ASI 102 Principles of Animal Science Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from the ASI 102 Principles of Animal Science study guide covering key terminology across beef, dairy, swine, companion animals, horses, poultry, sheep, goats, nutrition, genetics, welfare, health, and reproduction.

Sustainable Agriculture

Agricultural production that meets present needs without compromising future generations, integrating economic, environmental, and social pillars of sustainability.

Per Capita GDP and Meat Consumption Relationship

As a country's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) increases, its per capita consumption of meat products generally increases.

Heifer

Young female bovine animal that has not given birth to a calf.

Steer

Castrated male bovine animal.

Cow

Mature female bovine animal that has given birth to one or more calves.

Bull

Intact male bovine animal.

Monogastric

An animal possessing a simple, single-compartment stomach (such as swine, horses, poultry, dogs, and cats).

Ruminant

An animal with a multi-compartment stomach (rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum) capable of fermenting fibrous roughages.

Bos taurus

Taxonomic genus and species of humpless cattle adapted to cooler climates, originating primarily from Europe.

Bos indicus

Taxonomic genus and species of humped cattle adapted to hot and tropical climates, originating from South Asia.

Beef Cattle Cycle

An approximately $10\text{-year}$ period of expansion and contraction in the total size of the United States beef cattle herd.

Beef Yield Grade

An estimate of the yield of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts from a beef carcass, ranging from yield grade $1$ to $5$.

Beef Quality Grade

An evaluation of expected beef carcass palatability based primarily on marbling and maturity.

Marbling

Intramuscular fat dispersed within the muscle tissue of a beef carcass.

Gestation

The period of pregnancy in female animals from fertilization until birth.

Stocker

A weaned calf placed on forage or pasture diets to gain weight prior to entering a feedlot.

Backgrounder

A producer who grows weaned calves using roughages and forages before they transition to a feedlot.

Feedlot

An enterprise where cattle are fed high-concentrate grain diets to reach final harvest weight.

Purebred / Seedstock

The segment of livestock production focused on producing specialized breeding stock and genetics for pure breeds or composite lines.

Packer

An operation or facility that harvests livestock and processes carcasses into wholesale and retail meat products.

Commercial Cow/Calf Operation

A livestock operation that maintains a herd of mature cows to produce crossbred calves primarily raised for meat production.

% Calf Crop

The percentage of cows exposed to breeding that successfully give birth to and raise a calf to weaning.

Growth Implant

A small pellet inserted under the skin of an animal's ear that slowly releases hormones to improve rate of weight gain and feed efficiency.

Preconditioning

A management practice of preparing weaned calves for transition to stocker or feedlot stages through vaccination, castration, dehorning, and feed bunk adaptation.

Commingling

The practice of mixing animals from different sources, farms, or origins together into a single group.

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)

An industry program providing guidelines for proper management and animal care practices to ensure high-quality, safe beef production.

Average Daily Gain (ADG)

The average amount of weight gained by an animal per day over a specified time interval.

Heterosis (Hybrid Vigor)

The superiority in performance of crossbred offspring compared to the average performance of their purebred parents.

Crossbreeding

The mating of animals from different breeds to achieve heterosis and breed complementarity.

Dystocia

Difficult, prolonged, or obstructed labor or calving in animals.

Postpartum Interval

The period of time between calving and the resumption of normal estrous cycles in a cow.

Cwt

An abbreviation for hundredweight, equivalent to $100\,\text{lbs}$ of animal or product weight.

Mastitis

An infection or inflammation of the mammary gland or udder tissue, commonly occurring in dairy cattle.

Ketosis

A metabolic disorder in dairy cows caused by negative energy balance, leading to elevated ketone bodies in blood and body fluids.

Displaced Abomasum

A disorder in dairy cows where the abomasum shifts out of its normal anatomical position, commonly to the left side.

Dry Period

The non-lactating resting period between lactations in dairy cows, allowing mammary tissue regeneration prior to calving.

Feral Hogs

Wild or unmanaged pigs descended from escaped domestic swine or introduced wild boars.

Nursery

The swine production stage and facility where newly weaned pigs are housed and fed until reaching finisher entry weight.

Finisher

The swine production phase during which pigs are fed from nursery weight up to final market harvest weight.

Biosecurity

A set of preventive measures and management protocols designed to prevent the introduction and spread of disease-causing agents in animal populations.

Maternal Lines

Swine genetic lines selected primarily for reproductive traits, mothering ability, and litter size.

Terminal Lines

Swine genetic lines selected primarily for growth rate, feed efficiency, leanness, and carcass merit.

California Proposition 12

State legislation establishing specific minimum housing space standards for housed farm animals, including breeding sows.

Guaranteed Analysis

A mandatory section on pet food labels stating minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

Universal Birthdate

A standardized birthdate (January 1st in the Northern Hemisphere) officially assigned to horses for age-group competition purposes.

Foal Heat

The first estrus period occurring in mares shortly after foaling, typically $7\text{--}12\,\text{days}$ postpartum.

Seasonal Polyestrus

A reproductive pattern where females exhibit recurring estrous cycles during specific seasons, triggered by photoperiod (e.g., long-day in horses, short-day in sheep).

Gait

A specific pattern of footfalls and limb movement executed by a horse, classified as natural (walk, trot, canter, gallop) or artificial.

Broiler

A young chicken raised specifically for meat production.

Layer

A mature female chicken raised specifically for egg production.

Pullet

A young female chicken prior to the onset of egg laying.

Vertical Integration

A business arrangement where a single entity owns and controls multiple sequential stages of animal production, processing, and distribution.

Concentrates

Feedstuffs high in digestible energy and low in crude fiber, such as cereal grains.

Roughages / Forages

Feedstuffs high in crude fiber content and lower in digestible energy, such as pasture, hay, and silage.

Macrominerals

Essential dietary mineral elements required by animals in larger amounts, measured in grams per day or dietary percentage (e.g., calcium, phosphorus).

Microminerals (Trace Minerals)

Essential dietary mineral elements required by animals in tiny amounts, measured in milligrams per kilogram or parts per million (e.g., copper, zinc, selenium).

Fermentation

The anaerobic microbial breakdown of carbohydrates in the digestive tract producing volatile fatty acids.

Reticular Groove

An anatomical structure in young ruminants that diverts ingested milk directly from the esophagus into the omasum/abomasum, bypassing the rumen.

Colic

A general clinical term used to describe abdominal pain in horses.

Acidosis

A digestive condition in ruminants caused by rapid consumption of high-starch feeds, leading to excess lactic acid production and reduced rumen pH.

Bloat

An abnormal accumulation of free gas or froth in the rumen that prevents normal eructation (belching).

Qualitative Traits

Traits governed by one or a few genes that exhibit distinct, categorical variation (e.g., coat color, horned vs. polled).

Quantitative Traits

Traits controlled by many genes and influenced by environmental conditions, exhibiting continuous numerical variation (e.g., weaning weight, daily gain).

Phenotype

The observable physical characteristics or performance level of an animal, determined by genotype and environment ($P = G + E$).

Expected Progeny Difference (EPD)

A prediction of how future progeny of a specific animal are expected to perform relative to progeny of another parent within a breed registry.

Animal Rights

A philosophical belief asserting that animals have rights equal to humans and should not be used, owned, or harvested by humans.

Animal Welfare

The physical and mental state of well-being of an animal in relation to its living conditions, care, and management.

IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)

A committee responsible for overseeing, reviewing, and approving all protocols involving animal care and use in institutional research and education.

Ethology

The scientific study of animal behavior in natural or managed environments.

Flight Zone

An animal's personal safety envelope; entering the flight zone prompts the animal to move away from the handler.

Point of Balance

A location, typically at the animal's shoulder, used by animal handlers to direct movement forward or backward.

Pathogen

A biological agent or organism, such as a bacterium, virus, or parasite, that causes disease.

Zoonosis

An infectious disease that can be naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans.

Vaccine

A biological preparation containing antigens given to induce an immune response and grant active protection against a specific disease.

Morbidity

The rate or frequency of illness or disease occurrence within a given population.

Mortality

The rate or frequency of death occurring within a given population.

Antigen

A foreign protein or substance that triggers an immune response in an animal's body.

Antibody (Immunoglobulin)

A specialized protein produced by immune cells in response to an antigen that neutralizes specific pathogens.

Antibiotic

A drug or chemical compound used to inhibit the growth of or destroy bacterial pathogens.

Puberty

The stage of development at which an animal reaches sexual maturity and becomes capable of reproduction.

Estrogen

A steroid hormone secreted by developing ovarian follicles responsible for inducing estrus behavior and female secondary traits.

Progesterone

A steroid hormone secreted by the corpus luteum responsible for maintaining pregnancy and suppressing estrus.

Prostaglandin (PGF2a)

A hormone produced by the non-pregnant uterus that causes regression (luteolysis) of the corpus luteum, initiating a new estrous cycle.

Testosterone

The primary androgen secreted by male testes responsible for libido and male reproductive development.

Polyestrus

A reproductive pattern where females experience recurring estrous cycles throughout the entire year unless pregnant (e.g., cattle, swine).

Anestrus

A period of time during which a female animal is not undergoing normal estrous cycles.

Monoestrus

A reproductive pattern where females exhibit only one estrous cycle per year (e.g., bears, wild canids).

Estrus

The period of sexual receptivity ('heat') in female mammals during which she accepts mating by a male.

Estrous Cycle

The recurring physiological sequence of reproductive events measured from one period of estrus to the next.

Follicle

A fluid-filled structure on the ovary containing a developing egg (oocyte) that produces estrogen.

Corpus Luteum (CL)

A hormone-secreting structure formed on the ovary at the site of a ruptured follicle after ovulation that produces progesterone.