Animal Sciences Exam 3

Cow

A female who has calved

Bull

An intact male

Steer

A castrated male

Heifer

A young female who has not calved

Polled

A dominant qualitative trait meaning the animal is naturally hornless

Horned

A recessive trait in cattle where horns are present

CWT

Refers to the price per 100 pounds (e

g

, $460/CWT)

Boxed Beef

A processed beef product introduced in 1967 by Iowa Beef Processors that allowed companies to sell preferred cuts rather than whole carcasses

Retained Ownership

When a producer keeps ownership of a calf through feeding or finishing stages, paying others to care for it with the hope of selling it at a higher market price later

Preconditioning

Preparing cattle for shipping by acclimating them to new environments and ensuring they know where to find food and water

First Cattle to the New World

Brought by Europeans in 1494

British Cattle Imported

Occurred in 1817

Cattle Drives

Took place from 1867

Barbed Wire

Invented in 1873 by Joseph Glidden; it allowed landowners to fence pastures and control grazing

Open Range in Florida

Continued until 1949 when the Fence Law ended the open-range practice

Commercial Cattle Feeding

Began in 1951

Beef Industry Structure

The industry is highly segmented

Seedstock Segment Role

Provides the genetic foundation for the beef industry, producing bulls, heifers, semen, and embryos

Cow/Calf Segment Role

Focuses on producing calves for further development

Stocker/Backgrounder Segment Objective

Aims to increase the animal’s frame and muscle while reducing fat, typically through grass or byproduct feeding

Feedlot Segment Role

Finishes cattle on high-energy diets to add fat and improve carcass quality before slaughter

Packer Segment

Processes finished cattle; the top four packers (JBS USA, Tyson Foods, Cargill Meat Solutions, and National Beef) handle 80

Bos indicus

Cattle derived from Indian breeds like Brahman, known for heat and pest resistance

Bos taurus

Includes British (British Isles) and Continental (European) breeds

Angus

A black-hided Scottish breed known for maternal traits and being the #1 beef breed in the U

S

Black Baldy

A crossbreed between Angus and Hereford

Charolais

A French Continental breed, white in color, large-framed, and known for size and carcass yield

Brahman

An American breed derived from Guzerat, Gir (India), and Nellore (Brazil)

Brangus

A cross of 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Angus, the most significant beef breed in Florida

Dairy Breeds in Beef

Make up 20% of the beef industry; produce slower-growing, leaner meat with triangular ribeyes

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)

A voluntary program ensuring safe production practices, created in collaboration with USDA, EPA, and FDA

Injection Site Lesions

Damage from improper injections that cost the beef industry about $188 million annually

Brands and Hide Defects

Quality issues costing the industry about $648 million annually

Proper Injection Site Location

Injections should be limited to 10 cc per site and placed in low-value meat areas

Withdrawal Dates

The required time for medications or injectables to clear from the animal’s system before slaughter or marketing

Stallion

A mature intact male horse

Mare

A mature female horse

Gelding

A castrated male horse

Foal

A colt or filly before weaning

Filly

An immature female horse under 3 years old

Colt

An immature male horse under 3 years old

Weanling

A colt or filly that has been weaned from its dam

Yearling

A young horse between 1 and 2 years old

Hand

A unit used to measure horse height, equal to 4 inches, measured from ground to withers

Pony

A horse shorter than 14

2 hands high (hh)

Henneke Body Condition Scoring System (BCS)

A method to assess a horse’s body fat and nutritional status on a scale from 1 (poor) to 9 (obese)

Mare’s Gestation

Lasts approximately 340 days

Universal Birth Date

January 1st, used across breed registries

Horse Power

Defined as the ability to lift 200 pounds a distance of 100 feet per minute

Poultry

Domesticated birds raised for meat or eggs (chickens, turkeys, ducks, quail, etc

)

First Domesticated Chicken

Originated in India around 3200 BC

Cecila Steele (1923)

The first person to raise chickens specifically for meat, in Ocean View, Delaware

Poultry Industry Structure

Vertically integrated, meaning one company manages everything from hatchery to processing and feed production

Broiler Market Weight (2023)

Chickens reach 6

54 lbs at market weight in about 47 days

Hormones in Poultry

Hormones are illegal, impractical, and unnecessary due to advances in genetics and nutrition

White Leghorns

The main egg-laying breed, small and feed-efficient, producing about 320 eggs per year

Large Egg Size

Requires a minimum net weight of 24 ounces per dozen