| A | B |
|---|
| Accelerated Lambing | The management schedule in which individual ewes lamb more than once per year |
| Acute Disease | A disease which is rapid in onset and usually short induration |
| Chronic Disease | A disease which develops slowly and runs a prolonged course |
| Anaerobic | Environment that contains no oxygen |
| Anthelmintic | A chemical treatment that kills internal parasites, a dewormer |
| Bacterin | A type of vaccine that is made of killed, whole, bacterial cells, sometimes combined with a toxoid |
| Bale | A compressed pack of wool in a convenient form for transit, varying in weight from 150 pounds to 1000 pounds |
| Biosecurity | Those management practices designed to prevent introduction of disease agents to a flock and those practices that prevent spread of disease within a flock |
| Breeding Value - BV | Genetic effects that are consistently transmitted from parents to progeny |
| Campylobacteriosis | Type of infectious abortion also called vibiosis |
| Casein | The most important protein found in milk |
| CC = CM3 = ML | A common unit of measure for fluids used in treatments, equivalent to one millileter (ml). |
| Chlamydiosis | Type of infectious abortion. The most common abortion disease experienced by the sheep industry. |
| Clinical Symptoms | Signs of disease are apparent from observation of the animal |
| Coronary Band | The junction between the hoof wall and the skin above the hoof |
| COOL | Country of Origin Labeling - refers to the law that says meat must be identified by country of origin |
| Ecoli | Disease that affects lambs in the first five to seven days of life causing watery, yellow diarrhea, dehydration, and rapid death |
| Edema | The accumulation of abnormal amounts of fluid in the tissue of the body |
| Encephalitis | Inflammation of the brain usually with severe signs, such as fever, incoordination, and convulsions |
| Enteritis | An inflammation of the intestinal tract |
| Enzyme | A type of protein that facilitates a metabolic reaction |
| Epistasis | Interaction among genes at different loci. The expression of genes at one locus may be influenced by genese present at another locus |
| Euthanasia | The induction of death in an animal quickly and painlessly |
| Facing | Correcting wool blindless by removing wool from face |
| F-Gene | Gene that has major control of prolificacy |
| Flushing | Management practice of improving a ewe's plane of nutrition just prior to mating to improve ovulation rate |
| Gastroenteritis | An inflammation of the stomach and intestine |
| Generation Interval | The average time lapse between birth of an animal and birth of its replacement |
| Grafting | Fostering a lamb onto a ewe that is not its natural mother |
| Grease Wool | Wool in its natural state |
| Gummer | Stage in a sheep's life when they have no teeth at all |
| Immunity | Natural or acquired resistance of the animal to 'germs' or factors causing the disease |
| Infection | Invasion of the body by harmful bacteria, viruses, or parasites other than insects |
| Infectious Disease | Disease caused by infectious agents, such as bacteria and viruses, commonly referred to as germs. Can be treated with antibiotics |
| Inflammation | A basic response of the body to an injury, irritation, or infection; it is characterized by heat, redness, swelling and pain |
| Infestation | The invasion of the body by insects |
| Integumentary Disease | Disease affecting the skin, hooves, or horns |
| International Unit (IU) | Unit of measurement of the potency or biological activity of vitamins and drugs |
| Intramuscular Injection (IM) | An injection into the heavy muscle tissue |
| IP | Interperitoneal (refers to abdominal cavity) |
| Intravenous Injection (IV) | An injection directly into the bloodstream (usually through the jugular vein) |
| Iodine | Disinfectant used on navels of newborns that helps dry up the navel, thus destroying the passageway into the body of the lamb. Veterinary tincture of iodine contains 7% iodine, while common tincture of iodine for humans contains 2% iodine |
| Joint Ill | Infected joints, also called Erysipelas |
| Jug | A small pen for the ewe and the newborn lamb that facilitates ewe/lamb bonding and care of the lamb |
| Keds | Bloodsucking wingless flies (ticks) that pierce the skin causing serious damage to pelts |
| Keratin | Protein found in wool fiber |
| Ketones | Compounds found in the blood of pregnant sheep suffering from pregnancy toxemia |
| Lactation | The period of time in which ewe is producing milk |
| Lanolin | Purified wool grease |
| Laparoscopy | Surgical method of artificial insemination that deposits semen directly into the uterus |
| Lasalocid | An inophore approved for prevention of cocidiosis of lambs in confinement |
| Libido | Amount of interest a ram has in mating ewes |
| Marking Harness | Strap or rope harness containing a colored marker that is placed on a ram during breeding season to determine cycling activity of ewe flock, monitor breeding activity of ram, and predict lambing dates |
| Mastitis | Inflammation of the mammary gland resulting in reduced milk production |
| Micrometer | A unit of measurement, used commercially to express the average fiber diameter |
| Micron | Unit of measurement, equals 1/1,000,000 of a meter or 1/25,000 of an inch. Used in defining wool grades |
| Mineral | Inorganic substance found naturally in all body cells, tissues and fluids |
| Mouthing | Management technique used to determine age by counting the number of permanent teeth |
| Necropsy | A thorough examination of dead animal including examination of the internal organ systems and often diagnostic testing of tissues and specimens |
| Nutritional Disease | Usually due to lack or excess of required nutrients such as in malnutrition, obesity, vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies and toxicities |
| Out-of-Season Lambing | The act of producing lambs in the summer or fall |
| Ovary | Female reproductive organ responsible for producing ova (eggs) |
| Oviduct | Region of the female reproductive tract between the ovary and uterus containing the site of fertilization |
| Ovulation | The process in which egg is released from the ovary |
| Oxytocin | Peptide hormone that is released from the pituitary and that stimulates uterine contractions |
| Packer | Those who slaughter and process lambs |
| Parturition | A complex process which results in delivery of the fetus from the uterus. Also know as 'lambing' |
| Pessary | A sponge or sponge-like device impregnated with hormones that is temporarily placed in the ewe's vagina to release those hormones. Usually used to control the estrous cycle |
| Phenotype | The expression of the genotype that can be observed or measured |
| Photoperiod | A ratio of hours of light to the hours of dark |
| Pinkeye | Highly contagious disease that affects the eyes of sheep |
| Placenta | A sac-like tissue that contains the fetus during its development and connects the fetus to the dam |
| Pneumonia | A type of respiratory disease that attacks lungs |
| Postpartum Interval | The amount of time between birth of lamb(s) and rebreeding. |
| Ppm | Parts per million; about 1 gram per ton |
| Pre-conditioning | Preparing suckling lambs for feeding prior to transport to a feedlot. May include weaning, vaccinating, worming, starting lambs on feed, and shearing |
| Predation | The act of killing and eating livestock by a carnivorous animal |
| Predator | An animal that satisfies some or all of its nutritional requirements by killing and feeding on other animals |
| Pregnancy Toxemia | Metabolic disease of pregnant ewes generally caused by diet deficient in energy during late pregnancy |
| Prepotent | Animals that are homozygous for a specific trait and breed true |
| Prescription Drugs | Drugs that can only be purchased after authorization by a veterinarian |
| Progeny | Offspring |
| Progesterone | Hormone secreted by corpus luteum on the ovary following ovulation |
| Prolificacy | Measure of reproductive efficiency expressed in number of lambs born per ewe lambing |
| Prostaglandin | A series of compounds that are released by most cells in the body. Two prostaglandins (PGF 2o and PGE2) are involved in reproductive functions |
| Protected Species | Animal or plant species protected from killing, trapping, or collection under the federal Endangered Species Act or other state and local regulations |
| Protein Supplement | Feedstuffs or mixture of feedstuffs that contain a high level of protein. Fed to animals in addition to their base diet |
| Qualitative Traits | Discrete traits controlled by a few alleles at one or a few loci and influenced little or none by the environment |
| Quantitative Traits | Traits influenced by many alleles at several loci that have a continuous expression and are affected by the environment |
| Quarantine | Physical isolation of diseased and exposed animals |
| Ratio | A method used to compare genetic value of animals within a contemporary group. Computed by dividing the animals' own performance by the average performance of its contemporaries and multiplying that result by 100 |
| Ration | Mixture of feedstuffs fed to animals |
| Recessive | In a heterozygous gene pair, it is the allele that does not express itself. In a homozygous gene pair, both genes can be recessive. It is usually denoted by lower case letters |
| Rectal Prolapse | Condition (caused by high concentrate feeding, short docking and continuous coughing) in which the rectum protrudes from the anal opening |
| Replacement Rate | Rate at which ewes are replaced in a flock |
| Retail Cuts | Those cuts of meat that are sold to consumers |
| Reticulum | Second stomach of a ruminant containing microbial population that is capable of breaking down forages and roughages |
| Rickets | Disease characterized by soft and deformed bones |
| Ridgling | Male sheep in which one or both testes are retained in the abdomen. A cryptorchid |
| Ring womb | A condition characterized by failure of the ewe's cervix to dilate at parturition |
| Rouphage | Fibrous feedstuffs such as straw, cottonseed hulls, and other plant by-products |
| Rumen | Large first compartment of a ruminant's stomach containing microbial population that is capable of breaking down forages and rouphages |
| Ruminant | Group of animals that chew their cud and characteristically have a four-compartment stomach |
| Salmonellosis | Serious disease of feeder lambs characterized by gastroenteritis, diarrhea, septicemia and death |
| Scouring | The removal of grease, soil, and suint from wool by washing with water, soap, and alkali |
| Scours | Diarrhea |
| Scrapie | Slow, progressive disease of the central nervous system |
| Scrotal Circumference | The distance around the ram's testes, measured at the largest point |
| Self Fed | Method of feeding animals from hoppers, automated auger systems or open troughs allowing lambs free access to feed at all times |
| Semen | Fluid containing sperm that is secreted by male reproductive organ |
| Septicemia | Presence and growth of disease-causing bacteria in the blood stream |
| Set-Stocking | Grazing method in which animals remain on a pasture for an extended period of time. Also called 'Continuous Grazing' |
| Shearing | The removing of the wool from sheep |
| Shrink | The loss of body weight associated with transporting animals or carcasses during marketing |
| Silage | Green forage preserved in a silo or air-tight bag |
| Sire | The father |
| Skirting | The practice of removing from fleeces the stained or inferior wool such as grows on the belly and legs of the sheep |
| Slime Graft | Grafting method in which the ewe's fluids and membranes are rubbed on the lamb just before lambing |
| Sore mouth | Highly contagious (also to man), viral infection that causes scabs around the mouth, nostrils, and eyes and may affect udders of lactating ewes |
| Sort Gate | A small, hinged gate at the end of a sorting chute that allows sheep to be sorted into two or three directions |
| Sperm | The male reproductive cell. Combines with the ovum during fertilization for development of a new individual |
| Spider Syndrome | Genetic condition in which lambs have severe bone deformities throughout their entire skeleton |
| Stanchion Graft | Grafting method in which ewe is placed in set of stocks where she can eat and drink but no turn to see the lambs and must allow lambs to nurse |
| Staple | Refers to the length of the fiber, but in a more restricted sense it is used for a lock of wool in the fleece |
| STAR System | Accelerated lambing system in which ewes can lamb five times in three years |
| Stillborn | A fetus which is fully mature but dead at birth |
| Stocking Rate | The number of animals in a grazing unit over a period of time |
| Structural Soundness | To be free of structural defects that might affect an animal's ability to feed and reproduce |
| Sub-clinical | Signs of disease that are not apparent by observation of the animal |
| Subcutaneous Injection (SQ) | Injection given just beneath the skin |
| Superovulation | A hormonal procedure to increase the number of ovulations from an ovary |
| Systemic Disease | Disease where more than one portion of the body is affected - often the whole body of one or more systems |
| Tagging | Practice of shearing wool off udder and dock region |
| Tags | Trade term for dung locks, floor sweepings, or stained pieces of wool |
| Teaser Ram | Management practice that uses surgically sterilized rams to stimulate some ewes to begin cycling |
| Terminal Sire | Ram whose lambs all go to market as slaughter lambs |
| Testicles | Male reproductive organs that produce and store semen |
| Testosterone | The primary steroid produced by the male reproductive tract necessary for sperm cell production |
| Ticks | Wingless, bloodsucking insects that infest during the summer |
| Toxemia | General symptoms due to the absorption of bacterial toxins from a local site of infection |
| Toxicant | Poison substance used to kill predators |
| Toxin | A poison produced by a plant or animal as distinguished from simple chemical poisons such as lead, arsenic, or cyanide |
| Toxoid | A chemically modified form of a toxin that is used in a vaccine to stimulate an immune response |
| Toxoplasmosis | Type of infectious abortion caused by small organism which infects the intestinal tract of young cats |
| Trace Minerals ™ | Minerals that are required in very small amounts |
| Trait | Characteristic of animal |
| Trauma | Injury to lambs (usually newborns) including broken ribs, broken backs, ruptured livers and spleens, and suffocating |
| Ultrasound | High-frequency sound waves used to evaluate pregnancy and body composition |
| United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | Division of the federal government that enforces regulations related to agriculture |
| Urea | A small non-protein nitrogen compound that can be fed to sheep to produce tissue protein. Also is excreted by sheep to eliminate ammonia wastes |
| Urinary Calculi (Urolithiasis) | Metabolic disease of male lambs characterized by the formation of stones within the urinary tract. It is caused primarily by an imbalance of dietary calcium and phosphorus |
| Uterine Prolapse | Protrusion of the uterus following lambing |
| Uterus | Region of the female reproductive tract that contains the fetus during gestation |
| Vaccination | Injection , given to healthy animals, used to stimulate prolonged immunity to specific diseases |
| Vaccine | A preparation of whole organisms, or parts of organisms, used to stimulate a protective immune response in an animal |
| Vaginal Prolapse | Protrusion of the vagina in ewes in late pregnancy |
| Value Added | The additional worth of products which comes from processing |
| Viscera | Internal organs of an animal |
| Vitamin | Small, organic compounds, necessary for proper metabolism, that are found in feed in minute amounts. Deficiencies result in distinct diseases or syndromes |
| Vulva | The external genitalia of the female reproductive tract |
| Zoonotic Disease | A disease which is transmitted between animals and people (pl. zoonoses). |
