See if you can understand this cattleman’s conversation heard at one of the local coffee shops. “That Baldy heifer with
a touch of ear may need to be wormed. I thought she would freshen this spring but I saw her bulling this morning. She’s out of that old muley cow that is
smooth-mouthed and been dry for the last year. I guess she’s got hardware now but she’s been a good ‘un. I kept another one of her calves, was going to cut him but
decided he wouldn’t bring anything as a steer so I just kept him for a heifer bull.”
The jargon used in the cattle industry can be both confusing and amusing. Now, here’s some help for those of you that
don’t hang out at the feedstore or stockyard:
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baldy – white face with solid black or red body e.g. black baldy
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touch of ear – some Brahman influence
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wormed – actually dewormed . We don’t want to give them worms.
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freshen – start to give milk after calving
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bulling – in heat (showing the signs of estrus)
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muley – polled, not horned
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smooth-mouthed – It’s a cow with its lower, front teeth worn down, usually over ten years of age. Don’t bother to
look for the upper teeth.
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dry – not producing milk, has nothing to do with the weather
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hardware – presence of a metal item like a nail in the rumen or reticulum (fore stomach)
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good ‘un – means absolutely nothing
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cut – castrate.
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heifer bull – a bull that is acceptable to breed to yearling heifers because of expected calving ease.
UK Beef Specialist Dr. Roy Burris tells this story about a fellow who told him about a poor doing cow who had “holler
horn”. He told Roy that you could just drill a hole in their horn and it would relieve that pressure on the brain and they would be cured. When Roy expressed
disbelief, he said “It works. My pappy had a cow that was down and he didn’t have a drill, so he just picked up a 2x4 and knocked a horn off. She got up and ran
off”. Roy allowed that he’d get up and run off too if a wild man got after him with a 2x4.
I had the opportunity to attend a portion of the Kentucky Cattleman’s Association held last week in Lexington, and
was impressed with the event. Regional Vice Chairman Lloyd Gray did an excellent job leading the Regional Caucus, and the opportunities for learning about the
industry were abundant at the trade show and through many educational session. While there was a lot of “cattleman’s jargon” being spoken, none described the poor
animal and situation earlier in this article. These were folks truly concerned for the industry and the “jargon” was of a professional nature dealing with the care
and stewardship of our beef animals. If you would like to learn more about the cattle industry, one good way would be to join the Henry County Cattleman’s
Association. Sounds like Monday, February 25, is the next regular meeting of this group. Call 845-2811 for details.
