Alachua County Youth Fair Cattleman s Study Guide Cattle Breeds Brahman Subspecies: Indicus Origin: U.S. Coloring: White to gray or Reds Production: Breeding, meat, & milk Breed Note: Know for extreme tolerance to heat and insects Belgian Blue Origin: Belgium Coloring: Blue, gray, white, black Production: Meat Breed Note: Great at converting less food into more muscle Belted Galloway Origin: Scotland Coloring: Black, white, red Production: Meat Breed Note: Considered a light grazer meaning they do not damage land while grazing Angus Origin: Scotland Coloring: Black or Red Production: Meat Production Breed Note: Most common breed of beef cattle in the US
Brangus /Indicus Hybrid Origin: United States Coloring: Black or Red Production: Breeding, milk Breed Note: Noted to resistance of hot and cold temperatures Charolais Origin: France Coloring: White, creamy red, black Production: Meat Breed Note: Cows and bulls can weigh over two thousand pounds Dexter Origin: Ireland Coloring: Black, red, dun Production: Milk Breed Note: These are sometimes sold as a novelty because of their size Florida Cracker Origin: United States Coloring: Multiple Production: Meat, competition Breed Note: One of the oldest US cattle breeds Hereford Origin: United Kingdom Coloring: Brown, red, white Production: Meat Breed Note: One of the most highly adaptive breeds in the world Limousin Origin: France Coloring: Shades of red, black Production: Meat, breeding Breed Notes: Known for muscularity, feed efficiency, and carcass quality
Maine Anjou Origin: France Coloring: Red, white, black Production: Meat Breed Notes: Bulls can weigh in range from 2200 to 3100 pounds Santa Gertrudis /Indicus hybrid Origin: United States Coloring: Red, white Production: Meat, milk Breed Notes: The first beef breed formed in the US in 1940 Shorthorn Origin: Northcumberland, Durham, Lincoln Coloring: Red, raon, white Production: Milk, meat, breeding Breed Notes: Some may get a genetic defect that will cripple legs Simmental Origin: Switzerland Coloring: Shades of gold, red, white, black Production: Meat, milk Breed Notes: Bred all over the world for their high beef yields Texas Longhorn Origin: United States Coloring: Red, white Production: Beef, breeding, sport Breed Notes: This breed can survive in almost any climates
Tools Hot Brand Cold Brand Cattle Bander Ear Tagger
Ear Tag Remover DeHorner (Scoops) Electric DeHorner Balling Gun
Implant Gun Thermometer Kow Kan t Kick
Stomach Pump Bull Lead Fun Facts: Cattle produce about 25 billion pounds of meat each year. The combined value of the cattle and beef industry is $200 billion. The hide from one cow can make 144 baseballs, 20 footballs or 12 basketballs. Disneyland (CA) sells over 4 million hamburgers each year. The invention in 1873 of Barbed wire had a large impact on beef cattle production. The country India has the largest number of beef cattle Reproduction: Average length in days between heat cycles is 21 days BIF- stands for Beef Improvement Federation Cow s first milk is colostrum A.I- stands for Artificial Insemination Zygote- fertilized egg Dystocia- abnormal or difficult birth Parturition- Birthing process Recipient Cow- Surrogate mother in embryo program FHS- stands for Follicle Stimulating Hormone Post-Partum Interval- Time between the birth of a calf and when the cow rebreeds
Health: Normal body temperature of a beef animal 100.4-103.1 Scours- is a term for diarrhea Bloat- is a form of indigestion marked by excessive accumulation of gas in the rumen. Injections -Subsubcutaneosly (SQ) Under the skin -Intramuscularly (IM) Directly into the blood supply if the muscle -Intravenously (IV) Directly into the vein White Muscle Disease- is also known as nutritional myopathy of calves. Grass Tetany- is a fatal disease associated with low levels of magnesium in the blood. Hardware Disease- is when a sharp object penetrates the gut lining and damages another organ or creates peritonitis (infection in the abdomen) BSE- stands for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy IBR- stands for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis ( also known as Red Nose) Ricketts- is a disease of young, growing calves caused by imbalances of dietary calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. Beef Nutrition: Cattle belong to a class of animals called ruminants Ruminants have a digestive system which allows them to utilize roughages (e.g. hay, grass) as a major source of nutrients Abomasum- True stomach Nutrient fulfills specific roles growth, production or metabolism The primary sources of energy for cattle are cellulose and hemicellulose from roughages and starches from grains Protein is a major component of muscles, the nervous system and connective tissue Symptoms of Mineral Deficiencies Calcium - poor growth bowed leg bones brittle bones Phosphorous poor growth craving for wood, hair, soil poor conception rates Magnesium muscle tremours staggering, convulsions (grass tetany) Sodium (salt)- poor growth chewing or licking of wood Selenium- weakness, inability to stand
Terms Bovine Scientific name for a cow Dry Term for a non-lactating cow Progeny or Calf Offspring of a cow Free Martin Heifer that is born twin to a bull Stockers Calves on grass after weaning but before going to feedlot Sire Male parent Dam Female parent Dual purpose breed- Cattle used for milk and beef production Cow Adult female that has produced a calf Bull A mature male who has not been castrated Steer Male animal that has been castrated and cannot breed Heifer Young female that has not produced a calf Veal Calves that are raised to 475-500 pounds Brand Identification mark on cattle: either hot iron or freeze brand Beef By-products Anything made from beef animal other than meat Calf Young animal, either male or female, less than one year Castration To remove the testicles of male cattle Cud The portion of food that an animal regurgitates to chew for the second time Earmark Identification tool where part of the ear is removed to show ownership Tag A numbered plastic identification tool
Cow Anatomy