Abscess—A boil under the skin filled with pus.
Afterbirth—Placenta and membranes expelled by a doe after kidding.
Angora—A breed of goat known for excellent fiber.
Antibiotic—Prescribed drug to fight bacterial infections, which may leave residues in the fat or muscle fibers of the animal.
Antibodies—A component of blood that fights disease.
Barn Records—A chart of milk production for each doe or cow. Might also include feeding changes, weather conditions, breeding dates, etc.
Bedding—A natural material used to cover the floor of a farm animal’s pen or stall. Wood shavings, straw, waste hay, or shredded paper are standard bedding materials.
Bloat—A distension and swelling of the abdomen as a result of gas buildup.
Bloom—Protective covering of an egg. Unseen once dry.
Buck—Male goat.
Buckling—Male goat under one year old.
Browsing—Eating bushes and woody plants.
Cabrito—The meat of a milk-fed kid.
Cannibalism—A learned habit of chickens, eating another chicken’s flesh.
Carrier—An animal that carries disease and infects others, but shows no sign of the disease himself.
Castrate—To remove the testicles of an animal.
Chevon—Goat meat.
Chicken Tractor—a self-contained, movable coop and fenced yard. Most often crafted to house four to six hens.
Coccidiosis—An intestinal disease that causes diarrhea. Coccidiostat is the drug that treats and prevents coccidiosis.
Cockerel—A male bird less than one year old.
Colostrum—Thick, colored milk from a doe or cow that has just given birth. This milk is high in antibodies and is needed by kids or calves for optimum health.
Concentrate—A fortified feed high in nutritional value.
Creep Feeder—A specialty feeder that is built in a manner such that only young may enter and feed.
Crop—A section of a bird’s gullet that stores food before digestion.
Cull—To remove inferior animals from the flock or herd.
Dam—An animal’s mother.
Dehorn—Surgical operation that removes horns of an adult goat.
Disbud—Removal of the small horn bud of a young animal.
Disbudding Iron—An electric device that burns horn buds from young animals.
Dock—To remove or shorten a tail.
Doe—Female goat.
Doeling—Female goat under the age of one year.
Dual-Purpose or Dual-Purpose Breed—A breed of animal that is exceptional at serving two purposes. Most often pertains to chicken breeds but may also be used for goats, sheep, and cattle.
Electrolytes—A mixture of body salts given to animals suffering from dehydration (usually brought on by scours).
Ewe—A female sheep.
Fleece—Wool from sheep or goats.
Flush—The act of feeding goats and sheep a high ration before breeding to improve probability of conception.
Forage—A combination term used to specify a grass and hay diet as well as allowing animals to pasture and find food on the land.
Free-choice—Always available for the animal’s consumption.
Freshen—To rebreed a doe or cow with the intention of producing milk.
Gestation—The time between breeding and birthing.
Grade—Pertaining to an unregistered or crossbred animal.
Grit—Hard materials consumed and used by a bird’s gizzard to grind up food for digestion.
Heat—Term used to describe the time a female animal is ready to be bred.
Hen—Female chicken over one year old.
Horn Bud—The beginning of horns.
Kid—A goat under one year old. Also means to birth a goat.
Lamb—Newborn sheep to one year of age.
Legume—A type of plant from the sweet pea family that is found in some hay.
Litter—See Bedding.
Mastitis—An udder inflammation requiring antibiotics.
Mature—Old enough to safely breed.
Meat Birds—Pertaining to chickens. A hybrid or cross (generally with a Cornish breed) known to grow quickly and have a high feed- to-meat conversion.
Milk Stand—Raised platform with a seat for the milker.
Molt—Pertaining to chickens. To lose old feathers before growing new ones.
Mutton—Meat from a mature lamb.
Nesting Box—Box created to accommodate laying hens when laying an egg.
Pecking Order—A highly organized and obeyed social order of chickens.
Pedigree—A certification or registration of an animal’s lineage.
Polled—Either born without horns or being a hornless breed.
Poult—A young turkey.
Pullet—Female chicken under the age of one year.
Purebred—An animal that has been registered and whose lineage has been traced for many generations.
Quarantine—To separate one animal from the others for observation or treatment.
Ram—Male sheep. If under one year of age, a ram lamb.
Registration—Animal’s ancestry recorded through a recognizable association.
Rotational Grazing—The sequential use of sectioned pasture.
Scours—Severe or persistent diarrhea.
Selenium—Trace mineral required in every animal’s diet. Most often gleaned from plants growing in selenium-rich soil. Some areas of North America are now deficient in selenium and therefore it’s added to the feed.
Sire—An animal’s father.
Stanchions—A device used to hold an animal’s head in place during milking.
Straight Run—Mixture of male and female chickens, unsorted, for customer orders.
Strip—Last bit of milk from a goat’s udder.
Strip Cup—A cup used for investigation of the first squirt of milk.
Supplement—Extras fed to animals to increase their health.
Vent—The opening of a bird’s body for eggs and droppings.
Wean—To stop a particular feeding practice.
Wether—Castrated buck (or buckling) or ram (or ram lamb).
Whey—The remaining liquid when making cheese solids.