A calving ease score of 3 on a cow in her second lactation, three years running, is a culling signal. That pattern doesn't reveal itself in the field — it reveals itself in the records. The calving log that captures every birth event, linked to the dam's tag number and the ease score, is the record that tells you which cows are costing you in intervention time and vet calls that would otherwise be invisible against the backdrop of a busy season.
The Birth Event Record
Calf name, mothers number, date, sex, color, and calving ease capture the core birth event. The dam's identification number — not her name — is the link to the main herd record. Ease scoring from 1 (unassisted) through 5 (surgical intervention) creates the intervention data that identifies problem cows before the next breeding season decision. A cow consistently scoring 3 and above is a candidate for a different bull with lower birth weight EPDs, or a conversation about removal from the breeding program.
Sex is the commercial decision field. A heifer calf from a high-performing dam in a replacement breeding program gets a different set of decisions applied to it than a bull calf from the same cow. A bull calf from a dam with poor calving ease doesn't go into the AI breeding selection regardless of other traits. Sex at birth, recorded against the dam, is the first piece of that evaluation.
Color with tagged together handle the physical identification layer. A calf that isn't tagged immediately after birth on a farm with multiple calves appearing in the same week becomes unidentifiable within days — particularly with same-color calves from different dams. The tagged field is the confirmation that the identification chain is intact.
Dead is the mortality flag. A simple yes/no, but attached to the dam record it builds the reproductive performance history that matters when evaluating cull decisions. A cow whose last two calves died neonatally has a different breeding and retention profile than one with the same ease scores but living calves.
Notes handles the clinical detail: the presentation, the intervention required, whether the calf required colostrum supplementation, the birth weight if measured, the vet call if made. The ease score tells you how difficult it was; the notes tell you why.