[Leon Kraus]

Abstract Description and History
Pecoris have been around since the founding of civilized people. When roving bands of hunters decided to settle down and become Hunter-Gatherers Cattle where domesticated. Since then they have been the main source of food for most civilizations until fishing was discovered.

General Characteristics
The Basic description for Pecoris is that they have four sturdy legs that terminate in hooves, a rope-like tail with hair on the end, a large head with big eyes and a rubbery black nose, and a bulbous udder if they are female. Male Pecoris have the same exact parts except that the male Pecoris replace the udder with male genitalia. Though breeds do come in different shapes and sizes. When the Female Pecoris gets impregnated you can tell how far along she by looking for a descended belly and sunken hips. When a Male Pecoris is born and is not needed for impregnating the female Pecoris it is castrated and then sold for meat or as a drought beast.

General Climate/Terrain
Pecoris can be found in almost any climate except in Arakmat if they are watered constantly. Some breeds of Pecoris can be found in cooler places such as the Trysvalian Longstan.

Diet
Pecoris eat grass and other foliage. Cattle are ruminates, meaning that they have a digestive system that allows use of otherwise indigestible foods by repeatedly regurgitating and re chewing them as "cud". The cud is then re swallowed and further digested.

Behavior
Most breeds of Pecoris are usually nice but some can be especially mean such as the Enamorian Belted Pecoris. A common misconception about Pecoris (particularly bulls) is that they are enraged by the color red (something provocative is often said to be "like a red flag to a bull"). This is incorrect, as Pecoris are red-green color-blind. Pecoris tend to stay in large herds that can range from 25 Pecoris to 125. Herds rarely go over 100 head.

Reproduction
The gestation period for a cow is nine months. A newborn calf weighs 25 to 45 kilograms (55 to 99 lbs). Like typical Mammals Pecoris gives birth to live off-spring.

Sizes & Weights
Trysvalian Longston: 5'-5.5' tall, 5'-6' long, 800 lbs-1,200 lbs

Gorutian: 4'-4.5' tall, 4'-5' long, 1,500 lbs-1,750 lbs

Vagaran Red: 4'-5' tall, 4'-5' long, 1,250 lbs-1,675 lbs

Aelyrian Chianina: (Bulls: 6'-6.5' tall, 6'-6.5' long, 3,800 lbs-4,000 lbs)(Cows: 5'-5.5' tall, 2,300 lbs-2,500 lbs)

Arium Whister: 5.5'-6.1' tall, 5'-6' long, (Bulls: 1,600-2,200 lbs)(Cows: 1,000-1,400 lbs)

Trysvalian-Arium Whistan: 6'-7' tall, 6'-6.5' long, 4,000 lbs-4,500 lbs

Sherian Arouquesa: 4'-4.3' tall, 3.5'-4' long, (Cows: 793lbs-943lbs)(Bulls: 1543lbs-1984lbs)

Lauryl Evolene: (Bulls 4'-4.5' tall, 4'-4.5' long, 1322 lbs)(Cows: 3'-4.1', 3'-3.5' long, 881 lbs-1102 lbs)

Enamorian Belted Pecoris: 4'-5' tall, 4'-5' long, 1200 lbs-1400lbs

Arakmatan Abondance: 4.2'-4.5' tall, 4'-5' long, 1278lbs-1499lbs

Centripaxian Devon: 5'-5.5' tall, 4.5'-5' long, (Cows: 950lbs-1,300lbs)(Bulls: 1,700lbs-2,200lbs)

Nomenclature:
A female Pecoris before it is ready to be mated, which is from the age of birth to the age of 3, is called a Hepher. A female Pecoris who is in their fourth of fifth year is either called a First-Calf Hepher or a Second-Calf Hepher. I female Pecoris over the age of five is called a cow.

A Male Pecoris when it is first born is called a calf. A Male Pecoris that is not needed and has been castrated is called a steer. A Male Pecoris that is needed and has kept its genitalia is called a Bull.

When counting Pecoris for anything you count by head.

Index of Species
Trysvalian Longston: Refers to either the Trysvalian Black Longston or the Red Trysvalian Longston. Angus cattle are naturally polled and solid black or red, although white may appear on the udder. Trysvalian Black Longston are the original result of a farmer instrumentally selecting the black polled animals for his herd. The Red Trysvalian Longston was the same Farmer taking the red cattle from the black herd forming and making another herd. The only colors the Trysvalian Longstan have been seen with is Black and Red.

Gorutian: This breed was formed with the Vagaran Tribes of Northern Carmelyn Province. It was first formed by two different breeds of Pecoris now extinct but old stories indicate that one was Solid black and the other was solid white. Through Crossbreeding it lead to the current Gorutian breed of Pecoris. It is used as a Milk producer.

The Aleutian Pecoris: (Extinct) This Solid Black Father of the Gorutian was once a feral breed cattle living in near a Vagaran Tribe. From an Ancient Vagaran story tells of an Aleutian killing 12 Vagaran tribesman before finally being brought down by spears. The story continues telling of how the Vagarans finally figured out how to round up the Pecoris for breeding. When they finally rounded up 2 Aleutian bulls they mixed them in with the final 30 White Fulani Cows

Secrets : Full History of The Aleutian Pecoris: The Aleutian Bull was known as the fiercest Pecoris ever created by the gods. It was said they could be stabbed twenty times before being brought down. It got accustomed that when a farmer found a Aleutian Bull he would kill it and discard its carcass as they thought it possessed. Soon the breed was almost extinct from the lack of bulls to mate. This is where the Vagaran tribe Hyri steps in. The Nomadic Vagaran Tribe upon steeds soon found a heard of Aleutians. The Hyri soon rounded up a few bulls and put them into a pen with solid white cows.

The White Fulani Cattle: (Extinct) This Solid White Mother of the Gorutian was once a domesticated breed of cattle for a Vagaran Tribe. Not much is known about the Fulani other than the story of the creation of the Gorutian. The story says that the Fulani Cow was the most docile beast there ever was. It says that Kid's that couldn't walk would ride the beast when their mothers got tired of carrying them. The story continues explaining about how 2 Aleutian Bulls were put into the same pen as the Fulani cows. One thing led to another and the Aleutians mated with the Fulani and 8 months of gestation later the first set of Gorutians were born.

Vagaran Red: This breed roots are a mystery as they didn't show up in the rest of the Aelyrian Empire until the Vagaran peoples where assimilated into the Aelyrian Empire. They are always of a solid red color.

Aelyrian Chianina: This Breed originated on the island of Corona and began with the founding of the Aelyrian Empire. It is one of the oldest breeds of Cattle of the Aelyrian Empire. It was originally bread for meat and Drought purposes.

Arium Whister: This breed of Pecoris started in Arium from four different breeds of Arium Cattle. The end result is the Whister which is a docile and intelligent beast if treated kindly from birth. However, there is evidence that they are more excitable than other breeds.

Trysvalian-Arium Whistan: The cattle are usually a sleek black in color, but reds are also acceptable. They have a very low rate of eye cancer, which can be a problem in many white faced breeds. Their head is of a medium length with a broad muzzle and forehead. Trysvalian-Arium Whistan are also good walkers and foragers and "do well" in a wide variety of situations. They are also polled which means they have no horns.

Arouquesa: Their hair color is light brown although the males may become a little darker than females. Mucosa and claws are dark colored. The wide horns are directed forward, first down and then up. Arouquesas are adapted to the mountains their hind legs are very muscular. In Sheria today they still work as draft cattle. In the past century oxen often were exported to Lauryl because of their beef.

Lauryl Evolene: The Evolene is a medium sized, black pied or red pied breed, used more for beef production than milk production. The Evolenes have a milk production of about 3,200 kg milk per year. Its fat content is about 3.8%. The breed is adapted to mountain pasture.

Enamorian Belted Pecoris: The Enamorian Belted breed of dairy Pecoris is, according to records, the only belted breed of cattle tracing back directly to the original belted or "canvassed" cattle. The Enamorians were very protective of their belted cattle and would generally not part with them. The cattle were highly prized for their milking and fattening abilities. Some Enamorian belted cows produce over 9000 kg of milk per lactation.

Arakmatan Abondance: They are medium-sized, with the female weighing in at between 1278 pounds and 1499 pounds and standing 4.2 and 4.5 feet tall. They are golden brown in color with a white head (apart from the eyes), underside of the abdomen, and extremities of its legs. Their milk is rich in both fat and protein, with a good balance between the two. The milk is traditionally used to produce cheese. Typical milk production is 19.4 kg per lactation.

Centripaxian(?) Devon: Devon cattle are red in color, varying in shade from a rich deep red to a light red or chestnut color. A bright ruby red color is preferred and accounts for their nickname, the "Red Ruby". The hair is of medium thickness and is often long and curly during the winter, but short and sleek in summer. The switch of the tail is creamy white.
Mature bulls in good working condition weigh from 1,700 lb (770 kg) to about 2,200 lb (1,000 kg). Mature cows range in weight from about 950 lb (430 kg) to about 1,300 lb (590 kg). Thus, Devons have enough size to be practical and profitable without the handicap of excessive maintenance cost.

Additional Notes
Pecoris can be used as Drought beasts, raised for Milk, raised for Beef, or all three. The Arium Whister can be trained as a stead for people too poor for a horse or children. All but the Gorutian and the Vagaran Red can be used for Drought especially the Aelyrian Chianina, the Trysvalian-Arium Whistan, and the Whister can be used for drought beasts. Special Thanks to FrostFire and Sen that helped me pick out the Lauryl Evolene and the Enamorian Belted Pecoris. All Breeds will need to take 7-9 months of Gestation before they will give birth.

Breeding and Raising Pecoris
To breed Pecoris you can just leave the Hephers over the age of 3-4 Eras old. You will want to leave the Hephers under 3 in a separate pasture as they run the risk of being killed by the bull when it is mating season.

Calves(Male & Female) must be kept away from all other Pecoris until they are at least 2-3 eras old. Then you should keep the bulls, hephers, and cows away from each other until it is mating season. Then you should keep all hephers that are under 3 way from the bulls encase they get impregnated by them. If they do get pregnant from the bulls they will most likely die from the labor.