Linking parents: pick an animal or type a name

On the add or edit animal form, the Sire (father) and Dam (mother) boxes let you set an animal's parents. For each one you can pick an animal from your herd, pick a reference animal, or just type a name. Leave it on - Unknown - if you do not know.

Your three choices#

Each parent box offers three groups:

1. Your herd. Pick a tracked animal you already manage. Best when the parent is one of your own animals. Linking real animals is what powers the family tree and the inbreeding (COI) math.
2. Reference animals. Pick a lightweight pedigree entry, tagged Reference. Use this for a parent you do not fully manage, like an outside stud or an ancestor. A reference does not use up your plan limit.
3. Enter a name manually (external). Type the parent's name as plain text. Use this when you have nothing to link to. The name shows in the pedigree but is not clickable.

Good to know. Pick from Your herd or Reference animals whenever you can. A linked animal connects to the family tree and counts in inbreeding math. A typed-in name is just text.

Steps#

1. Animals → Add animal (or open an animal and choose Edit).
2. Scroll to Sire (father) and Dam (mother).
3. Open the box and pick from Your herd, pick a Reference animal, or choose Enter a name manually (external) and type the name.
4. Save.

📷 Screenshot: the Sire (father) box open, showing the three groups Your herd, Reference animals, and Enter a name manually.

Helpful nudges#

• After you type an external name, you may see "Will this parent come up again? Save as a reference animal." Tap it to turn that typed name into a reusable reference, so you can link it on other animals too.
• If you picked a reference, you may see "Start tracking it." Tap it to promote that reference into a full tracked animal you manage.

Related#

• Tracked animals, reference animals, and typed-in ancestors
• When to add a reference animal
• Read your animal's pedigree