BIM55575 | Farming: herd basis: immature animals
From HM Revenue & Customs · Business Income Manual
S, S Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, S, S Corporation Tax Act 2009
Only mature animals may be dealt with on the herd basis, except in the case of certain flocks of hill sheep (see ). Where farmers who have elected for the herd basis breed or rear their own herd replacements, the replacements must therefore be treated as trading stock until they reach maturity, at which point they are treated as transferred from trading stock to the herd.
Female animals are treated as becoming mature when they produce their first young, and laying birds when they first lay. Male animals may be treated as becoming mature when they are first used for breeding purposes.