LIVESTOCK VOCABULARY

abomasum. the fourth or true stomach of a ruminant, where most digestion takes place.

anthrax. a frequently fatal blood poisoning disease of cattle, sheep, and goats (pigs to a lesser degree) that is highly contagious and characterized by dark, bloody discharges from mouth, nose, and rectum.

boar. a male hog or pig.

buck. a male goat.

bummer. an orphaned lamb.

cloven-footed. having feet that are divided by clefts.

crossbreed. a cross between two different breeds; a hybrid.

crutching. trimming the wool around a ewe’s udder and flanks.

cud. regurgitated food chewed a second time and then reswallowed, part of the natural digestive process of ruminants.

cull. to remove an undesirable animal from a herd.

dam. the mother of a pig, cow, sheep, or goat.

dewlap. a loose fold of skin hanging from the neck of some breeds of cattle.

disbud. to dehorn. Also known as to poll.

dock. to bob or cut off the end of a tail, usually of lambs for health reasons.

double-muscled. of some breeds of cattle, having bulging muscles and a rounded rump, supplying greater meat than other breeds.

elastration. livestock castration method in which a rubber band is wound tightly around the scrotum to cut off blood supply, ultimately resulting in the death, drying up, and falling off of the testicles.

estrus. the period when the female is sexually receptive to the male, or in heat.

ewe. a female sheep.

facing. trimming the wool around a ewe’s face.

farrow. a litter of pigs; to give birth to such a litter.

flock book. a register of purebred sheep.

flushing. a method of increasing fertility in animals by increasing their feed a few weeks prior to breeding.

fodder. various coarse foods for livestock, including cornstalks, hay, and straw.

foot-and-mouth disease. a long-lasting, highly contagious disease of cloven-footed animals characterized by fever and blisters in the mouth and around the hooves and teats.

gilt. a young sow who has not yet produced a litter.

grade. an animal with one purebred parent and one grade or scrub.

heat. the period of sexual arousal in animals, especially the estrus of females.

heifer. a young cow yet to produce young.

herdbook. a register of cattle or hog breeds.

hircine. like a goat; pertaining to goats.

kid. a young goat.

listeriosis. a brain inflammation disease in cattle, sheep, and goats associated with corn silage feeding and characterized by facial paralysis, a “depressed” look, and aimless wandering or walking in tight circles. Also known as circling disease.

mad cow disease. a disease of cattle, caused by proteins called prions, which clog brain cells. The prions are spread through the ingestion of infected tissue from a cow’s nervous system and are not destroyed by cooking the meat after slaughter.

mange. dermatitis caused by mite infestation, characterized by itching and wrinkling of the skin. Also known as barn itch.

mastitis. a common disease of sows, dairy goats, and dairy cattle, characterized by reduced milk flow, fever, lack of appetite, and a hot, swollen udder.

omasum. the third stomach of a ruminant.

ovine. like a sheep; pertaining to sheep.

pedigree. a written record or registry of the ancestry of an animal. Also, the registration certificate itself.

poll. to cut off or cut short the horns.

pollard. an animal with its horns removed.

porcine. like a pig; pertaining to a pig or hog.

purebred. an animal from two registered parents or from unmixed descent.

ram. a male sheep.

reticulum. the second stomach of a ruminant.

rumen. the first stomach of a ruminant.

ruminant. any of the cud-chewing animals, including cattle, sheep, and goats.

ruminate. to chew the cud.

rutting. sexual excitement of the male.

scours. severe diarrhea suffered by livestock animals.

scrub. an animal of unknown or unimproved ancestry.

service. to stud.

silage. green fodder stored in a silo.

sire. to father an animal; the father of an animal.

sow. an adult female pig.

stud. a male used for breeding.

swine. collective term for pigs or hogs.

switch. the hairy part of a tail.

taurine. like a bull; pertaining to bulls.

tribe. closely related families within a breed.

ungulate. any animal with hooves.

yearling. a newly born sheep or goat.

By Marc McCutcheon in "Descriptionary -A Thematic Dictionary", third edition, Facts On File Inc., New York, 2005, excerpts pp. 13-14. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

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