GB/T 45039-2024Terminology of deer farming (English PDF)

1 Scope

This document defines the terms and definitions for deer categories, breeding, production, velvet antler and antler, and other matters.

This document applies to the rearing, production and processing of artificially farmed deer.

2 Normative references

There are no normative references in this document.

3.1 Category terms

3.1.1 fawn: a deer from birth to the end of the same year. Note: this includes suckling fawns and weaned fawns.

3.1.2 yearling deer: a deer from weaning to adulthood.

3.1.3 adult male deer: a male deer that has reached physical maturity. Note: generally 36 months of age for sika deer, red deer and reindeer alike.

3.1.4 adult female deer: a female deer that has reached physical maturity. Note: generally 28 months of age for sika deer, red deer and reindeer alike.

3.1.5 breeding stag: a male deer used for mating and for producing offspring.

3.1.6 breeding hind: a female deer used for mating and for producing offspring.

3.1.7 male deer for velvet antler production: a male deer used to produce velvet antler but not taking part in breeding.

3.2 Breeding terms

3.2.1 puberty: the period at which a hind first begins to show oestrus or ovulation.

3.2.2 sexual maturity: the period at which the reproductive organs have developed to maturity and the animal is capable of reproduction.

3.2.3 physical maturity, also called physiological maturity: the period at which growth and development are basically complete and the animal has the form and structure proper to an adult animal.

3.2.4 age of first mating: the period at which the animal takes part in mating for the first time. Note: sika hinds are generally 16 months of age and sika stags generally 40 months; red deer hinds are generally 28 months and red deer stags generally 40 months; reindeer hinds are generally 28 months and reindeer stags generally 40 months.

3.2.5 seasonal estrus: the series of physiological and behavioural expressions in deer brought about, during a specific period, by the development of the testes and the ovaries. Note: generally from September to November each year.

3.2.6 estrus cycle: the interval in a hind from the start of one oestrus to the start of the next. Note: it also refers to the interval from one ovulation to the next; it is generally 12 d to 16 d in sika deer, 16 d to 20 d in red deer and 12 d to 15 d in reindeer.

3.2.7 estrus identification: the technique of recognizing whether a hind is in oestrus and of judging the stage of oestrus.

3.2.7.1 test estrus method using stag: a method in which a teaser stag is used on hinds and the degree of oestrus is judged from the way the hind reacts to the stag.

3.2.7.2 external observation method of estrus identification: a method of judging whether a hind is in oestrus, and the state of that oestrus, from her outward behaviour and mental state.

3.2.8 breeding method: a method of bringing the male and female germ cells together in order to produce offspring.

3.2.8.1 a number of males with a number of females breeding: a mating method in which selected breeding stags are put into the hind pen at a set male-to-female ratio and run as one group until mating ends.

3.2.8.2 one male with a number of females breeding: a mating method in which one breeding stag and several hinds are placed in the same pen and mate freely. Note: this includes mating through to the end, timed mating and replacement of the breeding stag partway. The male-to-female ratio is generally 1 to 15 or 1 to 20.

3.2.9 reproductive-survival percentage: the number of fawns surviving in the current year as a percentage of the number of hinds mated in the previous year.

3.3 Production terms

3.3.1 velvet antler growth period: the period from the casting of the antler button to the sawing of the velvet antler.

3.3.2 pen used to hold deer: the restraint facility used for taking velvet antler, for assisted birth, for treating disease and for loading.

3.3.3 deer detaching: the operation of moving deer from their original pen into another pen or into a specific facility.

3.3.4 fawn shelter fence: a fence that secures the supplementary feeding and the safety of fawns and that fawns can enter and leave at will.

3.4 Antler terms

3.4.1 velvet antler: the young antler, not yet ossified, densely covered with fine hair. Note: in sika deer and red deer only the male grows velvet antler, whereas in reindeer both sexes do.

3.4.2 spiker velvet antler, also called hairy peach velvet: the velvet antler a deer grows for the first time.

3.4.3 sawing surface: the cut face formed after the velvet antler has been sawn off.

3.4.4 wound-healing period: the process by which the top of the pedicle heals over after the antler button has been cast.

3.4.5 main beam, also called shaft or pole: the main branch that grows out from the top of the pedicle.

3.4.6 primordial tine: a branch, specific to the species, dividing off from the main beam of the velvet antler.

3.4.7 brow tine: the first branch dividing off from the main beam in sika velvet antler; in red deer velvet antler, the first and second branches dividing off in succession from the main beam.

3.4.8 ice tine: the second branch dividing off from the main beam of red deer velvet antler.

3.4.9 bay tine: the third branch dividing off from the main beam of red deer velvet antler.

3.4.10 forklet: the fork between the main beam and a branch.

3.4.11 distance between brow and bay tine: the distance on sika velvet antler from the brow forklet to the bay forklet.

3.4.12 two-tine velvet antler: sika velvet antler having a main beam and a brow tine.

3.4.13 lotus velvet antler: red deer velvet antler having a main beam and two brow tines.

3.4.14 three-tine velvet antler: sika velvet antler having a main beam, a brow tine and a second branch, or red deer velvet antler having a main beam, paired brow tines and a bay tine.

3.4.15 four-tine velvet antler: red deer velvet antler having a main beam, a brow tine, an ice tine, a bay tine and a fourth fork.

3.4.16 length of main beam: the natural distance from the sawing surface to the top of the main beam.

3.4.17 circumference of main beam: the circumference at the thinnest point of the middle section of the main beam.

3.4.18 top fork depth: the perpendicular distance from the topmost forklet to the line joining the top of the main beam and the tip of the last branch.

3.4.19 terminal fork: the topmost part of the main beam of the velvet antler.

3.4.20 terminal fork hypertrophy: the condition in which the circumference at the top of the velvet antler is greater than the circumference of the main beam.

3.4.21 length of terminal fork: the natural length from the uppermost forklet to the top of the main beam of the velvet antler.

3.4.22 antler tip: the part at the top of the main beam and of the side branches of the velvet antler.

3.4.23 pull antler tip into trench: the change by which the young, tender tip of a velvet antler goes from full and rounded to raised all round with a hollow in the middle.

3.4.24 red skin with fine hair: fine velvet hair and a fresh, tender, ruddy skin colour on sika velvet antler.

3.4.25 antler cycle: the process running from the end of the wound-healing period, through growth, ossification, shedding of the skin and casting of the antler, and back to the end of the wound-healing period.

3.4.26 regrowth velvet antler, also called second-crop velvet: the velvet antler grown again in the same year after the first harvest.

3.4.27 abnormal velvet antler, also called freak antler: velvet antler whose shape departs from the typical characteristics of the species.

3.4.28 hard antler: the ossified bony antler left after the velvet skin has been shed.

3.4.29 horn handle, also called pedicle or antler base: the pair of handles projecting from the top of the frontal bone of the stag, of bone covered by skin.

3.4.30 horn handle girth: the girth at the middle of the pedicle.

3.4.31 horn handle distance: the straight-line distance between the centres of the left and right pedicles, measured close to the frontal bone.

3.5 Other terms

3.5.1 deer pizzle: the complete penis and testes of an adult stag.

3.5.2 deer tail: the complete tail severed at the first caudal vertebra.

3.5.3 deer sinew: the ligaments of the limbs, with the skin, muscle and bone removed.

3.5.4 deer fetus: a fetus with the fetal membranes and the amniotic fluid complete.

3.5.5 velvet antler blood: the blood in the velvet antler. Note: the blood flowing from the cut face, or the blood collected when blood-drained velvet antler is processed.

3.5.6 deer blood: fresh blood from inside the body of the deer.

3.5.7 deer antler base: the uneven, disc-shaped protrusion at the rim of the base of the antler.

3.5.8 velvet antler without blood: velvet antler processed after a blood-draining treatment.

3.5.9 velvet antler with blood: velvet antler processed without a blood-draining treatment.

3.5.10 velvet antler slices: thin slices of velvet antler cut with a purpose-made tool.

3.5.11 wax slices of velvet antler: the translucent, oily, wax-like thin slices cut from the most tender part at the top of the velvet antler.

3.5.12 powder slices of velvet antler: thin slices cut from the upper part of the velvet antler, the cut face having fine, dense pores and a powdery character.

3.5.13 gauze slices of velvet antler: thin slices cut from the middle and lower part of the velvet antler, the cut face having loose, large pores and a certain gauziness.

3.5.14 bone slices of velvet antler: thin slices cut from the base of the velvet antler, the cut face having a ring of ossification at its edge.

3.5.15 antler gelatin: the yellow-brown or red-brown translucent gelatinous substance made from antlers or antler buttons during processing.

3.5.16 cornu cervi degelatinatum: the bone residue left after antlers or antler buttons have been processed and boiled down to make antler gelatin.

3.5.17 sealing saw: the operation, in processing velvet antler with blood, of sealing the blood vessels to prevent the loss of the velvet antler blood.

3.5.18 deviated velvet skin, also called drum skin: the condition in which the velvet skin separates from the subcutaneous tissue during processing.

3.5.19 fold: the crease left after a bruise-fracture of the parenchyma during the growth of the velvet antler has healed.

3.5.20 nigrescent root: the condition in which the root of the velvet antler turns black during processing.

3.5.21 backwater: the process of boiling the velvet antler again after the first day of boiling.

3.5.22 boiled water fried antler: the processing operation in which fresh velvet antler is treated in boiling water to drive out or coagulate the blood inside it and to cook the proteins.