Cattle Breeds and Terminology Flashcards
Adult male intact bovine
bull
Castrated male bovine less than 4 years old
Steer
Castrated male bovine over 4 years old
Ox
(reaches maturity around 4 years old when bones fuse)
Adult female bovine
Cow
Young female bovine, sometimes up to 4 years old, first or second
calving, usually a term applied to younger animals that have not
been bred yet
Heifer
Naturally hornless (dominant characteristic):
Livestock without horns in species which are normally horned.
Polled (muley)
Naturally having horns (recessive characteristic)
Horned
Having rudimentary horns not attached to the skull
Scurred
Dairy cows have a ___________ shape
while
Beef cows have a _________ shape
Dairy cows have a triangle shape
while
Beef cows have a rectangle shape
Holstein Friesian and Jersey cows
are examples of dairy cows of the
Bos _________ species
Bos Taurus
Gir cattle is a brahman cattle breed
of dairy cows of the
Bos _________ species
Bos indicus
Water buffalo types of cows, used for mozzarella cheese
are dairy cows of the
Bos ________ species
Bos bubalus
What are the 2 most common British beef cattle breeds
of the species Bos Taurus?
Angus (Aberdeen Angus)
Hereford
What are the 2 most common European beef cattle breeds
of the species Bos Taurus?
Charolais
Blonde d’Aquitaine
Brahman type cattle of the Bos indicus species
have a hump, heavy dewlap, and pendulous sheath or underbelly.
They do not mature or calve until _____ years old
3 years old
(much slower than Bos taurus)
This english beef breed of North America
is usually black with smooth hair, polled, and perform well in
feedlots. Sometimes, they can be red (recessive gene)
Angus (Aberdeen angus)
This english beef breed of North America
is red with a white face and legs
Hereford
This major beef breed in North America
is the origin of over 30 other different breeds. Can
be red, white, or roan, and is one of the most common in Australia
Shorthorn/Polled Shorthorn
This major beef breed of North America
is used for crossing with other breeds, can be red or gray, is
heat and parasite tolerant, and has the ability to forage on poor pastures.
It is of the species Bos Indicus
Brahman
This french beef breed is
white and double-muscled,
is used to cross-breed to get bigger animals with leaner carcasses,
and are genetically red, but a gene dilutes the red so they look white.
In NA, they are bred to be black.
Charolais
This french beef breed is red and white,
and double-muscled.
Maine-Anjou
This italian beef breed is the tallest breed
and is gray in color
Chianina
This italian beef breed
is gray and double-muscled
Piedmontese
This italian beef breed
is gray with a dewlap, a horned breed, and VERY hearty
Romagnola
This english beef breed of cattle
is brown, black, red, or dun, with a hairy coat.
They have long horns and can utilize poor forage.
They are bred to withstand harsh environments.
Scotch Highland
This english beef breed from Scotland is
black, red, or dun with a central white belt.
Most are black and have a characteristic face: broad across the top.
They are polled and have a curly coat.
Galloway/Belted Galloway
This french continental beef breed is dark red in color,
tolerates heat better than other colors,
and is popular in the western US for cross breeding
Salers
This swiss breed of beef cattle is red with a white face and markings,
bigger, with a different conformation from the hereford in that
it has straighter legs. They are known for having
good bone and leg structure (large feet)
Simmental
This swiss breed of beef cattle is used for “cow fights”
Eringer
This beef breed is
white, blue, black, or roan.
It is double-muscled and has a 100% incidence of dystocia with
70% delivered by C-section.
BUT, if you take a bull and breed it with a dairy cow or another beef breed,
there is a very low incidence of dystocia!
Belgian Blue
This Austrian beef breed is red with a white stripe down its back
Pinzgauer
This beef breed of cattle has HUGE horns
and you have to feed them more in cold climates because
their horns dissipate heat!
Ankola-Watusi
What are the 4 major duel purpose breeds?
Red Poll
Milking Shorthorn
Beef Fresian
Normande
90% of dairy cows are of this breed.
They are usually black and white (but red and white is recessive).
They have a high incidence of dystocia at 20%.
They have less butterfat/protein than other milk breeds.
Red coated cattle tolerate heat better than the black and white ones.
Holstein-Freisian
This breed of cow is the smallest of the dairy breeds.
They are fawn or fawn and white in color.
They are the ONLY breed that is increasing in number,
have a LOW incidence of dystocia,
but are the MOST predisposed to milk fever.
Their milk is high in protein and butterfat compared to other dairy breeds.
Jersey
This dairy breed of cattle are mostly gray in color, some may be brown.
They are big and strong with good conformation of feet and legs.
They are large and similar in size to a Holstein, but produce less milk.
They have high butterfat milk.
Some have white feet, and these have a higher incidence of lameness.
Brown Swiss
This dairy breed of cattle is dark red and white
and is known for being a high protein breed.
They have small fat particles in their milk which is
recommended for human babies because it is more easily digested
Aryshire
This dairy breed of cattle produces Alpha-2 Casein Milk.
There was a steep decline in the 70s of this breed
due to cross breeding calves, which were born with less vigor and died.
They originated from the Channel Islands off the coast of France.
Guernsey
This type of english duel purpose breed comes in red, white, and roan.
White heifers can have segmental aplasia of the repro tract
which is known as White Heifer Disease.
They are duel purpose- beef and dairy
English Shorthorn
This breed of dairy cattle originated in Holland.
They were brought over by PT Barnum and put in circus.
They are black with a white central belt.
Dutch-Belted
This breed of dairy cattle is a miniature breed.
They have genetic abnormalities and can have “bulldog” calves.
But….aren’t they just the CUTEST?!?!
Miniature Dexter
