Beef industry terminology Flashcards
Average daily gain
- ADG
- daily live weight increases in growing animals
- expressed in kg or lb per day
- genetic potential
- farmers have ADG goals
- can indicate health
Balance ration
- the 24 hour feed allowance
- is a diet often made by a nutritionalist
- provides animal with proper amounts and proportions of nutrients for a given performance
- is a mix of foods (no one food is enough)
Balance ration
- the 24 hour feed allowance
- is a diet often made by a nutritionalist
- provides animal with proper amounts and proportions of nutrients for a given performance
- is a mix of foods (no one food is enough)
Describe bloat
- distension of the upper left side of the abdomen
- can be from a fast diet change, obstruction, nerve damage
- accumulation of gas
Bred
- Implies that she’s pregnant
- has mated with a male
Bred
- Implies that she’s pregnant
- has mated with a male
Breed
- an animal descended from common ancestors
- common characteristics passed on to succeeding generations
Bull
- intact male bovine
- usually fertile
Bull
- intact male bovine
- usually fertile
Calf
- male or female bovine
- in beef cows it’s under a year old (in dairy it’s around weaning)
Calf crop percentage
The percent of cows bred that wean a calf
Calving interval
- amount of time between the birth of one calf to the birth of the next calf (about 12 months)
Colostrum
- milk secreted in the first few days after calving
- rich in nutrients and antibodies
- can be frozen for up to one year
- absorption window is gone by 24 hours (best before 6 hours)
- ideally receives 4L
Crossbreeding
- mating of animals from different breeds
- introduces new genes
- offspring generally healthier and grow faster
- common in beef
Culling
- removal of less productive and less desirable (behavior and physical problems) animals from the herd
- the calf in theory is genetically superior to the dam
dystocia
- difficult labor
- causes: maternal problems (size miss match, c-section), fetal problems (wrong orientation)
environmental effect
- total of all non-genetic influences that can affect the animal’s performance
- housing
- feed
- weather
- management practices
feed conversion
- the amount of feed required to achieve one unit of gain (it’s about 6:1)
- depends on:
- genetics
- nutritional quality
- animal age (more efficient when young)
- gender (intact males are less efficient)
- Environment
heifer
- female bovine that has never had a calf
- usually under 2 years
(dystocia is more common for heifers)
lactation period
- length of time the mom is nursing the calf
- for beef is 200 days (5-7 months, may be earlier under stressful conditions)
marbling
- dispersion of fat within muscle fibers (intramuscular fat)
- accounts for juiciness and taste
- genetic and environmental factors
maternal effect
- the effect the dam has upon the weaning weight of the calf
- dependent on: milk quality, milk quantity
open
not in calf (not pregnant)
polled
- born without horns
- genetic
shrink
- loss in body weight when cattle move to slaughter
- is a result of: transport stress, inaccessibility to water
sire
male parent
spring heifer
- pregnant heifer
- in her last trimester of her initial pregnancy
stag
- improperly castrated male
- or castrated too late
- still show male characteristics
- lowest beef level
steer
castrated male
tag
- refers to the amount of manure caked around the rump and sides of the animal
- this is a packing industry problem when using the hides
veal
- meat from a calf (hide off carcass weight160kg)
- has to be less than 160-180kg
- about 5-6 months
- can either be red (grain-fed) or white (milk-fed)
- white is deficient in hemoglobin
what is red or white veal
red = grain-fed
white = milk-fed
wean
- removal of the option for the calf to nurse, followed by the removal of the calf from the dam
- in dairy weaning is almost immediate
- can be done by putting a fence between them (called a fence line)
- can put anti suckling device to decrease suckling (ring in the nose)
post-weaning lag
- calf has a lag in growth right after weaning
yield or dressing percentage
- what is left of the carcass after slaughter following the removal of hide, SQ fat, and organs
- in cattle, the goal is 55-60%
what is removed from the carcass after slaughter (the yield)
- hide
- SQ fat
- organs
what are the 5 most common cow breeds in Ontario
- angus
- charolais
- hereford
- limousin
- simmental
what are some secondary cow breeds (8)
- main anjou
- belted galloway
salers - Belgian blue
- blond Aquitaine
- shorthorn
- brahman
- speckle park
on the hereford, where are the white marks?
- head
- face
- brisket
- chest
what color is a female limousin?
golden whet colour
what colour is a male limousin?
- red/golden colour
where on the Simmental are the white patches?
- head
- behind the shoulders
- belly
- legs
- flank
which cow breed(s) are from Switzerland?
Simmental
which cow breed(s) are from france?
- charolais
- limousin
which cow breeds are from england?
hereford
which cows are from Scotland?
Angus
what is the most common cow breed in Ontario?
Angus
what colours can an Angus cow be?
Black (dominant)
Red (recessive)
which breeds are good mothers (protective)?
Angus
Limousin
which breeds are hardy? (3)
- Angus
-Charolais - Hereford
which breeds are easy for calving?
- angus
- hereford
- limousin
which breed is a great forager?
hereford
which breeds have good clave growth? (3)
- hereford
- Simmental
- limousin
which is the calmest cow breed?
- hereford
which breed is used in cross-breeding to finish the carcass faster?
Hereford
what is the Simmental noted for?
- large size
- muscling
what colour is a charolais?
white-cream
which top 5 cow breed has the most difficulty calving?
charolais
which is the ‘red meat breed’
- limousin
- not known for marbling
Maine Anjou
- from France (continental)
- about the size of an Angus
- feed efficient
- good calving
- good mom
belted galloway
- fluffy
- good in the cold
- easy calving
Salers
- pulled
- good conformation-
Belgian blue
- calving problems
- double muscling gene
- quiet temperament
Blonde D’Aquitaine
- horned
- good red meat yield
shorthorn
- can be milk or beef
- better temperament
- hardy
- good mom
highland
- horned
- docile
- slower maturing
- longevity
12 calves/Dam
brahman
- good growth
- like warm weather
Speckle park
- Canadian breed
- a composite breed
- good calving
- feed efficient
reticulum
- honeycomb
- directly behind the diaphragm
- most common place for hardware disease
rumen
- larges compartment
- holds up to 200L
- does most of the work
- composed of finger-like vili on the inner membrane
- absorbs volatile fatty acids
omasum
- very muscular
- grinds the material
- water absorption
- lots of folds
abomasum
- true stomach
what does the microbes in the rumen help break down
cellulose
