Common Terms Used in Animal Husbandry

Common terms used in animal husbandry for livestocks are:

1. Abomasum: Abomasum is the forth compartment, or true stomach, of the ruminant animal
2. Abort: Abort is to expel the foetus prematurely
3. Afterbirth: Afterbirth is the membranes expelled after the birth of the fetus
4. Animal management: Animal management is the art and science of combining ideas, facilities, processes, materials and labour to produce a market worthwhile product or service successfully. Livestock management involves integrated application of the principles of animal breeding, feeding, housing, organization and disease control in a manner suitable for a particular situation.
5. Anthelmintic: Anthelmintic is a chemical compound used for treating internal worms in animals
6. Antibiotic: Antibiotic is a chemical agent that prevents the growth of a germ or bacteria
7. Antimicrobial: Antimicrobial is a substance that can destroy or inhibit the growth of microorganisms ie., an antimicrobial drug
8. Antiseptic: Antiseptic is a substance used to kill harmful organisms on the skin surface
9. Anus: Anus is the opening at the end of the large intestine that is the termination of the digestive system and through which feces pass out of the body
10. Apparel wool: Apparel wool is a fine wool used in making clothing
11. Arsenical: Arsenical is a drug containing arsenic
12. Artificial insemination: Artificial insemination is the placing of sperm in the female reproductive tract by other than natural means
13. Bitch: An adult female dog
14. Boar: An adult uncastrated male pig used for breeding
15. Bobby calf: A male calf about 1 week old
16. Bos indicus: Bos indicus is humped cattle found in tropical countries
17. Bos Taurus: Bos taurus is the domestic cattle originating from either the Aurochs or the celtic shorthorn
18. Bovine: Bovine is a generic name for cattle
19. Brand: Brand is a marking placed on the hide of an animal by applying extreme heat, cold, paint or caustic materials
20. Breed: Breed is a group of animals with distinct shapes and colors which produce offspring with similar shapes and colors
21. Breeding Bull or Stud Bull: An adult male used for breeding
22. Broken-mouth: Broken-mouth is a mouth having teeth missing. Usually applied to sheep or goats and occurs with old age
23. Browse: Browse is the shoots, twigs, and leaves of brush plants found growing on rangeland. Browse is a fodder obtained from eating leaves and twigs of bushes
24. Buck: Buck is a male of such species as goats, deer, rabbits, etc, Buck is an intact mature, male goat
25. Buck or he-goat: An adult male goat used for breeding
26. Buckling: Buckling is an intact, immature male goat
27. Buffalo bull calf: A male young one
28. Buffalo calf: A young one of either sex
29. Buffalo heifer calf: A female young one
30. Bull: Bull is a male of bovine of any age that has not been castrated
31. Bull calf: A male young one under 1 year of age
32. Bull: Bull is an intact male bovine
33. Buller: A female which is always in heat or estrus. It is also known as a nymphomanic animal.
34. Bulling: Bulling describes a cow on heat or the act of service by the male
35. Bullock or Steer: An adult castrated male used for carting and tillage
36. Burdizzo : Burdizzo is an instrument used for bloodless castration which clamps off the tissue connecting the testis to the rest of the body
37. Calf: Calf is a beef animal under one year of age, Calf is a young bovine of either sex
38. Calve: Calve is to give birth to a calf
39. Calving: The act of giving birth to a young one
40. Calving interval: Calving interval is the length of time from one calving to the next
41. Cannibalism: Cannibalism is the act of eating another member of the same species. Seen in poultry and swine
42. Capon: Capon is a male chicken whose reproductive organs have been removed or rendered inactive while the individual is still young
43. Caponization: A process in which the testes are removed from the adult male. This is done to make a good table bird (for eating purpose).
44. Carbohydrate: Carbohydrate is a organic compound containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
45. Carcass: Carcass is the dressed body of an animal or deal animal
46. Carpet: Carpet wool is a coarse wool used for making carets
47. Carrying capacity: Carrying capacity is the number of animals that can be grazed on a pasture during the grazing season
48. Cast: Cast is to make the animal fall on the ground
49. Castrate: Castrate is to remove the testes of the male or to render them inactive; alternatively, an animal whose testes have been removed or rendered inactive
50. Cattle: Cattle is the animals of the family bovine, genus bos
51. Chevon: Chevon is the meat from goats
52. Clip: Clip is to cut hair from animals; also, the total of the wool shorn from a flock
53. Colostrums: Colostrums is the milk produced the first few days after parturition
54. Concentrate: Concentrate is the feed containing less than 18 percent crude fiber when dry; grains and protein supplements are concentrates
55. Conception rate: Conception rate is the percentage of a group o animals that become pregnant when bred
56. Corral: Corral is a small, fenced yard for confining livestock (khola, kraal)
57. Cow: Cow is a female bovine that has had one or more calves; or an older female that has not had a calf but has matured
58. Cow: Cow is a mature, female bovine having had at least one calf. (N.B. a cow between her first and second calves is often known as a ‘first-calf heifer’.)
59. Creep: Creep is an enclosure to which only the young of the species have access so they may be fed separately from the adult stock
60. Creep feed: Creep feed is used to provide special feed for the young; also, the feed provided for the young within a special enclosure
61. Crisscrossing: Crisscrossing is the mating crossbred females to a sire belonging to one of the parent breeds of the female; also called backcrossing
62. Crone: An old broken mouthed ewe which has been retained in a breeding flock because of her excellent breeding performance.
63. Crutch: Crutch is used to remove soiled wool from between the hind legs
64. Cud: Cud in ruminants, a ball-like mess of feed that is brought up from the stomach to be rechewed
65. Cull: Cull is used to dispose of the poorer animals in a herd or flock
66. Tagging:Tagging is the removal of soiled wool from a sheep’s hindquarters
67. Dam: Dam is the mother of an animal
68. Deadweight: Deadweight is the weight of an animal after it has been slaughtered and the offal, head and hide removed
69. Dehorn: Dehorn is used to remove chemically or mechanically the horns of livestock
70. Dewlap: Dewlap is a hanging fold of skin under the neck of animals, especially some breeds of cattle and goats
71. Digestible energy (DE): Digestible energy (DE) is the gross energy of a feed minus the energy remaining in the feces of the animal after the feed is digested
72. Digestible protein (DP): Digestible protein (DP) is that protein of the crude protein in a feed that can be utilized by an animal
73. Disbud: Disbud is used to remove or prevent growth of the horn buds in young livestock
74. Disinfectant: Disinfectant is a substance used to kill harmful organisms on non-living surfaces
75. Dock: Dock is used to remove all or part of the tail
76. Doe: Doe is a female of those species in which the male is called a buck; for example; goats, deer, rabbits, etc . Doe is a female goat, rabbit or antelope
77. Domesticate: Domesticate is to adapt the behavior of an animal to fit the needs of people
78. Double rig: Both the testicles are retained in the abdomen. It is also known as or double ridgling “Cryptorchid”
79. Draft animal: Draft animal is an animal used for pulling loads
80. Drench: Drench is the medicine in a liquid form administered to the animal through the mouth
81. Elastrator: Elastrator is an instrument used to place strong rubber bands over, the scrotum or tail for castration or docking, respectively
82. Electrolyte: Electrolyte is a solution containing salts and energy sources used to feed young animals suffering from scours (diarrhea)
83. Environment: Environment is the total of the external conditions and influences that affect the life and development of living organisms
84. Estrus: Estrus is the time during which the female will accept the male for copulation; also referred to as being “in heat”
85. Ewe: Ewe is a female sheep or lamb ;Ewe is a mature female sheep
86. Ewe lamb: A female young one
87. Feed efficiency: Feed efficiency is the ratio of units of feed needed per one unit of production
88. Feeder calf: Feeder calf is a weaned calf that is under one year of age and is sold to be fed for more growth
89. Feeding standard: Feeding standard is a table of nutrient requirements for an animal
90. Fertilization: Fertilization is the union of a sperm cell with an egg cell
91. Fleece: Fleece is the total wool coat of a sheep
92. Flock: Flock is a group of animals (sheep, goats, birds). (See herd)
93. Flush: Flush is used increase feed level of females prior
94. Flushing: Flushing increasing the amount of feed to an animal for a short period of time, usually just prior to breeding
95. Free martin: When twin calves of different sexes are born the bull calf is usually sexually normal but the heifer calf is always sterile, and the external genitalia are abnormal in structure. The most widely accepted explanation being that sex hormones from the earlier developing male twin pass across to the female twin, with the result that sexual differentiation of both male and female proceeds under control of male hormones
96. Gimmer: A female sheep which is between 1 and 2 shearing
97. Goat: Common gender
98. Goatling: A female goat over 1 year but not exceeding 2 years of age
99. Grease: Grease impurities present in a fleece
100. Grease mohair: Grease mohair is a mohair fleece before it is cleaned
101. Grease wool: Grease wool is a wool fleece before it is cleaned
102. Haylage: Haylage is the low-moisture grass silage
103. He-buffalo: An adult male buffalo
104. Heifer: Heifer is a female bovine that has not had a calf or has not matured as a cow
105. Heifer calf: A female young one under 1 year of age
106. Herbivorous: Herbivorous is the practice of eating plants as the main part of the diet
107. Hermaphrodite: A bisexual animal. The word is used for animals in which the sexual organs are structurally abnormal or which possess organs simulating those of both sexes.
108. Heterosis: Heterosis improvement in the offspring resulting from favorable combinations of gene pairs; some times called hybrid vigor
109. Inbreeding: Inbreeding is the mating of related animals
110. Kemp: Kemp is large, chalky while hairs found in the fleece of some breeds of goats, especially the Angora
111. Kid: Kid is a goat under one year of age
112. Kidding: The act of giving birth to a young one
113. Kindling: The act of giving birth to a young one
114. Lamb: Lamb is a young sheep
115. Lambing: The act of giving birth to a young one
116. Legume: Legume is a plant of the family leguminosae that carries its seeds in a pod that splits along its seams; many legumes have nitrogen fixing bacteria in nodules on the roots that can transform nitrogen in the air into a form(NH3) that can be used by the plant; peanuts, soybeans, clovers and alfalfa are common legumes used in agriculture
117. Livestock: Livestock means stocks that are live and are used for production of items for commercial and for domestic consumption. The term livestock includes all animals, birds and all living creatures used for producing items for the use of man. The term livestock production or animal production is used to indicate farm animal production.
118. Mineral: Mineral is a inorganic substance needed in small amounts for proper nutrition
119. Mohair: Mohair is the fleece of the Angora goat
120. Moufflons: Moufflons is a breed of wild sheep believed to be ancestors of some present-day domestic breeds
121. Ovulation: Ovulation is the release of the egg cell from the ovary
122. Ovum: Ovum see egg
123. Palatable: Palatable is the good tasting
124. Parturition: Parturition is the act of giving birth
125. Pedigree: Pedigree the record of the ancestors of an animal
126. Pelleting: Pelleting is the grinding a feed into small particles and then forming it into a small, hard form called a pellet
127. Penis: Penis is the male reproductive organ that contains the urethra and deposits the sperm into the female reproductive tract
128. Phenotype: Phenotype is the physical appearance of an animal
129. Placenta: Placenta in mammals, the structure by which the fetus is nourished in the uterus
130. Polled: Polled is not having horns
131. Protein: Protein is an organic compound made up of amino acids and containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
132. Protozoa: Protozoa is one called animals
133. Puberty: Puberty is the age at which sexual maturity is reached
134. Pulsator: Pulsator is a control unit used with milking equipment to control the action of the inflation in the test cup shell
135. Ram: Ram is a male sheep or lamp that has not been castrated
136. Ram lamb: A male young one
137. Ram or Tup: An adult male sheep used for breeding
138. Rectum: Rectum is the last part of the large intestine
139. Rumen: Rumen is the first and largest compartment of the ruminant stomach
140. Rumen organisms: Rumen organisms is a bacteria found in the rumen of cattle and other ruminant animals
141. Repeatability: Repeatability in dairy cattle, a measure of the confidence that can be placed on the predicted difference being a true measure of a bull’s ability to transmit genetic characteristics
142. Reproduction: Reproduction is the production of offspring
143. Roughage: Roughage is a feed containing more than 18 percent crude fiber when dry; examples, hay, silage, and pasture
144. Ruminant: Ruminant is an animal that has a stomach divided into several compartments; for example, cattle, sheep, goats
145. Rumination: Rumination in ruminants, the process of chewing the cud
146. Scrotum: Scrotum is the saclike part of the male reproductive system outside the body cavity that contains the testicles and the epididymis
147. Seggy: A ram castrated after service.
148. Semen: Semen is the mixture of the seminal and prostate fluid and the sperm
149. Shearing: Removal of wool
150. She-buffalo: An adult female buffalo
151. Slink calf: An aborted calf
152. Staple: Staple is a fiber of materials such as wool, cotton, or flax, either in its natural state or after it has been carded or combed; also refers to the length, fineness, condition, or grade of the fiber
153. Steer: Steer is a male bovine animal that was castrated before reaching sexual maturity
154. Store cattle: They are meant for beef production and more commonly known as the cattle fed for butchers
155. Tagging: Tagging is shearing a ewe around the udder, between the legs, and around the dock; also called crutching
156. Teat: Teat is the outlet for milk produced in the udder
157. Testicles: Testicles is the male organs that produce the sperm cells
158. Testosterone: Testosterone is the male hormone that controls the traits of the male animal
159. Udder: Udder is the milk producing gland of mammals such as cows
160. Urea: Urea is a synthetic nitrogen source that is manufactured from air, water, and carbon
161. Urine: Urine is the liquid waste collected in the bladder
162. Uterus: Uterus is the part of the female reproductive system where the fetus grows; also called the womb
163. Veal: Veal is the calves younger than three months of age sold for slaughter
164. Vitamin: Vitamin is an organic compound needed in small amounts for nutrition
165. Wattle: Wattle is a projection of skin hanging from the chin or throat, especially in poultry and some breeds of goats
166. Wedder or Wether: An adult castrated male sheep.
167. Wether: Wether is a male sheep or goat that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity
168. Yearling: A horse over 1 year and under 2 years of age
169. Yearling bull: An uncastrated male between one and two years
170. Yeld or Eild: A barren or non lactating animal