ans 1 final

Sheep latin

ovis aries

Sheep class

mammalia

Sheep order

artiodactyla

Sheep family

bovidae

Sheep subfamily

caprinae

Sheep genus

ovis

Sheep species

ovis aries

Sheep # of chromosomes

54

Where are most of the sheep located in the US?

west to mid-west areas

Male sheep called?

ram

Female sheep > 1 yr

ewe

Female sheep < 1 yr

ewe lamb

Castrated male sheep

wether

A 9-15 mo. young sheep

a hogget

The process of giving birth in general is called...

parturition

Parturition of sheep is called

lambing

Why do we want wool?

It has insulating properties, water repellent, elastic, breathable, dye-able etc.

What is it called when sheared?

fleece

Originated 8000 BC and led to 200 sheep breads

Mouflon sheep (breed)

Breed with the finest wool

Merino (folded skin allows for more fleece ;

Important long wool breed

wensleydale sheep (>30 micrometers)

Some long wool breeds

Border, Leicester, Coopworth, Romney, Lincoln etc.

Some medium wool breeds

Dorset

Awassi breed

the most common in the world ; tail can weigh 5kg of pure fat

Katahdin breed

will shed their own fleece

Jacob breed

can have multiple sets of horns and are usually collected

What is the break joint?

a joint that can be cracked telling the age of sheep carcass ; when the lamb hasn't finished maturing yet this is crack-able.

What is forage

plant derived or leaf material ; grass and legumes (alfalfa) ; can be fresh (pasture) or conserved for later use (hay)

What is silage

pickled food ; this happens when all oxygen/moisture is removed so nothing can grow on it, and fed later

What are the most Essential Nutrients

Fat - Fatty acids come in triglycerides
Protein - Assembled in amino acids; has nitrogen (important)
Carbs - Made of lots of saccharides ; Starch from grains
WATER

Where are the incisors located

front part of the mouth

What is a diastema?

space between teeth of animals

Teeth number order of sheep

0/4 , 3/3 , 3/3 = 1 sheep jaw

T/F Sheeps are ruminants

True

What is the rumen and how does it work (long answer)

The rumen is the 'stomach' of cows, sheeps and goats ; it works like so: food goes in the mouth, chewed up and down the esophagus, goes into the rumen where bacteria start digesting the parts the animal can't, then it goes into the reticulum to be grinded up even more (whatever is too big is sent back up to be chewed again), then it goes into the omasum to be grinded up and then into the abomasum (very acidic) where enzymes act upon it until digested completely.

What is the fistula

It is the hole that is made on the side of cows that lead directly into the rumen ; this is where studies can be conducted as one can see inside the rumen of a cow

What are VFAs

volatile fatty acids ; serve as fuel for the host (absorbed through the rumen and used by the liver to create energy)

Does milk pass through the rumens of young animals?

No, it passed through a groove called the reticulum groove

What is metritis?

inflammation of the wall of the uterus (can happen to sheeps)

What do the ovaries have?

gametes

Type of uterus for ewes

bicornuate uterus

Estrous cycle of sheep

17 days

Explain the estrous cycle of sheep (long answer)

Begins with proestrous (follicle begins to release a estrogen [hormone]) then follows estrus (ovum is released and ready to be fertilized). During estrus, she shows signs of heat. Then follows metestrus (increased hormonal activity) and diestrus (becoming sexual innacitve).

T/F Sheep are seasonally polyestrous

true

Gestation for sheep

150 days

When do sheeps prefer to get pregnant?

early enough to lamb around spring, for lush pastures

What is the body condition score BCS

it is a number that shows how much fat an animal has, the more fat the higher it is. Farmers want animals to have a high score to be able to have babies properly ; different for each animal (not important just good to know)

What is fecundity?

the number of offspring the animal can have

Fecundity for sheep?

1.5 (meaning one ewe can lamb 1 and another can lamb 2)

Type of penis of ram

fibrous penis ; sigmoid flexure allows for the penis to extend for mating

Amount of ejaculate from ram

1 ml or 1 billion sperm

What is the flehmen response?

Lip curls up allowing for sensing pheromones in the air, and through the vomeronasal organ getting the rams all horny)

How many ewes per ram?

30-50 hues

Why would farmers want to tag their animals?

To keep track of mating, nutrition and such

Why are tails docked?

Avoid getting disease ; poop gets stuck on the tail and causes flies to swarm and cause disease

What is the purpose of drenching?

to give medicine and nutrients to animals

water/DM content of hay?

12% water and 88% dry matter

water/DM content of lush pasture?

70% water and 30% dry matter

Latin name for cattle

bovine

Class for cattle

mammalia

Order for cattle

artiodactyla

Family of cattle

bovidae

Subfamily of cattle

bovinae

Genus of cattle

bos

Species of cattle

bos taurus and bos indicus

# of chromosomes of cattle

60 chromosomes

male bovine is called

bull

mature female bovine is called

cow

castrated male is called

steer

young female before first calving is called...

a heifer

young bovine

calf

female that is pregnant

springer

process of giving birth

calving

dental formula for cattle

0/4 , 3/3 , 3/3

T/F cows are seasonally polyestrous

false ; they are simply polyestrous

T/F Bos indicus have higher heat tolerance

true

Which world country is leading with the population of cattle?

India ; there is more beef production in the US, Brazil and china

Why is good dentition important?

farmers need to know the status of cow teeth to accommodate dietary needs

what is being broken mouth?

when the teeth have bad structure

T/F puberty is governed by body weight

true

weight for cattle when reaching puberty

300 kg ; 6-18 mo.

estrus cycle for cattle

every 21 days

how long are cows pregnant for?

283 days

what are cotyledons?

they are the places where the dam (pregnant heifer) and the calf trade nutrients inside the placenta

what is a freemartin?

sterile female calf born twin to a male calf

the weight of new calves

35 kg

how long do calves follow mom for?

6 months, until weaned at 200 kg

what is colostrum

it is the milk of the cow full of antibodies that are transferred to the calf so they can get protected too

What's in milk?

88% water, protein (caseins [cheese]) , fats & carbs.

milk of holsteins

3.5% fat , 3.3% protein , 12000L per year

milk of jerseys

4.5% fat , 3.5% protein , 8000L per year

how is lactose made?

from the glucose that is traveling around the blood of the cow, from the nutrients that are absorbed from the food she eats

what happens to the microbes inside the bovine when they die?

they float into the small intestine and then broken down into amino acids (caseins)

T/F cows have 4 udders

False; they have 1 udder and 4 quarters

How is milk made? (long answer)

each udder has billions of alveoli, each made of epithelial cells (these are the ones that take the nutrients from the blood and makes fats proteins and sugars) then water is drawn in and lactose is made

how many times do cows need to be milked?

2-3 times a day

approximate number of cows in the US

9 million

approx. number in California?

1.7 million

what is a tie-stall

cows kept indoors due to poor weather conditions

How early does colostrum need to be fed to the calf for full effect?

within 12 hours of birth