| A | B |
|---|
| calf crop | % of calves produced in a herd relative to the number of females that were exposed at the beginning of the breeding year |
| cervix | neck of the uterus; serves as a passageway for the sperm at breeding time and for the calf as it is being born |
| steer | castrated male calf |
| wean | To take the calf from its mother; usually 6-8 months of age |
| afterbirth | membrane in which the calf develops and through which is receives nourishment |
| feeder calf | a young calf, 5-9 months of age, that is weaned and started on a feeding program |
| structural soundness | condition of the skeleton, esp feet and legs |
| external parasites | parasites that live on the outside of animals...ex flies, lice, ticks |
| immunity | when the body builds up a resistance from a disease organism |
| reticulum | Honeycomb compartment retains foreign materials that could injure the digestive system; called the hardware stomach |
| superovulation | process of treating a cow with hormones to cause her to release several eggs from an ovary at one time; eggs are then fertilized and later removed and placed into recipient cows (called embryo transfer) |
| prostaglandin | compound that is naturally produced in the reproductive system of the cow; also produced commercially and used to synchronize estrus |
| goiter | Disease caused by deficienty of iodine |
| carbohydrates | nutrient group which includes starch, sugar and cellulose |
| scours | Persistent diarrhea is known as what |
| resistance | protection from a disease organism |
| pigeon toed | toes turn in toward each other; more problematic than splayfooted |
| hormone | body-regulating chemical secreted by a gland into the blood stream |
| market steer | finished cattle that are ready for marketing |
| dressing % | proportion of carcass wt relative to live wt of an animal; 63% for beef |
| nutrients | ingredients that make up a ration |
| adjusted 205 day wt | The weaning wt of a calf adjusted to 205 days of age and for the age of the dam |
| flight zone | the animals safety zone |
| conception | when the egg from the female and the sperm from the bull join and begin for form a calf embryo |
| embryo transfer | surgically removing fertilized eggs from a donor cow and placing them in a recipient cow |
| cecum | pouch found at junction of small and large intestine |
| anemia | Iron deficiency |
| medium priced cuts | chuck, round |
| cud | bolus (ball) of feed that cattle regurgitate from the rumen and chew; helps digest feed |
| protein | dietary nutrient that supplies amino acids to the calf |
| gestation | period of time from when the cow conceives until she calves; usually around 283 days in beef |
| heredity | passing on of genetic or physical traits of parents to offspring |
| semen | sperm mixed with fluids from the accessory glands of the male |
| free choice | allowing cattle to have access to feed at all times |
| lactation | process of producting milk |
| pedigree | summary of ancestral names of 3-5 generations |
| registered cattle | cattle of a certain breed that are registered by having the animal's name, and parent's names/numbers recorded by the breed association |
| progeny | offspring of animals |
| abortion | premature expulstion of undeveloped fetus |
| fat thickness | typical linear measurement of fat taken over the rib eye between the 12th & 13th rib |
| TDN total digestible nutrients | estimate of the energy requirements; used to formulate rations and show feed values of different types of feed |
| vulva | External opening to the female reproductive system |
| castrate | to remove the testes from a bull so that it cannot reproduce |
| breech birth | backwards |
| stillborn | The name given to fully developed baby animals found dead at birth or in the afterbirth |
| purebred | animal whose parents are from the same breed |
| phenotype | characteristics of an animal that can be seen or measured |
| club calf | special type of feeder calf which is though to have excellent potential |
| brood cow | female kept to produce calves |
| progeny | offspring |
| pin bones | bones on either side of the tailhead |
| wholesale cuts | chuck, rib, loin, round, shank, brisket, plate and flank |
| microminerals | elements needed in small quantities |
| palatability | degree to which an animal likes its feed |
| genetics | passing on of genetic or physical traits of parents to offspring |
| low priced cuts | brisket, flank, plate, shank |
| heterozygous | carrying unlike genes for the same trait |
| open cow | cow or heifer that isn't pregnant |
| minerals | elements required by cattle to build bones and teeth and to support other life processes |
| withdrawal time | Period of time that must elapse b/t last treatment and harvest of the animal |
| pathogen | an agent that can cause disease |
| exotic breed | breed of cattle which originated on the continent of Europe |
| sire | father of a calf (bull) |
| heterosis | the amt by which crossbred animals exceed the avg for the two purebreds that are crossed to produce the crossbreds |
| recessive gene | gene that affects the way an animal looks (phenotype) when present as a homozygous pair. must be passed from both parents to be expressed in the offspring |
| sire summary | published results of national sire evaluation programs that compare sires on different economically important traits |
| internal parasite | parasites that live inside the body; ex. stomach worms, tape worms, liverflukes |
| performance pedigree | pedigree that includes performance records |
| crossbreeding | mating of animals of different breeds; takes advantage of heterosis |
| accuracy | Amt of reliability that can be placed on a trait that is being evaluated. Expressed as a figure from 0.0 to 1.0--closer to 1.0 is more reliable |
| breeding season | Period of time when the females are bred by the herd bull or thru AI |
| heterozygous | carrying unlike genes for the same trait |
| creep feeding | supplementing calves with feed while they are still nursing their mother |
| replacement heifer | female that is being kept for use in the breeding herd |
| postpartum interval | time from calving until a cow rebreeds; must be 80 days or less to maintain 365 day calving interval |
| ionophores | feed additives used to increase growth and feed efficiency |
| feedlot | cattle facility which feeds immature beef cattle to the point of harvest |
| MPPA Most Probable Producing Ability | an estimate of a cow's future productivity for a trait, such as her calves' weaning wt, based on past productivity |
| fertility | description of how productive a breeding animal will be in terms of reproductive abilities |
| abomasum | 4th compartment of the stomach; true stomach; digestion occurs here |
| ovulation | the time when the egg is released from the ovary; 10-16 hours after standing heat in cows |
| rib eye area | surface area of the longissimus dorsi muscle between the 12th/13th rib of a carcass |
| frame score | way of estimating what wt cattle will be when they have reached slaughter condition; based on age and hip height |
| buck-kneed | when the calf is "over at the knees" or buck kneed, full extension of the knee can't occur when observed from the side |
| embryo | term for the fertilized egg during the early part of pregnancy |
| feed concentrate | grain mixtures such as corn, oats and soybean meal fed in a ration |
| conformation | general shape or structure of a beef animal's build |
| feed conversion (feed efficiency) | measurement of the amt of feed an animal must eat to gain one pound |
| gene | basic unit of heredity found in pairs on chromosomes |
| dystocia | birthing difficulty |
| estrogen | hormone that brings a female into heat and prepares her for breeding |
| parturition | act of giving birth |
| diet | nutritionally balanced mixture of feed ingredients |
| estrous cycle | reproductive cycle of the female that prepares an egg for fertilization; 21 days in cows |
| F1 | offspring that result from mating a purebred bull to a purebred female of another breed |
| seam fat | fat found between muscles |
| pins | What is the common name of the bones located to either side of the tailhead on a heifer or cow |
| splayfooted | feet toe out away from each other |
| forages | plants used as feed for livestock |
| retained ownership | practice of a feeder calf producer that keeps or retains his cattle until they are ready for harvest |
| line breeding | form of inbreeding in which an attempt is made to concentrate the inheritance of an outstanding ancestor in a herd |
| ruminant | animal that has 4 stomach compartments |
| fertilization | the time when the male sperm fertilizes the female egg |
| dehorn | to remove the horns from an animal |
| out crossing | mating of individuals that are less closely related than the avg of the the breed; used to introdude new unrelated sires to the herd |
| antibiotics | substances made from organisms that can kill bacteria; they are used to fight diseases caused by bacteria |
| calf | young beef animal less than 1 year old |
| heritability | amt of differences among cattle measured or observed that is transmitted to the offspring |
| genotype | genetic composition of an animal |
| host | What is the name for the animal upon which a parasite lives |
| custom feeding | cattle producers that maintain ownership of their feeder cattle but place them on feed at another operator's feedlot until they're ready for slaughter |
| inbreeding | production of offspring from parents more closely related that the avg of a population; increases proportion of homozygous genes, prepotency and uncovers recessive genes (desirable and not desirable) |
| marbling | the fat within the muscle |
| quarantine | Separation of sick animals from healthy ones or when bringing new animals home |
| cryptorchid | one or more of the testicles is retained in the body cavity |
| estrus | the part of the estrous cycle when a female may be successfully bred; occurs just before the ripened egg is released from the ovary and is ready to be fertilized by the sperm cell |
| homozygous | carrying identical genes for the same trait |
| high priced cuts | loin, rib |
| roughage | coarse or bulky feeds that are high in fiber (corn silage, pasture, hay) |
| EPD expected progeny difference | the estimate of how future offspring of a sire are expected to perform in various traits; expressed in pounds (lbs.) |
| standing heat | window of time during estrus (heat) when a female is receptive to mating |
| heat | another name for estrus; part of reproductive cycle where female can be successfully bred |
| bloat | Abnormal condition of ruminants due to accumulation of gasses; usually seen on the animal's upper left side |
| anemia | Condition caused by iron deficiency |
| residue | amt of a substance that remains in an animal's body tissue after exposure to a substance (such as feed or water additive, injectable or external treatment or by accident) |
| sickle hocked | hock has too much angle or set; animal stands too far underneath itself |
| bloom | desirable condition of skin and hair coat |
| legume | non-grass plant that produces nitrogen in its roots; higher in protein and minerals |
| preconditioning | systematic method of reducing stress; includes vaccinating, treating for parasites, weaning, castrating and dehorning |
| placenta | Membrane in which the calf develops and through which it receives nourishment |
| sperm | male sex cells produced in the testicles |
| cutability | % of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts from the round, loin, rib and chuck |
| sibling | brother or sister of an individual |
| AI | placing the semen from a bull into a cow's reproductive tract using an artificial method |
| heat synchronization | technique using hormones to bring a group of females into heat at the same time to be able to breed all of them in a short period of time |
| KPH fat percentage | amt of fat contained in the regions of the kidney pelvis and heart relative to the carcass wt |
| ratio | indication of how well or how poorly cattle compare in a certain trait to others in a group |
| progesterone | female hormone that maintains pregnancy in the female |
| quality grade | factors associated with palatability characteristics of the edible portion of meat |
| zoonotic diseases | diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans |
| carcass traits | characteristics of cattle such as muscling & leanness which can be estimated on live animals but only accurately measured on carcasses |
| hybrid vigor | same as heterosis; the amt by which crossbred animals exceed the avg of the two purebred |
| maternal breed | breeds primarily used for brood cows in a cow/calf herd |
| dominanat gene | gene that determines the way an animal looks |
| finish | amount of fat cover on an animal |
| yield grade | refers to the % of a carcass which can be sold as boneless meat. 5 yld grades are 1,2,3,4,5 (1 is highest yld and most desirable) |
| dam | mother of a calf |
| ration | daily mixture of feed ingredients given to cattle |
| rickets | Diseased caused by lack of Vitamin D; leads to soft bones |
| dual-purpose breed | a breed which can be raised for beef as well as milk production |
| supplement | feed ingredient added to the ration or provided to the cattle free choice |
| ovary | famle organ that produces eggs; two in the female reproductive tract |
| retail cuts | cuts of meat that the consumer buys at the meat counter |
| colostrum | The first milk a newborn animal that giveimmunity to disease; contains antibodies |
| grass tetany | Disease caused by deficienty of magnesium |
| dressing percentage | Carcass weight divided by live weight and multiplied by 100 equals what |
| bull | an intact (non-castrated) male |
| parasites | organisms that live off another organism |
| postlegged | hock has too little angle or set. animal is too straight in the joint, resulting in stiff constricted movement; more problematic than sickle hocked |
| backgrounding | Practice of grazing cattle up to about 800 pounds b4 placing them on a high concentrate finishing diet in a feedlot. Cattle are fed to gain approx 1. to 1.5 lbs./day during backgrounding |
| terminal sire | sire used in a commercial herd where all calves will be sold |
| heifer | young female beef animal that hasn't calved |
| dark cutter | condition in which the lean meat of a beef carcass has a darker than normal color. Due to stressed conditions prior to processing; lead to acidic pH (metallic flavor and shorter shelf life) |
| hooks | hip bones |
| uterus | female reproductive organ where the embryo develops during pregnancy |
| polled breed | cattle that do not grow horns |
| chromosome | molecules where genes are located. Cattle have 30 pair |
| calf kneed | Calf stands "back at the knee" when viewed from the side |
| freemartin | female calf born twin to a bull; 90% are infertile |
| estrus synchronization | management practice that manipulates reproductive processes so that an entire group comes into heat at one time |
| calving ease | refers to the lack of difficulty in giving birth |
| vitamins | Dietary nutrients needed in very small amts for the health of eyes, nasal passages & lungs, for strong bones, for blood clotting and other body functions |
