It is worth giving to spare time for learning these important theriogenology terms.

Whelping: The act of a female dog giving birth to a puppy.

Queening: The act of a cat giving birth to a kitten.

Calving: The act of a cow or heifer giving birth to a calf.

Lambing: The act of a sheep (ewe) giving birth to a lamb.

Kidding: The act of a goat (doe) giving birth to a kid.

Foaling: The act of a horse (mare) giving birth to a foal.

Farrowing: The act of a pig (sow) giving birth to a piglet.

Kindling: The act of a female rabbit (doe) giving birth to a bunny

Parturition: A general term that is used for the act of giving birth.

Laying: Act of parturition in chickens.

Coitus (copulation). The sexual union of male and female during mating and involves intromission.

Tupping: The act of mating in sheep is called tupping.

Serving: The act of mating in goat, cattle and buffalo.

Coupling: The act of mating in the pig.

Covering: The act of mating in the horse.

Dystocia: Difficult birth, OR When the process of parturition is markedly prolonged and becomes difficult or impossible for the dam to expel out the foetus without manual assistance, the condition is called dystocia.

Eutocia: The safe, easy, natural or physiological parturition is called eutocia.

Abortion: The expulsion of the dead foetus of recognizable size from the uterus before the full term of gestation, is called abortion.

Puerperium: The period after completion of parturition during which the genital system is returning to its normal non-pregnant state is called puerperium.

Polyspermy: The condition in which more than one spermatozoon fertilizes the oocyte.

Monotocous: The animals that give birth to only a single offspring at the time of parturition.

Polytocous OR Multiparous: Mammals that give birth to multiple offsprings at the time of parturition (litter-bearers).

Monoestrus: The female animals which show one oestrous cycle in a year are called monoesterus animals e.g., wild animals and bitches.

Polyoestrus: The female animals which express a regular pattern of oestrous cycles throughout the year are called polyoestrus animals eg., cattle, sow, doe.

Flagging: In the case of a stallion when intromission is achieved, ejaculation takes place over a period of a few minutes. During this time the tail of the stallion is lifted up and down. This phenomenon is called flagging.