The Nigerian Dwarf is an American breed of

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

. Like the American

Pygmy Goat The American Pygmy is an American breed of achondroplastic goat. It is small, compact and stockily built. Like the Nigerian Dwarf, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa. Between 1930 and 1960, animals of this ty ...

, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa.

History

Between about 1930 and 1960 a variety of small goats of the West African Dwarf group of breeds were imported from Africa to the United States to be exhibited in zoos. The Nigerian Dwarf, like the American

, derives from these, but does not resemble the stocky West African Dwarf in conformation – it has been bred to have the appearance of a miniature dairy goat. It was at first reared as a show breed and

companion animal A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

;

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strateg ...

was for appearance and for docility. It was later found to be suitable for small-scale dairy production, and some breeding was directed towards dairy qualities. A

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

was established in 1980. Numbers grew rapidly; by 2002 there were almost 7000 head registered. The breed was recognized by the

American Dairy Goat Association The American Dairy Goat Association or ADGA is a United States not-for-profit corporation dedicated to goat#Milk, butter, and cheese, dairy goats. Its purpose is to promote the dairy goat industry, by providing and circulating sound information a ...

in 2005. The Nigerian Dwarf was formerly listed on the heritage breeds watchlist of the

Livestock Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...

as "recovering", but was removed from the list in 2013. In the 1990s the

Nigora The Nigora is an American breed of small or medium-sized dual-purpose goat, raised both for its milk and for its fiber. It is the result of cross-breeding Nigerian Dwarf bucks with does of mohair Mohair (pronounced ) is a fabric or yarn ...

breed was created by

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

the Nigerian Dwarf with Angora and other

mohair Mohair (pronounced ) is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. (This should not be confused with Angora wool, which is made from the fur of the Angora rabbit.) Both durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster ...

breeds.

Characteristics

The Nigerian Dwarf is small but well-proportioned; its conformation resembles that of larger dairy goats. It may be horned or naturally hornless. The coat is fine and fairly short, and may be of any color, or multicolored; common colors are gold, chocolate and black, frequently with white markings. The facial profile may be concave or straight; the ears are upright. The average weight is approximately , while maximum height is about for males and slightly less for females; stock bred for dairy performance may be rather larger than show or companion animals. It is a precocious breed – young stock may be bred from an early age: males from about three months, females from seven or eight months. The gestation period is in the range 145–153 days; the

twinning rate Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning instit ...

is high, and triplet and quadruplet births are not uncommon.

Life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...

is from eight to 12 years.

Use

The Nigerian Dwarf was originally bred for show and as a

. It was later also bred for dairy use. Average

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

yield of dairy stock is per year; a yield of in a

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...

of 305 days was recorded in 2018. Lactation usually lasts for about ten months. The milk is high in

butterfat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. But ...

and

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, averaging 6.5% and 3.9% respectively, and is suitable for making cheese and butter. Nigerdwarfgoat

References

External links

* {{Goat breeds of Canada and the United States Dairy goat breeds Goat breeds Goat breeds originating in the United States