Depending on your farm set-up, the equipment you use and the data you want to store, there are different ways to add your animals to your iLivestock account. If you are just getting started, you might want to refer to our Set Up Your Farm Today guide.

Step 1: First select the Animals option on the bottom menu and then select the species you wish to add in the top menu (we'll come to batches and unassigned in a moment) next tap the Action button, which is the iLivestock cow logo, in the bottom right corner.

Step 2: Tap the Add Animal plus button

Step 3: The animal details page will be generated for you to complete and save.

If you have your stick reader connected you can scan the EID of your animal and this will add the EID to the EID field and generate a corresponding VID if you are adding sheep. This is the only way to add the EIDs when logging individual animals in this way.

Complete the empty fields for VID, DOB, Gender, Birth Weight and Breed, add the Holding the animals are situated on from the Holding picker wheel that will appear when you tap this field and then tap 'Record' to save the animal.

Note: If you don't see the breed of cattle or sheep you need in the breed drop down, you can add a breed of your choice in the 'Admin' section found in the bottom menu of the app.

Step 4: When adding cattle, you can scan the physical cattle passport to add the VID, (cattle passport number)

Tap the long blue button that says 'Scan Cattle Passport' and this will open your camera on your device

Scan the bottom left barcode of the passport to bring across the following animal data:

Complete the rest of the information as above, then tap Record to save the animal or Next Animal to scan another passport

Note: If you don't see the breed of cattle you need in the breed drop-down, you can add a breed of your choice in the Admin section, found in the lower navigation menu of the app.

Scanning and importing new or existing animals to create groups is a fast and effective way of adding and managing your animals to the app.

You can do this as an initial import of your animals and then create subsequent groups of existing and/or new animals to manage and organise animals.

Step 1. Once your EID reader is connected (see How to pair your EID Reader to iLivestock) and you are on the Equipment screen, you'll see an option to 'Get Groups'. This is where you can import animals from your stick reader from scanning sessions

Tap Get Groups

Step 2. This will generate a list of your session names on a new screen

Step 3. Tap the session you wish to import to select it. A blue tick will appear next to the selected session

Next, tap Import at the top right of the screen

Step 4. Now Select Species. This workflow is more relevant for sheep as the EID is the unique identifier, whereas cattle are likely identified by their passport number. See Adding Cattle (below) for best practice for your cattle.

Step 5. Now, confirm if you want these animals to go into a New or Existing Group. If this is your first import, you may need to choose New Group as no other groups may exist.

Note: All stick reader Get Groups imports will always create an Auto Group, so you'll never lose track of what and when you added animals this way. Auto groups can be found by going to Groups on the lower navigation menu and Auto on the upper menu options.

Step 6. If you choose Existing Group, a list of your groups will appear for you to select from.

Step 7. If you choose New Group, a new page will appear on the screen to complete the Group Name and add any relevant group notes.

Step 8. Once you have completed the relevant fields, press Save at the top right of the screen to start the import.

Step 9. An Import confirmation notice will pop up upon completion and will advise of any necessary import details

The grab number 9 above confirms that 12 of the 14 animals selected were added to the group

The next notification should indicate why.

Step 10. If any animals were not imported or added to the group for any reason, a notification will pop up to explain why.

The grab number 10 shows that 2 animals were not imported as they were already on my account and registered as cattle, so they can not be added to a sheep group.

Step 11. You can now go to Groups in the lower menu and select Sheep in the top menu to see the group you created. You can tap the chevron to view the animals in a list.

Step 12. Back on the Equipment screen (lower menu), you can now CLEAR ALL SESSIONS from EID READER or scroll to select specific sessions to CLEAR if so desired.

Note: Please only do this if you are happy all sessions have been uploaded correctly and are no longer needed on the stick reader.

The Import will also only show the EID number and VID and will not contain the DOB, gender, or breed, which can be updated for the group once imported.

See steps below on how to bulk update the animal details on a group/group import

All stick reader Get Groups imports will always create an Auto Group, so you'll never lose track of what and when you added animals this way.

Auto groups can be found by going to Groups on the lower navigation menu and Auto on the upper menu options.

When your animals have been allocated to a group, it's easy to update the group animal details using the Settings on ALL group animals feature.

This action can be done on any group, Auto groups, Sheep groups, Cattle groups or even your permanent groups if required.

Step 1: Find and open the group and then tap the Action button to open the Group Action menu

Step 2: Select Settings on all group animals

Step 3: Now select Set group ON Holding to allocate the group to the relevant holding.

Note: If you want to record a Move On, it's best to set them on the Third Party holding that you purchased them from. If just adding animals that are already on the farm, simply select the relevant Your Holding

Step 4: If adding directly to your holding, select the relevant holding under My Holdings

Step 5: Your animals will now be allocated to the holding you have selected. You can open each animal and verify the location by checking the holding details at the bottom of each animal summary.

Step 4: If adding to a third party holding, select the relevant holding under Third Party

Step 5: Your animals will now be allocated to the holding you have selected.

Note: As this is a Third Party, your animals will be greyed out (meaning they are OFF farm). You can open each animal and verify the location by checking the holding details at the bottom of each animal summary.

To update the rest of your animal details, repeat steps 1 & 2 and then choose from the relevant Group Settings to add the Breed, Gender, DOB, Management Tag and so on from the list of options below:

Group Metrics, Breed, Management Tag, DOB, Gender, Castrated, Country of Origin, Holding, Identification Date (use this as Date on Farm), Weaning Date, Process Alert, Flag Colour.

This is for bulk uploading new animals and is the quickest and most effective way of getting all your animal information into the app in one go

You'll need Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet programme) or similar on your computer or handheld device, to download the relevant iLivestock animal templates, add in the animal information and then save the file for upload.

You can download our import template files from the links below, just click the relevant link and the template will automatically download to your Downloads folder on your computer/device👇

Cattle Import Template

Sheep Import Template

Groups Import Template

Holdings Import Template

Metrics Import Template

Flags Import Template

Note: You can not update existing animal details via a Sheep or Cattle CSV Import; you can only add NEW animals. Add weights, flags, groups and holdings to existing animals 👍

Step 1. Open the template you need and follow the instructions on the spreadsheet on how to add your data to the template.

Note: The Image above is the Sheep Import Template

It's very important NOT to delete or reorganise the columns or change the headers. If you don't have information for a specific column or line, just leave it blank.

Step 2. Be sure to delete the notes and the example data, so this doesn't get uploaded by mistake

Step 3. You may find columns that contain EID numbers default to unrecognisable formats if the column is set to General in Excel.

Highlight the column line under the header and select Number in the format drop-down on Excel to see the correct EID formatting, as shown above.

Step 4. You will now find there have been 2 decimals added to the EIDs - highlight the EIDs and decrease decimals with 2 clicks on the Decrease Decimal icon in the Excel tool bar as shown above.

Step 5. Your completed data template should now look similar to the above.

Step 6. When you have added all the data correctly, save the completed template file as a .CSV under the file format option. File > Save as > File format = .CSV

Step 7. If you are using an iOS Apple (iPhone/iPad) device to run your iLivestock app, you can upload the template using your device.

Next, email the completed template CSV file to yourself. This must be an email you can also open on your device that has the iLivestock app on it.

**Note: If you are using an Android (Samsung, etc) please email your completed template to [email protected], and we'll be in touch to import these **

Step 8. Open the iLivestock app and navigate to the animals screen

Step 9. Open your email and find and open the completed template .CSV

and tap the share button (the share button is usually a square with an upward pointing arrow in it)

Step 10. You will now be taken to a list of sharing options - if you don't see the iLivestock app option straight away, tap the ... MORE option (as shown in screenshot 10 above)

Step 11. Scroll to find iLivestock and tap when found

Step 12. Your file will automatically start to import and show a confirmation when the import is complete - please stay on the page until you see this and then press OK.

Step 13. All CSV uploads are stored under AUTO in your Groups view - so you can always go back and see the exact group you imported.

Step 14. Your uploaded animals will be available to view in a list view under ALL and also under the specific species tab (Cattle / Sheep) - both can be found on the upper navigation menu, when on Animals on the lower navigation menu.

To get started quickly with your cattle, you can connect your iLivestock account to the British Cattle Movement Services CTS (Cattle Tracing System) and download your full herd list.

To do this, you'll need your CTS Farm Software Credentials, which can be requested from CTS specifically for connecting with Farm Software such as iLivestock

*** Please note these are different to your Government Gateway details ***

You can call BCMS to request these on 0345 050 1234, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, just ask for your Farm Software credentials to connect with iLivestock.

Alternatively you can complete this BCMS CTS Web Services User ID and Password Request Form and then email it to [email protected], with the email title: CTS Web service user ID and password request.

BCMS will then send your User ID and Password in separate emails to you, usually within 5-10 working days.

See the full BCMS-CTS guide here: BCMS CTS Cattle Import and Regulatory Compliance Reporting

IMPORTANT: Before connecting your iLivestock account with BCMS CTS, please check that your primary holding is added correctly in the HOLDINGS section of your iLivestock account.

If your primary holding is not added or is added incorrectly, the connection will fail, and you'll get an error notification. See our guide on How to add Holdings

Step 1. Go to Admin on the lower navigation menu and tap the National Databases option

Step 2. Next, tap the BCMS-CTS (Cattle) option

Step 3. You will now be taken to the BCMS CTS login screen and prompted to add in your Farm Software Username and Password.

Step 4. Add in your BCMS CTS Username. (Note: This should be added in with hyphens 123-456-789)

Step 5. Next, add your BCMS CTS password - (Note: This should be added as capital letters and numbers A1B2C34).

Next, tap the Login button to connect your iLivestock account to BCMS CTS. The screen is then locked.

Navigate back to the main BCMS CTS (Cattle) screen by tapping back in the top left-hand corner.

Step 6. Next, select Holdings under Settings

Step 7. This will take you to a new screen where you'll see your holding is now successfully connected.

Once your iLivestock account is connected, you can import your herd list with all your cattle information from BCMS CTS.

Step 1. From the BCMS-CTS home page BCMS-CTS menu, select Get Cattle

Step 2. The next screen will show a list of cattle currently on your BCMS-CTS account. You can scroll up and down the list to view them all.

Next, if you are happy with the list, tap the Selector option at the top right of the screen to start Selection mode

Step 3. You can now select the Select All option at the top right of the screen to highlight all the available cattle. Alternatively, choose individual cattle from the list or Select All and then deselect certain animals.

Step 4. When you are happy with your selection, tap Add at the bottom left of the screen.

Step 5. A confirmation pop-up will now show; if you are happy with the selection, tap Confirm.

Step 6. Now go back using the back arrow at the top left of the screen

Step 7: Navigate to animals on the lower navigation menu, where you'll see your downloaded herd list.

Step 8: Under groups on the lower navigation menu and then Auto on the upper navigation menu, you'll also see this has created an Auto Group of your CTS download.

Step 9: Tap the group to open it and see the list.

IMPORTANT: Before connecting your iLivestock account with ScotEID, please make sure your primary holding is added correctly in the HOLDINGS section of your iLivestock account.

If your primary holding is not added or is added incorrectly, the connection will fail, and you'll get an error notification. See our guide on How to add Holdings

Step 1. Go to Admin on the lower navigation menu and tap the National Databases option

Step 2. Next, tap ScotEID (cattle) option

Step 3. You will now be taken to the ScotEID login screen and prompted to add in your ScotEID Username and Password.

Step 4. Add in your ScotEID Username. (Note: This is the same username that you use to log in to your ScotEID account).

Step 5. Next, add your ScotEID password - (Note: This is the same password you use to log in to your ScotEID account).

Next, tap the Login button, which will then connect your iLivestock account to ScotEID, and you'll see the page is then locked.

Step 6. Navigate Back to the main ScotEID (Cattle) page, by tapping back in the top left-hand corner.

Next, select Holdings under Settings

Step 7. This will take you to a new screen where you'll see a Missing and a Match selection at the top of the screen.

Under Missing, you'll see any Holdings that you own, that are registered with ScotEID, but are NOT added to your iLivestock account.

Under Match, you'll see any Holdings that you own, that are registered with ScotEID and ARE already added to your iLivestock account

To add a Missing holding, tap the plus button on the holding card

Step 8. A new screen will appear for you to complete the details of your holding - Add your holding name, CPH number, and Address and then tap Save.

Step 9. You will now see the holding move from Missing to Matched.

Continue to add any missing holdings as necessary.

Step 10. Note; if you already have a holding under Match, this will automatically be connected already.

Once your iLivestock account is connected you can import your herd list with all their information from ScotEID.

Step 1. From the ScotED home page settings menu, select Get Cattle

Step 2. The next screen will show a list of cattle currently on your ScotEID account holding/s

Step 3. You can scroll up and down the list to view them all.

Step 4. If you are happy with the list, tap the Selector option at the top right of the screen to start Selection mode

Step 5. You'll then see that the list has a selection option against each animal on the left-hand side of its animal card.

Step 6. You can now select the Select All option, at the top right of the screen, to highlight all the available cattle. Alternatively, choose individual cattle from the list or Select All and then de-select certain animals. When you are happy with your selection, tap Add at the bottom left of the screen.

Step 7. A confirmation pop-up will now show, if you are happy with the selection tap Confirm.

Step 8. The system will now begin to import your herd list from ScotEID

Step 9. You may be left with some animals that state they are missing information.

Tap the animal/s to open the animal information.

Step 10. The information screen will highlight the missing information for the animal, this will always relate to holdings, when in Get Cattle mode.

This animal is on a CPH holding that has not yet been added to iLivestock. It also shows that the animal birth CPH is not added to iLivestock (we'll return to that section in a moment).

To add the missing holding that this animal is on, tap the Plus Button next to the Current CPH shown in red.

Step 11. This will take you to the Holdings screen, where you will see a list of holdings currently on ScotEID but not added to iLivestock. Tap the holding that the animal is related to, to begin adding this holding to iLivestock.

Step 12. Complete the holding information for the name and address.

Step 13. When all the information for the holding is added, tap Save at the bottom of the screen.

Step 14. You may find that these animal/s have a further warning on their animal cards. Tap the animal card to view data updates that may be required.

Step 15. The animal information shows that the birth CPH for this animal is present on ScotEID but is not recorded on iLivestock. The birth CPH will have to be added as a third-party holding on iLivestock, to be stored against the animal on iLivestock.

Tap the plus button next to the birth holding to add the holding as a third-party holding

OR

Ignore this and tap Add on the lower left of the screen, to add the animal regardless of this information missing.

Note: Birth CPH is not a mandatory piece of information for animals already registered with ScotEID. If you purchase animals regularly, you may wish NOT TO add a list of purchase third-party holdings to your iLivestock account

Step 16. If you tap the plus button next to the Birth CPH you'll be taken to the Holdings screen to add the Third Party Holding information of the Birth CPH.

Step 17. Complete the CPH name and address.

Step 18. Scroll to the bottom and tap Save to save the information.

Step 19. This will take you back to the Get Cattle animal screen, displaying no further information is missing. You can now tap Add to add the animal to iLivestock.

Step 20. The Add Animal confirmation pop-up will appear, tap Confirm to add the animal.

Step 21. A short confirmation banner will then appear at the bottom of the screen to confirm this action has been completed.

Repeat the same steps with any similar animals with missing information that you want to add.

If you don't tag your lambs straight away or want to treat your sheep as a batch, use our batch feature to quickly add your sheep or lambs numbers.

Create a batch of lambs to record information against a group that do not have individual tags

Step 1. From the lower navigation menu select Animals and on the upper menu select All

Next, tap the Action button (cows head) and then tap the Add Animal option

Step 2. From the Add Animal menu, tap Batches

Step 3: Fill in the Batch details using their Batch identification number or a meaningful name to remember them by such as March Lambs

Step 4: When all the data fields are completed press Save at the top right of the screen

Step 5: To view your batch, go to Animals on the lower navigation menu and Batches on the upper navigation menu. Here you will see a list of batches you have created.

Step 6: Use the Action button to log data such as metrics, movements, medications and notes for your batch and view this on their Animal Summary page under relevant headings.

Tip: To view your cattle or sheep in Passport (Visual ID) order, take the following steps:

Online: Use the chat icon in Admin on the app or bottom right on the web dashboard