AgriPortal Website | Selection of Goat and Goat Breed

When buying an adult goat, we need decide based on the purpose of rearing. Milk yield per day assessed by recording two consecutive milking, should be more than 0.5 kg (including milk sucked by kids). When selecting young goats, the dam’s production may be checked. One year old she-goat should weigh about 20-25 kgs. Doeling at 6 months should weigh not less than 10-15 kgs. The doeling must also be free from physical defects. Selection of does should be based on their previous 120 days’ milk production record. Those, which had kidding atleast by 2 years of age, should be preferred.

Choosing the Right Goat Breed

Buying a goat starts with choosing a breed that fits with your goals: meat or milk. If it is for the milk, choose a milch breed and if for meat, then a locally available meat breed is best.
It is inadvisable to bring a breed from afar; rather choose one from the breeding tract of the breed selected.
Normally, goats purchased for breeding stock are one to two year old.
India has about 34 goat breeds distributed across the country and agro-climatic zones. Over a period of time, most of these breeds are available in other locations also and other breeds are available in these regions too.

Jamunapari female.

Sirohi female.

Conformation of a good milch goat:The general features of a good milch goat are

Head:Long with medium width prominent muzzle and nostrils. Head in the does should be well carried with feminine appearance.
Eyes:Should be large and bright, set well apart indicating docility.
Neck and shoulders:Neck should be long and slim with the tossels if present evenly hung. Withers and shoulders should be fine in appearance and connect the neck. with the body with ' litter break in continuity.
Chest:Should be of good width and smooth.
Forelegs:Should be straight and strong.
Feet:Animal should stand well on its legs without the tendency to turn toes or walk on heels.
Body:Good depth is an important feature. The back should be level from the shoulders to the hips and then drop slightly at the tail region. Excessive dip in the back is undesirable.
Higher length from the head to tail is a desirable factor
Ribs:The ribs should be well sprung so as to give a barrel, effect. Flat sides are a common fault. The abdomen should not be protruding beyond the width of the ribs
Hind quarters:There should be sufficient width across the hips and the rump and between the pin bones and the hocks. The hind legs should face straight forward and not outward.
Hind legs: Bones of hind legs should give a appearance of strength with hocks slightly bent Pastern should be short and its joint should not show signs of weakness.
Udder and teats: Size large and proportional to the size of the goat should be carried well under the body. When viewed from the side it should be in front of the hind legs. Texture should be soft and pliable. The udder should collapse after milking. Milk teats and ducts should be free from any lumps. Teats should be of moderate length 'and of convenient size for easy milking. The milk veins should be large and prominent under the belly.
Skin and hair:The skin should be soft, supple and loose. The coat should be glossy with fine short hair.

Goat breeds distributed across India and their characteristics

S.No	Breed	Breeding tract	Important features
01	Assam Hill	Different regions of Assam and Meghalaya	The breed is prolific in nature. Incidence of Singlet, twins, Triplets and quadruplets is good. Mainly reared for meat purpose.
02	Attapady Black	Palakkad (Kerala)	Well adapted to Attapady and maintained mainly on grazing.
03	Barbari	Bharatpur (Rajastan); Aigarh, Mathura, Agra, Etawah, Hathras (Uttar Pradesh)	Prolific and non-seasonal breed well suited for rearing under restrained and stall feeding conditions.
04	Black Bengal	West Bengal and adjoining parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam and Tripura.	Reared for meat and skin purpose; Skins are of excellent quality and are highly priced
05	Battisi	Mathura district of UP and bordering area of Rajasthan and Haryana	Dual type, white coat color with black or brown patches on face, chest, abdomen and legs
06	Beetal	Ferozpur, Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab	Beetal is a prolific and good dairy breed, and second to Jamunapari in size. Reared for milk and meat purpose.
07	Berari	Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur (Maharashtra)	The breed does well in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra where the temperature is extremely high in the summer.
08	Bhakarwali	Different districts of Jammu & Kashmir	Reared for meat, milk and hair; Flocks are semi-migratory. major source of income for Bhakarwal community of the state
09	Bidri	North-eastern parts (Bidar and Kalburgi) of Karnataka	Goats are reared for meat only. Milking not practiced. Twining is common but first kidding single.
10	Changthangi	Leh and Kargil districts of Jammu and Kashmir	Readred for meat and hair (Pashmina); Transhumant and Stationary; Adapted to cold desert area.
11	Chegu	Chamba, Kinnaur, Lahul and Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh	Reared for hair (Pashmina), meat and as pack animal; Chegu is considered to be descendant of Markhor and Ibex existing in higher range of the Himalayas.
12	Gaddi	Chamba, Kangra, Kullu and Shimla districts of Himachal Pradesh; Jammu district of J&K	Readred for meat and hair (Pashmina); Transhumant and Stationary; Adapted to cold desert area.
13	Ganjam	Ganjam, Rayagada, gajapathi, Khurda and Nayagarh districts of Odisha	Reared for meat and milk; Males usually have beards; Big size horns are a characteristic feature of Ganjam goats.
14	Gohilwadi	Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh,Rajkot, Porbandar (Gujarat)	Adapted to the hot semi-arid climate. Has slightly twisted horns, a convex nose line and coarse long hair.
15	Gujari	Jaipur and Sikar districts of Rajasthan	Large sized dual-purpose breed, Males have beard while, it is completely absent in adult females. Dewlap is present in majority of animals.
16	Jakhrana	Alwar (Rajasthan)	Has a straight face line and narrow and slightly bulging forehead. Large udder with conical teats.
17	Jamunapari	Etawah (Uttar Pradesh)	The best dairy breed in South-East Asia and the tallest breed in India.
18	Kanni Adu	Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar/ Kamarajar, Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu)	Has white stripes on both sides of the face extending from the base of the horn to the corner of the muzzle. Also has a white patch or line on either side of the neck.
19	Kahmi	Saurashtra region of Gujarat	Mainly kept for milk production as these have good milk yield and Continuous migration is part of their life
20	Karauli	Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Bundi, and Baran districts of Rajasthan	Medium to large in size and dual purpose breed and prominent hanging dewlap
21	Kodi Adu	Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu)	Adapted to cover long distances during browsing and reared primarily for meat. Possesses white coat with black or reddish brown splashes.
22	Konkan Kalyal	Konkan coastal region (MH)	strong legs and tough hooves, so easily moves in hilly tract during browsing. suited to the stall feeding.
23	Kutchi	Banas Kantha, Mehsana, Kuchchh, Patan (Gujarat)	Predominantly reared for meat and milk. Has predominantly black long coat with coarse hair, slightly roman nose, and corkscrew type horns.
24	Lahuri	Morena and Vijaipur, Sheopur districts (MP)	Reared for meat purpose only, peculiar coat is distinguishing feature and Both sexes are horned, with highly coiled horns.
25	Malra	Leh and Kargil district (Ladhak)	Compact body is covered with hairs which gives advantage in harsh winter climate of Ladakh. Produces a small amount of Cashmere fibre (50–100 gm/animal).
26	Malabari	Malabar region of Kerala	adapted to the hot and humid conditions and Slightly twisted horns directed outward and upward
27	Marwari	Barmer, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali (Rajasthan)	The breed is well adapted to the inhospitable agro-climatic conditions of the hot arid region.
28	Mehsana	Ahmedabad, Banas Kantha, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Sabar Kantha, Patan (Gujarat)	Well adapted to inhospitable agro-climatic conditions of the region. Possess black ears with a white base; a few are reddish brown with a white ear base.
29	Nandidurga	Ahmedabad, Banas Kantha, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Sabar Kantha, Patan (Gujarat)Chitradurga district of Karnataka	adapted to hard rocky areas and graze efficiently on hillocks. Milking not practiced
30	Osmanabadi	Osmanabad, Latur, Ahmadnagar,Solapur, Parbhani (Maharashtra)	The breed is known for its early maturity, prolificacy and good dressing percentage.
31	Pantja	Pantnagar, U.S.Nagar, Nainital (Uttarakhand)	early maturing and prolific (twining > 65%) goats. Liked by farmers for meat, milk and fecundity.
32	Rohilkhandi	Rohilkhand region of Uttar Pradesh	mostly maintained in backyard production with partial grazing in open area or grassland.
33	Salem Black	Salem, Dharmapuri, Erode, Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu)	Well adapted to the harsh climatic conditions of North-western Tamil Nadu. Its meat is very tasty compared to that of other goats.
34	Sangamneri	Nashik, Pune, Ahmadnagar(Maharashtra)	Its white coat is extensively coarse and short, and sometimes mixed with black and brown colour. Horns are thin, pointed, directed backwards and upwards.
35	Sumi-Ne	Zunheboto district of Nagaland	Primarily used for fibre. Only the animals which are considered unfit for breeding due to old age are slaughtered for meat purpose
36	Sirohi	Ajmer, Bhilwara, Chittaurgarh, Sirohi, Udaipur, Rajsamand (Rajasthan)	A hardy animal adapted to the harsh agro-climatic conditions of Rajasthan.
37	Sojat	Pali, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan	Wattles are present in majority of females while completely absent in males. The horns are curved and downward oriented, twisted in females while males are completely polled
38	Surti	Vadodara, Bharuch, Valsad, Surat, Narmada, Navsari (Gujarat)	Primarily used for fibre. Only the animals which are considered unfit for breeding due to old age are slaughtered for meat purpose
39	Teressa	Teressa islands of Andaman & Nicobar	Flat at base and pointing towards tip. Black hairs on dorsal midline up to the tail.
40	Zalawadi	Rajkot, Surendranagar (Gujarat)	Well adapted to harsh climatic conditions and wider range of vegetation in the region. Possess long, wide, leaf-like droopy ears and well developed udder with distinctly placed long, cylindrical-shaped teat.

Bidri female.

Bidri male.

Barbari female.

Barbari male.

Rohilkhandi female.

Rohilkhandi male.

Surti female.

Surti male.

Salem black female.

Salem black male.

Sirohi female.

Sirohi male.

Osmanabadi female.

Osmanabadi male.

Ganjam female.

Ganjam male.

Exotic Breeds

The principal exotic dairy breeds of goats are Toggenberg, Sannen, French Alpine and Nubian. They are all noted for their higher milk yield and most of these breed, were imported to India to improve milk yield of our local breeds and to upgrade our non descript goats.

Toggenberg: It is originated in the Toggenberg valley in north Switzerland. Skin is very soft and pliable. Usually both male and female are hornless. The adult doe weights 65 kg or more and the bucks more than 80 kg. Average milk production is 5.5 kg per day. The butter fat content of milk 3-4 percent. The male usually has longer hair than females.
Sannen: Native of Sannen valley of Switzerland noted for its consistency and high production. Color is white or light cream. The face may be slightly dished and the ears point upward and forward. Both sexes are normally polled but sometimes horns do appear. Does weight 65 kg and the bucks 95 kg. Average milk yield is 2 - 5 kg per day during a lactation period of 8 -10 months. Milk fat 3 - 5%.
Alpine: This breed was originated in Alps mountains. It was derived from French, Swiss and Rock Alpine breeds. No distinct color has been established. Excellent milkers and they have horns. Average milk yield is 2 - 3 kg with buffer fat of 3 -4%.
Nubian: Originated in Nubia of North eastern Africa. Also found in Ethiopia and Egypt. It is a long legged and hardy animal. This breed along with Jamunapari of India together with native breeds of U.K. formed the cross bred Anglo Nubian breed of goat.
Anglo Nubian:It is a big animal with a fine skin and glossy coat, -pendulous ears and Roman nose. Anglo Nubian is known as the Jersey cow of the goat world. Udder is large and pendulous with bigger teats. There is no fixed color. Bucks weight 65 - 80 kg and does from 50 -60 kg. Average milk yield in 3 - 4 kg/day. Peak yield may even go up to 6.5 kg or more.
Angora: Originated in Turkey or Asia minor. It produces a superior quality fibre called mohair. The soft silky hairs cover the white body. If not shorn during spring the fleece drops off naturally as summer approaches. Average fleece yield is 1.2 kg. Good animals yields even up to 6 kg. The Angora is small in size with shorter legs. Horns are grey, spirally twisted and inclined backward and outward. Tail is short and erect.