Species and Breeds Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering animal species, breeds, genetics, and poultry industry standards.

Species

A group of closely related animals that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, serving as the basic unit of classification and principal natural taxonomic unit.

Breed

Animals of common origin with characteristics that distinguish them from other groups within the same species, often resulting from domestication and selective breeding.

Capra hircus

The scientific name for the domesticated goat.

Capra falconeri

The scientific name for the Markhor.

Capra aegagrus

The scientific name for the wild (feral) goat.

Purebred

An animal resulting from mating individuals within the same breed.

Red & White Dairy Cattle Association

An association formed in $1964$ by dairy breeders who began keeping red calves produced by Holsteins due to the expression of recessive genes.

Genetic Drift

A change in the gene pool of a small population that occurs by chance over time and geography.

Santa Gertrudis

America's original beef breed, developed by the King Ranch in Southeast Texas through crossbreeding, officially recognized as a breed in $1940$.

Santa Gertrudis Optimum Cross

The ideal crossbreeding ratio developed for the Santa Gertrudis breed, consisting of $\frac{3}{8}$ Brahman and $\frac{5}{8}$ Shorthorn.

Pedigree

Recorded documentation of the ancestral history of an individual animal used by breed associations to track history and minimize inbreeding.

Gallus gallus

The scientific name for the domestic chicken.

Meleagris gallopavo

The scientific name for the turkey.

Anas platyrhynchos

The scientific name for ducks.

Anser anser

The scientific name for geese.

Broiler

A poultry meat bird of varying weight that is under $10\,\text{weeks}$ old.

Roaster

A poultry meat bird weighing greater than $5\,\text{lbs.}$ and aged $8$ to $12\,\text{weeks}$.

Cornish Game Hen

A young poultry meat bird weighing less than $2\,\text{lbs.}$ and under $5\,\text{weeks}$ old.

Top Broiler Producing States

Georgia, Arkansas, and North Carolina.

Top Egg Producing States

Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana.

Top Turkey Producing States

North Carolina, Minnesota, and Indiana.

Top Duck Producing States

Indiana, California, and Pennsylvania.

Single Comb White Leghorn

A chicken breed known as prolific white egg layers with high feed efficiency.

Sex-linked Layers

Hybrid layer chickens whose down feather color at hatching is linked to sex (females red, males white), typically produced by crossing a Rhode Island Red rooster with a Barred Plymouth Rock hen.

Rhode Island Red

A chicken breed primarily utilized for brown egg production.

Barred Plymouth Rock

A chicken breed utilized for brown egg production.

White Plymouth Rock

A chicken breed similar to other Rock breeds whose strains are utilized in female lines for meat crossbreeding.

Cornish

A chicken breed characterized by an impressive growth rate, yellow skin, and poor reproduction, with males utilized in meat crossbreeding.

Bantams

Chickens that are $20\%$ to $25\%$ of the size of a normal chicken.

Pekin

The primary duck breed utilized for U.S. meat production.