Moving calves to and from pens

Moving calves around is the kind of job that ought to take two minutes in the shed and twenty minutes in your records — except, of course, the records bit is the bit that always slides. The Calfmate move tool is one screen built for the five most common shed scenarios, and it'll do any of them in under a minute.

The five scenarios you'll meet most often

• "These three are big enough for the next pen." (split)
• "The runts go in a pen for closer watch." (split)
• "Merge the two smallest pens." (merge)
• "Take the sick one out of the mob, into the hospital pen." (single move)
• "This pen has been weaned and moved to grass." (move all to unassigned)

All five use the same tool. The skill is knowing where to start.

Three entry points

1. Pen view — Pens → tap a pen. The richest view. Shows every calf with a checkbox. Use this when you're working inside one pen at a time.
2. Calves list — Calves → tick calves → Group & move selected. Use this when you're moving calves who happen to be in different pens (e.g. "all the bull calves over 40 kg").
3. Pens list — Pens. Has a special block at the top for unassigned calves; one-tap to send them somewhere.

The move dialog (the same one, every time)

Worked examples

Split — three calves graduating up

1. Pens → open the "Hutches" pen.
2. Tick the three biggest calves.
3. Destination: Existing pen → "Group 1".
4. Move selected.

Merge — combine two small pens

1. Open the smaller pen.
2. Move all at the top.
3. Destination: the bigger pen.
4. Confirm. The smaller pen is now empty (you can archive it).

Hospital move — sick calf out

1. From Feeding, find the calf's row (it tells you her pen).
2. Open her pen.
3. Tick her only.
4. Destination: "Hospital" (or whatever your isolation pen's called).
5. Reason: "Scour, isolating".
6. Move selected.

Weaning move — empty the pen to grass

1. Open the weaning pen.
2. Move all → Destination: — Unassign (no pen) —.
3. Reason: "Weaned to North paddock".
4. The pen is now empty and ready for the next mob.

(Calfmate doesn't model paddocks — once calves leave the shed, "Unassign" is the honest state.)

Capacity is a nudge, not a wall

Each pen can have an optional capacity. Calfmate shows occupancy/capacity (e.g. 6/8 calves), and over-capacity pens get a badge. Moves are not blocked at capacity — real sheds need flexibility for rainy days, unexpected twins, and re-shuffles. The badge keeps it visible without getting in your way.

Archiving a pen

When a pen is decommissioned (e.g. layout change), move every calf out first. Calfmate blocks Archive pen if any calves are still in it — "Move the calves out before archiving." Once empty, the button works. Archived pens disappear from dropdowns but historical records on calves keep working.

What gets logged on every move

• A pen movement row (date, from pen, to pen, calf).
• A Moved entry on the calf's Activity timeline.
• An audit log entry — who, when, with the reason if you gave one.

The reason field is optional, but use it. Future-you, future-vet, and future-buyer will be grateful.

Three small tips

• The "new pen on the fly" option is handy mid-shed. Need a Sick bay right now? Type the name in the "or a new pen" field on the dialog — created as you move.
• Bulk moves are atomic — either all calves move or none do. No half-moved mobs.
• Only active calves can be moved. Sold, deceased, and removed calves don't appear in checkboxes.

One thing to take away

The move tool is the same tool whether you're moving 1 calf or 50. Tick the boxes that match the move, pick the destination, go. Don't bother managing pen contents in your head — that's what the page is for.