Cattle: A Comprehensive Guide to Breeds, Terminology, and Types

Cattle

Introduction to Cattle

Cattle, the collective term for the domestic cow, bull, and steer, and the zebu. It is also used to refer to other animals of the genus Bos, including the banteng, gaur, kouprey, and yak.

Female cattle are called cows; males are bulls. The young are called calves. Heifers are young cows. Most male beef cattle are castrated when they are calves; they are then called steers. Steers produce the best quality meat. A castrated male raised as a work animal is usually called an ox. The term “ox” is also used to refer to any animal of the cattle genus. .)

Cattle supply meat and milk. Their hides are tanned into leather and the hair is used to make felt. The bones are used in making fertilizer, boneblack (a pigment), and other products. The fat, also known as tallow, is used in making lubricants, soap, and margarine and in candlemaking. The glands supply many hormones used in medicine. Horns and hooves are used to make glue and neatsfoot oil, which is used to dress leather. In many countries, cattle are used as draft animals, pulling plows and vehicles; to work treadmills; and as pack animals. Bullfighting is a sport in some countries. .)

Three types of cattle are raised: dairy cattle; beef cattle; and dual-purpose cattle, raised for both milk and meat. This article is limited to beef cattle and dual-purpose cattle. ; .

Physical Description

Cattle have heavy bodies with short legs. The eyes are large and brown; the teeth, like those of a horse, are suited to a vegetable diet. Most breeds have horns, which are present in both sexes. The horns are hollow, and located above and in front of the ears. Polled cattle are hornless; some are members of breeds that do not develop horns, while others are individuals whose horns have been removed. (The horns of cattle are often removed because dehorned cattle are less aggressive and less likely to harm people or other cattle. Polled cattle also usually sell for more than horned cattle.) The stomach has four compartments. The animal spends about eight hours a day grazing; during much of the rest of the day it chews cud, food brought up into the mouth from its first stomach compartment to be chewed again. Healthy and strong domestic cattle have short legs and compact, almost rectangular bodies. A beef steer should have a straight back, and full, fleshy hindquarters because the meat with the greatest retail value is found in the top rear of the steer's body. Cattle can live 15 to 20 years, but most beef cattle, except breeding animals, go to market before they are five years old.

Breeding

A male can be used for breeding at the age of 12 months, but will develop better if breeding is postponed until the animal is two years old. The cow can be mated at 18 months. The cow gives birth nine and a half months after the mating; usually a single calf is born.

Breeds with distinct characteristics have been developed by mating cattle with the desired traits. Artificial insemination makes it possible to breed a large number of cows to the same superior bull. Several breeding techniques, such as embryo transfer and gene injection, have been developed through genetic engineering.

Cattle belonging to one of the recognized breeds are called purebred. Scrubs are cattle of inferior breeding or poor appearance. A grade animal is the offspring of a purebred bull and a scrub or grade cow. Purebred cattle produce more and better meat at a lower cost than other cattle. Fast growth and early maturity are stressed in breeding to cut the cost of care and feeding.

A fine, purebred animal may be registered by its owner with one of the cattle breed associations. Every important breed is represented by a society that keeps a herdbook listing registered, purebred animals. A registered herd is one in which all the animals have been so registered. These records enable breeders to select suitable animals, especially bulls, for breeding.

Breeds of Beef Cattle

The common breeds of beef cattle in the United States and Canada are the following:

Angus, or Aberdeen Angus

This naturally hornless breed has a highly muscled, small-boned body and produces excellent, lean meat. Angus cattle are usually black but can be red. Bulls weigh up to 1,900 pounds (860 kg), cows up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). The breed originated in Aberdeen, Scotland, and was brought to the United States in 1873.

Beefmaster

This breed produces a high quality of meat and is quite tolerant of heat. It is red, brown, white, or any combination of these colors. Bulls weigh up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg), cows up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg). The breed was developed from Brahman and Hereford breeds on the Lasater Ranch in Texas and was officially recognized in 1954.

Brahman, or Zebu

This breed is known for its resistance to heat and insects and for its good beef. Bulls weigh up to 1,800 pounds (820 kg), cows up to 1,300 pounds (590 kg). It is native to India and was introduced into the United States in 1849.

Hereford, or Whiteface

This is the most popular beef breed in North America because of its hardiness on the range. It has strong, heavy bones and thick flesh. The body is red, and the face, legs, belly, and tip of the tail are white. Bulls weigh up to 2,100 pounds (950 kg), cows up to 1,700 pounds (770 kg). The Hereford was introduced from England into the United States in 1817. A naturally hornless breed known as polled Hereford was developed in the United States from Herefords and became officially recognized in the 1890's.

Santa Gertrudis

This breed is favored for its excellent beef. The breed is a shiny, dark red. Bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg), cows up to 1,600 pounds (730 kg). The breed was developed from Brahman and shorthorn breeds on the King Ranch in Texas and became officially recognized in 1940.

Shorthorn

This breed is popular because it is fleshy and quickly grows to market weight, 1,000 pounds (450 kg). These cattle are red, white, roan, or any combination of these colors. Bulls weigh up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg), cows up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg). Shorthorns were developed in England and brought to America in 1783. A naturally hornless breed known as polled shorthorn was developed in the United States from shorthorns and became officially recognized in 1870.

Texas Longhorn

This breed is prized for its tolerance of hot, dry climates and its resistance to disease; it is known for its lean beef. Longhorns may be a wide range of colors. Bulls weigh up to 1,200 pounds (540 kg), cows up to 800 pounds (360 kg). The breed was developed in Spain and brought to Mexico in 1525. Later it was widely raised in Texas. It became nearly extinct in the 1920's, after ranchers began raising other breeds that produced fattier beef. Interest in Texas longhorns revived in the 1970's, when lean meat became more popular among consumers. These cattle are also being raised by ranchers who crossbreed Texas longhorns with other breeds in order to pass to them the longhorn's hardier traits.

Dual-purpose Breeds

The dual-purpose breeds resemble the beef breeds in shape—being heavy, short-legged and fairly wide—but produce more milk with a higher butterfat content than typical beef cattle. The common breeds of dual-purpose cattle in the United States and Canada are the following:

Devon

These cattle are known for their excellent milk production and fleshy beef. This breed is nicknamed “ruby” because of its ruby-red coloring. Bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg), cows up to 1,600 pounds (730 kg). They were brought to what is now the United States in 1623 from England.

Milking Shorthorn

This breed was developed in England before 1780 from shorthorn cattle. Bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg), cows up to 1,700 pounds (770 kg). This breed is raised mostly in the Midwest and in the eastern states.

Red Poll

This naturally hornless breed produces good meat and excellent milk. Its body is a brownish-red and the tip of the tail is white. Bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg), cows up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). This breed was brought to the United States from England in 1873.

Care and Handling

Cattle are raised in large herds on the range—any large, open, sparsely populated area—or in smaller numbers on farms.

Range Raising

In the early days of the American West, when most of the land of the Great Plains region belonged to the government, many cattlemen kept their herds on the public domain. As there were no fences, the cattle wandered widely. Ownership was indicated by branding cattle with hot irons that had designs on them unique to each owner. Ear tags were sometimes used in place of branding. Roundups were held twice a year, in spring to brand the newborn calves, and in fall to pick mature steers for market. The cattle drives to railway shipping points often covered long distances. Also, cattle were sometimes driven long distances—as far as from Texas to Montana—in a search for better grazing land.

As settlers moved into the Great Plains, open range conditions became impossible. Ranchers then had to buy or lease grazing land, and put up fences to protect their property. The open range still exists in a few areas in the United States, however. Range raising on a large scale is still practiced in Argentina and Australia.

Farm Raising

This type of livestock raising has increased in proportion to the growth of the nation's population. On some farms, cattle feed in pastures during the summer. Livestock raisers also feed them corn, barley, cottonseed cake, oats, wheat, soybean meal, and linseed meal. Cattle are fed root crops, alfalfa hay, and silage during the winter. They also require salt, and in certain areas phosphorus, calcium, and iron.

Stall barns and loafing barns, in which cattle are kept when they are not in pastures, are commonly used. They are large, well-insulated structures. .

Diseases and Parasites

Bang's disease (or brucellosis), bovine tuberculosis, and anthrax are serious infectious diseases of cattle that can be transmitted to human beings. In some countries, including the United States, these diseases have been brought under control by such measures as vaccination, sanitation of barns and feedlots, quarantine or slaughter of sick cattle, and pasteurization of milk.

Infectious diseases that are now rare in the United States are foot-and-mouth disease and Texas fever. Among diseases still prevalent in the United States are blackleg, anaplasmosis, and scours, or calf septicemia. Rinderpest, a disease prevalent in Asia and Africa, has never invaded North America.

Bloat, a serious digestive disturbance, causes slow milk production, loss of weight, and sometimes death. Bloat can be prevented by use of the drug poloxalene.

Among parasites that infest cattle are tapeworms, various roundworms, lice, mites, and ticks. Most of these parasites cause sickness in cattle and make their meat or hides unmarketable. Tapeworms may be passed on to human beings who eat meat that is not thoroughly cooked. Mites cause mange, a contagious skin disease in cattle. Ticks infect cattle with Texas fever and anaplasmosis. Drugs and insecticide sprays and dips are useful in ridding cattle of parasites.

History

Domestic cattle are believed to be descended from the aurochs, a large European wild ox. The earliest dates of domestication are probably 6200 B.C. in Europe and 5800 B.C. in Asia.

Cattle were not native to America, but were brought to the West Indies by Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. The English, Dutch, and French colonists who settled on the east coast of America brought their own cattle.

Cattle belong to the family Bovidae. All domestic cattle are of the species Bos taurus, except the Brahman, which is Bos indicus.