Q 01/05

Which object do farmers feed to cattle so that swallowed nails and wire cannot pierce the stomach wall?

A) A rubber ball

B) A salt block

C) A magnet

D) A lead weight

Answer · why

C) A magnet

A magnet about the size of a finger settles in the reticulum for life and holds stray metal in place. Vets call the injury it prevents hardware diseas...

Q 02/05

Which everyday phrase for a social ranking comes from a Norwegian zoologist's studies of chickens?

A) Pecking order

B) Ruling the roost

C) Cock of the walk

D) Top of the heap

Answer · why

A) Pecking order

Pecking order was first described by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe, who had watched hens since he was a boy and noted which birds could peck others withou...

Q 03/05

Which feature of a hen usually predicts whether her eggs will have white or brown shells?

A) Feathers

B) Comb

C) Beak

D) Earlobes

Answer · why

D) Earlobes

Earlobes are the usual guide: breeds with white lobes generally lay white eggs and red-lobed breeds lay brown. Shell colour is cosmetic, with no effec...

Q 04/05

Which amphibian shares its name with the V-shaped, rubbery pad on the underside of a horse's hoof?

A) Toad

B) Frog

C) Newt

D) Axolotl

Answer · why

B) Frog

The frog acts as a shock absorber and also works like a pump, pushing blood back up the leg toward the heart each time the hoof bears weight.

Q 05/05

Which greenhouse gas do cattle release mainly by belching, as microbes in the rumen break down grass?

A) Methane

B) Ammonia

C) Carbon dioxide

D) Nitrous oxide

Answer · why

A) Methane

Methane is made in the rumen by microbes called methanogens and leaves through the mouth, at roughly 100 kg per cow each year.