Drykas and Zibri

[Naiya]

Naiya is looking to start breeding animals, however I have been hard pressed to find any detailed information about the Zibri that the Drykas cultivate. So I have a couple (or more) questions.

Generally speaking, what does a Zibri look like? Is it similar to a buffalo, or more like an alpaca?

When do Zibri come into rut? What are the gestation periods? Are they likely to have twin, or single births?

How much milk do they produce? Can they be milked after weaning? At what age can they be weaned?

How intelligent is a Zibri? Can they be trained? Generally speaking, what are their temperaments?

How often can they be shaved for wool?

How long do they live? When do they become mature? When can they safely be bred?

[Ayszel]

.

Generally speaking, what does a Zibri look like? Is it similar to a buffalo, or more like an alpaca?

the Drykas raise wooly cattle called Zibri. They rarely eat the cattle, unless winters are exceptionally hard, depending on them more for their milk (to make cheese and yogurts) and wool for spinning and weaving.

Is what I found in the Wiki. So I would assume that they are fairly similar to other shaggy cattle in the world. So I would look at Highland cattle for inspiration.

When do Zibri come into rut? What are the gestation periods? Are they likely to have twin, or single births? How much milk do they produce? Can they be milked after weaning? At what age can they be weaned?

I would look at Bison for this kind of information as their production and reproduction isn't being bred for like cattle are so they will be more reminiscent of how animals in the wild would reproduce/how much they would produce.

It also can produce a fair amount of milk, which is very high in butterfat.

. This is inspired by Highland cattle, not sure if that would be accurate or not as the richness is typical of breeds in environmentally harsh areas while lower butterfat content is typical of plains species where the weather doesn't fluctuate too much.

How intelligent is a Zibri? Can they be trained? Generally speaking, what are their temperaments?

This one is harder to answer by using outside information. They are cattle so think 'ox' intelligence would be practical. They can be trained to harness/pack animal but that's probably as far as you could reasonably push the intelligence I think. Temperaments I can't reasonably answer as the temperaments of cow breeds are radically different.

How often can they be shaved for wool?

Once a year is typical of wool-producing animals.

How long do they live? When do they become mature? When can they safely be bred?

Once again I would look at Bison/Highland Cows for an idea of what would be reasonable for this.

Meat:

The meat tends to be leaner than most, beef because Highlands get most of their insulation from their thick, shaggy hair rather than subcutaneous fat.

This is true of most wooly species in our world, so one could presume it would be true of Zibri. I put this just as a side note.