Animal Science Terms – Vocabulary Flashcards
A. General terms
Parturition – act of giving birth. Subtypes:
Calving – act of giving birth in cows
Farrowing – act of giving birth in sows
Kidding – act of giving birth in does
Foaling – act of giving birth in mares
Lambing – act of giving birth in ewes
Significance: core reproductive event; timing affects management and economics.
Gestation – period of pregnancy; period from conception until birth.
Conception – implantation of the zygote.
Dam – female parent.
Sire – male parent.
Fertility – in female, is the ability to produce fertilizable ova and to provide proper environment for and of initiating cell division and embryonic development.
Fecundity (or prolificacy) – ability to give birth to offspring frequently or numerous young at frequent intervals.
Sterility – inability to produce normal young.
Impotency – failure to copulate.
Puberty – sexual maturity, as exhibited by first heat or ovulation.
Weanling – young animal, after separation from its dam.
Weaning – the process of separating the young from its dam.
B. Cattle and Buffalo
Ox – member of the bovine family or, sometimes, the male used for draft purpose.
Cattle – domesticated bovine animals.
Bull – mature male cattle used for breeding.
Cow – mature female cattle for breeding.
Heifer – young female cattle under three years of age, usually one that has not yet given birth.
Steer – male cattle that has been castrated before the secondary sex characters develop.
Stag – male cattle castrated after sexual maturity.
Calf – young cattle of either sex under one year of age.
Bull calf – young male cattle under one year of age.
Cara – carabao (as proposed by Dr. V. Villegas, UPLB); the use of the prefix “cara” to terms for cattle to apply to carabaos.
Carabull – mature male carabao used for breeding.
Caracow – mature female carabao for breeding.
Caraheifer – young female carabao under three years of age, usually one that has not yet given birth.
Caracalf – young carabao of either sex under one year of age.
Bullock – usually a stag used for draft purposes.
Proven sire – refers to a male animal, typically a bull in livestock, whose breeding ability has been established through the performance of his offspring.
Transmitting ability – refers to the genetic potential of an animal to pass on desirable traits to its progeny.
Specific terms: in male, the ability to produce large number of sperms capable of fertilization.
C. Horse
Stallion – mature male horse; if the stallion is used for breeding purposes, the term Stud Horse is preferred.
Mare – mature female horse. Brood mare – female horse used for breeding purposes.
Colt – young male horse usually up to 3 years old.
Filly – young female horse usually up to 3 years old.
Foal – young horse of either sex below one year of age.
Gelding – horse castrated while young.
Geld mare – dry mare, which has not produced any young during the breeding season.
Ridgling – stallion with only one testis or none in the scrotum.
Equitation – horsemanship; the art of riding on horseback.
D. Swine
Boar – male pig of any age.
Sow – mature female pig.
Gilt – young female pig under one year of age, usually one that has not yet delivered.
Shote – young pig of either sex weighing approximately 60 kg.
Barrow – male pig which is castrated while young or a castrated pig that is unsexed before the secondary sex characters have developed.
Stag – a male pig castrated after sexual maturity.
Suckling – young pigs separated from their dam, about 2 months old.
Weanling – young pigs separated from their dam, about 2 months old.
Litter – group of pigs in one farrowing.
Litter size – the number of young born in one litter.
E. Sheep and Goats
Ram or buck – male sheep of any age for breeding purposes.
Ewe – female sheep of any age.
Lamb – young sheep of either sex below one year of age.
Wether – male sheep which is castrated while young, preferably between one to three weeks of age.
Shearling – yearling sheep with two teeth.
Fleece – wool covering of the sheep.
Buck – a mature male goat.
Buck Kid – a male kid.
Doe – a mature female goat that has kidded or given birth.
Doeling – a mature female goat that has not yet kidded.
Doe kid – a female kid.
Pelt – wool and skin of a sheep.
Kid – young goat of either sex below one year of age.
Milking doe – a nursing or lactating female goat.
Wether goat – castrated male goat which was unsexed before the secondary sex characters have developed.
G. Poultry terms
Backyard poultry raising - Small -scale poultry farming usually for home consumption (broiler is less than 500 heads)
Broiler - any young bird, grown usually for 6 weeks in order that it may weigh
1 kg after that period.Candling - is the process of subjecting eggs to light (usually a bulb) to check its fertility
Capon - castrated male chicken
Brooding - process of subjecting young animal to heat and warmth in order to increase their chances of survival.
Chick - young chicken regardless of sex
Cockerel - young cock
Contract growing - growing animals for someone else for a fee
Culling - is the process of eliminating undesirable animals
Domesticated birds - all birds that have been tamed or trained or adapted to serve man's needs
Dubbing - the removal of the comb and wattle
Duck - a name of various waterfowls akin to, but distinguish from swans and geese by having broader bills and more waddling gait.
Duckling - is a young duck regardless of sex
Drake - a male duck
Fowl - a domesticated bird, now commonly referring to a cock or hen.
Fryer - Any bird that has developed to a size suitable for frying
Gander - a male goose
Goose - aquatic birds that are akin to ducks but distinguished from them by having longer necks, larger bodies and wings and more aggressive behavior
Gosling - a young goose regardless of sex
Hen - a mature female fowl
Molting - is the natural means of renewing feathers in birds
Poult - young turkey regardless of sex
Pullet - a young female bird, hen or chicken
Roaster - an overgrown fryer
Rooster - a mature male chicken
Sexing - is the process of finding out the sex of the animals
Squab - young dove or pigeon
Tom - male turkey