There Was a Farmer Who Had a....

What animals are on your backyard farm?

If you want to be a backyard farmer, it is useful to know some animal terminology. Here are the names for various types of barnyard animals. Teach them to your children. Use them in some educational games with them. Get your children out to some farms to see them. Explain the process of how we eat them. Grow them on your own backyard farm if you have the room.

Chicken - Gallus

· Rooster or cock – Male

· Hen – female

· Chick – juvenile

· Cockerel – male juvenile

· Pullet – female juvenile

· Capon – castrated male

· Layer – chicken raised for eggs

· Broiler or fryer – chicken raised for meat

Sheep – Ovis

· Ram or buck– male

· Ewe or yoe – female

· Lamb – juvenile

· Wether - castrated male

Goat - Capra

· Buck (Billy) - male

· Doe (Nanny) - female

· Kid – juvenile

· Buckling – male juvenile

· Doeling – female juvenile

Hog – Porcus

· Boar – male

· Sow – female

· Shoat or pig - juvenile

Cattle – Bovis

· Bull – male

· Cow – female

· Calf – juvenile

· Steer – male castrated as a juvenile

· Heifer – female juvenile

· Ox (draft animal)– male castrated as an adult

· Dairy – cattle raised for milk

· Beef – cattle raised for meat

Horse – Equus

· Stallion or stud – male

· Mare or dam – female

· Foal – juvenile

· Colt – male juvenile

· Filly – female juvenile

· Gelding – castrated male

Interesting tidbit - a mare is a female horse but there is no analogous phrase for a cow. The following is a fun website for children. You can even find the name for a juvenile oyster.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/Animalbabies.shtml

~Dale