Goat Breeds

Goats have been bred and raised by humans for centuries, for various reasons. They have been raised for their milk, meat, hair and skin in many parts of the world. Goats can also serve as highly entertaining companions. The domestic goat, scientifically known as Capra aegagrus hircus is a member of the Bovidae family. Female goats are often referred to as does or nannies, while the males are called bucks or billies. They are divided into different categories depending on their use. There are over hundred goat breeds that fall into overlapping categories. They are distributed in to those used for meat, dairy, fiber, skin and companion animals.

Common Breeds of Goats

Dairy Goats

• Anatolian Black Goat
• Canary Island Goat
• Beetal
• Nubian
• Belgian Fawn
• Anglo-Nubian
• Alpine
• Jonica
• Irish
• Kamori
• Poitou
• Pyrenean
• Carpathian
• Damani
• Don
• Dutch Landrace
• Corsican
• Jamnapari
• Benadir
• Booted Goat
• Brown Shorthair
• Sable Saanen
• Sarda
• Peacock Goat
• Toggenburg
• Valais Blackneck
• Murcia-Granada
• Norwegian
• Orobica
• Oberhasli
• Red Mediterranean
• Hasi
• Golden Guernsey
• Garganica
• Finnish Landrace
• Hailun
• Grisons Striped
• Hongtong
• Hungarian Improved
• Erzgebirge Goat
• Loashan
• Maltese

There are six primary breeds of dairy goats in America. They are as follows:

Nubian
Originally developed in England, this goat breed can serve as a dual purpose animal, for milk as well as meat.

Alpine
The origin of Alpine breed is believed to be Swiss and French influence. It is considered as a good milker and can easily produce 3 or more liters of milk per day.

Saanen
This is the largest of all dairy goat breeds and holds a world record for milk production of 3028 kg in 305 days, which comes to approximately 10 liters per day.

Toggenburg
It is considered as the oldest and the purest of all Swiss breeds. It is actually the smallest of all the dairy goats and can produce and 3 liters of milk per day.

LaMancha
LaMancha goats have really small ears and are also known as elf eared goats. It is a medium-sized goat but is a very strong and sturdy animal.

Oberhasli
Oberhasli is a medium-sized Swiss dairy goat, also known as Swiss alpine. It is a colored breed and is quite alert and vigorous.

Goats Bred for Meat

• Barbari
• Bhuj Goat
• Boer
• Chappar
• Duan
• Repartida
• Rove
• Somali Goat
• Chigu
• Spanish Goat
• Kaghani
• Haimen
• Fainting Goat
• Kiko
• Xuhai
• Verata
• Zalawadi
• Kalahari Red
• Irish Goat
• Huaipi
• Chamois Colored
• Changthangi
• Chengdu Brown
• Chengde Polled
• Nachi Goat

Fiber Goat Breeds

• Anatolian Black Goat
• Angora
• Cashmere
• Chigu
• Hyrcus
• Kaghani
• Jining Gray
• Pygora
• Uzbek Black
• Zalawadi
• Australian Cashmere
• Hexi Cashmere
• Don
• Changthangi
• Zhiwulin Black
• Nigora
• Zhongwei
• Altai Mountain Goat
• Xinjiang

Breeds Used for Goatskin

• Jining Gray
• Qinshan
• Sahelian
• Garganica
• Black Bengal
• Don
• Zhongwei

Breeds of Companion Goats
Australian miniature goats, Nigerian dwarf goats and pygmy goats generally serve as great companion animals. These loving companions also supply nutritious milk to their owners.

These were the different breeds of goats that are found in different parts of the world. Out of all these breeds of goats, the Nubian and the Alpine goat breeds are the most popular dairy goats and the Boer, Kinder and Tennessee are popular goats bred specially for meat.