Aspromonte Goat

The Aspromonte goat is an indigenous breed of domestic goat raised for meat and milk production. It is also known as Capra dell'Aspromonte or Aspromontana.

The breed is named and actually from the mountain massif of the Aspromonte, in the province of Reggio Calabria in Calabria in southern Italy. Aspromonte goat is raised only in the province of Reggio Calabria, mainly in the Aspromonte, in the Altipiano dello Zomaro (Zomaro plateau) to the north-east, and in the Ionian coastal areas of the province, and particularly in areas of Grecanic culture.

The breed is thought to have originated from the Aspromonte. But it may have been influenced by the various other goat breeds. These goat breeds include Maltese goat, Abyssinian goat and a type known as "Tibetan" with long silky hair.

Importation of the Tibetan type to Calabria in the early 20th century is well documented. The Aspromonte goat is one of the 43 autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept.

The herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders.

Registered population of the Aspromonte goat was variously reported as 27,164 and as 26,249 at the end of 2013. Today the breed is used as a dual-purpose animal and used for both meat and milk production.

Aspromonte Goat Characteristics

The Aspromonte goat is a medium sized dual-purpose breed of goats. Their head is small with a straight profile. Their ears are horizontal or erect. Their abdomen is fairly large for the size of the animal with a straight back, and a moderately sloping developed rump.

The does have firmly attached udders with medium sized teats. Both bucks and does are bearded and usually have horns. Head and horns of the bucks are larger than the does. The bucks also have stronger limbs and coarser hair.

The coat of the Aspromonte goat is long with a cashmere-type undercoat, and usually ruddy. Their coat color vary. Most common colors are red and white, black and white, grey, brown, brown and red and particolored.

Average height of the Aspromonte does is about 69 cm, and 73 cm for the bucks. The bucks on average weight about 64 kg, and average body weight of the does is about 43 kg. Info from Wikipedia.

Uses

Aspromonte goat is a dual-purpose animal. It is raised primarily for meat and milk production. But the breed is somehow good for wool production.

Special Considerations

The Aspromonte goat is a very strong and hardy breed of goat. These goats play a very important role in vegetation management and maintenance of the mountain pasture. The does are pretty good milk producers.

Minimum milk yield of the Aspromonte nannies is 120 liters in 150 days for primiparous, 130 liters in 160 days for secondiparous and 180 liters in 210 days for pluriparous animals.

Reported averages for the Aspromonte goat are, respectively, 140 liters in 150 days, 150 liters in 160 days, and 220 liters in 210 days. The Aspromonte goats are very fertile. Annual fertility rate of the does is 98 percent, with average age of first parturition of 15 months.

Milk of the Aspromonte goat is of very good quality. Their milk averages 3.95 percent fat, 4.63 percent lactose and 3.57 percent protein. Their milk is used for making various types of milk products.

Meat of the Aspromonte goat is also of good quality. And it is considered as a good meat goat breed. Review full breed profile of the Aspromonte goat in the following table.

Breed Name	Argentata dell'Etna
Other Name	Capra dell'Aspromonte or Aspromontana
Breed Purpose	Milk & Meat
Breed Size	Medium
Buck	About 64 kg
Doe	About 43 kg
Horns	Yes
Climate Tolerance	All Climates
Coat Color	Many
Good for Stall Fed	Not Sure
Rarity	Common
Country/Place of Origin	Italy

Comments

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...

Search This Blog