In the Old West, what did cowboys call a stray animal without a brand?

Maverick is a term, usually referring to cattle, for an animal that does not carry a brand. In the period of the United States open range, such animals were relatively common. Many cows would give birth in wild or semi-wild conditions, not be located in an annual round up, and their ensuing calf could thus grow to maturity without having been captured and branded for ownership. The term derived from Samuel Maverick, who, among his other claims to fame, was notorious for not branding his cattle.

Other U.S. terms for unbranded cattle include slick, hairy dick, and, in Spanish-speaking areas of the Southwest, orejano. In other parts of the world, different terms are used. In Australia and New Zealand, for example, an unbranded animal is a cleanskin.

In the code of the American Old West, such animals could be branded and claimed by any rancher able to capture and brand the animal.