Setting up animal types is not necessary if your fair is integrated with 4-H Online, and you are using Animal ID in 4-H Online. However, if that is not true, you will need to set up animal types, either to capture animal information during the Animal ID process (if you use that prior to fair registration), the registration (entry) process, or during check-in at the fair.
Before you begin to create your animal types, you should define exactly what kind of information will be necessary for each animal type. Think in terms of “nice to know” and “need to know”. If the information is necessary in order for the animal to be entered and show in a correct class, include it. If not, you may wish to leave it out. File uploads cannot be changed after an animal has been created of that animal type.
**All animal types must also be linked to the correct division so that the right information is captured for each entry.
Please Note: If you are a fair that integrates with 4-H Online AND your state has Animal Types set up in 4-H Online, you will not need to create Animal Types in FairEntry. Read more: 4-H Online Animal Types in FairEntry
Fields (the document linked at the end of the article lists all available Animal Type fields)
- Select the Setup menu, and the Animal Types tab.
- Click on the Add an Animal Type button.
- Enter a name for the animal type. The animal types will alphabetize on screen, so consider if you want to name it “Breeding Beef” (which will alphabetize above “Breeding Swine”) or “Beef, Breeding” (which will alphabetize above “Beef, Market”).
- An identifier field is required. For some animals, this is easy, and fits the 3 choices listed. For others, it may not be as simple. Since it is a required field, it should be something that can be filled in about every animal of that type. If the choices listed do not fit exactly for you, you can use the Field Description to add more clarification on screen for users.
- Add additional fields for this animal type, using the Field Description where necessary to make the on-screen instructions clear for your participants. Adjust the order of the fields using the arrows left of the field name.
- Date fields (Birthdate, Beg. Weight date, etc.) only allow date input.
- The “Sex” field is a radio-button Male/Female input option.
- The “Owned or Leased” field is a radio-button Owned/Leased input option.
- The “Breed” field can be used either as a drop-down or a text-entry field. If you create a breed list (below), it’s a drop-down. If you don’t, it’s a text field.
- Yes/No fields include Health Inspection, Height Certificate, Home Raised, Spayed or Neutered, and Vet-Client-Patient Relationship.
- All other fields are text—alphanumeric.
- When you are finished, click Save.
Breeds
If you selected Breed as one of your fields, you may wish to set up a list of breeds. Click Edit beside the animal type, then click on the Breeds tab at the top to the right of Fields.
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Click “Add a Breed” and enter the first breed name. If you need to remove a breed, use the red button to do that. Continue by clicking that button and adding more breeds until the list is complete. At that time, click Save. The breeds will appear in alphabetical order, no matter how they are entered. NOTE: If you don’t use a breed list, you will still be able to break classes by breed, but it’s a literal match. So, if an exhibitor spells Charolais in an alternate way, it’s not going to group with the correctly-spelled Charolais animals. |
Files
IMPORTANT: If you add either optional or required file uploads to your animal type, that cannot be changed after an animal of that type has been saved. If you set up one file upload, after an animal of that type is created and saved, you cannot change your mind and add a second file upload option. File uploads are “locked” in the animal type as soon as the first animal is saved.
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If you wish to allow or require exhibitors to upload files with their animal information, click on the Files tab at the top of the screen, then Add a Control. Be sure to name it clearly, because that is what the exhibitors will see on screen. “Front View” and “Right Side View” are more descriptive than “Photo 1” and “Photo 2”, and will have better results as managers view the animal information. Click Save when you are finished. |
Preview Form
| To view your animal form, click on the name of the animal type in the list (it’s a blue link). In the example at right, the left side “Animal Form” is a preview of how the information will be presented to participants when they register for the fair. The right side “Animal Card” is how the information will be presented to managers when viewing entries. |
Linking Animal Types to Divisions
When you are finished creating your animal types, link them to the correct divisions. This link must be done every year.
**See also: