 | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Channel Islands |
| Distribution |
|
| Use | goat's milk |
| Traits | |
| Skin colour | golden |
| Wool colour | golden, from pale to reddish-brown |
| Horn status | usually polled (hornless) [4] : 30 |
| Tassels | no |
| |
The Golden Guernsey is a rare breed of dairy goat from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, where it has been known for more than two hundred years.
Golden-coloured goats have been known in Guernsey for some two hundred years; [5] : 381 the first documented reference is in a guide book published in 1826. [3] In the nineteenth century these goats were known as "Golden Gessenay", Gessenay being the French name for the Swiss Saanen breed. [5] : 381
During the Second World War when Guernsey was occupied, Miriam Milbourne saved a small herd of Golden Guernsey goats by hiding them for several years. [6]
In 1965 the Golden Guernsey was exported to Great Britain and the English Golden Guernsey Club, later to become the Golden Guernsey Goat Society, was formed. [7]
The Golden Guernsey is an endangered breed: it was listed by the FAO as "endangered-maintained" in 2007. [1] : 120 In 2019 the population numbers reported to DAD-IS were 1381 for the Golden Guernsey and 171 for the British Guernsey; both were listed as "at risk". [2] [8] In 2020 the Golden Guernsey was listed as "minority" on the goat watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. [3]
As its name suggests, the goat is golden in colour, with hues ranging from pale blond to deep bronze. They are smaller and more fine-boned than other British milking goats, and there is great variety in coat length.[ citation needed ] The males are usually horned, with very splendid horns, very few do not have horns.[ citation needed ] The goats are easy to handle. [9]
The Longhorn or British Longhorn is a British breed of beef cattle characterised by long curving horns. It originated in northern England, in the counties of Lancashire, Westmorland and Yorkshire, and later spread to the English Midlands and to Ireland. It was originally a slow heavy draught animal; cows gave a little milk, although high in fat. In the eighteenth century Robert Bakewell applied his methods of selective breeding to these cattle, which for a short time became the predominant British breed. Both the numbers and the quality of the breed declined throughout the nineteenth century and for much of the twentieth. A breed society was formed in 1878, and a herd-book published in that year.
The Guernsey is a breed of dairy cattle from the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is fawn or red and white in colour, and is hardy and docile. Its milk is rich in flavour, high in fat and protein, and has a golden-yellow tinge due to its high β-carotene content. The Guernsey is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Jersey.
The American Pygmy is an American breed of achondroplastic goat. It is small, compact and stockily built. Like the Nigerian Dwarf, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa. Between 1930 and 1960, animals of this type were imported to the United States for use either as zoo animals or for research; some were later kept and bred as companion animals and established as a breed in 1975. It may also be known as the Pygmy or African Pygmy. It is quite different and separate from the British Pygmy breed.
The Nigerian Dwarf is an American breed of dwarf goat. Like the American Pygmy Goat, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa.
The Saanen is a Swiss breed of domestic goat. It takes its name from the Saanental in the Bernese Oberland, in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, in western Switzerland. It is a highly productive dairy goat and is distributed in more than eighty countries worldwide.
The Toggenburger or Toggenburg is a Swiss breed of dairy goat. Its name derives from that of the Toggenburg region of the Canton of St. Gallen, where it is thought to have originated. It is among the most productive breeds of dairy goat and is distributed world-wide, in about fifty countries in all five inhabited continents.
The Randall Lineback or Randall is an American breed of cattle. It originated in Bennington County, Vermont, and is critically endangered.
The Anglo-Nubian is a British breed of domestic goat. It originated in the nineteenth century from cross-breeding between native British goats and a mixed population of large lop-eared goats imported from India, the Middle East and North Africa. It is characterised by large, pendulous ears and a convex profile. It has been exported to many parts of the world, and is found in more than sixty countries. In many of them it is known simply as the Nubian.
The Lincoln Red is a British breed of red-coated beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the county of Lincolnshire in the eastern Midlands of England. It was selectively bred in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by crossing large local draught cattle of the region with Teeswater Shorthorns of medium size. It was at first known as the Lincolnshire Red Shorthorn, and was a dual-purpose breed, reared both for milk and for beef. The polling gene was introduced in the early twentieth century, and the cattle are now usually polled; the word 'shorthorn' was dropped from the breed name in 1960. In the twenty-first century it is reared for beef.
The American Milking Devon is an American breed of dual-purpose cattle, reared both for milk and for beef. It derives from the Devon cattle of the United States, which in turn are derived from the North Devon cattle of south-west England. It was established as a separate breed in 1978 with the formation of the American Milking Devon Cattle Association, after the breeding aims of the Devon were concentrated almost exclusively on beef production. It is a rare breed: its conservation status is listed as by the Livestock Conservancy as 'critical'.
The Appenzell, French: Chèvre d’Appenzell, German: Appenzellerziege, is a rare and endangered indigenous breed of white domestic goat from Switzerland. It originates in the "half-cantons" of the historic Appenzell region, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden, and has spread into the neighbouring Canton of St. Gallen.
The Irish Goat is a traditional Irish breed of domestic goat. It is a dual-purpose breed, used both for meat and for milk. It is an endangered breed and may survive only in feral populations. It is distinct from the feral Bilberry Goat of Waterford.
The Hereford Hog or Hereford is an American breed of domestic pig. It is named for its color and pattern, which is similar to that of the Hereford breed of cattle: red with a white face.
The Blue Albion was a British breed of cattle with an unusual blue roan coat. It originated in the English Midlands in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and was a dual-purpose breed, reared both for beef and for milk. It became extinct following the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 1967.
The Valdostana is an Italian breed of domestic goat from the autonomous region of Valle d'Aosta in north-western Italy, from which it takes its name. It is characterised by large sabre-shaped horns, which it uses in combat in the traditional local sport of goat-fighting.
The Di Teramo is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the province of Teramo, in Abruzzo in southern Italy, and is raised only in that area. Numbers are very low; the breed was listed as endangered by the FAO in 2007. It is further threatened by cross-breeding with the Garganica breed.
The Messinese is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the area of the Monti Nebrodi and the Monti Peloritani in the province of Messina, in the Mediterranean island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It is raised mainly in those areas, but also in the provinces of Catania, Enna and Palermo. Its range partly overlaps that of the Argentata dell'Etna. The breed was officially recognised and a herd-book established in 2001. It was previously known either as the Capra dei Nebrodi or in general as the Siciliana Comune.
The Chamois Coloured Goat, French: Chèvre chamoisée, German: Gämsfarbige Gebirgsziege, Italian: Camosciata delle Alpi, is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from Switzerland. It is distributed throughout Switzerland and in parts of northern Italy and Austria, and has been exported to other countries including France. There are two strains, a horned type from the Grisons or Graubünden in the eastern part of the country, and a hornless type from the former bezirk of Oberhasli and the area of Brienz and Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland in central Switzerland. In some countries the hornless variety may be considered a separate breed, the Oberhasli goat. The Swiss herd-book was established in 1930.
The Capra Grigia, French: Chèvre grise des montagnes, German: Graue Bergziege, is a rare and endangered indigenous breed of domestic goat from Switzerland. It originates in the valleys of the cantons of the Grisons or Graubünden in the eastern part of the country, and of Ticino or Tessin in the south. It is possibly related to the grey type of the Passeirer Gebirgsziege from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in north-eastern Italy.
The Pygmy is a British breed of dwarf goat. It is small, compact and generally stockily built. It was established in the 1980s by fusion of the various miniature goat populations of the United Kingdom into a single breed. These were of two principal types: a stocky achondroplastic type derived from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa; and a small but well-proportioned type derived from the Southern Sudan goat.
