BGCSE Animal Production 1255 key terms

The large first chamber of the stomach in cattle, sheep and goats where microbes break down fibrous feeds by fermentation, producing volatile fatty acids and microbial protein the animal can use.

A hoofed mammal with a multi-chambered stomach and a cud-chewing habit, including cattle, sheep and goats, which allows it to digest roughage that simple-stomached animals cannot use efficiently.

The process in which a ruminant brings partly digested feed back to the mouth, chews it again and swallows it, reducing particle size and increasing the surface available for microbial digestion.

An animal with a single simple stomach, such as a pig or chicken, which relies mainly on enzymes rather than microbial fermentation to digest its feed and therefore needs more concentrated diets.

The total quantity of feed given to an animal over a stated period, usually 24 hours, balanced to supply the energy, protein, minerals and vitamins needed for its purpose and stage of production.

A feed mixture containing all the nutrients an animal requires in the correct proportions and amounts, so that no single nutrient is deficient or in harmful excess.

The nitrogen content of a feed multiplied by a standard factor, used as a laboratory estimate of total protein; it includes both true protein and non-protein nitrogen compounds.

A feed low in fibre and high in energy or protein, such as maize meal, soybean meal or commercial pellets, used to supplement roughage and support high levels of production.

A bulky feed with a high fibre content, such as grass, hay, silage or crop residues, which is slowly fermented in the gut and helps maintain normal digestive function and rumen health.

The weight of feed consumed divided by the weight of product or liveweight gain produced; a lower figure means the animal is converting feed into meat, milk or eggs more efficiently.

The increase in an animal's liveweight over a period divided by the number of days in that period, commonly used to judge growth rate and the success of a feeding programme.

The thick, antibody-rich first milk produced after birth, which a newborn must drink within the first hours of life to gain passive immunity against disease.

Short-term protection against disease that a young animal receives from antibodies in its mother's colostrum rather than producing its own, lasting only a few weeks after birth.

The deliberate introduction of a harmless form of a pathogen or its products to stimulate an animal's immune system to produce protective antibodies before natural exposure occurs.

The isolation of newly arriving or sick animals away from the main herd for a set period, so that disease can be detected and spread to healthy stock prevented.

A disease that must by law be reported to the veterinary authority when suspected, because it spreads rapidly or threatens human health, trade or the national herd.

An infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to people, either directly by contact or indirectly through food, water or vectors such as ticks and mosquitoes.

A living organism, often an insect or tick, that carries a disease agent from one host to another, for example the tsetse fly spreading trypanosomiasis among cattle.

An organism such as a roundworm, tapeworm or fluke that lives inside the host's body, feeding on its tissues or gut contents and causing poor growth, anaemia or diarrhoea.

A drug given to remove or control internal worms in livestock; correct dosing by weight and rotation of drug groups help slow the development of resistance.

The minimum time that must pass after an animal receives a drug before its meat, milk or eggs may be sold for human consumption, so that residues fall to safe levels.

The proportion of the variation in a trait within a population that is due to genetic differences rather than environment; high values mean selection on the trait will produce rapid genetic progress.

The observable characteristics of an animal, such as its weight, milk yield or coat colour, resulting from the combined effects of its genes and the environment it has experienced.

The genetic make-up of an animal, that is, the particular combination of alleles it carries for a trait, which is inherited and passed on to its offspring.

The deliberate choice of certain animals to become parents of the next generation on the basis of superior performance or breeding value, so that desirable traits become more common.

Mating animals of two or more different breeds to produce offspring that often show hybrid vigour, improved growth or hardiness compared with the parent breeds.

The mating of closely related animals, which increases the proportion of shared genes and can expose harmful recessive traits, reducing fertility, vigour and survival in the offspring.

The number of animals of a given class grazed on a specified area of land over a stated period, usually expressed as livestock units per hectare.

The maximum number of animals a particular pasture or farm can support sustainably without degrading the vegetation, soil or water resources over the long term.

Grazing land so heavily or for so long that plants are not allowed to recover, leading to bare soil, erosion, weed invasion and declining feed value for livestock.

The weight of a live animal, measured on a scale or estimated by tape, used to set drug doses, monitor growth and determine sale value or feed requirements.

The warm carcass weight expressed as a percentage of the liveweight before slaughter, indicating how much saleable meat an animal yields relative to its live weight.

The controlled warming of fertile eggs, naturally by a broody hen or artificially in an incubator, until the embryos develop and the chicks hatch after about 21 days.

Shining a bright light through an egg in a darkened room to reveal the developing embryo or to detect infertile, cracked or rotten eggs before they are set or sold.

The management of young chicks during their first weeks of life, providing warmth, clean water, suitable feed and protection so that they grow well and survive.

The material spread on the floor of an animal house, such as wood shavings, straw or sand, which absorbs moisture, provides insulation and cushions the animals.

The controlled movement of air through an animal house to remove heat, moisture, dust and gases such as ammonia, while avoiding draughts that could chill the stock.

The set of practices, including controlled entry, disinfection, quarantine and pest control, designed to keep disease agents out of a farm and stop them spreading within it.

A written or electronic account of farm activities such as births, deaths, feed use, treatments and sales, used to monitor performance, control costs and support management decisions.

The physical and mental state of an animal in relation to the conditions in which it lives, judged by freedom from hunger, discomfort, pain, fear and the ability to express normal behaviour.