British Alpine

The British Alpine goat is a breed of domestic goat developed in the early 1900s.^[1] A standard British Alpine goat is black all over with white 'Swiss' markings. Another well-known breed that has these markings is the Toggenburg goat,^[2] and the breed was developed from the Toggenburg, native British goats, and Nubian genetics.^[1]^[3] The British Alpine is a high producer of quality goats' milk, and the breed can be found in many goat dairies as an acceptable milker. These goats are capable of extended lactations, sometimes even lasting close to two years.

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Origins

The British Alpine goat was developed in the early 1900s from other breeds including the Toggenburg, which also has the same "Swiss" markings, (as the Toggenburg originated in Switzerland), native British goats and also includes Nubian genetics. The British Alpine was introduced into Australia in 1958, and is distributed throughout the country, but perhaps not as much as other breeds such as the Saanen.

Breed Standards

The British Alpine is a large goat in appearance. They are normally black with white Swiss markings, however sometimes a fully black animal may occur, often known as "all black" or "black Saanen" goats. This is due to a recessive gene. British Alpine goats have a typical "wedge" shape that is predominant in some other breeds of dairy goat. They are often disbudded, alike many other dairy goats. There are also some poll strains in the breed. A standard animal has a straight muzzle line, well-set eyes, erect ears, good-sized teats (female), lack of tassels (small flaps of skin, usually two, on the neck, however some British Alpines appear with tassels) and are overall a well-defined, neatly built goat. Their sleek black coat may lighten due to a lack of copper in the diet, which is one of the most essential minerals to all goats and the colour of the coat may indicate their copper intake.

Milking

British Alpines are excellent milkers, well known for their extended lactations. They also have a well-known ability to keep milking through the colder months. These goats have good-sized teats, which allow easier milking. They are a good producer of high-quality milk.

Breed Management

British Alpines are active goats. They are not suited to indoors or feedlot-type operations, they perform their best free-range.

References

^ ^a ^b Sue Weaver (2011), The Backyard Goat: An Introductory Guide to Keeping and Enjoying Pet Goats, from Feeding and Housing to Making Your Own Cheese, Storey Publishing, LLC, p. 58, ISBN 978-1-60342-790-6
^ Graham R. Duncanson (2012), Veterinary Treatment of Sheep and Goats, CABI, p. 40, ISBN 978-1-78064-003-7
^ Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001), The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds, Yale University Press, p. 34, ISBN 978-0-300-13813-9

External links

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Livestock breeds of the British Isles

Cattle

Beef cattle	Aberdeen Angus Beef Shorthorn Belted Galloway Blue Grey Devon Dexter English Longhorn Galloway Hereford Highland Lincoln Red Luing Shorthorn South Devon Sussex Welsh Black
Dairy cattle	Ayrshire Dairy Shorthorn Guernsey Jersey Kerry
Dual purpose	Albion British White Droimeann Irish Moiled Glamorgan Old Gloucester Pembroke Red Poll Shetland Whitebred Shorthorn
Primitive	Chillingham Wild Cattle Tory Island Vaynol White Park
Extinct	Alderney Blue Albion

Sheep

Extant	Badger Face Welsh Mountain Balwen Welsh Mountain Beulah Speckled Face Black Welsh Mountain Bluefaced Leicester Border Cheviot Border Leicester Brecknock Hill Cheviot British Milksheep Cambridge Cheviot Clun Forest Cotswold Dalesbred Derbyshire Gritstone Devon Closewool Devon and Cornwall Longwool Dorset Down Dorset Horn Easycare Exmoor Horn Galway Greyface Dartmoor Hampshire Down Herdwick Hill Radnor Kerry Hill Leicester Longwool Lincoln Llanwenog Lleyn Lonk Masham Norfolk Horn North Country Cheviot Oxford Down Portland Romney Rough Fell Ryeland Scottish Blackface Shetland Shropshire Southdown Suffolk Swaledale Teeswater Welsh Mountain Wensleydale Whiteface Dartmoor Whitefaced Woodland Wiltshire Horn
Primitive	Boreray Castlemilk Moorit Hebridean Jacob Manx Loaghtan North Ronaldsay Soay
Extinct	Devon Longwool Scottish Dunface South Devon

Pigs

Extant	Berkshire British Landrace British Lop British Saddleback Essex Gloucestershire Old Spots Large Black Large White Middle White Oxford Sandy and Black Tamworth Welsh Wessex Saddleback
Extinct	Cumberland Dorset Gold Tip Grice Irish Greyhound Pig Large White Ulster Lincolnshire Curly Coat Small Black Small White Yorkshire Blue and White

Goats

Poultry

Chickens	Croad Langshan Derbyshire Redcap Dorking Ixworth Indian Game Legbar Modern Game Modern Langshan Nankin Bantam Norfolk Grey Old English Game Old English Pheasant Fowl Orpington Rosecomb Scots Dumpy Scots Grey Sebright Sussex
Ducks	Abacot Ranger Aylesbury Orpington Khaki Campbell Magpie Shetland Silver Appleyard Welsh Harlequin
Geese	Brecon Buff Shetland

This page was last edited on 1 April 2021, at 21:07

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