Farm animals, especially “baby” ones are a must see for most families particularly in spring. It is lovely to see lambs playing in the fields and hatching chicks is a regular fixture in a lot of schools.
Whatever your beliefs, and everyone is entitled to their own, animals play an important part of British Agriculture and our diets. I believe children should understand where the meat on their plates comes from. The cold reality is tough for many to understand but without being bred for the table, we wouldn’t see as many in the fields and they do enjoy a wonderful life, albeit it short in some circumstances. Animals provide us with some wonderful products, many which we benefit from throughout their lives such as milk, wool and eggs. Not only this, vegetables, plants and other crops benefit from the manure produced from the animals as this is a natural fertiliser spread on the fields.
Below I will explain what comes from where, a bit more about the animals and their families (we love playing a game guessing the name of different members of each animal family – did you know a group of lizards is called a lounge?), and basically, that milk doesn’t just come from the supermarket and sausages aren’t from a packet.
Cattle
Mummy Cow – Cow
Daddy Cow – Bull
Baby Cow – Calf
Male Calf – Steer
Female Calf – Heifer
There are broadly two types of cattle: beef and dairy.
Beef cattle include breeds like the Aberdeen Angus, Charolais, Highland, Belted Galloway and many more. They produce meat, beef, which is the basis for the British Sunday Lunch. Mince tends to come from beef, the basis of the burger, mince and bolognaise. Leather and gelatine also come from cattle.
Dairy cattle include the Holstein, Jersey and Guernsey. Cows have to produce a calf in order to produce milk. These calves are then taken off their mothers at a young age and bottle fed. Their sex determines what happens next, heifers will continue the process and steers will be fattened up and sold for meat. The milk from cattle is pasteurised to produce the milk we know in the carton, but you can also buy raw milk which tastes very different. Cow Corner Milk, at Pickhill, Thirsk and Atley Hill Raw Milk are a bit of a drive but you could make a day out of it. Milk is used to make cheese, yoghurt and butter amongst other things.
Sheep
Mummy sheep – Ewe
Daddy sheep – Ram or Tup
Baby sheep – Lamb
Male lamb – Ram or Tup lamb
Female lamb – Gimmer
Sheep produce meat in the form of lambs. These are typically 3 to 5 months old. Younger lambs produce paler, more tender meat. Mutton would be the meat from a sheep older than a year, often used in kebabs. Sheep also produce wool for clothing, carpets, rugs, mattresses and much more. On a side, cashmere comes from goats and angora wool from rabbits. Sheep (and goats) also produce milk and subsequent products.
Pigs
Mummy pig – Sow
Daddy pig – Boar
Baby pig – Piglets
Male piglet – Barrow (if castrated)
Female piglet – Gilt
Pigs generally have 8 to 12 piglets. They often breed outside (lookout for the pig’loos when playing eye-spy). They tend to be bred for meat with the females (if considered good enough) kept for reproduction to keep the process going. It will be no surprise to read that pigs gain weight quickly! They tend to be slaughtered as young as four to six months old for pork, or as late as 8 to 10 months old for bacon. Sausages are often made from pork and are mixed with lovely seasonings to make them particularly tasty whilst hog roasts are obviously pigs too!
Turkey
Male turkey – Gobbler or Tom
Female turkey – Hen
Baby turkey – Poult or Chick
Female Poult – Jenny
Male Poult – Jake
Turkey is traditionally our Christmas lunch. They are bigger than chickens and can feed a larger number of people so great for family get togethers. Turkeys somehow seem much more prehistoric birds than chickens – the gnarled folds of flesh, the giant, blinking eyes, the huge, scaly feet, the unearthly gobbling sound. They are kept either indoors or outdoors depending on the bred.
Chicken
Male chicken – Cock
Female chicken – Hen
Baby chicken – Chicks
Female chick – Pullets
Chickens are reared for meat and eggs.
Chickens farmed for meat are called broilers. Chickens will naturally live for six or more years, but broiler breeds typically take less than six weeks to reach slaughter size. A free range or organic broiler will usually be slaughtered at about 14 weeks of age. Chickens farmed primarily for eggs are called layer hens.
British Agriculture ensures that all animals bred for the table are subject to the highest of welfare standards, this is continually monitored and is reaching new heights all the time.
Agricultural Shows help showcase this and explain further. We have 5 coming up in the next few weeks in the area:
Malton Show – 1st July
Great Yorkshire Show – 10th – 12th July
Driffield Show – 18th July. A particular highlight is The Sheep Show where he showcases the Sheep and they “Dance”
Ryedale Show – 31st July
Thornton le Dale Show – 12th August.
Animal husbandry teaches kids empathy, care, awareness of illness & disease, effects of heat & cold – eg dogs in cars, handling, confidence and brings them closer to nature – whether it be a goldfish, a dog or a flock of sheep. Caring for animals are a great way to teach life lessons (positive and negative) to kids in a gentle and engaging way.
