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BREED:
A group of animals related by descent
and similar in most characters like
general appearance, features, size,
configuration (arrangement/shape),
etc. are said to be a breed.
SPECIES:
A group of individuals, which have
certain common characteristics, that
distinguishes them from other group
of individuals. Within a species the
individuals are fertile when mated, in
different species they are not.
The following are some of the breeds
of animals found in Bhutan with their
breed characteristics:
BREEDS OF CATTLE
YAK:(Bos grunniens)
It is a grazing animal accustomed to
travelling great distances in harsh
environment. There has been close
association between man and yaks
ever since first humans migrated into
high mountains of Asia. Most yaks
are found in the mountains and
plateaus of Tibet and western China.
However, they occur from northern
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and
Bhutan to Mongolia and the Soviet
Union.
Appearance And Size:
Domestic yaks are about the size of
ordinary cattle and rarely exceed
NRTI, LOBESA
heights of 1.3 metres at shoulder.
The live weight is generally 250 to
550 Kg for the males and 180 to 350
Kg for the females. They differ little
from wild yaks except that they are
smaller, have shorter and thinner
horns and rusty brown, silver gray or
piebald (black and white patterns)
instead of black. Often they have
whitish spots on their hairs.
The yak hair is long, especially on the
flanks that often reaches the ground.
It has an enormous tail with a brush
of long hair coming from its roots,
which is rare in bovine. The horns are
spread outward and upward and the
head is held low. There are more
than one million yaks in the world.
Yaks are specially useful as riding
and pack animals. They can manage
loads of more than 150 Kg. At altitude
up to 6000 meters, they may carry a
pack of person at a steady pace for
days and still remain in good
condition. Yak bulls (generally
castrated) are also used for
ploughing. Meat is also important in
yak rearing areas. Yak’s milk is much
richer than cow’s milk. The fat
percentage of yak milk ranges from
5.7% to 6.8%. The hair of yak is used
for making ropes, saddle, blankets,
bags for storing grains, etc.
MITHUN: (Bos frontalis)
This is believed to be a domesticated
form of animal, indigenous to parts of
Burma and Bangladesh. Because of
its large size and the high butterfat
content of its milk (6.8 to 7.8% fat), it
is widely used for crossbreeding
cattle in Bhutan.
Mithuns are kept in a domesticated
condition by the hill tribes of northern
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NRTI, LOBESA
India (Mishis, Mizos, Nagas), the
Chitagong Hill tracts and some
Burmese hill ranges (Arakan and
China Hills). It is the main domestic
animal of the Nagas of Nagaland.
Bhutanese farmers have some
60,000 heads of animals that are
crossbreeds of Mithun and the local
of cattle.
cheese and butter. The male of
cross, the “Jatsha” is a powerful draft
animal and the female “Jatsham” is
a prized milch cow. To this day,
extensive crossbreeding of Mithun
bulls with Siri cows is still being
continued.
Appearance And Size:
These are local breeds. The
Bhutanese farmers have tried since
long ago to improve this local breed
by means of crossbreeding with
Mithun.
The bulls may exceed occasionally
1.7 metres at the shoulder and weigh
1000 Kg, but the average bull is
about 1.5 metres and weighs about
540 Kg. Cows are shorter and weigh
less. The animal has a dorsal ridge
(sloping upwards) on the crest of the
shoulders, a small but pronounced
dewlap
and
generally
slightly
concaved forehead. Mithun horns are
often unusual firth (wide tidal point of
horns), they are straight or gently
curving and many have enormous
base that practically covers the top of
the skull. Most calves and females
are brown but adult males are
generally black with white stockings
(white pattern) on all four legs. Some
however, are light brown, white or
piebald.
Uses:
Mithuns are used for fieldwork and
draft animals. They are also
Important as meat supply. The
Bhutanese
livestock
breeders,
particularly those in the eastern
regions, have mated mithun bulls to
Siri cows (Bos indicus) from India for
at least a century. This produces very
high profitable hybrid offspring that
have high milk production capacity.
The milk is rich in total solids and
produces exceptional yields of
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SIRI OR THRABUM: (Bos indicus)
The female offspring of the first and
second generation are known for their
good
performance
(milk
yield
compared to parent generation) The
Nublang is the pure Siri bull.
Appearance And Size:
Siri has a massive body, small head,
square cut, wide and flat forehead
presenting convexity. Siri animals
have sharp horns, relatively small
ears, well placed hump covered with
tuft (bunch) of hair at the top. They
have strong legs and feet, dewlaps
(hanging muscle in the throat region)
are not prominent, bulls have tight
sheath (skin cover). The colour of siri
animals is black and white or red and
white, pure black or pure red are not
uncommon.
Uses:
Bullocks are strong and of greater
size and used for ploughing. Cows
are poor milkers.
BROWN SWISS:
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This is one of the oldest of the dairy
breeds native to Switzerland, which is
a rough and mountainous country.
This breed is also widely found in
Italy, Austria, Hungary, United States,
Mexico and South America. Purebred
Brown Swiss bulls were imported
from Indo-Swiss Project, Patiala,
India for crossbreeding programme in
Bumthang. The average gestation
period for females is 290 days with
average milk yield of 5250 litres in a
lactation period of 305 days.
NRTI, LOBESA
This breed was developed in the
Island of Jersey in the English
Channel. Jersey varies in colour from
light red to black and from white
spotted to solid in marking. The
switch may be black to white. The
muzzle is black with light encircling
ring. The origin of this breed is not
clearly established but it is thought to
be have been developed by
introduction of black cattle of Britain
and France before 1100 A.D.
Appearance And Size:
Size And Appearance:
The colour varies from a light fawn
(yellowish brown) to almost black.
The muzzle (nose region) and a strip
(line) along with backbone are light in
colour. The nose, switch and horn
tips are black. The animals are fairly
large in size and have extremely
strong constitution and hardiness.
The breed is triple purpose animal in
the homeland, i.e. for milk, meat and
drought. Cows have large bones,
large heads which are usually
convex, thick and loose skin. Calves
are large and weigh more than 40 Kg
at birth. Adult males weigh about 700
to 800 Kg and adult females weigh
about 500 to 600 Kg. Brown Swiss
cattle have large heads and thick
loose skin. This breed lacks dairy
characters like angularity, etc. The
breed is quiet, docile and easily
manageable. This breed can tolerate
more heat than Jersey.
Uses:
This breed is mainly used as dairy
animals in Bhutan.
JERSEY:
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This is the smallest of the dairy
breeds and considered comparatively
an economical milk producer. The
cows have straight top line, leveled
rumps and sharp withers. Their heads
have a characteristic double dish.
They also show dairy temperament.
They have excellent udders, both in
shape and in fore and rear
attachment. Adult cows weigh about
500 Kg and males about 600 to 700
Kg. The average gestation period of
Jersey cows is 280 days and yield
about 4000 litres of milk on average
in a lactation period of 305 days.
Uses:
This is a true dairy breed and hence
this breed is used for milk production.
BREEDS OF BUFFALO:
The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is
a sub-genus of the genus Bos
Bubalinae of the mainland Asia. The
domestic animals are of great
economic significance in tropical and
sub-tropical parts of Asia. It is also
found in south eastern Europe, Egypt
and in small numbers in the Central
American States and Brazil. In
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Bhutan, very few farmers of the
southern region rear buffaloes. The
buffalo breeds reared in the southern
region of our country are Murrah and
Surti.
MURRAH BUFFALO:
This breed was developed in Punjab
and Delhi in India.
Distinguishing Characters:
This breed has deep massive frame
with
short,
broad
back and
comparatively high neck and head. It
has short and tightly curled horns,
well-developed udder and long tail
with white switch reaching at the
fetlock. Short massive limbs with
good bone, broad boons and
drooping quarters. Popular colour is
jet black with white markings in the
tail, face and extremities. The skin is
soft and smooth with scanty hair. The
body weight of the male amounts on
average to 550 Kg and female to 450
Kg. On average, she buffalo yields
1400 to 2000 litres of milk with 7% fat
in a lactation period of 9 - 10 months.
The gestation period of Murrah
buffalo is 320 days. The breed is
considered to be the most efficient
milk producers in the world Bulls of
this breed are used extensively for
upgrading inferior stock of many
countries
including
Thailand,
Malaysia,
the
Philippines,
Madagascar and Brail. she buffaloes
are used in most cities for the supply
of milk and ghee.
SURTI BUFFALO:
This breed was developed in the
southwestern part of Gujurat state in
India. This breed has got a fairly long
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NRTI, LOBESA
and broad head with a convex shape
at the top in between the horns.
Horns are sickle-shaped and flat
which grow in a downward and
backward direction and then upwards
at the tip forming a hook. The neck is
long in females and thick and heavy
in males. Surti buffalo has welldeveloped udder and finely shaped
and squarely placed between the
hind legs and has got a unique
straight back. They are of medium
size and docile temperament. The
colour of the skin is black or brown
and the colour of the hair varies from
rusty brown to silver gray. The tail is
long, thin and flexible usually with a
which switch. The average lactation
yield is 1600 litres of milk with 7.5%
fat content in a lactation period of 350
days. The average gestation period of
this breed of buffalo is 308 days.
BREEDS OF SWINE:
At present there are about 60
recognized breeds of domestic pigs in
the world. All have 38 somatic
chromosomes. Out of these, we shall
study about the Large White
Yorkshire, Landrace and Duroc.
Large White Yorkshire:
The Large White Yorkshire is a
popular English Bacon breed, which
had its origin nearly a century ago in
Yorkshire and neighbouring countries
in northern England. Yorkshire sows
are noted as good mothers. They not
only farrow and raise large litters, but
they are great milkers.
Breed Characteristics:
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Colour
Entirely white in colour. Black pigment
spots, called “freckles” do
not
constitute a defect, though they are
frowned upon by breeders.
Head:
Moderately long, face slightly dished,
snout broad, wide between the ears.
Neck:
Long, fine and proportionately full to
shoulders with wide and deep chest.
Back:
Long, level and wide from neck to
rump.
NRTI, LOBESA
The origin of this breed is Denmark,
where if has been bred and fed to
produce the highest quality bacon in
the world. The breed is white in
colour, although black skin spots
“freckles” are rather common. The
breed is characterized by its long,
deep side, square ham, relatively
short legs, trim jowl and heavy lop
ears. The carcass is more lean than
that of the meat. There is less back
fat and lard. The breed is noted for
prolificacy and for efficiency of feed
utilization. In United States of
America the breed has been
extensively used for developing
crossbred foundation. In Bhutan also,
the Landrace breed is used for
crossbreeding with our local, nondescript pig population.
Legs:
Duroc:
Straight and well-set, level with the
outside of the body, with flat .
Northeastern United States of
America gave rise to one of the most
popular breeds - the Duroc which is
outcome of blending of two breeds,
Jersey and Durocs of New York.
Skin:
Fine, white, free from wrinkles.
Live weight:
Mature boars weigh from about 300 450 Kg while average sow weighs
from 250 to 350 Kg.
Carcass quality:
Possess necessary length, gives a
first grade bacon, good ham and a
comparatively light forequarters.
Landrace:
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The breed is moderately red colored
with shades varying from a golden to
cherry red colour. The Duroc is noted
for excellent rate of gain and feed
efficiency. Maturing early, the Duroc
sow has large litter and is a good
mother. The carcass is considered as
a good meat type. The weight of
mature boar is about 400 Kg and of
sow it is normally 350 Kg. The breed
is now popular both in South east
Asia and in the American tropics
mostly due to its colour, hardiness
and fast growth. Duroc Jersey breed
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was imported into Bhutan in the year,
1981 from Philippines for crossbreeding purpose with our local pigs
to produce better and productive
offspring.
BREED:
A group of animals related by
descent and similar in most
characters like general appearance,
features,
size,
configuration
(arrangement/shape), etc. are said to
be a breed.
SPECIES:
A group of individuals which have
certain common characteristics that
distinguishes them from other group
of individuals. Within a species the
individuals are fertile when mated, in
different species they are not
BREED OF HORSES:
The horses are classified as Equine
Species.
Local Horses:
NRTI, LOBESA
but in general it is a pony like type of
horse, extremely well adapted to the
hard
topography
and
climatic
conditions of our country.
The special characteristics of the
Bhutanese horse can be summarized
as follows:
 a well adapted sturdy pack horse
with
considerable
carrying
capacity compared to its body
weight
 does not require good feeding and
management practices
 usually have hard hoofs and sure
footed, skilled and courageous in
difficult terrain
 mares have good rearing ability
(produce more milk)
Haflinger:
This breed was first introduced in
Bhutan in the year 1968 from Austria.
This breed originated from the Alps of
Italy and Austria which have similar
topography and climatic conditions as
of Bhutan. In our country,
Not much uniformity is observed in
the so called “local horse population”
Haflinger horses are mainly used for
breeding the local mares to improve
the existing horse population.
and straight back with square standing.
Colour of the body is chestnut or fawn
colour.
Physical characteristics:
This breed of horse is huge in size, has Donkey
white mane and tail, huge and strong legs
There are not many donkeys in our
country. Donkeys are mainly used for
breeding local mares to produce the
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progeny called mules. Donkeys are
also used to carry loads by some
farmers.
NRTI, LOBESA
Donkeys are much smaller in size
than the local horses. Donkeys have
large ears and the coat colour varies
from ash gray to white.
Physical characteristics:
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