Nigerian Dwarf Goat Coat Colors
A visual guide to Nigerian Dwarf colors and patterns
Quick Overview
Known Agouti Locus patterns in the Nigerian Dwarf breed:
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Other known patterns & modifiers in the Nigerian Dwarf breed:
The first thing you need to know is that there are two important components that contribute to the overall color of the goat. The alleles at the Agouti Locus are of high importance and will control the pattern, its expression, and the majority of overall appearance. The second is additional alleles at other loci which can affect the hair color, allow for white spotting patterns, or other pigmented patterns such as moon spotting. Alleles such as chocolate at the Brown Locus change normally black areas of the coat to brown. Below is an in depth look at these patterns and their descriptions. As well as real life examples.
GOLD
Gold is the most dominant of the agouti patterns. The most common variation of this pattern gives the goat a solid tan colored coat. Sometimes with faint shading in places, particularly on the legs, face, underbelly, and topline. It ranges in shade from white to tan to red, depending on other modifier genes at work. Modifiers create the variation and color intensity we see. Since gold is a dominant pattern, one parent must be gold to produce gold offspring. A gold can carry another non-gold agouti pattern such as black, chamoisee, buckskin, etc. However, the other agouti pattern a gold carries will customarily be undetectable as it almost always has no effect on the coat. The lightest variation of gold which gives a goat a bright white to cream colored coat is referred to as cream. The typical, tan colored coat is called gold. The darkest variation which gives the goat a dark red color is referred to as red. Gold kids occasionally can be somewhat of a challenge to identify. It is not uncommon for them to have shaded legs, face, underbelly, and even a false dorsal stripe. These will all lighten up in time. Since gold is the most dominant agouti pattern, breeding heterozygous gold to any other agouti pattern will result in about 50% gold offspring.
BLACK
Black is an easy one. Obviously, just a solid black coat. This pattern is very common in the Nigerian Dwarf breed. It is the only known recessive agouti pattern. Meaning a goat must carry two copies of black to have a black coat. Both parents must be black or carry black to produce black offspring. Breeding recessive black to recessive black will always result in black offspring, with very rare exceptions. Being a recessive pattern, any of the other agouti patterns can carry black unknowingly. You may not realize your goats carry black until they produce black offspring.
BUCKSKIN
Buckskin is a tan body with a very distinct black cape that reaches from the front knees to up over the withers, up the neck and down the face. Face has tan stripes. Legs are tan with black or dark brown stripes on the front of the legs. Under jaw and underbelly are also tan. Top of tail is usually black. This pattern is very common in the Nigerian Dwarf breed and has many variations. The tan can range in color from cream to tan to dark brown. The cape can be small or large. In some cases, the cape extends overtime giving the goat a black body with tan facial stripes, underbelly, and legs. The genetic name for this pattern is San Clemente which came from the San Clemente Island goat breed. A domestic breed of goat that is now critically endangered. This pattern in Nigerian Dwarfs probably originated from the San Clemente. Why the name buckskin was used instead when this pattern first emerged, we will probably never know.
CHAMOISEE
Chamoisee is one of the easier patterns to recognize. This is the same pattern seen in the Oberhasli breed. A chamoisee has a tan body with solid black legs, black underbelly, a crisp black dorsal stripe, and matching black stripes that run down the face. In some cases, they will instead have a black face. As with any pattern, there is variation. The markings can be minimal or extreme and the tan color can be light or dark. Ranging from light tan to dark brown.
Chamoisee is pronounced "sham wah zay."
Chamoise is used when describing a buck or wether.
Chamoisee is used when describing a doe.
Chamoisee is pronounced "sham wah zay."
Chamoise is used when describing a buck or wether.
Chamoisee is used when describing a doe.
SWISS MARKED
Swiss marked has a black body with tan facial stripes, ears, legs, and underside of tail. The tan markings vary in color from cream (almost white) to tan to dark brown. The tan areas usually have light skin pigment. You will notice pink to peach colored skin around the muzzle, lips, eyes, ears, and feet on most swiss marked goats, especially kids. Hooves are white instead of black. Swiss marked is also known as the Toggenburg pattern. Likely originating from the Toggenburg breed. The normal Toggenberg pattern however is actually swiss marked + a chocolate modifier. Modifying the black areas to chocolate.
SUNDGAU
Sundgau can be described as a black body with tan facial stripes, under jaw, underbelly, and legs. Thick black stripes run down the front of the legs. This pattern is very similar to swiss marked, but the distinct differences are the black stripes on the legs and the tan underbelly which easily set it apart. The tan markings can range from cream to tan to dark brown in color. Sundgau is an uncommon pattern in the Nigerian Dwarf breed which probably originated from the Alpine breed. It is pronounced "sund gow."
Have a sundgau Nigerian Dwarf? We would love more examples of this pattern. If you have photos and would like to share, please email them to us and let us know who to give photo credit to and we will post them here.
Have a sundgau Nigerian Dwarf? We would love more examples of this pattern. If you have photos and would like to share, please email them to us and let us know who to give photo credit to and we will post them here.
COU CLAIR
Cou clair has a tan colored body with black markings that start at about the loin and go toward the rear end, over the rump, and on the underbelly. Almost a reverse of the buckskin pattern. The head is tan with distinct black facial stripes, accompanied by unique black swoops on each side of the jaw. The tan markings can range in color from a cream (almost white) to tan to dark brown. The lightest color variation of the pattern is referred to as cou blanc and the darker, browner color variation is referred to as cou clair. As to where the line is drawn on correct usage of blanc or clair...well, that's open for interpretation. The cou clair pattern is most commonly seen in the Alpine breed, but has become somewhat popular in the Nigerian Dwarf breed as well. It's likely that cou clair originated from Alpines, but no one knows for sure. Regardless of where it came from, cou clair is a unique pattern that is here to stay.
Cou Clair and Cou Blanc are pronounced "coo clair" and "coo blanc."
Cou Blanc: Literally meaning "white neck". Which is the lightest variation.
Cou Clair: Literally meaning "clear neck." Which is the darker variation.
Cou Clair and Cou Blanc are pronounced "coo clair" and "coo blanc."
Cou Blanc: Literally meaning "white neck". Which is the lightest variation.
Cou Clair: Literally meaning "clear neck." Which is the darker variation.
BEZOAR
The Bezoar pattern is uncommon in the Nigerian Dwarf breed. It is a wild type pattern which gives the goat a tan body with lighter facial stripes, underbelly, and legs. The legs also having thick, black stripes. Apart from the light stripes, the face is dark. Typically there is a crisp, black dorsal stripe and darkening over the shoulders. This pattern look very similar to typical buckskin/chamoisee combinations. They can be very difficult, if not impossible to tell apart. This pattern name likely came from a species of wild goat known as the Bezoar Ibex. Bezoar is pronounced "bee zor." We would like to thank the goat owners and breeders who contributed to our Bezoar examples. Please be sure to click on the individual photos to view photo credit.
CARAMEL
Caramel is a pattern commonly found in Pygmies, but is possible in purebred Nigerian Dwarfs as well. Caramels have a mostly tan body with minimal black on the legs and underbelly with black facial stripes (eyebrows) over the eyes. The tan can range in color from a very light almost white color to a very dark brown.
RED CHEEK
Red cheek is likely one of if not the rarest of the Agouti Locus patterns seen in Nigerian Dwarfs. This pattern has a black body with distinct tan markings on both sides of the jaw, tops of the ears and sometimes top of the tail. There may also be some tan extending around the base of the ears and possibly lightly down the neck and outer thighs. Tan ticking may be present in some areas of the coat. The body, while mostly black in appearance can have a red tinge to it. This pattern is more commonly seen in standard dairy breeds, such as Nubians.
COMBINED PATTERNS
Every goat has either two copies of one pattern or one copy of one pattern and one copy of another pattern at the agouti locus. When a goat has two different patterns, they combine and the tan areas of both patterns will be expressed. This often creates a unique pattern that may show bits and pieces of two patterns, but not fully one or the other. Sometimes when this happens, they almost cancel each other out. This blending of patterns often results in a fairly plain looking coat which can make it very difficult to determine which patterns are present. However, there is a way to help determine this at least 50-100% of the time. Breeding a combination patterned goat to a recessive black goat will guarantee offspring of one pattern or the other. For example, breeding a buckskin/chamoisee to a recessive black will result in only buckskin or chamoisee offspring.
Below is a diagram displaying the interactions between some of the Agouti Locus patterns.
Important to note that there is variation with every pattern and every combination of patterns. These are meant to represent typical interactions. *This is NOT a breeding chart!* You may notice black and gold have been excluded from this chart. That is because gold combined with any other agouti pattern is gold. Black combined with any other agouti pattern is that other pattern. For example, a combination of black and buckskin is a buckskin goat that carries black. A combination of gold and buckskin is a gold goat that carries buckskin. It works the same way when they are combined with any of the other agouti patterns as well.
Modifiers and other patterns can be an important component affecting the outcome of your goat's final coat color. Genes known as modifiers can change the hair color of an Agouti Locus pattern. So the Agouti Locus pattern (let's think of it as your base pattern) determines the layout or arrangement of the black and tan markings. Modifiers then can alter the color of those markings. For example, a buckskin looks black and tan, but when the chocolate modifier is added, the end result is a chocolate and tan colored coat. So the pattern term is changed from buckskin to chocolate buckskin.
CHOCOLATE
Chocolate is a very common modifier in Nigerian Dwarf Goats. It is located at the Brown Locus and works by modifying patterns at the Agouti Locus. Normally black areas of the coat (and sometimes dark tan) are changed to a chocolate color. The skin is also changed from black to chocolate, which can be most noticeable on the muzzle, around the eyes and ears, under the tail, and on the udder. Chocolate is dominant and works independently of any other genes or modifiers. To have any chance at chocolate, at least one parent must have it to pass on.
SILVER
Silver is a unique, dominant modifier which works by changing the hair over the entire goat to a silvery-grey color. This modifies any agouti pattern, although looks most drastic on black or darker colored goats. It works very similarly to the chocolate modifier. Since it is a dominant pattern, a goat must have silver to have a chance of passing onto offspring. Something worth noting, this pattern is not to be confused with roan. While they may look similar, silver modifies the hair to a silvery color over the entire body, including face and legs. Roan is a white ticking pattern which causes white hairs to intermix with the base pattern on only the body of the goat, not the face or legs. So the best way to tell them apart is that roans will have solid colored face and legs and silvers will not.
RECESSIVE RED
Recessive red is a rare pattern believed to be located at the Extension Locus. That means it works independently of the Agouti patterns and is the only way a gold colored kid may be produced from non-gold parents. Since it is recessive, both parents must carry recessive red and pass it on simultaneously to produce a recessive red kid. The name for this pattern might be a little misleading as one might think of a red being much darker and more brown in appearance. Recessive reds actually seem to look more gold than red, from examples we've seen. They have a gold colored coat, typically along with light skin pigment. They are so similar looking to dominant gold that it may be impossible to tell the difference just by looking at them. However, recessive red might come in less color variation compared to dominant gold which can range in color from cream to dark red. There is not a lot known yet since this pattern only pops up rarely, so this is mostly a theory based on examples of goats having this pattern. Something to keep in mind, since recessive red is at a different locus than the Agouti Locus patterns, goats having or carrying this pattern still have one or two Agouti patterns. For example, a recessive red could be something like buckskin/chamoisee at the Agouti Locus. Think of it as their normal pattern(s) still being there, but are hidden under their gold colored coat.
MOON SPOTS
What are moon spots? Moon spots are a unique, dominant (incomplete dominant) pigmented spotting pattern. Moon spots are round, but irregular and randomly placed over pigmented areas of the coat, with rare exceptions. They vary in color. Ranging from light creme to silver to tan to dark brown. They can come in many different colors, but will never be *true white or *true black. Although it might appear that way sometimes. Moon spots on kids often (not always) start out dark and will lighten as they age. It's possible for a goat to have more than one color of moon spots on the coat as well. The gene for moon spotting has not yet been mapped, but is believed to be incomplete dominant. This means at least one parent must have the gene in order to pass any moon spots onto offspring. This doesn't necessarily mean if a goat has the gene, they are visually moon spotted themselves. The level of expression varies from little to no visible moon spotting to completely covered in moon spotting. A moon spot can be as tiny as just a few hairs and can also be "hidden" by white markings or even in places on the body such as an armpit.
WHITE SPOTTING
White spotting is very common in Nigerian Dwarfs and can range in expression from a tiny dot to complete coverage. White markings are a complete lack of pigment. The skin will be bright pink and hair bright white. There are multiple white spotting patterns that create an abundance of variation in the way the white markings are expressed and how they're inherited. To put it simply, you can think of white spotting "covering up" the base pattern. This can make it difficult, sometimes impossible, to tell the base pattern of goats with extensive white spotting. One goat may also be able to carry multiple white spotting patterns at a time depending on which loci they're at. There is little known about these patterns and their mode of inheritance. Most of them are likely dominant or incomplete dominant. Others might be recessive. It's difficult to visually identify one from the other, so to keep it simple, we have lumped "white spotting" under one category.
ROAN
Roan is a white ticking pattern characterized as a mixture of pigmented and white hairs on the body, while the head and legs are mostly solid colored. Goats with roan have white hairs evenly intermingled throughout any base color. The head and legs have fewer scattered white hairs or none at all. The amount of roaning throughout the coat varies from goat to goat. Some may have a very even appearance, while others may have more minimal or uneven roaning throughout the coat. Roan is usually accompanied with heavily frosted ears and nose. There may be a relation between the two patterns.
FROST
Frost is a white ticking pattern that occurs around the muzzle, base to tip of ears, underside of tail, around the eyes, and sometimes throughout the body. This is a common pattern in Nigerian Dwarfs and appears to be dominant. Possibly related to roan.
WHITE POLL
If a Nigerian Dwarf is described as having a "white poll," it is referring to the white, round spot on top of the head (the poll). Commonly seen in Nigerian Dwarfs and often accompanied by a white tipped tail. This may be a dominant pattern. It's a good term to know when filling out the color description for your goat's registration application, especially if they have no other markings.
There are two basic eye colors in Nigerian Dwarf Goats. Brown and blue. Blue eyes are a simple, dominant trait, while brown eyes are recessive. That means if a goat is brown eyed, they are homozygous brown eyed and do not carry blue. If a goat is blue eyed they are either heterozygous blue eyed (carrying brown) or homozygous blue eyed (carrying only blue, no brown.) In order to have a chance of producing blue eyed kids, at least one parent must be blue eyed. They cannot "skip" a generation. Since brown eyes are recessive, brown eyed mated to brown eyed will result in brown eyed kids.
BLUE EYES
Blue eyes are common in Nigerian Dwarfs and popular among many breeders and breed enthusiasts. The eye color is a very distinct shade of blue. Often lighter toward the outer iris and darker around the pupil. However, there are some cases of blue eyes having flecks of brown. These are known as marbled blue eyes. Genetically, they are the same as regular blue eyes.
BROWN EYES
There is some variation to the exact hue of brown eyes. Most are a gold color, but they can range from dark brown to hazel to a pale amber. Brown eyed kids often start out with a blue or greenish hue to their eyes which gradually change to normal brown as they grow. However, this is typically easy to distinguish from blue eyed kids. In very rare cases there have been Nigerian Dwarf Goats with one blue eye and one brown eye. This is more likely to occur from lack of pigment due to white spotting and not by an inherited gene.
BB - Homozygous blue eyed. Is blue eyed and will always produce blue eyed kids, regardless of mate.
Bb - Heterozygous blue eyed. Is blue eyed, but carries the brown eyed gene.
bb - Homozygous brown eyed. Is brown eyed and does not carry the blue eyed gene.
The chart below shows possible matings between blue eyed and brown eyed goats.
Bb - Heterozygous blue eyed. Is blue eyed, but carries the brown eyed gene.
bb - Homozygous brown eyed. Is brown eyed and does not carry the blue eyed gene.
The chart below shows possible matings between blue eyed and brown eyed goats.