Rebaños o camadas

[irmamar]

Litter: the offspring of any mammal.
Farrow: the offspring of pigs.
Herd: a group of domestic mammals.

Am I wrong?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Litter: the offspring of any mammal.
Farrow: the offspring of pigs.
Herd: a group of domestic mammals.

Am I wrong?

Yes, you are . A litter is the offspring of any mammal but only from the same birth event. You can have a litter of puppies from a bitch, but she could also have other offspring from an earlier litter.

A farrow is a litter of pigs, again only from the same birth.

A herd is a group of mammals, but they don't have to be domesticated.

A herd of cattle
A herd of wildebeeste

See here for further group names

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Yes, you are . A litter is the offspring of any mammal but only from the same birth event. You can have a litter of puppies from a bitch, but she could also have other offspring from an earlier litter.

A farrow is a litter of pigs, again only from the same birth.

A herd is a group of mammals, but they don't have to be domesticated.

A herd of cattle
A herd of wildebeeste

See here for further group names

I thought "bitch" was a bad word and "perra" was said "female dog". Can I say that I have a bitch?

Wildbeest instead of wildbeeste?

Thanks for your information and for the link.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I thought "bitch" was a bad word and "perra" was said "female dog". Can I say that I have a bitch?

Wildbeest instead of wildbeeste?

Thanks for your information and for the link.

Bitch is perfectly correct in BrE for a female dog. (It might not be so in AmE). Yes, you can say you have a bitch.

And wildebeest

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Bitch is perfectly correct in BrE for a female dog. (It might not be so in AmE). Yes, you can say you have a bitch.

And wildebeest

Bueno, tu "e" de más por mi "e" de menos.

Thanks.

[explorator]

I have always used rebaño only for a group of sheeps, and camada for the offspring of dogs and wolves

[hermit]

No problem AmE with the word bitch regarding dog breeding, definitely
the word of choice. Female, Bitch - Male, Dog.

Qualifying male dog terms: Sire (parental), Stud Dog (intended Sire)

Female kept for breeding and producing litters of puppies: Brood Bitch.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by hermit

No problem AmE with the word bitch regarding dog breeding, definitely
the word of choice. Female, Bitch - Male, Dog.

Qualifying male dog terms: Sire (parental), Stud Dog (intended Sire)

Female kept for breeding and producing litters of puppies: Brood Bitch.

I understand that "bitch" is used when it is breeding their puppies, isn't it? But would "bitch" sound polite in AmE if I said "I have a bitch as a pet".

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I understand that "bitch" is used when it is breeding their puppies, isn't it? But would "bitch" sound polite in AmE if I said "I have a bitch as a pet".

My guess is this:

If you had met a dog breeder and the conversation was about dogs, then introducing "I have a bitch as a pet" would be entirely normal.

If the conversation was with a stranger, and the topic of conversation was pets, then I think it would be odd, because you would be expected to name the species as a pet. Because dog is the epicene noun for the species, you would be better or safer with "I have a dog as a pet, an Alsatian bitch" or something like that.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I don't know what it's like in other countries, but in Mexico, even when the word "perra" is not so widely used as an insult, people usually prefer to say "tengo una perrita" (I suppose the diminutive lessens something in it), and feel uncomfortable if one asks them if the dog is "perro o perra".
It's funny when they say "tengo un perro y dos perritas" even when the females are bigger than the male.

[irmamar]

We say perra (perrita if it is very small, but mine is not small ), tengo una perra y un perro. And there's nothing wrong with this sentence, even when "perra" is not a good word either. It all depends on the context. Though my sister had a dog (a female, ), too and I used to joke saying "la perra de mi hermana".

[Charles]

Farrow is a verb. It is the act of a sow giving birth. A sow will farrow a litter of pigs in a farrowing house which is designed exactly for that purpose. A farmer will refer to the father of the litter of pigs as a boar, the mother as a sow. Pig will only be used to refer to young animals. Newborns are piglets. A female pig (before she becomes a mother) is a gilt. A male pig which is not going to be used for breeding will be castrated and becomes a barrow. Then he will be raised (grown) for meat.

These are precise agricultural words used by a farmer. The average person in the city will call anything that grunts a pig and will not know the words farrow, gilt or barrow.

[irmamar]

Thanks, Charles. I must learn these words and reading them in a context is a good help.

A boar is just the contrary of a barrow?

[Charles]

The word contrary does not fit here. If you use "opposite" the question makes perfect sense. My answer would be no, in a technical or physiological meaning barrow and boar are not opposite. They are close but a little different. Castration is the removal of the male organs and changes the male chemistry. It prevents the male pigs from becoming oversexed little demons who are always chasing the gilts, fighting and causing all kinds of trouble. (Just like the farmer's teenage sons.) One of his sons just wrecked the farmer's truck because he was racing it up and down the road trying to impress some girls. Now the farmer is thinking about dragging his son out to the barn by his ears and castrating him. If the farmer castrates him, his son will be quiet, have a boring life and produce no grandchildren for the farmer. However, he would not be the opposite of his brothers, he would only be different.

CONTRARY to what the farmer thinks, he did not father a demon, his son is just a foolish teenage boy. Castrating the boy would be contrary to good judgement AND in this case the complete opposite of good judgement.

[Ambarina]

Originally Posted by Charles

The word contrary does not fit here. If you use "opposite" the question makes perfect sense. My answer would be no, in a technical or physiological meaning barrow and boar are not opposite. They are close but a little different. Castration is the removal of the male organs and changes the male chemistry. It prevents the male pigs from becoming oversexed little demons who are always chasing the gilts, fighting and causing all kinds of trouble. (Just like the farmer's teenage sons.) One of his sons just wrecked the farmer's truck because he was racing it up and down the road trying to impress some girls. Now the farmer is thinking about dragging his son out to the barn by his ears and castrating him. If the farmer castrates him, his son will be quiet, have a boring life and produce no grandchildren for the farmer. However, he would not be the opposite of his brothers, he would only be different.

Good one!

[irmamar]

Un poco bestia la comparación, pero vale. Thanks.