Cattle farm husbandry - glossary of cattle terms

Cattle, farming, husbandry, glossary

By Dr Clive Dalton

• Bobby calf: A calf used for meat (veal) with these specifications.
• Has to be at least 4 days old.
• Both sexes are accepted for slaughter, but calves under 15kg will not be collected.
• Must be free from disease, deformity, blindness or any disability.
• Must have been kept warm and have a dry coat.
• A navel chord that is dry wrinkled, withered and shriveled and not pink or red, raw or fleshy.
• Must be alert and able to rise from a lying position and capable of moving freely and sucking easily. It should not be listless.
• Its hooves should be firm and worn flat and not bulbous with soft unworn tissue. This proves it has been able to stand up and walk.
• Must have been adequately fed on milk or colostrum.
• Must be free of drug residues. This is vitally important and has heavy legal consequences.
• Must be clean and kept in hygienic conditions.
• Boner cow: A cull cow mainly from a dairy herd that is in low condition.
• Bull: Entire (uncastrated) male of any age from birth to maturity.
• Run bull – non-registered bull used to mate commercial cows.
• Grade bull – a non-registered bull.
• Stud bull - registered or pedigree bull.
• Marker bull – vasectomised bull fitted with a marking harness to identify cows on heat.
• Potter bull – old bull to be slaughtered for meat.
• Tail-up bull – bull run with cows after the AI programme.
• Teaser bull – vasectomised bull used to locate cows on heat.
• Vasectomised bull – an entire male that cannot ejaculate viable sperm.
• Bullock: Castrated male (steer).
• Calf: Young bovine from birth up to around 6 months old.
• Calving interval: Interval between successive calvings of a cow.
• Calving percentage: Number of calves born per 100 cows joined with the bull or artificially inseminated.
• Conception rate: Percentage of cows that do not return to oestrus within a stated number of days (e.g. 49 or 70) after first insemination or natural mating.
• Cow: Mature female of any age but usually over 30 months.
• Cull cow: Cow of any age but usually old and culled from the herd for age or disease.
• Dairy beef: Beef animal bred from cows of dairy breeds.
• Down calver: Cow about to calve.
• Downer cow: Cow that is unable to stand on all four feet due to disease or injury.
• Empty cows: Non-pregnant cows.
• Fallen stock: Dead animals that are collected for processing for fertiliser.
• Feeder calf: a young calf that is reared for meat production.
• Freemartin: The female of a male-female twin pair. Usually infertile.
• Heifer: A young female up to and beyond her first calf.
• Maiden heifer: Heifer that has not been mated or had a calf.
• Nurse cow: Cow used to suckle calves.
• Pregnancy diagnosis (PD): Veterinary routine to palpate the cow’s ovaries to determine pregnancy. Also done with ultrasound.
• Pregnancy rate: Percentage of cows in-calf after a mating programme.
• Poddy calf: An orphan calf usually from a beef cow that has been artificially reared. Usually a small poorly grown calf.
• Rig: A male with an un-descended testicle or a steer with one testicle still intact.
• Running with bull (RWB): Cows that are currently joined with a bull for mating.
• Springer: A cow about to calve.
• Steer: Castrated male.
• Stag: Male bovine with one testicle.
• Submission rate: Percentage of cow showing oestrus and inseminated in the first weeks of a mating period (e.g. 21, 42 days).
• Target weight: The weight all animals in a group should reach and contrasts greatly to an average weight.
• Vealer: A maiden heifer, steer or bull up to 14 months old, slaughtered for beef.
• Vel: Stomach of bobby calf used for rennet in cheese making.
• Vetted in calf (VIC): Cows diagnosed pregnant by a veterinarian.
• Yearling: Young animal around 12 months old with two permanent incisors.