Barbari goat is a small sized meat goat breed mostly found in the north-western arid and semi-arid regions of India. It is one of the 23 registered goat breeds in India and is found in Agra, Etah, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. As well as in Jhelum and Sargodha districts in Punjab Province, Pakistan. Basically the Barbari goat originated in Berbera, Somalia of East Africa. Probably this breed derives its name from it’s origin place Berbera. The way of Barbari goat and it’s migration to India is unknown. But probably the traders of medieval period might have brought them to India through sea and land routes during their business entourage. Agra, Etah and Etawah are the breeding tract of Barbari goat in India. Today the breed is well adapted for Indian conditions and gaining popularity as meat goats.

Physical Characteristics of Barbari Goat

Barbari goat has unique characteristics. It’s a pretty small animal with medium sized compact body. They are alert and attractive. And have bulging eyes, because of their quite prominent orbital bone. Their ears are short, tubular, almost double, with the slit opening in front, erect, directed upward and outward. Bucks have a large thick beard. Barbari does have well set udder with conical teats. Both bucks and does have twisted horns, which are directed upward and backward and are medium in length. Barbari goat has wide variation in coat color. But usually white with small light brown patches is the most common color. On an average, adult Barbari bucks weight about 37.85 kg and does about 22.56 kg. Photo from AGTR.

Uses

Barbari goat is raised mainly as a meat goat breed. But it is also a pretty good milker. This goat breed is very suitable for commercial meat goat farming business.

Special Considerations

Barbari goats are well known for their good meat qualities and also for triple kidding. Both bucks and does mature early and are resistant to common goat diseases. Barbari goat has good feed to meat conversion ratio. It is highly suited for rearing under restrained and stall fed systems. Along with being good milk producers, the Barbari goats are also a good milker and is highly prolific. In most cases the males are castrated at a very early age, when they are raised for commercial meat production. Review full breed profile of Barbari goat in the chert below.