GLOSSARY 
GENERAL TERMS 
Balanced ration. A ration suitable for the production of a 
given result without loss or excess of any nutrients. 
Castration. The removal of the testicles, or sex glands, of 
the male. 
Cod. The scrotum after the testicles have been removed by 
castration. The term is used most frequently in connection 
with steers and wethers. 
Cross-bred. An animal whose sire and dam are of different 
breeds. 
Docking. The practice of deducting from either the weight 
or the price of an animal at the time of sale for any purpose 
whatever. Cattle or sheep sold out of the feed lot when full of 
feed and water are commonly docked 4 per cent in order to give 
the buyers some compensation for the shrinkage which will 
occur in getting these animals to market. It is also customary 
to dock stags of all kinds. 
Dressing percentage. The weight of the carcass of the animal 
expressed as a percentage of the live weight. In dressing beef 
and mutton, the head, hide, feet, and entrails are removed. 
The average dressing percentage of good steers is from 55 to 60 
per cent and of cows 4 or 5 per cent less. Sheep dress 5 
or 6 per cent less than cattle of similar condition. With hogs, 
only the hair and entrails are removed in dressing; good mar- 
ketable hogs dress 75 to 80 per cent. Very poor or very good 
animals dress considerably more or less than the figures given. 
Gestation period. The period intervening between the breed- 
ing of the female and the birth of the offspring. The length 
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