IOTL, according to this domestic goats only really became present in Southeast Asia when Indian people, trade and influence came to the region.
In another time, goats manage to spread to East Asia much earlier and become popular enough to be adopted by the earliest pre-migration Austronesians, who for now use them along with pigs.
By the time the earliest voyages are undertaken the choice is made what animals to bring. Perhaps they only bring goats, or perhaps they bring both and decide to go for goats. Either way this scenario rests on a replacement of pigs with domestic goats.
First off, what are the logistical benefits to the people? They're not omnivorous like pigs, but AFAIK Polynesian pigs didn't do a whole lot of carnivory (unlike dogs). Whatever I could find of a pig's feed conversion ratio versus a goat's FCR indicates pigs are more efficient at turning feed into usable mass, but pigs are usually fed easy-to-digest feed versus a goat's forage (some of which might be poisonous to pigs). Though they eat grass, their single stomach vs. a goat's 4 stomachs puts the pig at a disadvantage for efficient digestion of rougher plant material. A goat would better be able to efficiently process the foliage and forage of the Pacific.
Pigs, however, are more prolific. They can reach reproductive age in less than a year, where some goats can take up to 15 months. Their gestation period is slightly shorter and give birth to an average of 10 piglets at a time compared to a goat's maximum of two.
A 250 lb pig will yield about 180 pounds of meat, or 64% of its body weight. Depending on the cut, a pound o' pig will reach anywhere from 700 to 2300 calories according to the USDA. For a goat a 100 pound pig will yield around 50 pounds of meat; 50% of its body weight of course. The USDA just gives a pound of 'goat meat, roasted' as 651 calories. So there's technically more bang for your buck with goats, but the buck's not as big.
Since goats can give ample, reliable amounts of milk, however, they can provide a stable source of nutrition year-round without killing the animal: 168 calories per cup, low in lactose and even lower if made into cream or cheese.
As far as non-food purposes go, if hairy breeds are made can produce fiber for clothing, sailcloth and other materials. They make decent pack animals, which might not be necessary on small islands like Tonga but potentially useful on larger ones like Fiji and especially New Zealand. Goat dung is also not only far richer in nutrients, but is much safer to use as manure than pig droppings.
Second, and this might tie into the first one in some cases, what are the ecological effects? Feral pigs are infamous for negatively disrupting ecosystems with their rooting and wallowing behavior, destroying tasty native plants. In the Pacific their wallows can collect standing water, attracting mosquitoes, and the crevices and holes made from rooting can create shelters for Polynesian rats which also damage island ecosystems. On a few tiny islands in Polynesia, feral pigs were identified as a threat to survival and exterminated in a tasty piggy massacre.
Any non-native animal can have a potential negative effect on ecosystem, and goats are no different. Especially when let loose into environments that have evolved with no grazers whatsoever. Goats can trample soft soils into compact dirt unable to grow fragile cover plants and possibly lead to erosion. They can damage forests by consuming shrubs, young trees, and nearly anything in the undergrowth, and can move on to the bark on adult trees if hungry enough. They most likely won't kill a forest all by themselves, but if left rampant in a pristine, ungulate-free environment they can severely hamper forest regeneration.
In conclusion,
Pig pros:
In another time, goats manage to spread to East Asia much earlier and become popular enough to be adopted by the earliest pre-migration Austronesians, who for now use them along with pigs.
By the time the earliest voyages are undertaken the choice is made what animals to bring. Perhaps they only bring goats, or perhaps they bring both and decide to go for goats. Either way this scenario rests on a replacement of pigs with domestic goats.
First off, what are the logistical benefits to the people? They're not omnivorous like pigs, but AFAIK Polynesian pigs didn't do a whole lot of carnivory (unlike dogs). Whatever I could find of a pig's feed conversion ratio versus a goat's FCR indicates pigs are more efficient at turning feed into usable mass, but pigs are usually fed easy-to-digest feed versus a goat's forage (some of which might be poisonous to pigs). Though they eat grass, their single stomach vs. a goat's 4 stomachs puts the pig at a disadvantage for efficient digestion of rougher plant material. A goat would better be able to efficiently process the foliage and forage of the Pacific.
Pigs, however, are more prolific. They can reach reproductive age in less than a year, where some goats can take up to 15 months. Their gestation period is slightly shorter and give birth to an average of 10 piglets at a time compared to a goat's maximum of two.
A 250 lb pig will yield about 180 pounds of meat, or 64% of its body weight. Depending on the cut, a pound o' pig will reach anywhere from 700 to 2300 calories according to the USDA. For a goat a 100 pound pig will yield around 50 pounds of meat; 50% of its body weight of course. The USDA just gives a pound of 'goat meat, roasted' as 651 calories. So there's technically more bang for your buck with goats, but the buck's not as big.
Since goats can give ample, reliable amounts of milk, however, they can provide a stable source of nutrition year-round without killing the animal: 168 calories per cup, low in lactose and even lower if made into cream or cheese.
As far as non-food purposes go, if hairy breeds are made can produce fiber for clothing, sailcloth and other materials. They make decent pack animals, which might not be necessary on small islands like Tonga but potentially useful on larger ones like Fiji and especially New Zealand. Goat dung is also not only far richer in nutrients, but is much safer to use as manure than pig droppings.
Second, and this might tie into the first one in some cases, what are the ecological effects? Feral pigs are infamous for negatively disrupting ecosystems with their rooting and wallowing behavior, destroying tasty native plants. In the Pacific their wallows can collect standing water, attracting mosquitoes, and the crevices and holes made from rooting can create shelters for Polynesian rats which also damage island ecosystems. On a few tiny islands in Polynesia, feral pigs were identified as a threat to survival and exterminated in a tasty piggy massacre.
Any non-native animal can have a potential negative effect on ecosystem, and goats are no different. Especially when let loose into environments that have evolved with no grazers whatsoever. Goats can trample soft soils into compact dirt unable to grow fragile cover plants and possibly lead to erosion. They can damage forests by consuming shrubs, young trees, and nearly anything in the undergrowth, and can move on to the bark on adult trees if hungry enough. They most likely won't kill a forest all by themselves, but if left rampant in a pristine, ungulate-free environment they can severely hamper forest regeneration.
In conclusion,
Pig pros:
- Omnivorous, can eat most things but prefer more nutrient-dense feed
- Reproduce faster than goats and in greater numbers
- More meat per animal than goats and more calorie-rich
- Bacon
- Optimum FCR requires plenty of high-quality feed; can't digest grass or rough forage as efficiently as sheep
- Only yields products from carcass
- Feral populations can establish quickly and in abundance
- Damages native plants by rooting and creating habitat for rats; can potentially overeat small islands
- Dung is potentially dangerous and not as efficient for plants
- Herbivorous but an extreme generalist; can process rough and sometimes even poisonous forage more efficiently than pigs
- Population easier to control
- Can provide nourishment in the form of milk year-round; milk is low in lactose and easily digestible
- Can potentially be bred into fiber-producing breeds for clothing and sailcloth
- Tractable enough to pull or carry burdens
- Dung makes decent manure
- Optimum FCR apparently still lower than that of a pig
- Meat is leaner and less usable amounts per animal
- Less prolific than pigs and takes longer to build a population
- Damages native plants by trampling soil in steep areas and eating saplings in forests, potentially halting forest regeneration if left unchecked
- No bacon =(
