Download Beef Cattle Dairy Cattle Goats Sheep

Animal Unit (AU): A unit of measurement of livestock, 1 AU = 1,000 lbs.
Livestock: Any domestic animal produced or kept primarily for farm, ranch, or market
purposes, including beef and dairy cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, and horses.
Ruminants: Animals having a stomach with four compartments. Their digestive process is
more complex, therefore, than that of animals having a true stomach. Some commonly known
ruminants are cattle, sheep and goats; an example of a true stomach animal is the pig.
Beef Cattle
Bull – Mature male animal
Steer – Mature castrated male animal
Cow – Mature female animal
Calf - Young up to yearling or sexual maturity animal
Heifer - Young (> 3 years) female of species that has not borne a
calf.
Calving – Term for birth
Dairy Cattle
Same as Above
Dry Cow - A cow that is not producing milk, the period before the next
calving and lactation.
CWT - Hundredweight or 100 pounds.
Grade A Dairy - A dairy that produces market milk (for human drinking
purposes) under state approved sanitation conditions according to state
controlled pooling laws. Milking barn and milk-handling equipment
must meet certain State regulations.
Grade B Dairy - A dairy that produces milk for use in making cheese, ice cream and condensed
and powdered milk. Sanitation requirements are not as strict as for Grade A production. The milk
cannot be sold for fresh market consumption.
Goats
Buck/Billy – Mature Male Goat
Doe/Nanny – Mature Female Goat
Kid – Young Goat, up to yearling or sexual maturity
(Buckling-Male Kid) (Doeling- Female Kid)
Kidding – Term for birth
Sheep
Ram – Mature Male Sheep
Wether – Castrated Mature Male Sheep
Ewe – Mature Female Sheep
Lamb – Young Sheep, up to yearling or sexual maturity
Lambing – Term for birth
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Swine
Boar - A breeding male hog, any age.
Barrow - Castrated mature male
Sow - Mature female hog.
Gilt - Young (less than 3 years) female that has not borne a litter.
Piglets – Young swine born in litters
Farrowing - Term for birth
Poultry
Rooster- A mature male chicken.
Hen – Mature Female Chicken
Pullet - A female chicken less than 1 year old.
Chicks - Young chickens
Broiler- A chicken used for meat of either sex about 7 weeks of age.
Layer- A female chicken producing eggs regularly. A good layer should produce between
19 and 20 dozen eggs in 12 months.
Roaster- A young meat bird, 12 to 16 weeks old weighing 4 to 6 pounds, used for pan
roasting.
Horses
Stallion – Mature Male horse
Gelding- A male horse that has been castrated
Mare - Mature female horse.
Foal – Young horse of either sex
Filly – Young female horse
Colt – Young male horse
Foaling – Term for birth
Shannon Dill
Ag Educator
Email: [email protected]
Talbot County Cooperative Extension
342-C N. Aurora Street
P.O. Box 519
Easton, MD 21601
Tel: 410-822-1244
Fax: 410-822-5627
It is the policy of the University of Maryland, Agricultural Experiment Station and Maryland Cooperative Extension, that no person shall be subjected to
discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, or disability.
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