History

Photo credit: First Fleet Nigerian Dwarf Goats

Origin

A detailed history of the Nigerian Dwarf Goat is not available. It is thought that the Nigerian Dwarf descended from the West African Dwarf goat that supported the agricultural-based communities of West Africa and West Sudan.  The West African Dwarf was a hardy and highly productive goat that was farmed for their meat and milk and where imported Dairy Goats struggled the West African Dwarf Goats thrived. 

Heading for the USA

There are a number of theories of how the West African Goat came to be in America. The most prominent of these is the idea that they were shipped over as food for exotic animals being sent to American Zoos as early as 1918.  The survivors became part of zoo populations and their numbers increased leading to them leaving the confines of the Zoos and being selectively bred to become the fine dairy breed they are today. The early Nigerian Dwarves were mostly three distinct colour lines, brown, black or gold, all with or without random white markings. 

The American Goat Society opened the Herd Book to the Nigerian Dwarf in 1984.  The American Dairy Goat Association accepted the Nigeran Dwarf into their Herd Book in 2002.

Arriving in Australia

The first Nigerians only arrived in Australia in 2014 via embryo transplantation programs undertaken by Michael and Ulrike Garwood, First Fleet Nigerians in Victoria. The First Fleets embryo importation programs resulted in the birth of seven does and five buck kids in Australia being:

First Fleet Apollo

DOB: 30-Aug-2014

SIRE: Dav-Lyn Appolossa

DAM: Pride Of Texas Bearded Iris

First Fleet Frederik

DOB: 02-Sep-2014

SIRE: Highpoint Arnoth

DAM: Pride Of Texas Bearded Iris

First Fleet Hermes

DOB: 02-Sep-2015

SIRE: Highpoint Arnoth

DAM: Pride Of Texas Bearded Iris

First Fleet Chloe

 DOB: 03-Sept-2014

SIRE: Highpoint Arnoth     

DAM: Pride Of Texas Bearded Iris

First Fleet Liesl

DOB: 02-Sept-2015

SIRE: Dav-Lyn Appolossa  

DAM: Christobec’s Kiss Me Kate

First Fleet Lotte

DOB: 02-Sept-2015

SIRE: Dav-Lyn Appolossa

DAM: Christobec’s Kiss Me Kate

First Fleet Florence

DOB: 02-Sept-2015

SIRE: Pecan Knoll Bob the Builder  

DAM: Christobec’s Kiss Me Kate

First Fleet Hope

DOB: 04-Aug-2016

SIRE: Dav-Lyn Appolossa

DAM: Ajud Jorja Fox

First Fleet Sally

DOB: 04-Aug-2016

SIRE: Dav-Lyn Appolossa

DAM: Ajud Jorja Fox

First Fleet Eve

DOB: 10-Nov-2018

SIRE: Castle Rock Harvest Moon

DAM: Chinook Winds CJS Gold Dubloons

First Fleet Baudin

DOB: 11-Nov-2018

SIRE: Castle Rock Mad About The Moon

DAM: Castle Rock La Jamais Contente

First Fleet Naturaliste

DOB: 11-Nov-2018

SIRE: Castle Rock Harvest Moon

DAM: Chinook Winds Gold Dubloons

Paul Hamilton, Trinity Stud, Semtech Animal Breeding Service also imported semen from Nigerian bucks being Castle Rock Guy Noir, Lost Valley TB Cairo and Beaujest W Julian Gitch and made this available to other interested breeders.

In 2014 the Garwood made semen available from Dav-Lyn Appolossa, Higpoint Arnoth and Pecan Know Bob The Builder.

By 2019, 104 purebred Nigerians descendants had been bred from those seven does listed above. However due to excess demand resulting in inability to access sufficient full bloods and the high prices demanded, many Australian breeders also undertook upgrading programs using Nigerian bucks over Australian goats of other breeds.

Additional importation of semen and embryos is continuing and the Nigerian Dwarf breed looks set for an exciting future in Australia.