your pen capacity, see Set Up Pen Capacity.)
  • After selecting your pen type(s), click OK to apply the changes and close the Pen Details pop‑up window.
  • Any updates you make to the pens list are saved automatically and are visible immediately within the list. Simply close the Pens List window when you are done.

To modify an existing pen, select the pen in the Pens List window, then click Change [F2].

Complete your edits in the pen details pop-up window. Click OK to save your changes.

To delete a pen, select the pen in the Pens List window. Click Delete [DEL], then click Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.

The pen no longer appears in your pens list.

To edit or delete multiple pens, click Change Multiple in the Pens List window. In the pop-up window, enter the pen numbers you want to edit, using commas to separate the numbers e.g. 1,2,3,4. Click OK.

Respond to the system prompts to delete your pen or edit your pen details. When you modify the last pen in your list, your changes are saved and the Pens List window closes automatically.

The Pen Inventory function provides a historical log of pen counts, allowing you to monitor occupancy trends in your dairy over time. DC305 logs pen counts once daily, shortly after midnight, as long as DC305 is running. If DC305 is closed, the count is logged the next time the program starts.

NOTE: Pen Inventory maintains up to two years of data; after that, older data is trimmed automatically.

To use this function, select Pen Inventory from the Pens List window. The Pen Inventory window opens, showing the number of animals in each pen by date.

Use the buttons at the top of the Pen Inventory window to change what is shown:

  • Select Pens: Opens a checklist of all pens so you can choose which to display. You can select all, clear all, or filter by pen type (for example, AI or MILK). DC305 remembers your last selection for convenience.

  • Select Dates: Lets you set the range of dates to display. You cannot select dates earlier than when your herd first began logging Pen Inventory data. The range of dates you select appear at the bottom of the Pen Inventory window.

  • Transpose Axes: Switches the table orientation. By default, pens are columns and dates are rows. When transposed, dates become columns and pens are rows.

  • Export to CSV: Saves the displayed inventory data with a default name of PenInventory.CSV. You can keep that name or change it. If the file already exists the system will ask if you want to overwrite it.

Pen capacity is the maximum number of animals that can fit in a pen. Use the Pens List window to set up pen capacity:

  1. Double-click the pen to view its pen details. (You can also press F2 on your keyboard to quickly view the pen details.)

  2. In the Capacity field, enter the maximum number of animals that can fit in the pen and click OK.

  • Capacity is usually defined by the number of usable stalls or headlocks in the pen.
  • To see all the pens that have a set capacity, enter ALTER\4P01 in the command line and click OK. In the results list, you can also see how full each pen is.
  • To see all pens that are over 90% capacity, enter ALTER\4P90 in the command line and click OK.
IMPORTANT: Before you move the animals from their current pen into a new pen, we highly recommend that you complete the precautionary steps defined in Cautions Before Proceeding.
  • Save a backup using the SAVE\F command.
  • Confirm that the new pen is empty by entering ALTER\4 in the command line. In the Pens configuration window that displays, verify that the new pen's Count is 0.

  • Ensure that you have the correct pen number for your current pen by verifying that the current pen's list of animals matches the list of animals you want to move. Enter SHOW ID PEN RPRO FOR PEN=(current pen) to see all the animals in the current pen.

To move an entire pen of animals into a new pen, enter PEN=(new pen) FOR PEN=(current pen) in the command line.

For example, if you want to move all the animals from pen 1 to pen 2, enter the command PEN=2 FOR PEN=1.

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