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The American Pygmy is an American breed of
achondroplastic Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. In those with the condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. Those affected ...
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of ...
. It is small, compact and stockily built. Like the
Nigerian Dwarf The Nigerian Dwarf is an American breed of dwarf goat. Like the American Pygmy Goat, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa. History Between about 1930 and 1960 a variety of small goats of the West African ...
, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa. Between 1930 and 1960, animals of this type were imported to the United States for use either as zoo animals or for research; some were later kept and bred as companion animals and established as a breed in 1975. It may also be known as the Pygmy or African Pygmy. It is quite different and separate from the British
Pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
breed.


History

Between about 1930 and 1960 a variety of small goats of the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa were imported from zoos in Germany to the United States, to be exhibited in zoos or used as research animals. Some came into the hands of private breeders who kept and bred them as
companion animal A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intellig ...
s. By the 1970s, two distinct types had developed: one broad, compact and solid like the original African stock, the other more delicate, much like a dairy goat in miniature. The latter became the
Nigerian Dwarf The Nigerian Dwarf is an American breed of dwarf goat. Like the American Pygmy Goat, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa. History Between about 1930 and 1960 a variety of small goats of the West African ...
, while the former became the American Pygmy, for which a breed society was established in 1975, and a herd book started in the same year. In 2007 the
conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...
of the American Pygmy was listed by the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
as "endangered". In 2019 its transboundary risk level was listed in the
DAD-IS DAD-IS is the acronym of the worldwide Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, within the FAO's management of animal genetic resources programme.Domestic Animal Diversity Infor ...
breed database as "at risk"; it was not on the
heritage breed In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation status ...
watchlist of the
Livestock Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...
. Two modern breeds derive in part from the American Pygmy: the Kinder was created by
cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
with the Nubian, the Pygora from crossing with Angora stock.


Characteristics

The American Pygmy is small and stocky, with heavy bone: height at the
withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ...
is usually in the range , with weights of the order of . Seven color variations are recognised in the
breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athlet ...
: caramel with black markings, caramel with brown markings, brown
agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...
, grey agouti, black agouti, black with white markings, and solid black. It is polyestrous, prolific and
precocious Precocious refers to earlier-than-normal development, as in a "precocious child". The term may also refer to: Films *''A Precocious Girl'' (German title: ''Csibi, der Fratz aka Früchtchen''), a 1934 Austrian comedy film *''Precocious Youth'' (Ge ...
– kids may become sexually mature at two months.
Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during preg ...
normally lasts 145–153 days.


Use

The American Pygmy is reared for meat or as a
companion animal A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intellig ...
; many are kept in zoos. Because of its small size and ease of handling it may be used for scientific research; it has been found to be a good producer of antibodies for
immunological Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...
research.


References

{{Goat breeds of Canada and the United States Goat breeds Goat breeds originating in the United States