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Keeping and breeding goats is such an exciting activity that it cannot but be addictive. Many people start a goat initially in order to provide environmentally friendly and very healthy milk to their children with some kind of health problems. But then, having become attached to these smart and beautiful animals, they cannot help but expand their herds, until they have to think about changing their place of residence in order to feed and maintain the desired number of goats. Choosing a breed is always interesting to try something new, with some interesting characteristics and qualities. The Toggenburg goat breed is one of the most interesting dairy breeds found in the world, both in terms of its appearance and characteristics. It is a pity that this breed is not very well known in our country, although there are plenty of reasons for its wide distribution.
History of the breed
This breed originates from Switzerland, like many other dairy goats. It got its name from the Toggenburg valley of the same name in a mountainous area in Switzerland. Toggenburg goats are one of the oldest dairy breeds in the world, because the stud book has been kept since 1890! This breed was obtained by crossing local Swiss goats with various representatives from other countries and regions.
Other countries became interested in the Toggenburg goat and began to actively export animals to breed them in their homeland. Naturally, some modifications took place in the breed, in England and the USA, for example, the Toggenburg goat has a much higher stature and short hair. As a result, today there are varieties such as British Toggenburg (common in England and the USA), Noble Toggenburg (common in Switzerland), Thuringian Forest (common in Germany). It is also known that the Czech brown was also obtained on the basis of the Toggenburg breed.
Toggenburgers were also imported to Our Country at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, even before the First World War. These goats came to the territory of the Leningrad region and their further fate is completely unknown. Until now, in the Leningrad and neighboring regions, you can meet goats that resemble Toggenburgers in color.
Breed description
In general, we can say that Toggenburg goats are smaller in size than other common dairy breeds: Saanen, Alpine, Nubian. The breed standard is considered quite strict: growth at the withers for goats must be at least 66 cm, and for goats – at least 71 cm. Weight, respectively, for goats must be at least 54 kg, and for goats – at least 72 kg.
Color is the main distinguishing feature of the breed: the bulk of the body is covered with hair of all shades of brown – from yellowish fawn to dark chocolate. In front of the muzzle there is a white or light spot, which then turns into two almost parallel stripes stretching behind the goat’s ears. The lowermost part of the legs is also white. The same color pelvis around the back of the tail.
Wool can be long and short, but very soft, delicate, silky. It is often longer on the back, along the spine and on the hips.
The ears are erect, rather narrow and small. The neck is quite long and graceful. The body looks very harmonious and even elegant. The legs are strong, long, the back is straight. The udder is very well developed.
Characteristics of the Toggenburg breed
Goats of this breed are distinguished by endurance, good adaptability to various conditions of detention, but they treat heat worse than cold.
The lactation period on average lasts about 260 – 280 days. During this period, the Toggenburg goat can produce from 700 to 1000 liters of milk, the average fat content of which is about 4%. There are also cases when in some goats of this breed the fat content of milk reached 8%. It is believed that the milk of the Toggenburg goat is ideal for making cheese.
Toggenburg goats have a fairly high fertility, they can bring from 1 to 4 kids every 8-9 months. Only under normal conditions, such a regimen is quite harmful to the goat’s body, which wears out quickly. Therefore, it is better not to give the goat a kitten more than once a year.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
All over the world, the Toggenburg goat breed has become widespread due to its following advantages:
- They have a beautiful and stately appearance with a very pleasant to the touch coat, so much so that in some countries goats of this breed are kept for wool.
- Resistant to cold climates and easily adapts to low temperatures.
- They have rather high milk yields, which do not change depending on the time of year – for example, they do not decrease in winter.
- Feel good in the mountains.
- They have good fertility rates.
- They have a calm character, are very affectionate to the owner and unusually smart.
The disadvantages of the breed include the fact that the taste of the milk they produce is significantly affected by the composition and quality of the feed that is at the disposal of the goat.
Therefore, it is very important that the goat regularly receives the necessary supplements in the form of minerals and vitamins, as well as the content of chalk and salt in its daily diet is strictly necessary.
Sables
Since the main distinguishing feature of the Toggenburg breed is its peculiar color, many goats with a similar or very similar color can be called Toggenburg unscrupulous breeders.
But there is also a special variety of the Saanen breed, called sables.
Many goat breeders who are familiar with the Saanen breed know that their wool is white. But both of these breeds, both the Saanen and the Toggenburg, have related roots in Switzerland, and therefore may also contain related genes that are responsible for a particular trait. In goats of the Saanen breed, there is a recessive gene, the role of which is reduced to the appearance of offspring painted in any color other than white. These colored descendants of Zaanenok are called sables. Today they are even recognized as a separate breed in some countries of the world. And in our country, many breeders are happy to breed sables. But the problem lies in the fact that quite often babies are born among them, which are completely indistinguishable from Toggenburts in color.
Maintenance and care
The Toggenburg goat, as already noted above, does not tolerate heat very well, but it adapts remarkably to the cold. Therefore, it is best to keep it in the conditions of the middle zone and even to the north. In winter, due to the sufficient woolen cover, it is possible to keep goats in a well-insulated barn without additional heating. Although it is desirable that the temperature in the stalls in winter does not fall below + 5 ° C. Each goat should have its own separate stall with a wooden bed. It is best to arrange a concrete floor with a slight slope for waste to drain, it must be covered with straw, which must be changed regularly. Goats cannot stand dampness, so a good ventilation device in the goat’s house is a must.
In the summer, during the grazing period, goats only need a sufficient area for grazing, fresh water for drinking and regular feeding in the form of minerals and vitamins (chalk and salt are required). In winter, animals need to be provided with a sufficient amount of high-quality hay, a variety of root crops, brooms of various tree species, as well as grain supplements, which can be up to 1 kg per day per head.
Thus, if you want to have a good dairy goat with a beautiful appearance and balanced character, adapted to our cold climate, then you should look at the Toggenburg breed.