Domestic Animal Science Terminology

Animal Science Terminology

Species Covered

• Bovine: cattle (beef & dairy cattle)
• Ovine: sheep (wool, meat, dual, dairy)
• Caprine: goats (fiber, meat, dairy)
• Porcine: pigs (meat, lard)
• Equine: horses & asses (ponies, light, warm-bloods, draft, donkeys)
• Poultry: chickens & turkeys (layers & broilers)
• Waterfowl: ducks & geese
• Lagomorphs: rabbits
• Camelids: llamas & alpacas
• Feline: domesticated cats
• Canine: domesticated dogs

Bovine - Cattle

• Genus & Species: Bos taurus (temperate & European breeds), Bos indicus (tropical & humped breeds)
• Group: Herd
• Adult Male: Bull
• Adult Female: Cow
• Young Male: Bull Calf
• Young Female: Heifer Calf
• Newborn: Calf
• Castrated Male: Steer
• Yearling Female: Heifer
• Offspring w/Dam: Calf @ Foot or Suckling Calf - Pair
• Birthing: Calving
• Mating: Serving or Breeding
• Other Terms:
  • Open: Not pregnant
  • Fresh: Just after giving birth or “in milk”
  • Springer: A heifer/cow that is soon to calve
  • Freemartin: Heifer born twin to a bull, >95% sterile
  • Veal: Calf until three months of age, also meat from a calf
  • Bullock: A castrated young bull; also a USDA grade for an un-castrated young bull
  • Ox: An adult castrated bull intended to work as a draft animal

Ovine - Sheep

• Genus & Species: Ovis aries
• Group: Flock (2 to 700 head of ewes), Band (700 to 1200 head of ewes)
• Adult Male: Ram, Buck, or Tup
• Adult Female: Ewe
• Young Male: Ram Lamb, Buck Lamb, or Tup Lamb
• Young Female: Ewe Lamb
• Newborn: Lamb
• Castrated Male: Wether
• Offspring w/Dam: Suckling or Nursing Lamb
• Birthing: Lambing
• Mating: Bucking-up, Joining, Breeding, Servicing, or Tupping
• Other Terms:
  • Bummer Lamb: An orphaned lamb
  • Leppy Lamb: An abandoned and now orphaned lamb
  • Hogget: A yearling
  • Open-Faced: Sheep with short hair on face
  • Closed-Face or Wool-Blind: Sheep with wool on the face that must be clipped or eyed out
  • Lamb: A young nursing ovine animal of either sex, and the meat of sheep usually under 14 months of age
  • Mutton: The meat of adult sheep and usually over 14 months of age

Caprine - Goats

• Genus & Species: Capra hircus
• Group: Flock, Trip, or Band
• Adult Male: Billy, Buck, or Billy-goat
• Adult Female: Doe
• Young Male: Buckling
• Young Female: Doeling or Goatling
• Newborn: Kid
• Castrated Male: Wether
• Offspring w/Dam: Suckling Kid
• Birthing: Kidding
• Mating: Bucking-up, Serving, Breeding
• Other Terms:
  • Nanny: A female goat, meaning nurse or nursemaid
  • King: The head billy in a flock
  • Queen: The head doe in a flock
  • Chevon, Cabrito, Capretto, Chivon: Goat meat
  • Chevre: Goat cheese

Porcine - Pigs

• Genus & Species: Sus scrofa
• Group: Herd, Drove, or Stock
• Adult Male: Boar
• Adult Female: Sow
• Young Male: Boar Pig or Boarling
• Young Female: Gilt
• Newborn: Piglet or Pigling
• Castrated Male: Barrow
• Offspring w/Dam: Suckling Pigs
• Birthing: Farrowing
• Mating: Coupling or Breeding
• Other Terms:
  • Shoat: Weaner pig of either sex
  • Pig: A swine weighing less than 120 lbs
  • Hog: A swine weighing more than 120 lbs
  • Stag: A castrated boar after being used for breeding purposes

Equine - Horses

• Genus & Species: Equus caballus
• Group: Herd, Cavy, Remuda, or Band
• Adult Male: Stallion or Stud
• Adult Female: Mare
• Young Male: Colt (Horse Colt)
• Young Female: Filly
• Newborn: Foal
• Castrated Male: Gelding
• Offspring w/Dam: Suckling Foal, or Foal at Side
• Birthing: Foaling
• Mating: Serving or Breeding
• Other Terms:
  • Brood Mare: Female used for breeding
  • Barren Mare: Intact female either never bred or did not conceive, also ‘Open Mare’
  • Maiden Mare: Female never bred
  • “Proud Cut”—Gelding w/ stallion behavior
  • Hand: Standard unit of measurement for equines, equaling 4 inches
  • Pony: Equine less than 14.2 Hands when mature (1 Hand = 4 inches)

Cryptorchidism

• Condition in males (any species) where one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) testicles fail to descend into scrotum
• Can be fertile
• Can be passed on to both male and female offspring

Animal Science and Industry

• Animal industry involves activities in producing animals and their products or benefits to meet human needs.
• Animal science is the study of domestic animals under human control, such as livestock, to understand biological processes that govern growth.

Animal Husbandry

• Animal husbandry is a branch of agriculture concerned with raising animals for meat, fiber, milk, or other products.
• It involves day-to-day care, selective breeding, and livestock raising.

Man, Animal, and Ecosystem

• Meat is a significant source of nutrition for people worldwide, with global demand growing and production tripling over the past 50 years.
• Environmental impacts of meat production include:
  • Increasing greenhouse gas emissions
  • Agricultural land use
  • Freshwater use

Constraints to Animal Production

• Three constraints to improve animal production are:
  • Ecological factors (land topography, soil fertility, temperature, relative humidity, and plant growing season)
  • Biological factors (feed and water supply, animal diseases, and genotype)
  • Socio-economic factors (supply and demand relationship, input-output ratio, prices, religion, culture, tradition, and politics)

Environmental Influences on Animal Production

• Environmental factors that influence animal production include:
  • Feed supply (seasonality of feeds and irrigation water shortage)
  • Light (influences hair growth, with longer day length resulting in shorter hair and longer night length resulting in longer hair)
  • Rainfall and humidity (affects pasture growth and animal size)
  • Temperature (affects growth and reproduction efficiency, with higher temperatures affecting animal size and body parts)

Animals and their Economic Utility

• Animals have economic utility due to their ability to:
  • Convert plants and other materials into human food
  • Provide products with chemical compositions similar to human dietary requirements, making them more digestible and nutritious

Contributions of Livestocks and Poultry

• Livestocks and poultry contribute to agricultural development by:
  • Providing good quality protein sources
  • Serving as draft power
  • Acting as food reserves
  • Facilitating capital accumulation
  • Adding value through conversion of forage, industrial wastes, and household refuse into high-value products
  • Providing manure as nutrients for plants, fuel, and building materials
  • Offering equity for landless farmers
  • Reducing risk through livestock sales
  • Contributing to gross domestic product and export earnings

Animal Agriculture and Human Population

• By 2021, pork was forecasted to be the most consumed type of meat in the Philippines, with an average consumption of approximately 15 kilograms per person per annum.

Inventory of the Philippine Livestock and Poultry

• Swine industry:
  • Total swine inventory as of March 2022: 9.68 million heads
  • Highest swine population in Western Visayas
• Cattle industry:
  • Total cattle inventory as of March 2022: 2.54 million heads
  • Highest cattle population in Central Visayas
• Carabao industry:
  • Total carabao inventory as of March 2022: 2.78 million heads
  • Highest carabao population in Bicol Region
• Dairy industry:
  • Total dairy animal population as of January 2016: 44,432 heads
  • Dairy cattle stocks grew by 8.95%
• Goat industry:
  • Total goat inventory as of March 2022: 3.91 million heads
  • Highest goat population in Central Visayas
• Chicken industry:
  • Total chicken inventory as of March 2022: 187.66 million birds
  • Highest chicken population in Central Luzon
• Duck industry:
  • Total duck laying flock inventory as of March 2022: 6.69 million birds
  • Highest duck laying flock population in Central Luzon

Test your knowledge of common and scientific names for domesticated farm animals. Learn about the principles of animal science and their importance in veterinary sciences.