Girgentana Goat

Girgentana Goat

Description

The Girgentana is an old Italian dairy goat breed instantly recognisable by its striking corkscrew horns, which rise almost vertically and twist into a tight spiral. It has a long white to cream-coloured coat, a slender, elegant build and a fine head adorned with a small beard. Does stand around 80 cm at the withers and weigh roughly 46 kg, while bucks are a little taller and heavier at about 65 kg.

Habitat

This is a domestic breed rather than a wild animal, native to the province of Agrigento in southern Sicily, whose old name Girgenti gave the goat its name. It is well suited to hot, dry and rocky terrain, thriving on sparse pastures and scrubby hillsides where other breeds would struggle.

Diet

As a hardy browser and grazer it feeds on herbs, leaves, hay and the twigs of shrubs and trees, making good use of even poor and thorny vegetation.

Reproduction

Girgentana goats reach sexual maturity at around 7 to 8 months, though they are usually first mated from about one year of age. After a gestation of roughly 150 days, a doe typically gives birth to one or two kids, occasionally three.

Lifespan

These goats generally live for about 10 to 15 years.

Did you know?

The breed's dramatic spiral horns have led some experts to suggest it descends in part from the wild markhor (Capra falconeri) of Central Asia. Once on the brink of extinction, with only a few dozen animals left in the 1990s, the Girgentana is slowly recovering thanks to zoos and conservation programmes.