Nigerian Dwarf Colors: A Guide to Coat Patterns and Colors

Before diving into individual colors and patterns, there are a couple of terms you might see that are worth understanding (and I hope this helps you learn it faster than I did!).

Phenotype simply refers to what you can actually see. It's a goat's outward appearance: its coat color, pattern, moonspots, eye color, and other visible traits. If you look at a goat and say, "That's a buckskin with moonspots," you're describing its phenotype.

Genotype, on the other hand, refers to the genes a goat carries, whether you can see them or not. Every goat inherits one copy of each gene from its sire and one from its dam. Sometimes those two genes produce exactly what you'd expect. Other times, a goat quietly carries a color or pattern that isn't visible but can unexpectedly appear in its offspring. That's one of the reasons color genetics can be so fascinating and occasionally so puzzling.

As you read through this guide, remember that what we see (the phenotype) isn't always the whole story. Two goats can look nearly identical while carrying very different genetics, and two goats with very different appearances may still produce similar-colored kids. Understanding the relationship between phenotype and genotype is the first step toward making sense of Nigerian Dwarf goat color genetics.

Allele is the word geneticists use for the different versions of a gene. Think of a gene as a recipe, and an allele as a variation of that recipe. The basic instructions are the same but the final result can be different depending on which version is present.

Every goat receives two alleles for many traits, one from each parent. Those two alleles together make up the goat's genotype, and the way those alleles interact determines the goat's phenotype, or what we can see. You have alleles for eye color, coat color, etc. 

For example, when discussing Nigerian Dwarf colors, a goat may carry one allele for a gold expression and another allele for a different pattern. The allele that is expressed is what we see on the goat's coat, while the other may remain hidden and be passed on to future offspring.

Dominance can be a helpful concept when learning color genetics, but it is not always as simple as "one color beats another." Some color traits are part of a larger genetic series, where different alleles interact with one another in different ways.

In practical terms, a dominant allele will be expressed when present, even if the goat also carries another allele for another trait. For example, two gold goats can occasionally produce a kid with a different pattern, such as chamoisee. This tells us that both parents carried the chamoisee allele even though their own coats displayed gold. If that kid had inherited the gold allele instead, her visible coat would have reflected the gold phenotype.

This is where color genetics becomes so interesting. A goat's coat tells us part of the story but the genetics hidden beneath the surface can sometimes reveal surprises in the next and future generations.

Color genetics can feel overwhelming at first because people often use the word color to describe several different things.

In reality, we're usually talking about separate pieces working together.

A base color.

A pattern.

A modifier.

And sometimes additional markings.

Think of it like painting. The base color is the canvas. The pattern decides where the paint goes. Modifiers change the shades. Markings add the finishing touches.

Once you begin looking at goats this way, identifying colors becomes much less intimidating. You'll start seeing the individual pieces instead of trying to memorize dozens of names.

One important note before we dive in.

At Gunner Hill Farm, we do not breed for color.

Of course we appreciate a beautifully marked goat. Who doesn't? But color has very little to do with whether a doe will fill the milk pail each morning or whether a buck will consistently improve the next generation. Those are the things that matter most to us.

Color is the icing, not the cake (that's cheesy). Our young girls are dying for a silver goat, we don't own one (yet). If we find the right goat and she or he happens to be silver, the color is a fantastic bonus!

One final note. Goat color genetics are still being studied, and you'll occasionally find experienced breeders using different terminology or disagreeing on the inheritance of certain traits. This guide reflects our current understanding based on published resources, (hopefully) continuing conversations with experienced breeders, and our own observations. As our knowledge grows, this page will continue to grow with it.

The Agouti locus is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle when discussing Nigerian Dwarf goat colors and patterns.

A locus is simply a specific location on a chromosome where a gene is found. Think of it as the address where a particular set of genetic instructions lives.

The Agouti locus influences how pigment is distributed across a goat's coat. Rather than acting like a simple "color switch," it contains multiple possible alleles, each providing different instructions for how color should be expressed. These alleles can influence whether a goat appears gold, black, buckskin, chamoisee, cou clair, Swiss Marked, sundgau, bezoar, and so on.

Every goat receives two Agouti alleles, one from each parent. Those two alleles interact according to their relationship with one another, with some having more influence over others. This is why coat color inheritance can sometimes feel like a puzzle. A goat may display one pattern while carrying another allele that can appear in future generations but isn't visible on the goat in front of you.

The Agouti locus is also why two goats that look very similar can produce surprisingly different offspring. The visible coat is only the outward expression of a much larger genetic story happening beneath the surface.

Understanding the Agouti locus does not mean memorizing every possible combination. It simply gives us a framework for understanding why Nigerian Dwarf goats can produce such an incredible variety of colors and patterns.

Once we understand genes and alleles, the next piece of the puzzle is how those alleles interact with one another.

A dominant allele is one that will typically be expressed when a goat inherits a copy of it. In simple terms, if a goat carries a dominant allele for a trait, that trait will usually be visible in the goat's phenotype, even if the goat also carries a different allele that is not expressed.

A recessive allele works differently. A recessive trait may be carried by a goat without being visible at all. In order for many recessive traits to appear, a goat generally needs to inherit two copies of that allele, one from each parent. This is why a trait can seem to "skip" generations.

For example, two goats may both appear gold but still carry other color alleles. If each parent passes along their hidden allele to their offspring, the kid will display a pattern that neither parent visibly showed. The genetics were there all along, waiting for the right combination.

Black is one of the most straightforward colors to recognize but its genetics are a little more interesting than they first appear.

A true black goat carries two copies of the black allele at the Agouti locus. Because there is no other Agouti pattern being expressed, the result is a solid black coat. A black goat will pass along a black allele to every kid it produces, which is why black can travel through generations and occasionally appear unexpectedly in offspring from parents who do not appear black themselves.

This is one of the fascinating parts of recessive traits. A color can be present in a family line without ever being visible until the right combination of genetics comes together.

Black is also remarkably consistent compared to some other goat colors. While gold can range from nearly white cream to deep red, and chocolate can vary from light milk chocolate to rich espresso shades, black is simply black. If a black goat appears faded, rusty, or yellowish around the coat, that is generally not considered a separate color but may be an indication of nutritional concerns, including copper deficiency.

For registration purposes, black Nigerian Dwarf goats are simply recorded as black.

Gold is one of the most recognizable and variable colors found in Nigerian Dwarf goats. It can range from a pale cream that almost appears white to a deep, rich red gold, with many beautiful shades falling somewhere in between.

From a genetics standpoint, gold is part of the Agouti series of alleles. Within that series, gold is strongly expressed when present, meaning a goat carrying a gold allele will typically display a gold phenotype rather than a different Agouti pattern that is lower in the dominance hierarchy.

A goat expressing gold must inherit a gold allele from at least one parent.

Gold itself is wonderfully variable. Some goats are a soft cream color. Others are a classic light or medium gold. Some deepen into dark gold or red gold shades. Environmental factors, age, and other genetic modifiers can also influence how that color appears over time.

For registration, gold goats are typically described by their shade, from all shades between cream and dark gold to even red gold (not to be confused with recessive red).

Silver is one of the more unusual and eye-catching colors found in Nigerian Dwarf goats. 

A heavily roaned black goat gets its appearance from individual colored hairs and white hairs mixed together throughout the coat. A true silver goat is different because the individual hairs themselves are silver in color. The result is a more even, frosted appearance rather than a mixture of separate dark and light hairs.

One of the easiest ways to distinguish silver from a heavily roaned black goat is to look at the face and points. A roaned black goat will typically retain a dark face and darker points, such as the legs and tail. A true silver goat will have a lighter face and lighter points that match the silver coloring of the body.

Silver is considered a dominant color, meaning a goat expressing true silver must have inherited the silver allele from at least one parent (and they would have been silver too). If a goat appears silver but there is no silver parent in its pedigree, or if the goat has a black face and black points, it may be a heavily roaned goat rather than a true silver (or you had a buck escape the buck pen, if you know what I mean).

For registration, this color is recorded as silver. 

Recessive red is one of the more fascinating colors found in Nigerian Dwarf goats because, unlike many of the patterns and colors discussed throughout this guide, it does not belong to the Agouti family. Instead, recessive red is controlled by a different location in the goat’s genetics known as the Extension locus, directly controlling the black portions of the coat, making it impossible for the cells to produce black. 

As the name suggests, recessive red is a recessive trait. A goat must inherit a copy of the recessive red from both parents in order to express it. This means two goats can carry recessive red without showing any visible signs of it themselves. The color may quietly travel through a family line for generations before appearing when two carriers are bred together.

Recessive red goats typically display shades ranging from warm cream to rich red or orange tones. Unlike gold, which is part of the Agouti series and can be expressed alongside certain patterns, recessive red changes the expression of pigment itself. It can mask many of the underlying patterns that would otherwise be visible, making the goat appear solid in color.

Because recessive red can hide other genetic information, determining what a red goat carries may require looking at pedigrees and offspring, rather than appearance alone.

For registration purposes, recessive red is generally recorded as red.

Buckskin is probably the pattern most people learn first because it is both common and beautiful.

Traditionally, buckskins have a darker body with lighter trim around the face, ears, legs, and underside, though expression varies considerably from goat to goat.

Buckskin is generally considered a dominant pattern, meaning only one copy of the gene is needed for the pattern to appear. If it interacts with (gold or silver), the phenotype of the goat will be gold (or silver), but she/he will carry buckskin in his/her genotype.

Chamoisee (pronounced sham-wah, if you ask me) is one of the classic Nigerian Dwarf goat patterns and is a beautiful example of how much variety can exist within a single color family.

The pattern is most easily recognized by the darker markings that almost seem to frame the goat’s body. A traditional chamoisee will typically have a stripe running down the spine, darker facial stripes that run over the eyes, darker coloring along the belly, and darker legs from at least about the knees/hocks down. The darker areas may be black or chocolate depending on the goat’s genetics.

Some chamoisee goats also develop a darker collar or shoulder marking extending from the chest toward the shoulders, although this feature is not present on every goat. Like many Nigerian Dwarf patterns, the exact expression can vary from goat to goat, with shades ranging from light to dark. Chamoisee may also occur in chocolate, creating a softer brown version of the traditional pattern.

Chamoisee is also dominant, though overwritten, as was buckskin, by Gold and Silver.

For registration, chamoisee goats are generally described by their shade, such as only chamoisee, dark chamoisee, red chamoisee, or chocolate chamoisee.

Sundgau is one of the classic Nigerian Dwarf goat patterns often confused with Swiss Marked. At first glance, they can look surprisingly similar.

A traditional Sundgau goat has a black or chocolate / dark tan body with lighter markings on the legs, underbelly, and face. The lighter areas are usually tan, cream, or gold in color and create a beautiful contrast against the darker body. Sundgau goats often have darker stripes running down the front of the legs (inside the lighter colored markings), and the face may show lighter facial markings or stripes above the eyes and partway down the face.

In order to distinguish Sundgau from Swiss Marked look at the underbelly and rear. In a true Sundgau, the belly is lighter and there is no distinct triangular rear marking.

To make things even more interesting, Sundgau and Swiss Marked can occur together. Not every goat fits perfectly into a single category, and additional patterns or modifiers can create appearances that do not look exactly like a textbook example.

Sundgau is also sometimes mistaken for a heavily extended buckskin. In some buckskin goats, the darker "cape" can spread farther down the body as they age, creating a goat that appears to have an entirely dark body with lighter markings similar to Sundgau. To clarify, have a look at older pictures (kid pictures would be best), pictures of parents or kids, and perhaps shave to see what's underneath. 

Like many Agouti patterns, Sundgau is considered dominant within the Agouti series. However, dominance does not mean the final appearance is always predictable. Other alleles and modifiers can influence how the pattern is expressed, creating the incredible variety seen throughout the Nigerian Dwarf breed.

For registration, this pattern is generally recorded as Sundgau.

Bezoar is one of the oldest and most distinctive patterns found in goats, named after the wild bezoar goat, one of the ancestors of domestic goats. It carries a beautiful connection to the history of the species and gives a glimpse into what some of the earliest goat patterns may have looked like.

The pattern is characterized by a dark dorsal stripe running down the spine, facial stripes (one dark, one light), lighter coloring along the underside of the body, separated from the main body color by a dark stripe, and lighter markings from the knees/hocks down with darker markings along the front of the legs extending beyond the lighter areas. These markings create a more natural, "wild type" appearance compared to some of the other patterns seen in Nigerian Dwarf goats.

Bezoar can vary in shade, with some goats appearing lighter and sandy in color while others have deeper, richer tones. The darker markings may be black or chocolate depending on the goat’s genetics. Like many Agouti patterns, the final appearance can be influenced by other alleles and modifiers, creating subtle differences between individuals.

Because of its markings, Bezoar is sometimes confused with Chamoisee. Both patterns can have a golden or tan base with darker markings but the placement and expression of those markings help distinguish them.

Bezoar is considered dominant. A goat expressing Bezoar must inherit that allele from at least one parent, although the exact appearance of the pattern will depend on the other genetics carried by the goat.

If coat colors start conversations, you could say moonspots usually steal them.

Moonspots are patches of color layered over a goat's existing coat pattern. They may be lighter than the surrounding coat. They may be darker. They may be tiny freckles or large dramatic splashes. They'll never be black or white. 

Part of their appeal is that they refuse to be entirely predictable. ;)