Pygmy
Pygmy goats are small goats of African origin. They were originally called the Cameroon Dwarf goat. The goat is mostly restricted to the West African countries. Similar forms of Pygmy goats also occur in all of northern Africa, in the southwestern African countries and also in east Africa. However, what we call the Cameroon Dwarf goat is the one that we are concerned with and which we have in the United States and is the breed that actually came from the former French Cameroon area. Pygmys are considered meat goats but are mainly used as pets.
African Pygmy goats are small in size, averaging 15 to 20 inches tall (38.1 to 50.8 centimeters) at the shoulder. Females weigh about 23 to 34 kilograms, (35 to 50 pounds) and males about 27 to 39 kg (40 to 60 pounds). Their color can range from light/white caramel, medium caramel, dark caramel, dark red caramel, silver or light grey agouti, medium grey agouti, dark grey agouti, black with frosted points, solid black and brown agouti. They provide small amounts of high quality milk but are considered a meat goat. The pygmy is small, cobby and compact and is not fine-boned like the dairy breeds or Nigerian Dwarfs Pygmies are bred to be “cobby” and heavy boned.
Breed characteristics of the Pygmy include a full coat of straight, medium-long hair which varies in density with seasons and climates. On females, beards may be nonexistent, sparse or trimmed. On adult males, abundant hair growth is desirable; the beard should be full, long and flowing, the copious mane draping cape-like across the shoulders.
Pygmy Goat Association Web pages:
Photo / CC BY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:public_domain
Photo / CC BY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:public_domain
Photo by Roelzzz / CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en