Calving difficulty scores, in association with birth weight and gestation length information, are used to calculate Calving Ease Direct and Calving Ease Daughters EBVs within the TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation (TACE).
Calving difficulty should be measured at or shortly following birth by visually scoring the degree of calving difficulty on the following scale of 1 – 6.
If females are regularly checked during calving (e.g. on a daily basis), it is reasonable to assume that a calf who has been born without assistance between visits can be scored as unassisted (no difficulty) even though the calving was not observed.