Livestock: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

Highland cattle

Three Duroc pigs with reddish-brown coats stand close together on grassy ground at a farm in the Scottish Highlands.

Irish Cob horse

Two brown mules with light manes stand near a wire fence in a snowy pasture in Idaho.

Holstein cows eat silage from a feeding trough outside a large red and white barn with ventilation fans on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.

Cattle and horses graze on a grassy pasture in north central Mongolia, with rocky hills and a line of vehicles or yurts in the background.

A shepherd on horseback holding a long staff watches over a large flock of sheep grazing on open grassland near Kharkhorin, central Mongolia.

See All Images →

Topics

rabbit Sheep Cattle sheep pig Goat Pig Origins of agriculture Rangeland veterinary medicine pet Animal social behavior reptile fish Animal behaviour Bird insect mammal crustacean Zoology

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

default image

Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov

Soviet biologist

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names