The Barbari or Bari is a breed of small domestic goat found in a wide area in India and Pakistan. It is distributed in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in India, and the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan.
The Barbari goat gets its name from Berbera, a coastal city located on the Indian Ocean in Somalia. The Barbari is one of 20 classified breeds in India and is most commonly found in the north-western arid and semi-arid regions. It is distributed in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in India, and the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan. It is also reported from Mauritius, Nepal and Vietnam. The world population is estimated at 2.4 million, of which almost all are in Pakistan.
The Barbari is a small goat of compact form. The head is small and neat, with small upward-pointing ears and small horns. The coat is short and is most commonly white spotted with brownish red; solid colours also occur. There is a polled strain, the Thori Bari.
The Barbari is a dual-purpose breed, reared both for meat and for milk, and is well adapted for Indian conditions. It is a seasonal breeder and is used for intensive farming. The milk yield is approximately 107 l in lactation of about 150 days.
A study conducted by the Department of Veterinary Physiology that examined the different patterns of HSP genes and adaptability in Indian Goat Breeds, found that the patterns weren’t shown and were minimum, meaning that the Barbari goats were able to adapt to during winter and summer seasons. This is important because environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, and atmospheric pressure affect the livestock productions in terms of milk yield, but there was no change in Barbari goats.