Breeds of Goats & Sheep

INDIGENOUS BREEDS OF GOATS

ANGORA

Found in J&K. It's a moderately small goat, the head is small, with semi-lop ears. The horns are commonly long, twisted and strong. Except for the face and legs, the animal is entirely covered in a coat of long ringlets of fine and lustrous mohair. This is not goat hair as seen on other breeds, but the down or undercoat which, in this breed only, grows much longer than the outer hair coat. The face and coat are normally white.

BARBARI

Found in Rajasthan and U.P. White with Tan spots / dark red spots. Horns are twisted, directed upward and outward. Medium in size (11.17 cm). Small-sized animals, short erect horns. Small tubular and prick ears.

BEETAL

Found in Punjab. Black coat or Brown with white spots of different sizes. Medium in size (about 12 cm), carried horizontally with a slight twist, directed backwards and upward. Beetal goats are tall animals, having Roman noses and long ears (24.8 cm.)

BLACK BENGAL

Found in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh. Predominantly black, brown, grey and white are also found. Small to medium size (5.8 to 11.5 cm), directed upward and sometimes backwards. Small-legged goat. The hair coat is short and lustrous. Noseline is slightly depressed.

CHEGU

Found in J&K and H.P. Compact white, black, grey, brown and a mixture of these colours are common. Horns are long, cork-shaped, directed upward, backwards and inward/outward. The average length is about 59 cm in males and 33 cm in females. Reddish/tan/black colouration mostly around the head & neck, and abdominal areas. Face and muzzle are tapering, and possess long hair below with a second coat of pashmina wool.

CASHMERE

Found in J&K. It varies in build and colour but the most highly esteemed has large ears, slender limbs, curved spreading horns not spirally twisted, and a long, straight, silky white coat.

JAKHRANA

Found in Rajasthan. Predominantly black with white spots on ears and muzzle. Broad and flat, going backwards. Straight faceline. The forehead is narrow and slightly bulging. The udder size is large with conical teats.

JAMUNAPARI

Found in U.P. and M.P. White with patches of tan or black mostly on head and neck. Short, sword-shaped. The face is large and convex having a tuft of hairs. Ears are large, pendulous, drooping and about 30 cm long.

KANNIADU

Found in Tamil Nadu. Black with white markings on face & legs. Horns are broad, small and going backwards. Ears are conical, flat and drooping type.

KODIAADU

Found in Tamil Nadu. white with brown markings on whole body. Horns are broad, small and going backwards. White stripes on either side of the face extend from the base of the horn to the corner of the muzzle.

MARWARI

Found in Rajasthan. Predominantly black in colour. In a few animals white or brown patches are present. Pointed shorthorns (about 10 cm), directed upward and backwards. Long shaggy hair coat. Flat, medium-sized and drooping ears.

MEHSANA

Found in Gujrat. Black with white ear base. Horn Shape is screw type twisted slightly, curved upward and backwards and pointed at the tips. 12-15 cm in males and 8-12 cm in females. Ears have white spots ranging from a few white spots to complete white with a few black spots at the base. White spots are present on the upper part of the upper muzzle and look like a ring in some of the animals. The hair coat is long and shaggy.

SIROHI

Found in Rajasthan & Gujrat. The coat colour is predominantly brown with light or dark brown patches. Few individuals are completely white. Horns are curved upward and backwards, small in size 7.7 cm. Flat and leaf-like drooping ears.

SANGAMNERI

"Found in Maharashtra. White, black or brown in colour. Spotted animals are also seen. Horns are directed backwards and upward. The average length of horns is 12.36cm. Hair coat is extensively coarse and short. "

SURTI

Found in Gujrat. Black with white ear base. Horn Shape is screw type twisted slightly, curved upward and backwards and pointed at the tips. 12-15 cm in males and 8-12 cm in females. Ears have white spots ranging from a few white spots to complete white with a few black spots at the base. White spots are present on the upper part of the upper muzzle and look like a ring in some of the animals. The hair coat is long and shaggy.

TELLICHERI

Found in Kerala. The coat colour is generally shiny white, with pink colour of muzzle and skin and brown colour of horn and hoof, round shaped udder and conical teats. The ears are long and drooping type.

OSMANABADI

Found in Maharashtra. The predominant colour is black. White colour is noticed only on ears and some spots on neck and forehead. Some animals are reddish in colour. Horns are straight, curved and small in size (about 13 cm). Five types of animals are available: (a). Entirely black with horns. (b). Entirely black with white ears and horns. (c). Entirely black and polled. (d). Entirely black, white ears and polled. (e). Combination of black, white and brown patches or irregular ridges on ears.

ZALAWADI

Found in Gujrat. The body is covered with black, lustrous, Shining hairs. Some animals have white or brown hairs. Horns are cork-screw type moving straight upwards, backwards and slightly outward with pointing tips. Long, wide leaf-like and drooping ears. Well-developed udder with large conical teats.

EXOTIC BREEDS OF GOATS

ALPINE

A medium to large-sized breed. Males are over 81 cm tall at the withers and females are over 76 cm tall at the withers. Their hair is short to medium in length. They have erect ears and a straight profile. They are the only breed with erect ears that come in all colours and combinations of colours.

BOER

A white body and a redhead, brown eyes, downward-hanging ears, backward-curving horns. Adult males often reach 160 kg and females can weigh as much as 110 kg.

DAMASCUS

A large body size with long hairs and a relatively small head. Their coat colour ranges from brown, red, and grey. Either with no horns, or in some cases horned. Adult possess long legs and neck. The bucks are heavier and larger than the does. A fully grown buck weighs about 80 kg and doe weighs about 55 kg.

BREEDS OF INDIGENOUS SHEEP

BALANGIR

Found in Orrissa. Medium-sized animals, white, light brown or mixed colours. Ears are small and stumpy. The tail is medium long and thin. Fleece is extremely course, hairy and open. Legs and bellies are devoid of wool. Horns are found in males only.

BELLARY

Found in Karnataka. Colour ranging from white or combinations of black and white. Medium-sized animals with flat and drooping medium-long ears. Horns are mostly absent.

BHAKARWAL

Found in the Kashmir Valley. Medium-sized animals, with a typical Roman nose, are generally white. All animals are spotted grey. Only Rams are horned while ewes are polled. Ears are long and drooping. The tail is small and thin. The fleece is coarse and open.

BHARATH MERINO

Found in Karnataka. This breed of sheep has been developed by cross-breeding indigenous Chokla and Nali sheep with Rambouillet and Merino rams and stabilised at 75% exotic inheritance.

BONPALA

Found in Sikkim. Mostly mixed in colours varying from white, a combination of white and black or whole black. Generally built tall, leggy and well-built with small and tubular ears. The tail is short and thin with a course, open-hand hairy fleece. The belly and legs are absent from hair.

CHANGTHANGI

Found in Ladakh. Changthangi sheep is a dual-purpose breed native to the cold arid region. The Changthangi is a small goat, standing about 50 cm at the withers, and weighing on average approximately 20 kg. Both sexes are horned which are large and twisted (55 cm.)  The ears are small and upright.The coat consists of an outer coat of long hair and a thick undercoat of fine pashmina. It is commonly white, but can also be black, brown or grey in colour. The skin is white or pale brown.

CHOKLA

Found in Rajasthan. Light to medium-sized animals. Face generally devoid of wool, dark brown and the colour may extend up to the middle of the neck. The head profile is straight. Ears small to medium in length and tubular relatively fine.Tail thin and medium length. The coat colour is white, dense, and relatively fine, covering the entire body including the belly and the greater part of the legs.

CHOTTANAGPURI

Found in Jharkhand & West Bengal. Animals are small, and light in weight with light grey and brown colour. The ears are small and parallel to the head. The tail is thin and short. Fleece is coarse, hairy and open and is generally not clipped.

COIMBATORE

Found in Tamil Nadu. They are medium-sized with a compact body. White in colour with varying extents of black or tan coat and fleece on the head and neck, which may extend up to the shoulder or back. The head is small and slightly convex. 65% of males and all ewes are polled.

DECCANI

Found in Andhra Pradeh and Maharashtra. The Deccani breed is the only pure black coarse wool breed in India. Deccani rams are horned but ewes are polled. The ears are medium long, flat and drooping, the tail is short and thin, and the fleece is extremely coarse, hairy and open. The belly and legs are devoid of wool.

GADDI

Found in the Himalayan ranges of J&K and H.P. Medium sized, rams are horned while ewes are mostly polled. The tail is small and thin. The Gaddi ewe averages 56 cm at the withers and weighs on average 26.5 kg.

GANJAM

Found in Orrissa. Medium-sized animals, white, light brown or mixed colours. Ears are small and stumpy. The tail is medium long and thin. Fleece is extremely course, hairy and open. Legs and bellies are devoid of wool. Horns are found in males only.

GAROLE

Found in West Bengal. Compact and square body with a small head, medium ears and short and thin tail. Grey and white are the predominant colour in this breed. The udder is fairly developed and twins can easily be sustained on the milk available from the ewes. Fleece is open, coarse and very dense. Multiple births are common.

GUREZ

Found in J&K. Largest of the sheep breeds. Generally white, although some animals are brown or black or have brown or black spots. The tail is thin and short. Fleece is generally coarse and hairy. Ears are long, thin and pointed.

HASSAN

Found in Karnataka. Medium animals with a white body and light brown or black spots. The ears are medium-long and drooping, only few of the males are horned and females are polled. Fleece is white, extremely coarse and open ; legs and belly are devoid of wool.

HISSARDALE

Evolved at the Government Livestock Farm, Hissar, through crossbreeding Australian Merino rams with Bikaneri (Magra) ewes and stabilizing the exotic inheritance at about 75 per cent.

JAISALMERI

Found in Rajasthan. Fairly built square, deep and tall in appearance. Black or dark brown face, the colour extending up to the neck. Typical Roman nose. Long drooping ears, generally with a cartilaginous appendage. Both sexes are polled. The tail is medium to long. The fleece is white, of medium carpet quality and not very dense.

JALAUNI

Found in U.P. and M.P. They are medium-sized animals, with a straight nose line. Ears are large flat and drooping. Tail is thin and medium in length. Fleece is coarse, short-stapled and open, generally white. The belly and legs are devoid of wool.

KANGURI

Found in Tamil Nadu. These are medium in size with mostly dark brown or coconut brown body colour. Some animals are also found having white to black colour with spots of different shades. Ears are medium long and drooping. The tail is short and thin.

KARNAH

Found in Tamil Nadu. The body colour is predominantly brown varying from light tan to dark brown. Some animals have white markings on the forehead, inside the thigh and on the lower abdomen. Ears are medium, long and drooping. The body is covered with short hairs. Tail is short and thin. All males are horned while ewes are polled.

KASHMIR MERINO

Found in Kashmir. Breed is off-white in colour predominantly with a narrow long and convex head profile. Ears are broad and droopy and horns are oriented in a backward forward and outward directions. A majority of the animals are polled.

KHERI

Found in Rajasthan. It's a medium to large-sized animal and is relatively heavier than Marwari sheep. Kheri locally refers to a colour pattern having a mixture of black and brown. The animals of this breed have a black-brown face, sometimes extending up to the neck and/or spots on the legs, with a white body.

KILAKARISAL

Found in Tamil Nadu. Medium-sized animals, with a dark tan coat with black spots on the head, belly and legs. The ears Are leaf-like, semi pendulous and medium-sized. The tail is small and thin. Males have thick twisted horns, 2 to 3 cm in length. Eyes Are Prominent With a Black Streak Near the Inner Canthus.

MADRAS RED

Found in Tamil Nadu. Medium-sized animals. Brown in colour, the intensity varying from light tan to dark brown; some animals have white markings on the forehead, inside the thighs and on the lower abdomen. Typical prominent Roman nose. Ears Are pendulous And Large (12-13 Cm) with prominent mid ridge.

MAGRA

Found in Rajasthan. Also known as Bikaneri. Medium to large animals with white faces with light brown patches around the eyes. The skin colour is pink. Ears are small to medium and tubular. Both sexes are polled. The tail is medium in length and thin. Fleece is of medium carpet quality, extremely white and lustrous and not very dense.

MALPURA

Found in Rajasthan. Medium to heavy size breed, with long legs. The typical colour of the face is light brown extending up to the neck. Ears are short and tubular, with a small cartil aginous appendage on the upper side. Both sexes are polled. The tail is medium to long and thin. White fleece, extremely coarse and hairy. The belly and legs are devoid of wool.

MANDYA

Found in Karnataka. Colour is white, but in some cases face is light brown, and this colour may extend to the neck. Compact body with a typical reversed U-shape conformation from the rear.

MARWARI

Found in Rajasthan. It's a small sheep, standing approximately 60 cm at the withers. It has a white body and a black face. It is a polled breed – both sexes are without horns. The ears are unusually small and are tubular.

MECHERI

Found in Tamil Nadu. A medium-sized animal with a compact body and covered with short hairs, which are not shorn. They are light brown in colour and slightly Roman nose.

MUNJAL

Found in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. It is very big in size, tall, rectangular and massive having a long head with Roman nose and narrow forehead. The face is generally tan or brown in colour which may extend up to the neck. Both sexes are polled. ears are large and leaf-like hanging down with flat cheeks.

MUZAFFARNAGARI

Found in Western U.P. Spotless body, and brown ring around the eyes are the preferred characteristics for the breeding rams. The coat is generally white and dense but relatively coarse and the head is large with long and drooping brown ears. Both males and females are polled. The tail is very long and extends to the fetlock joint.

NALI

Found in Rajasthan. Medium-sized animals. The face colour is light brown, and the skin colour is pink. Both sexes are polled, their ears are medium and tubular, tail is short to medium and thin, fleece is white, coarse, dense and long-stapled. The forehead, belly and legs are covered with wool.

NELLORE

Found in Tamil Nadu. Nellore is the tallest breed of sheep in India, resembling goats in appearance. It has a long face and long ears with the body densely covered with short hair. The majority of the flocks are of fawn or deep red fawn colour.

NILGIRI

Found in Tamil Nadu. Medium-sized animals. Body colour is white; exceptionally there are brown patches on the face and body. Horns are long, inverted backwards.

PATANWADI

Found in Kutchh of Gujrat. Patanwadi sheep are hornless. Their ears are tubular, medium-sized drooping, and turning inward. The neck is short and covered with fleeces of dirty white colour.

POONCHI

Found in Jammu region. Predominantly white, including the face, but spotted sheep are also seen, varying from brown to light black. The ears are medium long. The tail is short and thin.

PUGAL

Found in Rajasthan. It has black face, light brown color of lower jaw, tubular and short ears, short and thin tail and has less dense white fleece.

RAMNAD WHITE

Found in Tamil Nadu. The ears are medium-sized and directed outward and downward, the forehead is narrow and straight noseline. Males are horned and females are polled. Horns are thick, corrugated and curved in rams.

RAMPUR BUSHAIR

Found in Himachal Pradesh. The fleece colour is predominantly white, with brown, black and tan also seen in varying proportions. The ears are long and drooping. The face line is convex, giving a typical Roman nose. The males are horned; most females are polled.

SHAHABADI

Found in Bihar. Medium-sized leggy animals. The fleece colour is mostly grey, sometimes with black spots with light brown coat colour and long tail. More than 60% of adults in an average flock of Shahabadi breed are more than 6-teeth old. 

SONADI

Found in Rajasthan. They are well-built, somewhat smaller than the Malpura, with long legs. They have a light brown face with the colour extending to the middle of the neck. Ears are large, flat and drooping and generally have a cartilaginous appendage. The tail is long and thin. Both sexes are polled. The udder is fairly well developed.

TIBETAN

Found in Tibet. They are medium to large animals with very big twisted backwards horns. They may be white or brown in colour. Ears are short, erect upwards and backwards.

TIRUCHY BLACK

Found in Tamil Nadu. They are small animals with a black coat. While the males are horned, the ewes are polled. The ears are short and directed downward and forward. The tail is short and thin and the fleece is extremely coarse, hairy and open.

VEMBUR

Found in Tamil Nadu. They are tall animals, white in colour with irregular fawn and black patches all over the body. The ears are medium-sized and drooping and the tail is thin and short. While the males are horned, the ewes are polled. The body is covered with short hair which is not shorn.

EXOTIC BREEDS IN INDIA

MERINO

Merino is a medium-sized white sheep and belongs to the class of fine-wool sheep.

RAMBOUILLET

Rambouillet is the largest of fine wool sheep. The breed has a white face and white legs. The face covering of wool is rather heavy, even to the extent of causing wool blindness.

DORSET

This breed of sheep has a characteristic wide face and long body and comes in white. It comes in both, horned as well as polled.