New to AgriWebb? 👉 Start Here
AgriWebb uses age classes to help you manage livestock throughout their lifecycle. Each animal automatically progresses through age classes based on date of birth, sex, neuter status, and weaning. You can also manually edit age classes where needed.
The information below provides the definition of each age class available within AgriWebb's Individual Animal Management platform (IAM).
🐄 Cattle Age Classes
Here’s how animals move through age classes based on age, sex, weaning, and neutering:
🐮 Calves (Under 11 months)
When cattle are under 11 months old, they’re classed as calves. The specific class depends on their sex and management status:
Calf: Unsexed and unweaned.
➤ Use a weaning record to update.
➤ Add sex to refine the class.
Heifer Calf: Female, unweaned.
➤ Use a weaning record to transition to Heifer Weaner.Steer Calf: Male, castrated, unweaned.
➤ Use a weaning record to transition to Steer Weaner.Bull Calf: Male, intact, unweaned.
➤ Use a weaning record to transition to Bull Weaner.
➤ Use a castrate record to change to Steer Calf if needed.
🐄 Weaners (Typically 11–12 months or weaned earlier)
Once a calf is weaned or reaches about 11–12 months old, they’ll be classed as a weaner. This may happen automatically or through weaning records:
Weaner: Unsexed, weaned, or aged 11–12 months.
➤ Add sex to assign to a more specific class.
Heifer Weaner: Female, weaned.
➤ Automatically updates to Heifer at >12 months.
➤ Use fertility records to advance to Cow once she calves.
Steer Weaner: Male, castrated, weaned.
➤ Automatically updates to Steer at >12 months.
Bull Weaner: Male, intact, weaned.
➤ Automatically updates to Bull at >12 months.
➤ Use a castrate record to update to Steer Weaner if needed.
Note: In the Individual Animal Management (IAM) module, animals over 12 months may also temporarily move into a Yearling class.
🐂 Adult Cattle (Over 12 months)
Once cattle are over 12 months old, they are considered adults. Here's how the classes are defined:
Yearling (IAM only): Unsexed cattle over 12 months.
➤ Add sex to assign the correct adult class.
Heifer: Female, has not calved.
➤ Becomes a Cow once a birth record is added. See more detail in this article for ageing heifers.
Cow: Female, has produced at least one calf.
➤ Does not age further.
Spayed Heifer / Spayed Cow: Female, neutered.
➤ These classes do not change with age or reproduction records.
Steer: Male, castrated.
➤ Does not change with age.
Bull: Male, intact.
➤ Use a castrate record to update to Steer if applicable.
⚙️ Auto-Aging for Cattle
Weaning triggers: Calves move to “Weaner” classes either when weaned or after reaching 11 months of age.
Yearling trigger: Animals older than 1 year move from Weaner classes to their respective mature class (Heifer, Bull, Steer).
Offspring trigger: Heifers become “Cows” automatically after calving.
Manual updates: Required for neutering (Spayed Heifer, Spayed Cow).
You can override the auto-age class manually through the animal’s record if needed.
✅ Pro Tips for Cattle Management
Keep birth dates accurate—age class transitions are based on them.
Wean animals in the system when it occurs on-farm.
Use filters in your livestock list to find animals by current age class.
Double-check neuter status if age class doesn’t look right.
🦬 Bison Age Classes
For Bison, a separate age structure is used. Bison join the “Yearling” class at 24 months and are referred to as “2-Year-Olds.” Automatic transitions follow a similar logic but are delayed. Bison Age Classes in AgriWebb are determined by age milestones:
Calf:
Bison under 24 months of age are automatically classed as Calves.
➤ No action is needed unless sex or other traits need to be updated.
2 Year Old:
Once a bison reaches 24 months of age, they automatically transition to the 2 Year Old class.
➤ This class replaces the "Yearling" used in cattle classifications.
🐑 Sheep Age Classes
AgriWebb assigns age classes to individual sheep based on age, sex, and neuter status. These age classes are automatically updated as animals grow, and you can manually change them if needed.
This structure helps you keep your records consistent, especially when managing breeding ewes, rams, or wethers.
🐑 Lambs (Under 12 Months)
Note: If the lamb is under 14 weeks old, it will remain in the Lamb class even if a weaning record is applied.
Lamb
Unsexed, unweaned sheep under 12 months old.
➤ Use a weaning record to move to Weaner.
➤ Add sex to assign a more specific class.
Ewe Lamb
Female, unweaned sheep under 12 months.
➤ Apply a weaning record to update to Ewe Weaner.
Wether Lamb
Male, castrated, unweaned sheep under 12 months.
➤ Apply a weaning record to update to Wether Weaner.
Ram Lamb
Male, intact, unweaned sheep under 12 months.
➤ Apply a weaning record to update to Ram Weaner.
➤ Use a castrate record to change to Wether Lamb if needed.
🐑 Weaners (Typically >14 Weeks to 12 Months)
Once weaned (and older than 14 weeks), sheep move into the Weaner class. They remain here until they turn 12 months old.
Weaner
Weaned, unsexed sheep over 14 weeks old.
➤ Add sex to update the classification.
➤ At 12 months, automatically moves to Hogget.
Ewe Weaner
Weaned, female sheep over 14 weeks old.
➤ Automatically becomes an Ewe Hogget at 12 months.
Wether Weaner
Weaned, male, castrated sheep over 14 weeks old.
➤ Automatically becomes a Wether Hogget at 12 months.
Ram Weaner
Weaned, male, intact sheep over 14 weeks old.
➤ Automatically becomes a Ram Hogget at 12 months.
➤ Use a castrate record to update to Wether Weaner if needed.
🐏 Hoggets (1 to 2 Years Old)
Note: Hoggets are sheep aged between 1 and 2 years old.
Hogget
Weaned, unsexed sheep over 1 year old.
➤ Add sex to update the classification.
➤ Does not age automatically unless sex is provided.
Ewe Hogget
Weaned, female sheep over 1 year old.
➤ Automatically becomes a Maiden Ewe at 2 years.
Wether Hogget
Weaned, male, castrated sheep over 1 year old.
➤ Automatically becomes a Wether at 2 years.
Ram Hogget
Weaned, male, intact sheep over 1 year old.
➤ Automatically becomes a Ram at 2 years.
➤ Use a castrate record to convert to Wether Hogget if needed.
🐑 Adult Sheep (Over 2 Years Old)
Once sheep are older than 2 years, they are classed as adults. These classes do not change with age but may update based on breeding or fertility records.
Maiden Ewe
Female sheep over 2 years old who has not produced a lamb.
➤ Becomes an Ewe when a birth record is added.
Ewe
Female sheep that has produced at least one lamb.
➤ This is a final class and does not age further.
Wether
Male, castrated sheep over 2 years old.
➤ Final class — does not change.
Ram
Male, intact sheep over 2 years old.
➤ Use a castrate record to update to Wether, if needed.
⚙️ Sheep Auto-Aging Logic
Lamb → Weaner: When marked weaned OR reaches 11 months
Weaner → Hogget: At 11 months, if still unjoined and not neutered
Hogget → Adult (Ram, Ewe, Wether):
Ram: Male, intact, ≥ 2 years OR joined to breeding group
Ewe: Female, ≥ 2 years OR has lambed
Wether: Male, neutered (any age)
Spayed Ewe: Must be manually updated
Lamb → Weaner: When marked weaned OR reaches 11 months
Weaner → Hogget: At 11 months, if still unjoined and not neutered
Hogget → Adult (Ram, Ewe, Wether):
Ram: Male, intact, ≥ 2 years OR joined to breeding group
Ewe: Female, ≥ 2 years OR has lambed
Wether: Male, neutered (any age)
Adult Sheep: Once transitioned to Ram, Ewe, Wether, or Spayed Ewe, animals remain in that class permanently unless manually changed.
✅ Pro Tips for Sheep Management
Use Weaning Events: This is the primary trigger for Lamb → Weaner transitions.
Accurate DOBs Matter: Ensure all sheep have a birthdate so they move automatically through classes.
Wethers auto-update: As soon as you mark a male sheep as neutered, it will classify as a Wether and skip Ram transitions.
Breeding Events Are Key: Once a female records a lamb, she becomes a Ewe—even if under 2 years old.
Review Regularly: If your animals don’t appear to be aging correctly, check their DOB, weaning, or neuter status.
🛠️ Manually Updating Age Classes
While AgriWebb automatically manages age class transitions, you may occasionally need to make manual adjustments — especially for unique management decisions, exceptions, or correcting data.
You can update age classes for individual animals or in bulk via CSV.
✏️ Updating a Single Animal
To manually update the age class of an individual:
Log in to the AgriWebb Web App.
Navigate to the Livestock list and select the animal you’d like to update.
Click Actions > Edit Animal.
In the animal record, scroll to the Age Class field and select the appropriate category.
Save your changes.
📥 Bulk Updates via CSV
Need to update multiple animals at once? Use the CSV import tool:
Create a .csv file with:
A unique identifier for each animal (e.g. EID or VID)
The desired Age Class
Go to the Livestock tab in the Web App.
Click Import Animal Data > Import Animal Updates.
Upload your CSV and follow the steps to complete the import.
✅ Tip: Double-check your age class labels in the CSV to ensure they match AgriWebb's supported classes (e.g. “Lamb”, “Weaner”, “Hogget”, etc.).
⚠️ Important Note on Bulk Updates
When you use the Import Animal Updates feature to manually update age classes via CSV, it will overwrite the animal’s age class permanently — past classes will not be recorded or visible in history.
🧩 Example:
If you bulk update a group of Heifer Calves to Heifers, their record will only show “Heifer” as their age class — there will be no reference to them ever being a Heifer Calf in their history.
⚠️ Resolving Date of Birth & Age Class Errors
You may see an error if an animal’s Date of Birth (DOB) doesn’t match its Age Class. Each class has specific age requirements. Example (Cattle):
Under 11 months → should be Calf or Steer Calf
11–12 months → should be Weaner
Over 12 months → should be Yearling or older
✅ How to Fix Upload Errors
Update the DOB to match the correct age class
Or update the Age Class to fit the animal’s age
If needed, use a temporary valid class like “Heifer Weaner” until you can correct the record
For further guidance on managing livestock age classes, including troubleshooting or bulk update processes, contact our support team for assistance.