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Cattle

Cattle is a livestock animal which zoological name is Bos taurus (exotic cattle). Zoological name of zebu cattle or indigenous cattle is Bos indicus.

Terms Used for Cattle

Bull: Adult unsaturated male cattle used for breeding or covering the cows.
Cow: Adult female cattle which has calved once or more
Calf: Young one of either sex below the age of six months
Bull calf: Male calf under one year of age
Heifer calf: Female calf under one year of age
Heifer: A female above one year which has not calved
Bullock: Castrated male cattle used for work.
Steer: Castrated male cattle used for meat
Buller : A female which is always in heat or estrus. It is also known as a nymphomanic animal.
Teaser: A vasectomized (castrated) bull used to detect the heat or estrus of female (cow).
Foetus: A term for developing young one during last quarter of pregnancy.
Fertility: Ability of an animal to produce large number of living young.
Sterility: Inability to produce any offspring.
Calving: Process of giving birth
Prolificacy: Ability to produce large number of offspring’s. The animal is said to be prolific.
Fecundity: It is the potential capacity of the female to produce functional ova regards of what happens to them after they are produced.
Free martin: A sterile heifer born twin with the male.
Cryptorchids: The failure of testes to descend fully into the scrotum. If one testes is in scrotal position the male is usually fertile but if both are retained in the abdominal cavity sterility usually reported.
Service: The process in which mature male covers the female i.e. in heat with the object to deposit spermatozoa in the female genital tract is called service.
Conception: The successful union of male and female gametes & implantation of zygote is known as conception.
Gestation: It is the condition of female when developing foetus in present in the uterus.
Gestation period: The period from the date of service (actual conception) to the date of parturition is termed as parturition period or pregnancy period. This period varies according to species of animals e.g. is cows 279-283 days, in buffalo 310 days, sheep 148-152 days, goat 150-152 days.
Parturition: The act of giving birth to young one is called parturition.
Lactation period: The period after parturition in which the animal produces milk.
Dry period: The period after lactation in which the animal does not produce milk.
Calving interval: The period between two successive calving is calving interval.
Average: It is the sum of production divided by No. of animals.
Wet average: It is the average daily milk yield of a cow is lactation.
Herd Average: It is average daily milk yield of milking animal in a herd.
Environment: The sum of all external influences to which an individual is exposed.

Sire: The male parent of the calf.
Dam: Female parent of the calf.

Zebu Cattle Vs Exotic Cattle

Zebu cattle are tropical cattle breeds mainly found in Asia, Africa, and other warm regions of the world. They are characterized by the presence of a hump, loose skin, and better tolerance to heat, drought, and tropical diseases.

Exotic cattle refer to cattle breeds that originated in temperate countries of Europe and North America and are introduced into other countries for higher milk or meat production. Exotic breeds generally have higher productivity but are less adapted to hot climatic conditions compared to zebu cattle.

Examples of zebu cattle include Sahiwal and Brahman, while Holstein Friesian and Jersey are common exotic cattle breeds.