This document provides definitions for various terminology used in the beef cattle industry. It defines 20 terms, including ad lib feeding, artificial insemination, average daily gain, backcross, barbed wire, birth weight, and biosecurity. The definitions cover production, management, health, and marketing terms related to beef cattle.

2. RUMINANT
TERMINOLOGIES

4. Reporter: Bring out ½ length wise sheet of paper
Student: length wise?
Reporter: Yes, length wise!

5. 1. da lib nidegef
2. eravaeg iyald naig
3. tribh heigtw
4. tolab
5. beerch
6. shriitb derebs
7. fufreb ocw
8. lingcav seea
9. givclan neosas
10. sascrac liontauvae
11. walcweds
12. hemlefn
13. emartefin
14. teterfeehi
15. opomanosur
16. toralcs refmucceneric
17. guhothornip
18. fimeugver
19. situwa
20. drayage

6. COMPLETE THE PARAGRAPH ON THE
OVERVIEW OF THE BEEF CATTLE
INDUSTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES, BASED ON
DATA GATHERED BY THE PHILIPPINE
STATISTIC AUTHORITY (PSA) ON THE
NUMBER OF HEADS OF CATTLE.

7. • Among the provinces, __________ recorded the highest
production of 19.84 thousand metric tons, liveweight or 8.2
percent of the country’s cattle production. This was followed by
_____________ with 14.11 thousand metric tons, liveweight, and
Batangas with 13.97 thousand metric tons, liveweight.
Completing the top 10 producing provinces were
Masbate,__________, Cebu, Quezon, _______________, Misamis
Oriental, and_____________. The combined production of these
provinces accounted for 43.7 percent of the country’s total cattle
production in 2021.
*CATANDUANES
*BATANES
*PALAWAN
*SURIGAO DEL SUR
*DAVAO DEL SUR
*ISABELA
*ILOCOS SUR
*SURIGAO DEL NORTE
*DAVAO DEL NORTE
*ILOCOS NORTE
*BUKIDNON
*BULACAN
*PANGASINAN
*MARINDUQUE
*MASBATE
*ILO-ILO

8. Ad lib feeding - No limit placed on amount of feed intake.
Self-feeding or allowing cattle to consume feed on a free-
choice basis.
Antemortem- Before death.
Artificial insemination (AI) - The technique of placing
semen from the male into the reproductive tract of the
female by means other than natural service.
Average daily gain (ADG) - Measurement of the average
daily body weight change over a specified period of time of
an animal on a feed test.

9. Backcross - The mating of a two-breed crossbred
individual back to one of its parental breeds. Example: A
Hereford-Angus crossbred cow bred back to an Angus bull.
Barbed Wire - (sometimes called “bobbed wire” or “barb wire”
or “The Devil's Rope”) A wire used in fencing that has points at
intervals to deter livestock from crossing the fence.
Birth weight (BW) - The weight of a calf taken within 24
hours after birth. Heavy birth weights tend to be correlated
with calving problems, along with other factors.

10. Biosecurity - is a series of management practices designed to
prevent the introduction of disease or reduce the risk of spreading
disease by reducing movement of biologic organisms and their vectors
(e.g. viruses, bacteria, rodents, flies) on or within operations such as
a beef cattle operation.
Bloat - An abnormal condition in ruminants characterized by a
distention of the rumen, usually seen on an animal’s upper left
side, owing to an accumulation of gases.
Body capacity - A subjective assessment of the feed intake
capacity of an individual or breed, typically assessed by
visually evaluating body length, body depth, and spring of ribs.

11. Bob - Method of marking cattle by trimming their tail
hair.
Bog spavin - A soft enlargement of the anterior, inner aspect of
the hock.
Branding Iron - The tool used to apply a brand. Called
“iron”for short.
Breeder - In most beef breed associations, the owner of the
dam of a calf at the time she was mated or bred to produce
that calf.
Breech - The buttocks. A breech presentation at birth is

12. British breeds - Breeds of cattle such as Angus, Hereford,
and Shorthorn originating in Great Britain.
Brockle-faced - White-faced with other colors splotched on
the face and head.
Broken-mouth - Some teeth are missing or broken.
Brahmini bull - The bull that are left in the name of dead
person which is a practice prevailing in certain parts of
country.

13. Buffer cow - A cow apparently always in heat, oestrus
Bullock - A young bull, typically less than 20 months of age.
Bunk breaking - The process of acclimating calves to consume
feed from a bunk or other feeder.
Bunker silo - Pit or bunker for storage of corn or grain silage or
alfalfa or grass haylage in which it is reserved by fermenting after
packing.
Buttons - May refer to cartilage or dorsal processes of the
thoracic vertebrae

14. Caesarean section - A process in which the calf is surgically
removed from the cow during parturition by making a large
incision in the right side of the cow just above the flank.
Calf crop - The number or percentage of calves produced
within a herd in a given year relative to the number of cows and
heifers exposed to breeding.
Calving ease - The opposite of calving difficulty. An easy
calving is one that does not require assistance and does not
impose undue strain on the calf or dam.

15. Calving season - The season(s) of the year when the calves are
born. Limiting calving seasons is the first step to performance
testing the whole herd, accurate records, and consolidated
management practices.
Capped hocks - Hocks that have hard growths that cover, or “cap,”
their points
Carcass evaluation - Techniques of measuring components of
quality and quantity in carcasses.
Carcass merit - Desirability of a carcass relative to quantity of
components (muscle, fat, and bone), USDA quality grade, plus
potential eating qualities.

16. Cattalo - A cross between domestic cattle and bison.
Closed herd - A herd in which no outside breeding stock
(cattle) are introduced.
Contemporary group - A group of cattle that are of the same
breed and sex, are similar in age, and have been raised in the
same management group (same location on the same feed and
pasture). Contemporary groups should include as many cattle as
can be accurately compared.

17. Continental (European) breed - Breeds originally developed
on the continent of Europe. Examples include Simmental,
Limousin and Charolais.
Corriente - cattle of non-descript breeding usually from Mexico.
Often used in the U.S. for recreational-roping cattle.
Cow-calf operation - A management unit that maintains a
breeding herd and produces weaned calves.

18. Creep feeding - The practice of providing supplemental
nutrients to nursing calves. This is typically done through the use
of gates or exclosures which allow the calf to enter an area where
the feeder is located but not the cow.
Critter - often in speaking of cows or horses a cowboy calls
them a “Critter”. Other animals can also be critters
Cud - Bolus of feed a ruminant animal regurgitates for further
chewing.
Culling - The process of eliminating less productive or less
desirable individuals from a herd.

19. Curb - A hard swelling that occurs just below the point of the
hock.
Cut a circle - A cow boss will describe an area such as a portion
of a ranch from which you will gather cattle or ride to check on
land and animals.
Dairy Producer - The farmer who owns or runs a dairy farm.
Dairy - The farm where milk cows are kept.
Dark cutter - Color of the lean (muscle) in the carcass that has a
dark appearance, usually caused by stress to the animal before

20. De-horning - In many places, cattlemen remove the horns from
horned cattle when they are calves. This makes them easier to
handle and less likely to hurt each other. This practice became
popular when cows began to be transported more often by truck
and rail and needed to be confined in small spaces.
Dewclaws - Hard bony structures above the hoof on the rear
surface of the legs of cattle, swine and sheep.
Dewlap - Another method of marking cattle similar to a waddle.
A dewlap is formed by cutting a piece of skin so that it will grow
into a distinctive hanging mark in a certain location. Used in
conjunction with brands and earmarks.

21. Dogie - (pronounced with a long “o” as in “own” not as in the pet
animal named “Spot” A calf with no mother. Term used more
often in Texas. Derived from the Spanish word “dogal” meaning a
short rope used to keep a calf away from its mother during
milking.
Double muscling - A genetic trait in cattle where muscles are
greatly enlarged rather than duplicate muscles.
Downer - Term for animals that are disabled due to illness or
injury.
Drench- To give fluid by mouth.

22. Drive - Method of rounding up cattle by scattering cowboys
over the range and pushing the cattle to one place.
Drop - Body parts removed at slaughter-primarily hide, head,
shanks, and offal.
Earmark - Method of marking cattle by cropping their ears in
distinctive patterns. Usually used along with a brand. The
earmark patterns are also registered with the brand. Earmark on
the cow at the right is read as an “under half slope on the left
ear”(as viewed by the reader) Earmarks can often be seen quicker
than a brand (because the cow usually looks at you) and are a
good aid in recognition and when sorting cattle.

23. Ear Tag - Method of marking cattle (or other animals) by
attaching a tag to their ears. Often vaccinations, breeding, and
herd identification are information that are recorded using the
tag numbers. (Negative side to this is that the tags can pull out
and be lost.)
Eruction - The elimination of gas by belching.
Fastiny - Starvation due to lack of feed intake.
Feed conversion (feed efficiency) - Units of feed consumed
per unit of weight gained or (less commonly in the United States)
production of meat or milk per unit of feed consumed.

24. First cut - the choice pick of the group.
Flehmen - A pattern of behavior expressed in some male
animals (e.g., bull, ram, stallion) during sexual activity. The
upper lip curls up and the animal inhales in the vicinity of
the vulva or urine.
Footrot- A disease of the foot in sheep and cattle.
Founder - Nutritional ailment resulting from overeating.
Lameness in front feet, with excessive hoof growth, usually
occurs.

25. Free choice - Allowing the animal to consume as much
feed as they want at any time.
Freemartin - Female born twin to a bull calf
(approximately 9 out of10 will be infertile).
Gestation - The period of pregnancy or the period of time
from conception until young are born, averaging about 285
days in cattle.
Half-sibs - Individuals having the same sire but different
dams (or less commonly the same dam but different sires).
Half-brothers, half-sisters, or half brother/sister.

26. Harvest - To slaughter an animal.
Heat (estrous) synchronization - Through hormonal
manipulation, causing a group of cows or heifers to initiate
estrous cycles at approximately the same time.
Heiferette - A heifer that has calved once, after which the
heifer is fed for slaughter; the calf has usually died or been
weaned at an early age.
Hides - Skins from animals such as cattle, horses, and pigs;
beef hides weigh more than 30 lb each as contrasted to calf
skins, which weigh less.

27. Horn iron - The old way to help heal the horn base after
de-horning was to cauterize the horn stub with a hot iron.
Hot carcass weight - Weight of a carcass just prior to
chilling.
Involution - The return of an organ to its normal size or
condition after enlargement, as of the uterus after
parturition. A decline in size or activity of other tissues; the
mammary gland tissues normally involute with advancing
lactation.
Jerk - A gather of, or trip through, a small piece of country.
Term often used in rough country where cattle are hard to

28. Kosher Meat - Meat from ruminant animals with split hooves
where the animals have been slaughtered according to Jewish
law.
Lactation - The period of calf nursing between birth and
weaning
Leppy - An orphaned calf. Sometimes also used referring to a
young cowboy who is inept in cowboy ways.
Locoed - horses and cattle become addicted to the eating of
Loco weed, thereby causing the victim to become thin; with
injury to eyesight, muscular control and brain; causes an
abnormal growth of hair on the mane and tail of horses - on

29. Long-eared, full-eared - Cattle that have not been
earmarked. They have their whole ears.
Masticate - To chew food.
Mavericks - wild cattle that haven't been branded and never
been gathered. Sometimes in remote, rough country the
animal has been untouched by the cowboys for quite a while
and the older the animal becomes, the more unmanageable it
gets.
Monoparous - A term designating animals that usually
produce only one offspring at each pregnancy. Horses and
cattle are monoparous.

30. Morbidity - Measurement of illness; morbidity rate is the
number of individuals in a group that become ill during a
specified time.
Mortality rate - Number of individuals that die from a
disease during a specified time, usually 1 year.
Mouthed - The examination of an animal’s teeth.
M N Necropsy - The examination of an animal after death.
Open - A term commonly used to indicate a non-pregnant
female.

31. Parrot mouth - Upper jaw is longer than lower jaw.
Paunch – Another name for rumen.
Pin bones - In cattle, the posterior ends of the pelvic bones
that appear as two raised areas on either side of the tail
head.
Polled - Naturally hornless cattle. Having no horns or scurs.
Postpartum- After birth.

32. Prepotent - The ability of a parent to transmit its
characteristics on its offspring so that they resemble that
parent, or each other, more than usual.
Probe - A device used to measure backfat thickness in pigs
and cattle.
Purebred - An animal of known ancestry within a recognized
breed that is eligible for registry in the official herd book of
that breed.

33. Railer(s) - Cattle which fail to respond to treatment.
Rangeland - Land on which the indigenous or native
vegetation (climax or natural potential) is predominantly
grasses, glasslike plants, forbs, or shrubs and is managed
as a natural ecosystem.
Rataque - Fence made by laying mesquite logs or sticks
between posts.
Red meat - Meat from cattle, sheep, swine, and goats, as
contrasted to the white meat of poultry.

34. Rumination - The regurgitation of undigested food
and chewing it a second time, after which it is again
swallowed.
Running Iron - Ring or flat iron used to draw a brand rather
than stamp it on.
Scrotal circumference - A measure of testes size obtained by
measuring the distance around the testicles in the scrotum
with a circular tape. Related to semen producing capacity
and age at puberty of female sibs and progeny.

35. Scrub bull - A non-descript type of strong village bull.
Scurs - Horny tissue or rudimentary horns that are
attached to the skin rather than the bony parts of the head
Settle - To become pregnant.

36. Serving capacity - A measure of the motivation,
willingness, and ability of a bull to detect and service
females in estrus.
Shrink- Loss of weight-commonly used in the loss in
liveweight when animals are marketed.
Sibs - Brothers and sisters of an individual.
Shelly Cow - An old cow, usually in poor condition.

37. Slick - A horse or cow with no brand, earmark, or other
identification of ownership.
St. Elmo's Fire - The eerie glow sometimes seen on cattle's
long horns during a lightning storm. It is caused by brush
like discharges of atmospheric electricity and commonly
accompanied by a crackling or fizzing noise. The light was
so named because St. Elmo is the patron saint of
Mediterranean sailors, who regard St. Elmo's fire as the
visible sign of his guardianship over them.

38. Stocker - Weaned cattle that are fed high-roughage
diets (including grazing) before going into the feedlot.
Stray - an animal found strayed away from its owner
or from the range where it belongs. Something some
people do not understand is that often cattle from
several neighboring ranches become mixed up during
the season and need to be sorted and sent back to the
proper homes. This is the reason proper branding and
marking are so important.

39. Switch- The tuft of long hair at the end of the tail.
Tank - a depression formed for the purpose of holding
water, usually natural water such as rain water or
intermittent stream water. Used mostly in the
southwest.
Thoroughpin - A hard swelling that is located
between the Achilles tendon and the bone of the hock
joint.

40. Tripe - Edible product from walls of ruminant stomach.
Twist - Vertical measurement from top of the rump to
point where hind legs separate.
Vermifuge - A chemical substance given to the animals to
kill internal parasitic worms.

41. Waddle - Another method of marking cattle. A waddle is
formed by cutting a piece of skin so that it will grow into a
distinctive hanging mark in a certain location. Used in
conjunction with brands and earmarks. The example shows a
neck waddle. Waddles and dewlaps often are more visible
than brands in cold weather country where the winter hair
obscures the brand, and are useful for quick recognition and
sorting.
Watusi - African breed of cattle, dating their ancestry back
6000 years and called the “cattle of kings” . Useful today in
the United States, not only for their striking appearance, but
for low birth-weight calves.

42. Watusi - African breed of cattle, dating their ancestry back
6000 years and called the “cattle of kings” . Useful today in
the United States, not only for their striking appearance,
but for low birth-weight calves.
Weedy - Similar to “locoed”, but caused by eating too much
black sage or other plant instead of a normal diet and
causing malnutrition, often effecting an animal's mind and
thinking.

43. Works - another term for roundup, used mainly in the
southwest. (for example: spring works, fall works)
Yardage - Charges incurred each day that the cattle are
in the feedlot. These charges vary depending on the lot.
Yardage is usually expressed on a cents per head per day
basis.