[🐄] RUMINANT PRODUCTION LECTURE

• Cattle were first domesticated in the Middle East

  8,000 - 10,000 years ago
• Aurochs


  Bos primigenius, the wild ancestor of cattle
• Aurochs


  • Less sexually dimorphic
  • Males and females were similar in size
  • Variable with coat color and horn shape, and more likely to be polled
• Aurochs


  Seasonal breeders, having offspring in the late spring
• Domesticated cattle breeding periods


  Show little seasonality
• Milking cows for the production of human food were already well developed at the time of the first written records of Mesopotamia


  6,000 BC
• Domestication of cattle was estimated to have been up to 2,000 years beforehand
• Domesticated cattle


  Used for the production of milk, meat, and for draught power
• Cattle played a dominant role in religion as far back as the Stone Age
• Modern-day cattle types


  • Bos taurus
  • Bos indicus
• Bos taurus


  • Originated in Europe
  • Temperate climate dwellers
  • No hump present
• Bos indicus


  • Also known as 'Zebu'
  • Originated in India
  • Better suited for tropical climates
  • Presence of a hump on their back
• Sheep were among the first animals tamed by humans

  Early Neolithic Age
• Sheep were shown on an early Egyptian sculpture

  4,000 BC
• Sheep bones have been found in caves and around lake dwellings used by the people of early Europe
• Wool fabrics have been found in the ruins of Swiss Lake Villages

  10,000 - 20,000 years ago
• The Babylonians used wool for clothing

  4,000 BC
• Mouflons and Asiatic urial


  The wild, big-horned sheep of Asia that modern-day sheep probably came from
• Modern day sheep breeds


  • Corriedale
  • Lacaune
  • Herdwick
  • Suffolk
• Neolithic farmers from the Middle East and Western Asia started keeping herds of ibexes


  10,000 and 11,000 years ago
• Ibexes


  The wild Bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus) from western Asia, the ancestor of domesticated goats
• Neolithic farmers kept herds of ibexes for their meat, milk, dung (fuel,) hair, bones, skins, sinews (clothing and building materials)
• Domestication of goats occurred in the Euphrates River Valley at the Nevali Cori, Turkey


  11,000 BP
• Domestication of goats occurred in the Zagros Mountains of Ganj Dareh, Iran


  10,000 BP
• Modern day goat breeds

  • Angora
  • Boer
  • Saanen
  • Anglo-Nubian
• Differences between goats and sheep

  • Goats have shorter tails
  • Goats have long horns that grow upward, backward, and outward
  • Male goats have beards
  • Male goats in ruts give off strong odors
  • Goats lack scent glands on face and feet
  • Goats are easily able to return to their wild state (can live without human care)
  • Goats have a stockier body
  • Goat horns are spirally twisted
  • Male sheep do not have beards
  • Male sheep do not have strong odors during rutting
  • Sheep have presence of scent glands on face and feet
  • Sheep cannot return to the wild (have become dependent on human care for living)
• Terms for ovines


  • Ovine – referring to sheep
  • Ram – intact male sheep
  • Ewe – intact female sheep
  • Wether – castrated male sheep
  • Lamb – young sheep
  • Hothouse lamb – a young sheep, less than 3 months of age
  • Spring lamb – a young sheep, 3 to 7 months of age
  • Yearling – sheep 1 to 2 years of age; used when marketing sheep
  • Lambing – parturition in sheep
  • Flock – collective noun for a group of sheep
• Terms for caprines


  • Caprine – referring to goats
  • Buck – intact male goat
  • Doe – intact female goat
  • Wether – castrated male goat
  • Kid – young goat
  • Kidding – parturition in goats
  • Freshening – parturition in dairy animals; aka 'freshen'
  • Herd – collective noun for a group of goats
• Terms for camelids


  • Camelid – referring to llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicuna
  • Bull – intact male; aka stallion
  • Cow – intact female
  • Gelding – castrated male llama
  • Cría – young llama
• Terms for bovines


  • Bovine – referring to cattle
  • Bull – intact male bovine
  • Jumper bull – intact male bovine that has just reached maturity and is used for breeding
  • Cow – intact female bovine that has given birth
  • Steer – male bovine castrated when young
  • Stag – male bovine castrated after maturity
  • Heifer – young female bovine that has not yet given birth
  • Calf – young bovine of either sex
  • Calving – parturition in cattle
  • Herd – collective noun for a group of cattle
  • Springing heifer – young female pregnant with her first calf
  • Freemartin – sexually imperfect, usually a sterile female calf born as a twin to a male calf
  • Gomer bull – bull used to detect female bovines in heat; aka 'teaser bull'
• Terms for cervidae


  • Cervidae – referring to deer, elk, moose, and caribou
  • Buck – intact male deer
  • Bull – intact male elk, moose, or caribou
  • Doe – intact female deer
  • Cow – intact female elk, moose, or caribou
  • Fawn – young deer
  • Heifer – young elk, moose, or caribou
  • Herd – collective noun for a group of cervidae
• Industry terms

  • Artificial Insemination – 'AI;' breeding method in which semen is collected, stored, and then deposited in the uterus/vagina without copulation taking place
  • Balling gun – tool used to administer pills, boluses, or magnets to livestock; aka 'bolus gun'
  • Barren – animal that was not bred or did not conceive
  • Body capacity – heart girth and barrel
  • Brand – a method of permanent identification via scarring of the skin with heat, extreme cold, or chemicals
  • Bred – an animal that has mated and is pregnant
  • Breed – the act of breeding
  • Breed – a group of animals that is genetically similar when it comes to their coloring and conformation
  • Calving interval – amount of time between the birth of a calf and the birth of the next one (for one cow)
  • Carcass – body of an animal after it has been slaughtered
  • Casting – a restraint method that uses ropes to place an animal in lateral recumbency
  • Cattle – more than one member of the genus Bos
  • Chute – a mechanical device used to restrain cattle
  • Cleaning a cow – aka 'cleansing a cow;' the common term for the removal of a retained placenta
  • Cod – the remnants of a steer's scrotum
  • Colostrum – the first, milk-like substance produced by the female post-parturition
  • Conformation – shape and body type of an animal
  • Corium – specialized, highly vascular cells that nourish the hoof and horn
  • Cull – to remove an animal due to unmet (specific) standards or lack of productivity
  • Dehorn/Disbud – to remove the horns or horn buds through mechanical, thermal, or chemical means
  • Dual purpose – an animal bred and used for both meat and milk production
  • Ear tagging – the placement of an identification device onto the ear
  • Embryo transfer – a process which involves the removal of an embryo from a female of superior genetics and placing it into the reproductive tract of another female
  • F1 generation – first offspring from purebred parents of different breeds or varieties
  • Feeders – beef cattle that are placed in a feedlot based on age and weight
  • Feedlot – confined area where an animal is fed until it has met the standards for slaughter
  • Flushing – the act of increasing feed before breeding or embryo transfer to increase the number of ova released by a female
  • Fly strike – an infestation of maggots
  • Free stall – a stall for cattle in which each animal is free to lie down, feed, move, or seek out other animals
  • Halter – a head harness used for restraint which extends behind the head and over the nose
  • Heart girth – the circumference around the thoracic cavity used to estimate an animal's weight, and the capacity of its heart and lungs
  • Hutch – individual housing pen for calves
  • Hybrid – offspring resulting from the mating of two different species
  • Hybrid vigor – the mating of dissimilar breeds done to increase the productivity and performance of the F1 generation over that of either parent
  • Inbred – resulting from the mating of two closely related animals; aka 'close breeding'
  • Lead rope – piece of rope, leather, or nylon that is atta
• Slaughter


  Where an animal is fed until it has met the standards for slaughter
• Flushing


  The act of increasing feed before breeding or embryo transfer to increase the number of ova released by a female
• Fly strike


  An infestation of maggots
• Free stall


  A stall for cattle in which each animal is free to lie down, feed, move, or seek out other animals
• Halter


  A head harness used for restraint which extends behind the head and over the nose
• Heart girth


  The circumference around the thoracic cavity used to estimate an animal's weight, and the capacity of its heart and lungs
• Hutch

  Individual housing pen for calves, also for small animals such as rabbits
• Hybrid


  Offspring resulting from the mating of two different species