cattle, name for the ruminant ruminant, any of a group of hooved mammals that chew their cud, i.e., that regurgitate and chew again food that has already been swallowed. Ruminants have an even number of toes on each foot and a stomach with either three or four chambers.
..... Click the link for more information. mammals of the genus Bos, and particularly those of the domesticated species, Bos taurus and B. indica. The term oxen, broadly used, refers also to closely related animals, such as the buffalo buffalo, name commonly applied to the American bison but correctly restricted to certain related African and Asian mammals of the cattle family. The water buffalo, or Indian buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, is found in S Asia.
..... Click the link for more information. and the bison bison, large hoofed mammal, genus Bison, of the cattle family. Bison have short horns and humped, heavily mantled shoulders that slope downward to the hindquarters.
..... Click the link for more information. . Narrowly used, ox refers to a mature castrated male used for draft purposes. In referring to domestic cattle a grown male is a bull, a grown female a cow, an infant a calf, and an animal between one and two years old a yearling. A female that has not given birth is a heifer; a castrated male is a steer.

Most cattle have unbranched horns consisting of a horny layer surrounding a bone extension of the skull; these horns, unlike those of deer, are not shed. Some cattle are naturally hornless. Western, or European, domestic cattle (Bos taurus) are thought to be descended mainly from the aurochs, a large European wild ox domesticated during the Stone Age, extinct since 1627. A smaller species, the Celtic shorthorn, was the most important domestic ox of the Stone Age and may also be involved in the ancestry of B. taurus. The zebu zebu (zē`by
..... Click the link for more information. , or Indian ox, B. indica, is the humped domestic species of Asia and Africa. Several B. indica breeds have been developed in the United States into the Brahman breed. The yak yak, bovine mammal, Bos grunniens, of the Tibet region of China and adjacent areas. It is oxlike in build, with short, thick legs, humped shoulders, large upcurved horns, and a thick coat that hangs down to the ankles.
..... Click the link for more information. , B. grunniens, and other cattle species, wild and domestic, exist in Asia. Domestic cattle were first brought to the Western Hemisphere by Columbus on his second voyage.

In various societies throughout history wealth has been measured in terms of cattle—cattle is related to capital and chattel, and pecuniary is derived from pecus [Lat.,=cattle]. Breeding for improvement of beef and dairy qualities, practiced by the Romans, was established on scientific principles in the middle of the 18th cent. by English livestock breeder Robert Bakewell (see animal husbandry animal husbandry, aspect of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of domestic animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, and horses. Domestication of wild animal species was a crucial achievement in the prehistoric transition of human civilization from
..... Click the link for more information. ; breeding breeding, in agriculture and animal husbandry , propagation of plants and animals by sexual reproduction ; usually based on selection of parents with desirable traits to produce improved progeny.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Important beef breeds include Angus Angus cattle (ăng`gəs)
..... Click the link for more information. , Hereford Hereford cattle (hûr`fərd)
..... Click the link for more information. , Simmental, Charolais, Limousin, Gelbvieh, Brahman, and Shorthorn Shorthorn cattle, breed of beef cattle developed from the native cattle of the Tees valley in NE England; formerly called Durham cattle. Systematic breeding of Shorthorns began in the latter part of the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . Important crossbreeds include Brangus (Brahman x Angus) and Santa Gertrudis (Shorthorn x Brahman). Major dairy breeds include Holstein-Friesian Holstein-Friesian cattle (hōl`stēn-frē`zhən, –stīn–)
..... Click the link for more information. , Jersey Jersey (jûr`zē), island (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. , Guernsey Guernsey (gûrn`zē), island, 25 sq mi (65 sq km), in the English Channel, second largest of the Channel Islands.
..... Click the link for more information. , Brown Swiss Brown Swiss cattle, one of the oldest breeds of cattle, originating in Switzerland where the cows were used as triple-purpose animals (dairy, beef, and draft). They are large, fleshy, and slow-maturing, with body color ranging from gray or light brown to dark brown.
..... Click the link for more information. , Ayrshire Ayrshire or Ayr, former county, SW Scotland. Ayrshire became part of the Strathclyde region in 1975. In the local government reorganization of 1996, Strathclyde was dissolved and the council areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire were created
..... Click the link for more information. , and Milking Shorthorn. The importance of dual-purpose breeds has declined.

Cattle are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata (kôrdā`tə,–dä`–)
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae. See also beef beef, flesh of cattle prepared for food. It has become one of the chief products of the meatpacking industry and is sold either chilled, frozen, or cured. The leading beef consumers, as well as exporters, are the U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. ; dairying dairying, business of producing, processing, and distributing milk and milk products. Ninety percent of the world's milk is obtained from cows; the remainder comes from goats, buffaloes, sheep, reindeer, yaks, and other ruminants.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See publications of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; A. L. Neumann and K. S. Lusby, Beef Cattle (8th ed. 1986); V. Porter, Cattle (1992).

cattle

Domesticated bovids that are raised for meat, milk, or hides or for draft purposes. Depending on the breed, mature bulls (fertile males) weigh 1,000–4,000 lbs (450–1,800 kg); cows (fertile females) weigh 800–2,400 lbs (360–1,080 kg). All modern cattle are believed to belong to either of two species (Bos indicus or B. taurus) or to be crosses of the two. About 277 identifiable breeds include those prominent in beef production (e.g., Angus, Hereford, and shorthorn) and dairy farming. Cattle feed primarily by grazing on pasture, but in modern farming their diet is ordinarily supplemented with prepared animal feeds. See also aurochs, Brahman, ox.

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Bibliography

cattle

cattle
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