Image courtesy of oklahoma4h.okstate.edu

Have you ever institute yourself in a public place (say a eating house?) and looked effectually only to find you're receiving some bad-mannered looks from others? Maybe you forgot to change those muddy boots and you're giving off an awkward odor (awkward is in the middle of the beholder)? Or peradventure it's because y'all're swapping stories about the 24-hour interval'southward piece of work on the farm or ranch, and there'due south a few terms that sound bewildering to the not-Ag crowd? I take been there, done that.

Megan Brown shared this crawly list of beef terms recently and I thought it worth a share. This is just ABC. Be sure to visit Megan'southward weblog for the rest of the alphabet, and be sure to jump downward to the comments on her page to read a comic parody of terms from Republic of ireland.

A.I. – artificial insemination

Average daily proceeds – pounds of liveweight gained per day

Balling gun – a tool used to discharge pills into the animal's pharynx.

Birth weight – the weight of the calf taken within the first 24 hours of birth

Nativity weight EPD – The expected boilerplate increase of subtract in birth weight of a bull's calves when compared with other bulls in the same sire summary.

Bloat – abnormal weather characterized past a distention of the rumen, usually seen on the left side, due to the accumulation of gas.

Blossom – a haircoat that has luster that gives the appearance of a healthy animal.

Bolus – a large pill for treating cattle; y'all employ a balling gun to administer.

Bos indicus – zebu (humped) cattle, including the Brahman breed. They tolerate oestrus and insects well.

Bos Taurus – European breads that tolerate the common cold, such as Hereford, angus.

Make – a permanent identification of cattle usually made on the hide with a hot iron or freeze brand.

Bred – a cow that has mated with a bull and is significant.

Brucellosis – a contagious bacterial disease that results in abortions; as well can be called bang's disease.

Bull – a male person bovine, usually of convenance age.

Bulling – when a cow is in rut or estrus.

Calf – a young male or female bovine under 1 twelvemonth of historic period.

Calve – to requite nativity.

Castrate – to remove the testicles

Cod – scrotal surface area of a steer remaining after castration.

Colostrum – the showtime milk given by a female cow post-obit the delivery of a dogie. It is high in antibodies that protect the calf from invading microorganisms.

Conditioning – Treatment of cattle by vaccination and other means prior to putting them in a feedlot.

Cow – an adult female

Cow/dogie operation – a segment of the cattle industry that manages and produces weaned calves.

Crossbred – fauna produced by crossing two different breeds, for example a Brahman and Angus is a Brangus.

Cud – bolus of feed that cattle regurgitate.

Cull – to eliminate one or more animals from your herd.

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See a more complete glossary of Beef Cattle terms from eXtension.org.

Exercise you have any specific cattle terms that take seemed confusing, or fabricated for a comical story with friends?

Published by Ryan Goodman

Ryan Goodman works in grassroots advocacy as a communications consultant with beef cattle farmers and ranchers across the United States. He is a proud alumnus of Oklahoma Country University, with studies focusing on cattle reproduction and nutrition. Ryan's feel in the beef industry range from family unit farms and ranches in several states to large feedlots and non-profit policy organizations. Ryan is an gorging trail and ultrarunner, proudly showing how beef tin can be an of import part of a healthy diet and agile lifestyle. Find Ryan on social media as @BeefRunner. View all posts by Ryan Goodman