In recent years, there has been a great interest in recovering and preserving
local livestock breeds. An interesting situation is represented by the
Girgentana goat, an ancient local breed reared in Sicily. Over recent years, this
breed has become almost extinct, in part as a consequence of the marked decrease
in fresh goat milk consumption. On the basis of these considerations, several studies
on its genetic structure and management aspects have been conducted in order to
protect the Girgentana goat from the risk of extinction and recover its genetic and
economic value. In this context, information on genetics, nutrition and dairy production
aspects may have a crucial role in the improvement and management of the
breed. Thus, this chapter describes some points of these applications through recent
investigations on this goat breed