A Unique Journey of Genetic Building
One of the first things new enthusiasts to the Pygmy Goat breed will come across when they get involved with the breed is the Pygmy Goat genetic percentage on the animal’s registration certificate. Most people will naturally assume that any animal labelled a Pygmy Goat is in fact a 100% Full Blood Pygmy Goat, but that is rarely the case at all.
In fact there were only a small handful (less than 20) individual imported animals in Australia that are 100% Full Blood Pygmy Goats.
Every other registered animal has a varying percentage of Pygmy Goat genetics in them, in most cases the remaining genetics come from the Australian Miniature Goat breed, although some individual animals may also have Anglo Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf ancestry. (To complicate things a bit further, an individual animal may have a different percentage assigned to it if it is registered in different Associations due to different ways of calculating Pygmy Goat percentage, but that is something I talk about in a different post Pygmy Goat Breed Associations in Australia).
In theory, the higher percentage Pygmy Goat genetics, the closer the animal should look to the ideal Breed Standard. Due to the other genetics in its make-up this is not always the case and there are many lower percentage animals that more closely fit the Pygmy Goat Breed Standard than high % animals.
This is why you will often hear Pygmy Goat breeders say that breeding stock type is far more important than percentage at this point in the development of the breed in Australia.
That is often a huge relief to new enthusiasts, especially considering the price tag for Pygmy Goats is based on percentage + type with 100% Full Blood animals in the $8,000 to $15,000 price bracket.
The *genetic recovery program here in Australia for Pygmy Goats is actually more a genetic development program that follows a unique path quite different to other livestock breeds people might be familiar. This certainly has its downfalls (number of generations to breed up to Purebred status, lack of conformity to the ideal Breed Standard over more generations etc) but it is one that allows enthusiasts to get involved at a much lower cost than for other imported breeds, so there are some benefits.
*I have no idea why everyone calls it a genetic ‘recovery’ program. There is no ‘recovery’ in it like there would be for a heritage breed verging on extinction, what Australian Pygmy Goat breeders are doing is more a genetic development program to develop ever increasing Pygmy Goat genetics into each generation of kids produced, heading towards Purebred status (93%+) over time.
A Different Approach to the ‘Breed Up’ Method
Other breeds of Livestock such as the Valais Black Nose Sheep or Charolais cattle follow a more traditional ‘breed up’ approach to achieve purebred status.
In normal breeding practices, a Full Blood sire (a male with 100% breed genetics) is bred with Full Blood females. For newly imported breeds, this is usually done by importing embryos for transplant into recipients and importing frozen semen for insemination into Australian females of a suitable breed.
The female offspring continue to be bred to Full Blood sires, while only the top Full Blood males are bred to females of suitable similar breeds. The first generation offspring are F1 with 50% genetics of the new breed. Each generation then uses Purebred Sires/semen over the female offspring to increase each generation of offspring from 50% to 75%, then 87.5%, 93.75% and finally in the fifth generation all offspring reach Purebred status where the best males can be used for breeding.
In contrast, Pygmy Goat breeding in Australia doesn’t require a strict five-generation program using Full Blood sires. Instead, it allows for animals of either sex with any percentage of Pygmy genetics to contribute to the breeding program. This approach makes it easier to build up the breed numbers, but also creates a huge difference in appearance in the first few generations of offspring and can mean unexpected genetic throwbacks in colour, height and conformation down the track.
The reason for Pygmy Goats are being bred up in this way is due to the extremely limited genetics originally imported along with the loss of imported semen and embryos.
This process does foster a diverse genetic pool when bred with suitable type Australian Miniature Goats and given the seriously limited number of Full Blood and Purebred Pygmy Goats in Australia this is crucial for the long-term health and vitality of the Pygmy Goat population in Australia to avoid the common problems associated with inbreeding depression. Preserving genetic diversity is essential as it creates a significant advantage in terms of disease resistance and overall hardiness of the breed.
The downside with this process is that it essentially allows for ongoing cross-breeding of Pygmy Goat genetics as not all breeders are committed to improving the breed and moving towards quality Purebred animals that fit the Breed Standard.
To illustrate how the percentage is calculated, when we breed our does to Presley our Purebred 95.31% Pygmy Goat buck, their offspring will take half the genes from each parent and their Pygmy Goat percentage will then be worked out based on the following formula:
Buck % + Doe % = combined % ÷ 2 = offspring %
In real terms this looks like:
Phoenix P68.75% + 95.31% = 164.06 ÷ 2 = 82.03% offspring
Beauty P58.59% + 95.31% = 153.9 ÷ 2 = 76.95% offspring
Belle P58.59%+ 95.31% = 153.9 ÷ 2 = 76.95% offspring
Dusty P55.75%+ 95.31% = 151.06 ÷ 2 = 75.53% offspring
Gretel P42.97%+ 95.31% = 138.28 ÷ 2 = 69.14% offspring
Our intention for the health and longevity of our animals is to develop our own lines. As we have a good genetic variation within our herd, we plan to keep the female offspring and bring in a new Pygmy Goat buck when they are old enough to breed. Rather than just increasing percentage, the overall health and vitality of our goats and improving each generation to more closely meet the Pygmy Goat Breed Standard will be our top priority over the coming years.
The Challenge of Importing Genetics
One of the hurdles in developing the Pygmy Goat breed in Australia is the difficulty of importing new Pygmy Goat genetics from the USA, the only country we can legally import from. Strict quarantine laws, high costs and limited availability of Pygmy Goats for export make it a challenge to bring fresh genetics into the country. This means that Australian breeders have to be resourceful and careful working with the genetic material available locally and focusing on incremental improvements with each generation.
The biggest challenge that Australian breeders face is the stringent quarantine laws that govern the importation of new genetics. For semen and embryos to be imported, the donor animals must undergo a rigorous health screening process. Unfortunately, this process includes a requirement that the donor goats be euthanized and necropsied (autopsied) to ensure they are free of any diseases that could threaten Australia’s biosecurity and our agricultural industry.
This not only makes importing new genetics incredibly difficult and expensive but also places a heavy burden on breeders in the USA who must sacrifice valuable animals to meet Australian Quarantine requirements.
As a result, the flow of new Pygmy Goat genetics into Australia is pretty much non-existent, further emphasizing the importance of carefully managing and developing the genetics already available within the country.
Why It Matters
This unique breeding strategy allows more breeders to participate in the development of the breed, even if they don’t start with purebred animals.
By understanding the unique challenges and opportunities of Pygmy Goat breeding along with the possible benefits and definite dangers of inbreeding, Australian breeders can establish a strong and vibrant Pygmy Goat population that will thrive far into the future.
So, whether you’re a seasoned breeder or just someone who loves these adorable little goats, it’s an exciting time to be part of the Pygmy Goat journey in Australia. With each new generation, we’re not just breeding goats – we’re building a legacy, one that we are all responsible for.
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