International standards and resources
For common names, consult standard veterinary and medical dictionaries, such as Dorlands medical dictionary and Black’s veterinary dictionary.
Australian conventions and resources
We have not found an ‘official’ source of Australian livestock breeds.
The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has lists of breeds of different species of livestock.
Many livestock species have been extensively bred to create animals with beneficial characteristics. In most general texts, use lower case for breed names (apart from proper nouns that form part of the name):
Cattle: Guernsey Jersey Murray grey poll Hereford shorthorn
Sheep: English Leicester Romney Marsh poll merino dorper
Chickens: Australorp Plymouth Rock silkie leghorn
However, note that publications of livestock breeders may require initial capitals for formal breed names, but not group names:
Poll Merino Peppin Merino but merinos
Silkie Belgium Bantam but bantams
Did you know? Cow is in common informal use as a singular noun for cattle, despite its more precise female-specific use, especially when the sex is unknown or irrelevant (eg a paddock of cows). This use is recognised by some dictionaries but not by either the Macquarie dictionary or the Australian Oxford dictionary, and so should not be used in formal or technical writing.
Note that cattle is a plural noun, and there is no singular noun in English:
3 cattle some cattle the cattle were … not the cattle was …
Sex- and age-specific terms can be used as singular nouns:
Unlike cattle, sheep is both singular and plural:
1 sheep was … 2 sheep were …
Caution! Appropriate capitalisation for breed names is a confusing area.
See also Animal names.
