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Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Comhshaoil agus Gnóthaí Tuaithe Depairtment o' Fairmin, Environment an' Kintra Matthers

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  • Codes for use in a herd register

    Topics:
    • Animal Health, Welfare and Trade, 
    • Identification, registration and movement

    The list is complete for Northern Ireland at present and will be revised by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) as necessary. However, if you require to record a breed not on the list, contact your local DAERA Direct Office (DDO) for advice. In the case of crossbreeds record only the dominant breed.

    Breed codes

     

    Breed codeBreed codeBreed codeBreed code
    Aberdeen Angus - AAAngler Rotvieh - ARAnkole - ANKArmoricaine - ARM
    Aubrac - AUAustralian Lowline - ALLAyrShire - AYRBaltata & Baltata Romanesca - BAR
    Baltata Bruna - BBRBaltata Negra - BANBazadais - BAZBeefalo - BEE
    Beefmaster - BMSBelgian Blue - BBBelted Galloway - BGABison - BI
    Blonde D'Aquataine - DAQBlue Albion - BALBlue Grey - BLGBrahman - BRH
    Braunbieh - BRABretoone Pie Noire - BPNBritish Blue - BRBBritish White - BW
    Bruna De Maramures - BDMCanadian Black - CANCharolais - CHChianina - CHI
    Chillingham - CHLDanish Red - DRDevon - DEVDexter - DEX
    DroiMeann - DNEast Finish Brown - EFBEnglish Park - ENPEuropean Angus - EA
    Fleckvieh - FKVFrisona Espagnola - FREFriesian - FRGalloway - GAL
    Gayal - GAYGasconne - GASGelbvieh - GEGloucester - GLO
    Groninger Blaarkop - GRB

    Guernsey - GU

     

    Hereford - HER

     

    Highland - HI

     

    Holstein - HOLINRA 95 - INRIrish Moile - IMJersey - JER
    Kerry - KELakenvelder - LAKLID - LID 
    Longhorn - LHLimousin - LIMLincoln Red - LNRLithuanian Black and White - LBW
    Luing - LUIMalkekorthorn - MALMaine Anjou - MAJMarchigiana - MAR
    Maremmana - MAREMeuse Rhine Yssel - MRIMiniature Zebru - MZBMontbeliarde - MB
    Murray Grey - MGNormande - NORNorwegian Red - NROld English - OLE
    Pajuna - PAJParthenais - PARPiemontese - PIEPinzgauer - PIN
    Pustertaler - PUSRed Poll - RPLRubia Gallega - RUBReggiana - REG
    Romagnola - ROMRotbunt - ROTSalers - SAL

    Shetland - STL

     

    Shorthorn - SHShorthorn Beef - SHBShorthorn Dairy - SHD

    Simmental - SIM

     

    South Devon - SDSpeckle Park - SPKStabiliser - ST

    Sussex - SU

     

    Swedish Red - SWRSwiss Brown - SBRSwiss Grey - SWGTarantaise Tarina - TAT
    Tyrone Black - TYBUnknown - UNKValsostana Nera - VAN

    Vaynol - VA

     

    Vosgienne-Vosges - VOSWagyu - WAGWater Buffalo - BU

    Welsh Black - WB

     

    Welsh White - WEWWhite Galloway - WGWhite Park - WPYak - YAK

    Zebu - ZEB

     

       

    Colour codes

    All colour types are covered. Do not use any variations. Colour dominance is not important. For example. white and black is BW. Please note that brown is not a colour to be used. Depending on the intensity of the colour, Red (R) or Dun (D) should be used.

    Colour codeColour codeColour codeColour code
    Black - BBlue - BLBrindle - BRDun - D (includes yellow, fawn, cream, light brown etc)
    Red - RRoan - RNBlack & White - BWBlue & White - BLW
    Dun & White - DWRed & White - RWWhite - W 

    Class/sex codes

    All bulls over 6 months of age should be recorded as bulls (B). All other males (in other words steers and bull calves) should be recorded as males (M) unless the bull calf is intended for breeding purposes or bull beef production in which case bull (B) should be used.

    Class/sex codeClass/sex codeClass/sex code
    Bull - BFemale - FMale - M

    Date of birth details

    • the exact date of birth must be entered for animals born in the herd
    • for animals bought into the herd, the date of birth should be taken from the accompanying movement document

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