Goats are kept across South India mainly for meat, with manure, skin and some milk as extras. This page lists the goat breeds farmers here buy and sell, grouped by the state each breed comes from. Every Indian breed listed is registered by ICAR-NBAGR, India's official breed register (NBAGR database); Boer is the one foreign breed. To start or run a goat farm, read the goat farming guide.
Tamil Nadu goats
Tamil Nadu has three registered goat breeds, all kept mainly for meat (ICAR-NBAGR):
Goat
Kanni goat
a meat goat of Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi districts: black, with a white stripe down each side of the face.
Buck 34 kg · Doe 28 kg
Goat
Kodi goat
a tall meat goat of Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram, white with black or reddish-brown splashes.
Buck 33–41 kg · Doe 31–33 kg
Goat
Salem Black goat
an all-black meat goat of Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Erode.
Buck 38 kg · Doe 30–32 kg
Kerala goats
Kerala has two registered goat breeds (ICAR-NBAGR):
Goat
Tellicherry (Malabari) goat
registered as Malabari: a milk-and-meat goat of Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Malappuram, sold under its market name, Tellicherry (Thalassery).
Buck 39–41 kg · Doe 31 kg
Goat
Attappady Black goat
a black meat goat of the Attappady hills in Palakkad district.
Buck 35 kg · Doe 31 kg
Karnataka goats
One of Karnataka's two registered goat breeds has its own page:
Karnataka's other registered goat breed is Nandidurga, a white meat goat of Chitradurga, Davanagere and Tumakuru. NBAGR lists no goat breed for Andhra Pradesh or Telangana (ICAR-NBAGR).
Goats from elsewhere
Farmers in the south also buy and sell these breeds from other states, and one from abroad:
Goat
Osmanabadi goat
a mostly black meat goat from Osmanabad, Solapur and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra.
Buck 34 kg · Doe 33 kg
Goat
Jamunapari goat
a white milk-and-meat goat with very long, drooping ears, from the Etawah area of Uttar Pradesh.
Buck 45 kg · Doe 38 kg
Goat
Sirohi goat
a brown milk-and-meat goat from central and southern Rajasthan; NBAGR registers it for Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Buck 43 kg · Doe 35 kg
Goat
Boer goat
a meat goat from South Africa, known for fast growth and widely used for crossing with local goats (IJAnS study).
How to choose
Start with the breeds of your own district. How to choose a goat breed: South Indian breeds compared explains why a breed that is at home in your area usually does better than one brought from far away, and compares the main breeds side by side. Before you pay for any animal, go through the checks in How to buy goats safely: health, age and fraud checks.
Frequently asked questions
Which goat breeds come from Tamil Nadu?
Three are registered with ICAR-NBAGR: Kanni Adu, Kodi Adu and Salem Black (ICAR-NBAGR). Tamil Nadu also has ten registered sheep breeds, including Mecheri, Madras Red and Ramnad White (ICAR-NBAGR).
Are sheep and goats both "aadu"?
In everyday Tamil, yes: aadu covers both, with vellaadu for the goat and semmari aadu for the sheep. They are different animals with their own breeds, so check which one a seller means. On Kattutharai, both are listed in the goat (aadu) section.
How can I tell a pure-bred animal?
Learn the breed's signs from its page and check them on the animal: colour, horns, ears and size. See the mother and the herd, ask where the parents came from, and prefer animals from the breed's home districts. The breed name in an ad is the seller's word, and Kattutharai does not check it. See pure breeds and crosses.
Is Tellicherry a breed?
Tellicherry is the market name for the Malabari goat of north Kerala. NBAGR registers the breed as Malabari, and its breed record lists Tellicherry and Thalassery among the other names (NBAGR database). See Tellicherry (Malabari) goat: breed guide and buying tips.
Next
Open the page of a breed from your own state, or compare the main breeds in How to choose a goat breed: South Indian breeds compared. To see which breeds farmers near you are selling, browse goats and sheep for sale.
Find goats near you on Kattutharai
See goats for sale direct from farmers near your village, with photos, the village name and the distance. No middlemen. Call or chat with the farmer, then see the goat and check its health yourself before you pay.
Looking for a particular breed? Search its name in the Kattutharai app, for example Kanni, Kodi or Tellicherry.
