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Basis of Animal Production > Beef Cattle > Flashcards

Beef Cattle Flashcards

1
Q

What is the origin of beef cattle?

A

Auroch/ Wild bovids

  • several domestication centers
    • Middle east (bos taurus)
    • India (bos indicus)
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2
Q

What are the four major breed groups?

A
  • bos taurus - continental europe
  • bos taurus - great britain
  • bos indicus - india
  • Crosses
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3
Q

What was the original use for cattle?

A

work purposes

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4
Q

How is the breed of beef cattle picked on each farm?

A

by choosing the breed best adapted to that particular region or a similar one

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5
Q

Where did angus cattle originate from?

A

Aberdeenshire (scotland)

- 1700-1800s

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6
Q

What are the characteristics of angus cattle?

A
  • black, smooth hair, polled
  • high-quality carcass
  • well-marbled meat
  • Perform well in feedlots
  • red (recessive gene) -> red angus
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7
Q

Where did Devon and South Devon cattle originate from?

A

SW england

- Red cattle from normandy

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8
Q

What are Devon and South Devon cattle used for?

A

dual purpose (south devon) and meat (devon)

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9
Q

Where did Galloway cattle originate from?

A

old breed from scotland

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10
Q

What are the characteristics of galloway cattle?

A
  • foraging ability

- harsh winters

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11
Q

Where do Hereford cattle originate from? What were they selected for?

A 
County Hereford (england)
- selected for high beef yield
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12
Q

What are the characteristics of hereford cattle?

A
  • white faces, red bodies
  • docile and easily handled
  • used in the ranching system in the western US
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13
Q

Where did highland cattle originate from?

A

Hebrides Islands (scotland)

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14
Q

What are the characteristics of highland cattle?

A
  • small size
  • hardy and good foragers
  • popular in crossbreeding
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15
Q

Where did Red poll cattle originate from and what are their characteristics?

A

NE England (Norfolk and Suffolk)

  • polled and dual purpose
  • high proportion of lean meat
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16
Q

Where did Shorthorn/Polled Shorthorn cattle originate and what are their characteristics?

A

N England (Durhams)

  • Original dual purpose
  • Shorthorns
  • Very adaptable
  • origin of 30 other different breeds
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17
Q

Where did Charolais cattle originate and what are their characteristics?

A

Pays de Charolles (france)

  • very popular world wide
  • white color, pink skin
  • large, heavily muscled breed
  • high carcass yields
  • lean carcass
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18
Q

What are some other continental Europe Beef breeds?

A
  • salers (france)
  • Blond d’Aquitaine (france)
  • Chianina (italy)
  • Gelbvieh (germany)
  • Limousin (france)
  • Pinzgauer (germany)
  • Belgian blue and white (belgium)
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19
Q

Where did the brahman cattle originate?

A
  • SW USA
  • bo indicus type AKA Zebu
  • used for crossing with other breeds
20
Q

What are the characteristics of Brahman cattle?

A
  • Grey or red
  • Heat tolerance
  • Ability to forage on poor pastures
  • Quality carcass
21
Q

What are some other bos indicus breeds?

A

based breeds

  • Nelore (brazil)
  • Afrikaner (south Africa)
22
Q

What are composite breeds used to optimize beef production in harsh lands?

A
  • purebreeds that result from the intentional crosses of other pure breeds
  • designed and selected for a purpose
  • combine hardiness (eg: brahman) with productive performance
23
Q

What are some composite breeds of cattle?

A
  • Beefmaster Hereford, shorthorn and brahman (USA)
  • Bonsmara, afrikaner and shorthorn (south Africa)
  • Braford, brahman and Hereford (USA)
  • Brangus, brahman and Angus (USA)
  • Santa Gertrudis, brahman and shorthorn (USA)
  • Senepol, Red poll and N’dama (US virgin islands)
24
Q

What is the origin of the texas longhorn?

A

Iberian cattle brought to mexico by the spanish

25
What are the characteristics fo texas longhorns?
- adapted to harsh environments of the SW - semi-feral population - slow maturity - tolerant to diseases and parasites - ability to survive on sparse rangelands
26
What are some exotic cattle breeds?
- Wagyu (japan) - Watusi (east africa) - N'dama (west africa)
27
What is the origin of muscle hypertrophy?
- mutation in the myostatin gene (MSTN) which repressed muscular growth
28
What does muscle hypertrophy (mh mutation) cause?
- increase in number of muscle fibers - increase in size of muscle fibers - higher muscle mass - associated to specific breeds (belgian white and blue)
29
What is an inconvenience of muscle hypertrophy?
- heat stress and difficult calving
30
What are the important traits of beef cattle?
- rectangle shape - long-trim, deep-sided body - No excess fat on brisket, fore and hind flanks - no extra hide around throat, dewlap or sheath - heavily muscled forearm - correct muscling throughout the body - maximum development of the round, rump, loin, and rib
31
What are the types of beef production?
- Cow-Calf - Cattle feeders/feedlots - purebred breeders
32
What is cow-calf beef production? + characteristics
- herd of cows bred each year to produce calves - calves sold to cattle feeders - typical of the western states and upper great plains - land unsuitable for crops - dependent on roughages (pasture, hay, and silage) - Cows maintained on pasture with little grain - less labour and lower investment
33
What is cattle-feeders/feedlots? + characteristics
- grow/finish calves till market - operator buys yearling and finishes them in a feedlot - animals are confined and fed on grain - more expensive to run and with high labour costs
34
What is purebred breeders beef production? + characteristics
- keep herds of purebred stock - provide replacement bulls and heifers for cow-calf operations - requires knowledge and skill - high costs
35
How is a cow-calf herd managed?
- aim for one calf a year per cow - use hybrid for vigor - may use AI or bulls (4 bulls per 100 cows) - bulls run with cows for 60 days to have short calving season - calves born in spring and weaned in autumn - cows bred in early summer - pregnancy diagnosis: 60-90 days after breeding season (sell non-pregnant animals)
36
How are calves managed in the cow-calf management system?
- castration - Dehorning - Branding or marking
37
What are the types of castration?
- castration at birth until 4 months - knife (least advised) - Burdizzo pincers (crushes the cords/no open wound) - Elastrator bands (drain blood supply/no open wound)
38
Why are calves dehorned
- less space in feedlots, trucks, etc. - less damage - chemically or physically done
39
Why are calves branded or marked?
- required to ID animal - important for traceability - done with hot iron, freeze branzing - ear tagging or tatto - rumen bolus
40
What are preconditioned calves?
calves that have certificates verifying that they have been: - castrated - dehorned and ID - maintain acurate health record - vaccinated when necessary - weaned 4-6 weeks before sale - de-wormed - other treatments
41
What do feeder cattle lots require that cow-calf operations dont?
- grain and protein concentrates
42
What are the two types/ways to finish the cows?
- finishing immediately (mostly grain) | - Deferred finishing systems (roughage with some grain)
43
How long are cattle fed in finishing immediately systems?
steer calves fed for 275 days, heifers for 230 days - yearling (older animals) 175 (males) or 130 (females) - Suitable for heavier animals/breeds
44
How do deferred finish systems work?
- fed more roughage and less grain - calves bought in autumn and wintered on roughage, small amounts grain fed - calves pastured for 90-120 days during summer - subsequent fall, feedlot for 120-150 days, fully fed on grain - suitable for farms that produce roughages
45
What is used to corral cattle?
- holding pen - working chute - head gate
46
What are the steps of cattle processing?
- transport and unloading - restraint - stunning (w/ captive bolt gun) - bleeding - hide removal - organ removal - chilled overnight and processed

Basis of Animal Production (6 decks)

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