Exercise 1: The External Anatomy and Body Measurements of Farm Animals

Flashcards covering anatomical definitions, husbandry terminology, body weight estimation formulas, and species-specific classifications for farm animals and poultry.

Anatomy

A branch of science that deals with form and structure.

Physiology

The study of functions of body parts.

Heart girth

Measurement taken around the chest area which is behind the forearm and shoulders.

Eyeball estimation

A technique in weight determination used by experienced handlers who use signs and markers from the body conformation of the animal when no scale is available.

Pigs: Formula 1 (Sandro, 2014)

$$LW = -8 4.068 + 0.902(HG) + 0.711(BL)$$

Cattle/Carabao Live Weight Formula

$$LW = -466 + 4.70(HG)$$

Goats/Sheep Live Weight Formula

$$LW = \frac{2(RH) + 4(BL) + 6(HG)}{10} - 53$$

Parturition

The act of giving birth.

Farrowing

The act of giving birth in sows.

Gestation

The pregnancy time from conception to birth.

Fecundity or prolificacy

The ability to give birth to offspring frequently or numerous young at frequent intervals.

Puberty

Sexual maturity, as exhibited by first heat or ovulation.

Heifer

Young female ox under three years of age, usually one that has not yet given birth.

Steer

Male ox castrated before sexual maturity.

Stag (Bovine/Swine)

Male ox or pig castrated after sexual maturity.

Transmitting ability

The ability of an animal to pass on either good or bad traits to its progeny.

Ridgling

A stallion with only one testis or none in its scrotum.

Equitition

Horsemanship, the art of riding on horseback.

Gilt

Young female pig under one year of age, usually one that has not yet given birth.

Barrow

Male pig which was castrated while young or before the secondary sex characters have developed.

Wether

Male sheep castrated while young, preferably between one to three weeks of age.

Fleece

The wool covering the sheep.

Pelt

The wool and skin of a sheep.

Venison

Meat derived from deer.

Chevon

Meat derived from goat.

Slaughtering

The process from fasting through stunning, bleeding up to skinning and evisceration.

Butchering

The process from splitting and quartering to cutting the carcass into the retail cuts.

Gallus gallus domesticus

The scientific name for Chicken.

Capon

A caponized male fowl, readily distinguished by the undeveloped comb and wattles.

Drake

A male duck.

Poult

The young of the domestic turkey, properly applied until sex can be distinguished.