Although present in substantial numbers it has been little studied; its conservation status and origins remain unclear.
It may have been influenced by the various goat breeds – including the Abyssinian goat, the Maltese and a type known as "Tibetan" – whose introduction to Calabria in the early twentieth century is documented.
[3] The Rustica di Calabria is one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders.
[6][7] At the end of 2013 the registered population was 24,130, most of which were in the province of Cosenza.
[8] The milk yield of pluriparous Rustica di Calabria nannies is 200–250 litres per lactation of 150 days.