Characters of Nachi Goat Breed of Pakistan

Introduction of Nachi goat Breed

Nachi goat is a unique animal due to its dancing step which is natural genetically controlled. Nach spells in Urdu dance and Nachi goat means one having dancing class. It is also declared as “Naouchi” in the local languages.

Anatomically, shoulder joints are not connected securely in Nachi goat, nor is the upper joint of the forearm and consequently goat cannot jump as freely as in other breeds. Also, kids are difficult to rear as they have trouble in getting up for the first few days and suckling may need support. If animals walk, feet and pastern move in a partially revolving movement and with heads held high, goat show a dancing walk. Interestingly, goat tend to stay together in the herd and may follow the herder more

than any different breed. That is why in 'Nachi goat walk matches' a herd that supports the herder and moves with herder's moves is viewed better than others.
Goats in common, are natural browsers rather than grazers and this is more true for Nachi goat. Among other behavioral traits, fighting behavior is also varied in Nachi goat.
Males do fight for dominance and mating claims yet,

the fighting techniques are different. Objections are few and rear legs are limited, bucks do not arise up on their hind legs and come down strenuously to butt heads as recognized in other breeds. They strike heads on indirectly while standing with particular forehead bursts. Bootlegging and shoving are still the same as in other breeds. Mating performance is also different as landing after mating may result in a lowering of bucks.
Nachi goat shaves decreased in number over the years essentially because of improving lifestyles in villages. With pressing free grazing lands, herders are becoming fewer. Nachi goat is mainly kept for their beautiful walk and cannot walk long distances.

Judging Nachi goat Breed

Nachi, like other goats, is judged to select a beautiful animal that is structurally suitable and meets breed models. Yet, field situation is distinct from academic knowledge. The academic color for Nachi goat, for example, is totally black. Ears are assumed to be white with some black speckles. This is far from reality and has appeared in narrowing the genetic base. Yet, crossbreds for example, between Nachi goat with other breeds such as Beetal goat. do not maintain the same pace and are in-between dancing and normal gait. Even 75% of Nachi goat can be identified from purebreds because the gait is not the same as that of purebred Nechi. the goat should, therefore, be judged for singular body attributes but unless they are permitted to walk freely, deciding will not be complete. It should also be understood that Nachi goat prefer to walk in groups company and therefore while concentrating on any particular goat, others should follow them

Nachi goat Breed Home tract

The main purpose of raising the Nachi goat breed is its dancing gait.
Milking secondary thing. Meat is eaten and hair further used for making rugs Largest of the animals are shorn before the summer season. They are sacrificed but to a limited amount.
Home tract
The main districts residing the Nachi goat breed are Jhang, Multan Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Bahawalpur, and Bahawalnagarin Punjab region. Animals have been exerted to other districts and provinces and even to other countries.

Nachi goat Breed Body parts

Before talking about physical shape, it is essential to understand various body parts of the goat. The male and female body parts are provided later. For judges, it is essential to have information on various body parts in regional languages dialects. Punjabi and to some amount Siraiki languages are essential.
Concluding Nachi goat as a dancing milking breed There are many methods to segment or group different body parts for ranking Nachi goat. Most breed organizations certainly take first and foremost judgments of classifying the breed as dairy, meat, or dual purpose as the major decision.

As an animal farmer, this means the main breeding intention or simply the main objective for which a particular breed is kept by the farmers. For Nachi goat, an obvious purpose is beautiful Nachi goat with fair milk-producing capacity. Milk yield or commonly dairy traits will, therefore, be essential for judging does but traits may be specific to the Nachi goat breed and the equivalent will be true for bucks.
Judging Nachi goat from beginning to end. The overall look and particular traits can be judged easily if classified as follows.

1. 
   General Look
   2. Front End
   3. Back and barrel
   4. Rear-end
   5. Udder and teats in do
   6. Testicles in bucks
2. 
   The grouping has continued to run from one to the other end. An extra advantage for grouping is to group them into dairyless, volume, etc. which may have characteristics spread throughout the body, rather sequenced from one to the other side. The review is focused on both sexes in usual condition, front end, back and barrel, and rear end. Udder and teats in does and testicles in bucks are considered individually

Breed characters of Nachi Goat Breed:

Breed characteristics of Nachi goat are usually set by breed organizations. For Nachi goat, the information of the breed available in books and guidebooks is quite misleading. Information such as “black buck black and white recognized too, medium head, Roman nose, small tiny horns, medium ears; udder well-developed.neck is short and strong in males but relatively weak and long in females.

The udder is not well grown and teats are small.legs are also medium-sized and strong are behind reality and are doing corrected in this guide keeping in view the ground realities. The normal body weight of Nachi goat is more than double the 20-25 kg. Defining the color to black or black and white will narrow the base particularly when almost all goat colors are present in the Nachi goat breed and breeders have various choices for the color. Head is quite comparable to the body while horns can not be called very large nor can be classified as thin.

There are inadequate to slightly spiral but not as spiral as those of Diara Din Panah goat breed. In size, these are not as small as those favored for Beetal goat bucks. Polledness is uncommon in Nachi goat. Horns can, consequently, be called as somewhat to fully twisted, leading generally backward. Totally twisted and pointed upward similar to Sindh Desi goat are also found but in a small dimension of the population. The construction of the nose is prominent but not as prominent as that of Rahim Yar Khan strain of Beetal goat

Stature:

Nachi goat is tall in stature almost as tall as Beetal. Taller does are preferred but very leggy animals are not preferred over animals with balanced height and body length. Body length has the same qualifying criteria and animals with longer body length are preferred. Adult body weight inbreeding does vary and may average 60 kg /(in the show does) with breeding males weighing more than 80kg.
Body length (diagonal) in these animals average 80cm in does(participating in goat shows)with bucks some 10cm longer. Height at withers average 88 and 98cm in does and bucks, respectively

Color:

Black is the main color in Nachi goat. Yet, other colors are allowed because Nachi goat is available in almost all goat colors. Sawi (grey) and other colors are also being maintained by breeders. Multicolored (spotted animals) can also be found. Purple color has also been seen. Solid colors with light underline are also present.

Hair coat:

Hair coat in Nachi goat is short but not as short as that of Teddy or Beetals and of course not as long as Jattal or Kaghani. Animals are generally trimmed once a year before the summer. Shows are mostly arranged during spring and summer season and so animals may or may not be shorn. While animals with small hair coats give a better appearance, preference may not be shown due to hair coats unless it is announced a year earlier that a certain show will be held at a certain time of the year.

Vigor:

Animals showing vigor are desirable. The animal should be alert and to some degree aggressive, especially the males. Males can be furious and dangerous if a handler is not alert especially in the breeding season, so holding from ears is common. Handlers may, however, be guided to hold at the base of the ear (on the opposite side of the judge/judges)

Gait:

Impressive style and powerful carriage are preferred attributes. Does should have feminine appearance through head, neck, and shoulders while bucks should be more masculine. As gait is the main objective of raising Nachi goat, gait in does is considered important and most of Nachi goat shows have judging contests of does. Small steps and semi-circular movement of front toes are the two most important attributes. The neck is kept upright while animals walk. Some degree of hopping is also there and erect necks give some feeling of them being relative of camelids.

Faults:

Beard is not allowed in Nachi goat. Normal goat walk (not dancing) will disqualify any animal

Head:

It should be devoid of excessive hairs similar to other Pakistani goat breeds (except for Jattal or Kaghani breeds). Jaws should be strong and muzzle should be wide.
The bite should be aligned. Nostrils are large. The bridge of the nose may be from slight to moderately prominent (Roman nose). Eyes should be prominent and alert. Eyeballs are generally reddish yellow (dark yellow) in color. Horns should be small, twisted, and pointed backward and upward. In some animals twisting may be tight and these should not be discriminated against. Ears are of medium size and drooping. Softness and length vary with an average of around 30cm. Ears remain drooping even when animals are alert

Neck:

The long and lean neck is a peculiar characteristic of Nachi goat. It is kept upheld as if it is quite erect. It may also not blend smoothly into shoulders and brisket as expected in other breeds, rather a shoulder may be quite visible in most cases. The throat may not be clean and some dewlap may be present especially in older animals. Wattles are absent.

Chest:

A deep and wide chest is preferred; it should not give the look of an over-conditioned  fattened animal and is generally quite wide in males

Shoulders:

Blades in Nachi goat are not set very smoothly against withers and may be seen clearly especially in newly shorn animals

Front legs:

Legs should be set smoothly against the chest wall and withers. Legs should be straight with some curving allowed (front view). The knees on the front legs should also be smooth and in direct line with the front legs.
From knee downward, standards are the same as in other breeds

Front hooves and pasterns:

Small front hooves and strong pasterns are preferred. Both hooves should be symmetrical and proportioned to the size of the animal.alt; be well-trimmed hooves are desirable because these will be more comfortable for the animal and promote better weight distribution and stance. Overgrown hooves put animals at the risk of developing problems such as lameness and joint and other problems. Both hooves should be symmetrical and proportioned to the size of the animal. Deep heal and level soles are preferred

General Assembly:

Style and balance come when the entire body blends together from front to end. The smooth blending of various parts is preferred but in week animals,
blending may never be smooth as shoulder blade will be quite obvious.

Faults:

Convex forehead, blind eyes, severely under or overshot jaw (slight parrot or monkey mouths are acceptable); erect ears; bow-legged animals; big horns and excessive/overgrown hooves are not preferred

Withers:

These are prominent and wedge-shaped,
moderately covered with flesh and blend well with neck and shoulders. The front side of the chime is dished in and is characteristic of the breed. In Beetal, this dip does not exist.

Heart girths:

Hear girth should be medium, resulting from well-sprung fore ribs and wide chest floor between the forelegs and fullness at the point of elbows. The heart girth has a wide variation and may average 85 cm with 5-10cm wider girths in bucks

Back:

Strong and appearing dipped in behind the withers. This is very typical in Nachi goat while in other breeds,
smooth blending is expected. The loin area should belong.
The hips (hooks) should be wide apart and almost leveling with posterior side of the back

Rump:

The area between the hook bones and the tail should be wider with a medium slope. It is one of the most important areas for selecting younger animals. This area affects general appearance in does due to its tail set and placement, but more importantly, it affects how the animal moves off of his/her rear legs. Animals with steep rump and low set in the tail are not preferred

Ribs:

Ribs should be wide apart, well sprung, flat and long with lower rear ribs angling to flank

Flanks:

Flanks should be deep, arched and refined

Rear legs:

Rear feet and legs are important for any goat breed. For Nachi goat, rear legs are weak and animals are generally hock-in (sickle hocks) reducing space for udders in does. Legs should preferably be as straight as possible and set squarely when seen from rear and straight when seen from the side. Post-legged and sickle-hocked animals results as poor moving, ill-structured goats. As “bowlegged” or “cow-hocked” animals at a younger age develop into worse legged animals with age, potential bucks should be selected carefully that there is space between hocks as much as possible.

Thighs:

Incurving to flat from the side and wide apart when viewed from rear to provide sufficient space for the udder. A dense hairy coat is not preferred

Pastern:

Strong and springy pasterns are preferred over weak pasterns. This is important for Nachi goat because they have inherent difficulty in traveling long distances

Rear hooves:

Square hooves with two halves spaced closely are desirable. Worn out hooves or overgrown hooves are not preferred. Trimming is not generally practiced.

Vulva does:

Vulva should be of normal size (as per the age of the animal). Smaller size for non-breeding and younger animals and comparatively bigger size in older and freshly kidded animals is expected

Tail:

The tail should be bent upward and preferably make a semicircle loop (Fig. 22). It is hairy and tuft may or may not be kept when trimmed. Animals with the hanging tail are discarded.

Udder and Teats in Does

Size:

Udder size and yield are positively correlated.
The capacity of the udder is mainly determined by its shape. Long /(fore and hind udders), wide and capacious udders are preferred. A low hanging pendulous udder may be bigger but is not preferred over a smaller strongly attached udder.
Fore udder should be carried well forward, be tightly carried, and blend into the body. The rear udder should be wide and high. Nachi goat generally has good fore udders but rear udders are not very wide and high. It may also be pointed out that milk is synthesized in udders and not in teats.
Therefore the size of the udder and not the total size /(udder+teats) is important

Balance:

The two udder halves should be near the same size for balance and symmetry. Tilting to the right or left when the animal walks are not preferred. This may be difficult to judge in Nachi goat as space between hocks is narrow. Awareness for selecting bucks with symmetrical testicles and does for symmetrical udders is weak.

Texture:

Generally, the texture is judged by palpating the udder to seek for pliable and soft tissue (rather than hard tissue, lumps, etc) where milk is produced and stored. Soft,
pliable and elastic udders (which can collapse after milking)
are preferred. Scars may not be ignored but some scarring will be present as most of the does graze all year long.

Udder support:

The medial suspensory ligament is the main support for the udder. It divides the udder into two halves and holds the udder to the body. The strength,
elasticity, and length of the ligament determine the udder height

Teat size:

Both teats should be of equal and adequate size for hand milking because 100% Nachi goat are hand milked. In reality, however, teats are generally long in Nachi goat. So if teats hang below hocks these should be discredited. As the awareness will improve, udders will become larger and teats shorter

Teat shape:

The cylindrical shape is preferred in many goat breeds but not in Nachi goat. Most do have bottled shape teats (Fig. 26, left and right photos). So cylindrical shape can be emphasized for dam selection and gradually situation can improve

Teat placement:

Preference is generally given to teats pointed straight downward and slightly towards the front.
Teats pointed inwards or outwards are not preferred

Other faults:

Large extra and blind teats are considered as a fault. Broken udders do not fetch high points.

Testicle size:

Two fully descended, large-sized testicles are needed. Age should be considered in comparing bucks because younger bucks have smaller sized testicles. If thighs are not trimmed, judgment may be difficult.
Palpating may help to judge their softness and movement in the scrotum. The size of the testicles is generally measured in scrotal circumference i.e. length of the measuring tape put at the maximum width of the testicles. In Nachi goat males, it is above 30cm. Sheath in bucks is generally devoid of defects.
Tying a string at the orifice to stop matings in the non-breeding season may result in injury and therefore overgrown or damaged sheath is not preferred

Testicular symmetry:

Tilting (left or right) is not a preferred attribute for breeding bucks. Slight tilting may be acceptable, however. Testicles should be directed downward. Buck should be forced to stand squarely and exhibiter should lead it to see for the judge from behind if asymmetry exits. Both testicles should also be of equal size.

Scrotal shape:

Bi-partitioning of the scrotum is not preferred in most goat breeds. Some associations allow a cut of one inch or less. For Nachi goat, wide variation exits and convincing the farmers to select bucks without bipartition scrotums may take some time. For simplicity,
the two main shapes may be called 'U' (left below) and 'W'
(middle and right below) with 'U' being the preferred shape. For comparisons, Teddy bucks generally have 'U'
more common than Nachi goat and other breeds.

Extra teats:

Two small supernumeraries, non-functional teats in the inguinal region are normal. More than two or big sized extra teats are discouraged. These are not very common in Nachi goat

While judging goats (or any animal species for that matter)
experience counts a lot. Animals with gross faults and extraordinary animals can be distinguished from others in no time. Final placing takes some time as the top few animals need to be looked at repeatedly. In moving them in circles or asking presenters to lead them towards or away from the judge helps. With some experience, eye appeal still is the final attribute that must be considered when evaluating animals. Along with dancing gait, balance and symmetry are the most important factor in the final judgment.
Does should be feminine in appearance with visible angularity such that body depth increases into the region of the rear flanks. Udders are extremely important and should be given due importance. Bucks, on the other hand,
should express a masculine appearance. Testicles are important and ideal may not be easy to find even when other traits are easier to judge. Dancing gait is a special attribute of the breed and it takes time to learn what is a Nachi gait.
As many goat farmers participating in goat shows are poor,
due respect should be paid to them to encourage them to keep raising good animals. Some have no experience of presenting animals in shows which requires patience from Judges.
Show rigs should have enough space for individual animals to walk freely (go to the farmer or herd mates for judging their walks. Some animals (especially males) may be reluctant to walk (away from the herd) by themselves and therefore the time taken for judging may be more than any other breed of goat. Standing for a very long time may also put stress on animals and should be kept in mind while age class competitions are planned.

A number of prizes should be as many as possible even if of a smaller monitory value. They should feel good when going back to their village/community. There is no perfect animal and one must try to rank animals in the fairest possible way