INDIAN BREED · MEAT

Teressa Goat

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Quick Facts

📍OriginNicobar Islands

🐐Breed TypeMeat

⚖️Weight30–40 kg

📏Height60–70 cm

🥛Milk Production0.5–1 L/day

📅Life Span10–12 yrs

🌦️ClimateHumid tropical island

Breed Overview

The Teressa is an island meat breed native to Teressa and the surrounding Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Medium-sized and variously coloured — white, brown, black or mixed — it is uniquely adapted to the hot, humid, high-rainfall tropical island environment.

Hardy and disease-resistant in wet coastal conditions, the Teressa is an important livestock resource for the Nicobar Islands, reared largely under free-range conditions for meat by the local island communities.

Key Characteristics

Variable coat — white, brown, black or mixed
Medium, sturdy, well-adapted island frame
Small to medium ears and short horns
Hardy in hot, humid island conditions

🐐Physical Characteristics

A medium, sturdy breed of variable colour — white, brown, black or mixed — with small-to-medium ears and short horns. Its build reflects generations of adaptation to a humid tropical island habitat.

🥛Milk Production

A low 0.5–1 litre/day — enough to rear kids, as the breed is kept for meat under island free-range conditions.

🌦️Climate Suitability

Uniquely adapted to the hot, humid, high-rainfall Nicobar Islands. Resistant to the parasites and diseases of wet tropical conditions and comfortable in coastal island habitats.

🌾Feeding Requirements

Free-ranges on island vegetation, browse and household scraps with minimal supplementation — a low-input breed suited to smallholder island rearing.

Advantages & Disadvantages

✓ Advantages

✓Uniquely adapted to humid tropical islands

✓Disease-resistant in wet coastal conditions

✓Low-input, free-range meat production

✓Important livelihood resource for island communities

✗ Disadvantages

✗Very low milk — a meat breed

✗Limited to island/coastal humid habitats

✗Small population and restricted availability

Tips for Beginners

Buy from certified breeders

Insist on documented lineage and a health card to guarantee purebred, disease-free stock.

Build raised, airy housing

A dry, well-ventilated shed with slatted flooring prevents hoof rot and respiratory disease.

Vaccinate on schedule

Follow the PPR, ET and FMD schedule from day one — prevention is far cheaper than treatment.

Balance the ration

Combine green fodder with a mineral-rich concentrate to sustain healthy growth and milk yield.

Start small, scale steadily

Begin with 5–10 does and one quality buck; expand only once you master routine management.

Frequently Asked Questions

On Teressa Island and the surrounding Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, where it is a key meat-producing livestock breed for local island communities.

Yes — it is native to the hot, humid, high-rainfall Nicobar Islands and is well-adapted and disease-resistant in those wet tropical conditions.

It is a meat breed, reared largely under free-range conditions on the islands, valued for its hardiness and low-input management.