DC305 reproductive codes (RC)

Definition

RC (reproductive code) is the DC305 item that holds an animal’s current reproductive status as a single number from 0 to 8. DC305 sets it from the animal’s events: a FRESH event moves a cow to “fresh”, a BRED event to “bred”, a pregnancy check to “pregnant” or “open”, and so on. RC is a stored number, not a calculated item, so it reflects the last event that changed it. The item RPRO holds the same code as an English word.

The VAS codes:

RC	RPRO / status	Meaning
0	No status	No reproductive status set: a virgin heifer
1	DNB	Do not breed: marked not to be rebred, usually a planned cull
2	Fresh	Calved, not yet bred this lactation
3	OK / Open	Open and eligible to breed (e.g. checked open), not yet rebred
4	Bred	Bred, waiting for a pregnancy check
5	Preg	Confirmed pregnant
6	Dry	Dried off (normally also pregnant)
7	Sold / Died	Has left the herd
8	Bull calf	Male animal

RC is a current-state item. It tells you where each animal is today, not where she was last month. Past status has to be rebuilt from events.

Because commands cover live animals only by default, RC 7 animals appear only when \B (live and dead) or \D (dead only) is added.

How to pull it in DC305

Count or list by status:

SUM BY RC FOR LACT>0                       cows by reproductive status
SUM BY RPRO FOR LACT>0                     same, labelled in English
LIST ID PEN DIM TBRD FOR RC=3 LACT>0       open cows
LIST ID PEN DIM FOR RC=2 LACT>0 DIM>60     fresh, not bred, past 60 DIM
COUNT FOR RC=4 LACT>0                      bred, waiting for a check
COUNT FOR LACT=0 RC<>8                     heifers, excluding bull calves
COUNT\D FOR RC=7 LACT>0                    cows that have left the herd

Ranges are inclusive: RC=5-6 means pregnant or dry. A reversed range such as RC=3-2 means “everything except 2–3”.
Lists of values work as OR: RC=2;3 is fresh or open.
RC<>1 excludes do-not-breed animals.

Reporting open cows

“How many open cows?” is ambiguous, because the voluntary waiting period (VWP) is a DC305 setting and can’t be read from RC. Report these groups separately, then give the combined total:

Open (RC 3): open, not yet rebred. Report this group as “open”.
Fresh, not yet bred (RC 2): break it out by DIM band, for example ≤ 60, 61–80, 81–150 and > 150 DIM. Cows inside the VWP are not late; cows well past it are. Only fold RC 2 into “open” when the herd’s VWP is known, and say that you did.
Bred, waiting for a check (RC 4): neither open nor confirmed pregnant.
Do not breed (RC 1): never counted as open, because they won’t be bred.

Count across all lactating cows (LACT>0, not dry) by default, and say when a count is limited to milking pens.

Typical range

Herd context: any DC305 herd; codes and items vary by herd setup.

In a lactating herd with year-round calving, RC 5 (pregnant) is usually the largest group, followed by RC 2 and RC 4, with RC 3 and RC 1 smaller.

RC 1 (DNB) creeps up when culls are marked but not yet shipped.
Many RC 2 cows past 80–100 DIM usually means missed first services or a long VWP.
RC 4 cows well past the herd’s check day mean pregnancy checks are behind or results were not entered.
RC 0 and RC 8 are youngstock codes: virgin heifers and bull calves.

Common mistakes

Calling RC 2 cows “open” without knowing the VWP. A cow at 35 DIM is not an open-cow problem.
Counting RC 4 as open. Bred cows are waiting for an answer.
Counting DNB cows as open. They inflate open counts and days open.
Reading RC as history. RC is today’s status. Last month’s open count needs events, not today’s RC.
Forgetting dry cows. RC 6 cows are usually pregnant, so “pregnant cows” often needs RC=5-6.
Mixing heifers and cows. Filter with LACT=0 or LACT>0.
Counting bull calves as heifers. LACT=0 includes RC 8 males; add RC<>8 for heifer counts.
Expecting RC 7 in a default report. Sold and dead animals need \B or \D.
Trusting RC after manual edits. Deleted or back-dated events can leave RC out of step with the event history. Spot-check against EVENTS.