Altai Mountain Goat Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Altai Mountain goat is a wool goat that’s wool is highly valued in the light industry. These large goats are very active and require quite a large area for them to graze in. They are known to graze large amounts all day long. They are usually quite docile and obedient if raised correctly. But they are more suited to farms or larger homesteads!

Altai Mountain goat Quick Profile Overview

These goats from the Altai Republic, Russia are very bold and robust goats
Country of Origin:	Altai Republic
Other Names:	Gornoaltaiiskaya
Breed Size:	Medium
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Main Purpose:	Wool Production
Can be used for	Breeding, Fiber
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Temperament:	Wary, docile, courageous and obedient
Good with Kids?	They are not really a goat you have around for a pet or children
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Ideal Environment:/strong>	They need a lot of space and have no problems with rocky creviced landscapes. Need plenty of green vegetation especially grass.
Ideal Climate:	They were bred to withstand the harshest of climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC They are rare in America
Health Issues?	No known health issues and they have a very strong immune system
Good Starter Goat?	No
Goat Associations:	As they are not that common in the USA it is best to check with the Cashmere Goat Association for registered breeders in the country
Goat Clubs:	There are no listed clubs for this breed. Please refer to Associations.
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Hardy, sturdy and capable of fending for themselves.
Color(s):	Black and grey
Goat⇒	Doe	buck
Breed Weight:	97 lbs.	154 lbs.
Breed Height:	75 cm at withers	80 cm at withers
Hair:	Long thick hair	Long shaggy coat
Ears:	Straight and erect to the sides of the head	Straight and erect to the side of his head
Horns:	Thick and point backwards in a curve.	They are thick and curve toward his ears but do not go further than his neck
Matures at age:	5 to 15 months	3 to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 6 months	4 to 9 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	1 Breeding cycle	Cover 20 to 30 does in 1 season

DOE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION

The does are smaller than the buck and they will only breed once a year
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 12 to 36 hours
Gestation Period:	Usually around 148 to 155 day but most are 150 days
Kids:	1 to 4 kids per litter
Good Mothers?	They take care of their kids until they are old enough to fend for themselves
Lactation Period:	284 days The milk yield is better in the 4th week
Milking From:	4 to 6 weeks after kidding
Milk Quality:	Good, They have enough milk for their kids
Milking Level:	N/A,They are not for milking
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GOAT FIBER PRODUCTION INFORMATION

They are an excellent wool goat with high wool yields and wool fleece of 60% to 70%. Their wool production is quite consistent every year unlike most other wool goat breeds.
Fiber Production?	Excellent
Type of Fiber Produced:	Cashmere
Approx. Quantity:	Doe: 450 to 600 grams per season Buck:600 to 900 grams per season
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GOOD TO KNOW

Information that can be rather handy and good to know about the Altai Mountain Goat
Where to buy them:	As they are not very common in the USA please check with the various associations such as the American Goat Federation and the Cashmere Goat Associations. The links can be found under the “Useful Links” section of this article.
Agility:	They can scale precarious mountain regions and rocky crevices quite easily.
Interact with other animals:	They tend to stick to their own kind but will graze alongside other livestock quite contentedly.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

These goats are extremely hardy and are mainly left out in the pastures and mountainous regions to graze all year around. They are herded for sheering, general health and herd checks. They are also brought in for breeding to ensure the pedigree of the breed.

They are superior to most other wool goats in both live weight and wool production.
They have an advantage live weight of up to 5 – 10 kg’s more than average.
This gives them 3 to 4 times more wool yield.

The average wool diameter for adult Altai goats is 16-17 μm.
The average wool diameter for young goats is 15 -16 μm.
Their wool is a valuable commodity in light industry as it has high technical qualities.
The average breaking length of the wool is – to 9.5 km as compared to a Merino sheep wool that is up to 1/23 μm in diameter with a breaking length of no less than 7 cm.

The Collective farms in the Altai Republic that breed Altai are doing so to improve the breed pedigree, hardiness, high adaptability without compromising their excellent wool production qualities.
This breed has been designed to without environments like the unique environment of Siberia.
Since the Collective farms have started breeding the Altai the goat’s population has increased from just under 8000 in 1970 to over 9000 in more recent years.
With this increase in the Altai Mountain goat’s population cashmere production has risen to over 3840 kg’s per season.

Their skin makes excellent leather for use in various leather manufacturing. But the Altai goat breed is used more for its fiber than pelt.

The Altai goat breed is not really used for their meat production as the take years to mature but when they do it is said that their meat is of good quality

HISTORY

Between 1944 and 1982 the Altai Mountain Goat breed was developed in the Altai Republic, a federal subject of Russia.
They were bred by a collective of farms in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous region where the goat is basically kept out to pasture throughout the year.
The breed was created with Don goats that were bred with local goats in order to improve the quality of their wool, adaptability and hardiness.

The Altai Mountain goat is said to have superior wool and most of the goats are all uniform in the coloring and stature. Their wool yield hardly differs more than 10% either way.

They were bred to withstand the unique conditions of Siberia without deterioration on the animal’s wool quality. They are very weather hardy and quite capable of fending for themselves under extreme conditions.
Collective farms have been building on this goats’ pedigree and working to increase their population numbers.

These goats also have a great meat texture and fatten quickly during the summer months.
They are not used in commercial meat markets as the goat is very slow to mature and can take up to 5 years to reach full maturity.

VIDEO

USEFUL LINKS