Domestic Animals

Types of Goats: How many breeds of goats are there?

How many breeds of goats are there?

The goat was amongst the earliest domesticated animals. There are numerous types of goats. The archaeologist had found the traces of goat domestication in western Asia, Jericho, Choga, Mami, Djeitun, and Cayonu to be dated at between 6000 and 7000 B.C.

Yet, different kinds of sheep family, the goat family is clearly described. Moreover, they easily comfort themselves even in the wild condition.

Types of Goats

1. Alpines Goat

  • Found in the Alp.

  • The mature breed weighs 61 kg (135 lbs), and height 76 cm (30 in).

  • Colour range from white or grey to brown and black.

  • They are heavy milkers.

  • Used for different kinds of commercial dairy products, as well as homestead milk goats.

 

2. Altai Mountain Goat

  • Originated in the Altai Republic region of the Altai Mountains.

  • They are a domestic breed of the goat for the production of wool.

  • Female breed (nanny goats) weigh 41 to 44kg.

  • Male breed (billy goats) weigh 65 to 70kg.

  • Black at a younger age and grow too dark brown or grey.

  • The length and volume of the wool grow, four times more than the local goats of the region.

 

3. Bagot Goat

  • Found in Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, England.

  • The breed is one of the oldest breeds of goats in Britain today.

  • Small goat, with a black head and neck to the girth.

  • In females, the horns tend to be straight or slightly rearward curling.

  • In males, the horns are wider set and form large sweeping curves over the back.

 

4. Barbari Goat

  • Domestic meat-type goat found in a wide area in India and Pakistan.

  • Got the name from a coastal city located on the Indian Ocean “Berbera”

  • Small size goat, with head, is small and agile, small horns and small upward-pointing ears.

  • The coat is short and generally have white-spotted with brownish-red.

 

5. Boer Goat

  • Developed in South Africa in the early 1900s.

  • With white bodies and distinctive brown heads.

  • Popular for meat production.

  • Gain weight at about the same rate as their size.

  • Known as being adaptable, fast-growing, and having high fertility rates.

6. Spanish Goat

  • Originally came from Spain via Mexico to the USA.

  • Also known as brush goat or scrub goat.

  • Widely used as meat and brush-clearing in the United States.

  • An attractive range of animal because of its small udder and teats.

  • Very tough, able to sustain and flourish under adverse agroclimatic conditions.

 

7. Kiko Goat

  • Created in the 1980s by Garrick and Anne Batten.

  • Derived from the word Maori means meat or flesh

  • Formed by cross-breeding of feral goats with Anglo-Nubian, Toggenburg, and Saanen bucks.

  • Shows natural parasite protection.

8. Pygmy

  • American breed of achondroplastic goat.

  • Originates from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa.

  • small and stocky, with heavy bone.

  • Height at the withers in the range 40 to 50 cm, with weights of 25 to 40 kg.

  • Has variation of seven colours: caramel with black markings, caramel with brown markings, brown agouti, grey agouti, black agouti, black with white markings, and solid black.

 

9. Nigerian Dwarf Goat

  • Found in the district of Angora in Asia Minor.

  • Produces the bright fiber known as mohair.

  • A single goat can produce up to four and five kilograms of hair per year.

  • Shaved twice a year

  • Require extra protection from the weather since they can get hypothermia if their long hair gets wet from cold rain or snow.

11. Bhuj Goat 

  • Found in north-eastern Brazil.

  • Used for both milk and meat production.

  • Normally black with white or spotted lop ears and a Roman nose.

  • Originated from the Kutchi breed of India.


12. Golden Guernsey Goat

  • It is among the rare types of goats found in the Channel Islands.

  • Developed by mating from local breeds to Anglo-Nubian and Swiss breeds.

  • Generally used for milk production.

  • Golden in colour, ranging from pale blond to deep bronze.

  • Males are usually horned.

13. Peacock Goat 

  • Found in 1887 from the cantons of Graubünden and Upper Tessin in Switzerland.

  • Used for the production of milk.

  • Goat is white with black boots and a thick mid-length coat of hair with a large horn. Deep and dark facial spots/stripes from the base of the horn, over the eye, and to the nose.

  • Originally known as a striped goat.

14. Asmari Goat

  • Originate in the Kunar province of Afghanistan.

  • Common breeds, and are mainly used as pack animals and grown for their meat and milk.

  • Males turn to 70 cm in height and females grow to 53 cm in height.

  • Males measure 50–90 kg, while females weigh 45–60 kg.

  • Small head and a long neck with white and a black neck and shoulders.

  • Produces 90 kg of milk in a lactation period of 120days.

15. Irish Goat

  • Domestic goat of Ireland

  • The dual-purpose breed used both for meat and for milk.

  • Long-haired, bearded and horned in both sexes.

16. Kalahari Goat

  • Originate from South Africa.

  • Expensive breed derived from their red coat and the Kalahari Desert.

  • Used in meat production.

  • Adapted to resist their harsh environment, with their red coats.

  • It is a rare type of goat.

17. Kamori Goat

  • Found in the Sindh province of Pakistan.

  • Long ears and neck and a large body, and distinctive colour.

  • Dark brown with small coffee-colored or dark patches over its entire body.

  • Hybridized with Patairee goats, another breed found in Sindh.

18. Oberhasli Goat

  • American breed imported to the USA in 1906 and 1920.

  • Colouring of the breed is called “chamoisée” or “chamois”.

  • The coat is mid-brown, with black markings consisting of two black facial stripes.

  • A black forehead, a black dorsal stripe or mule stripe, and black belly and lower limbs.

19. Murciana Goat

  • Originate from Murcia province along the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain.

  • Dual-purpose breed for both milk and meat.

  • Murciana Goat have ears shaped like the Swiss breeds.

20. Toggenburg Goat

  • Swiss breed of dairy goat.

  • Originates from that of the Toggenburg region of the Canton of St. Gallen.

  • Medium in size with Coat colour ranges from light brown to mouse grey.

  • White Swiss markings on the face along with lower legs and tail area. 

21. American Cashmere Goat

  • These types of goats mainly bred for wool production.
  • This goat originally comes from the Autonomous Region of the former Soviet Union.
  • They are uniform in size and colour making them ideal for wool extraction.

22. Angora Goat

  • Originally Angora is a resident of the central Anatolia Region.
  • Only bred for their fibre.
  • Angora’s hair is lustrous and is called mohair in fibre industry. 
  • Both males and females have horns.

23. Beetal Goat

  • Mostly bred for their milk and meat.
  • Beetal has drooping long and flat ears.
  •  Its skin is useful in extricating leather for gloves, clothes, and shoes.
  • Mainly these goats are kept by the people of the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.

24. Belgian Fawn

  • This goat is a descendent of the chamois of Switzerland.
  • It has black coloured skin with brown or black hair.

25.  Caninde Goat

  • It is a resident of North-eastern Brazil and is bred for its coloured hair with specific pattern.
  • It has pale stripes on it’s face, legs and belly.

26. Corsican Goat

  • Generally known as corse, this goat is bred in the French island of Corsica.
  • It comes in all colours and is bred for its milk.
  • Due to their milking ability, there has been a boom in the population of these goats in the last eight.

27. Daera Din Panah Goat

  • Solely bred for its milking capability.
  • They are larger in size, have long hair and spiral horns. It is black in colour.
  • Daera Din Panah is bred in Pakistan in Multan and Punjab province.
  • The average milk production of this goat is 2.5-3 liters.

28. Don Goat

  • This goat gets its name because it was first found in the basin of Don river and its tributaries.

  • They are of medium build and is mostly black in colour.

  • Don goats are very fertile and are quite good milkers.

  • The average kidding rate of this goat is 145-150 kids per 100 females. 

29. Damani Goat

  • Damani is found in Pakistan’s Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan district.
  • Mainly raised for milk production.
  • It typically has a tanned head and legs with a black hair coat and is medium in size.

30. Finnish Landrace

  • As the name implies Finnish landrace is found in western parts of Finland.
  • The hair length varies and is not fixed.
  • It is usually white in colour.
  • It is kept primarily for milk production.

31. Grisons Stripped Goat

  • Grisons is a very sinewy breed as it prefers mountains as its home.
  • It is found in Switzerland.
  • They are not good milkers, however, because of their robust nature, experimentation are being done to improve their milking ability. 

32. Hong Tong Goat

  • Mainly raised for milk production and is a resident of Hongtong County.
  • It is white-colored and is cross-breed of Saanen and the local goats.

33. Icelandic Goat

  • Solely found in Iceland and belongs to the Norwegian origin.
  • It has long, coarse guard hair, a high-quality cashmere fibre.
  • Mainly bred for milk, meat, fibre, and skin.

34. Kinder Goat

  • This type of goat is from the United States.
  • It is the result of cross-breeding American Pygmy buck with a Nubian doe.
  • The reason for cross-breeding was making well-muscled goats for milk and meat production. 

35. Zhongwei Goat

  • Only found in the desert steppes of some districts of Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
  • Primarily kept for their cashmere.
  • They eat sandy plants or shrubs as their main food.

The above-shared species are only a few from the long list of breeds of goats. Some more goat breeds are Appenzell, Bagot, Bhuj, Benadir, Booted goat, Cnary Island, Erzgebirg, Golden Guernsey, Hailun, Haimen, Jining Grey, Moxoto, Loashan, Peacock Goat, Phillipine, Poitou, Pyrenean, etc.

CONCLUSION

The goat has always been a part of human life. Since ancient times goats are raised by people for their milk, meat, and fibre. Nowadays goat breeding is often done as a business. There are more than 80 breeds of goats in this world.

All have different characteristics, live in different climates and conditions. They are bred for their cashmere which is often quite costly. Some people also keep them just for their company.

Milk and meat are just add ons for them. So if you are thinking of keeping a goat at your home or farm, try to know about its breed, characteristics, kidding rate, etc.

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