Conservation status | |
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Other names |
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Country of origin | Switzerland |
Distribution | worldwide |
Standard | Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband |
Use | milk |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Height | |
Horn status | horned or hornless |
Tassels | with or without tassels |
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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. [4]
The Toggenburger is the traditional goat breed of the Toggenburg and Werdenberg regions of the Canton of St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland. [5] The herd-book was started in 1890. [6] : 414 At first, the goats were often dark-coated, sometimes with white markings; there may have been some cross-breeding with Appenzell and Chamois-coloured stock in neighbouring areas. The typical mouse-grey colour with white facial markings was fixed by selective breeding in the twentieth century. [6] : 414
The herd-book is kept by the Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband, the national association of goat-breeders; [3] a breed society, the St. Galler Ziegenzuchtverband, has origins going back to 1901. [7] In 2006 there were 850 of the goats in the Toggenburg and the Werdenberg regions, out of a total of 3000 in Switzerland; this is much lower than in the 1950s, when there were more than 20000. [5] In 2023 the total population in the country was estimated to be in the range 3235–7273, with just over 3000 breeding females and 196 active males registered in the herd-book. [2] While the breed is not at risk world-wide, its local conservation status within Switzerland is "at risk/vulnerable". [2]
The Toggenburger is distributed world-wide, in about fifty countries in all five inhabited continents, [4] among them most countries of Europe and of Central America, the West Indies and South America. Herd-books have been established in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, South Africa and the United States (where the first imports were in 1904); [6] : 414 [8] : 9 in Holland and the United Kingdom distinct national breeds have developed. [6] : 414 The British Toggenburg was recognised as a breed in 1921; it is somewhat larger and heavier than the original Swiss goat, and has a higher milk yield. [6] : 365 [9] : 138 [10] : 196
The Toggenburger is of medium size. Coat colour ranges from light brown to mouse grey, with white Swiss markings to the face, lower legs and tail area. [3] Tassels may be present; billies and nannies may be naturally horned or polled (hornless). [3]
It is a highly productive dairy breed. The breed standard calls for minimum milk yield of 740 kg per lactation, with a minimum fat content of 3.56% and minimum protein content of 2.90%. [3]
The Brown Swiss or American Brown Swiss is an American breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the traditional triple-purpose Braunvieh of the Alpine region of Europe, but has diverged substantially from it. It was selectively bred for dairy qualities only, and its draft and beef capabilities were lost. Milk yield was measured in 2013 at 10231 kg (22600 lb) per year; the milk has about 4% butterfat and 3.5% protein and is suitable for making cheese.
The Nigerian Dwarf is a modern 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 Oberhasli is a modern American breed of dairy goat. It derives from the subtype of Chamois Colored Goat from the Oberhasli district of the Bernese Oberland in central Switzerland. All purebred members of the breed descend from five Chamois Colored Goats imported to the United States in 1936. A breeder's association was formed in 1977, and a herdbook established in the following year. Until then, goats of this type had been known as Swiss Alpine, and interbred with Alpine goats of other types.
The Braunvieh or Swiss Brown is a breed or group of breeds of domestic cattle originating in Switzerland and distributed throughout the Alpine region. It falls within the "Brown Mountain" group of cattle breeds. The Swiss Braunvieh was originally a triple-purpose animal, used for milk production, for meat and for draught work; the modern Braunvieh is predominantly a dairy breed.
The Aubrac or Laguiole is a French breed of beef cattle. It originates on the Plateau de l'Aubrac in the Massif Central in central southern France, from which it also takes its name. It has a wheat-coloured coat and dark hooves, switch, muzzle and eyes.
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 Danish Jersey is a modern Danish breed of dairy cattle. It derives from approximately 5200 head of Jersey cattle imported to Denmark from the island of Jersey between about 1896 and 1909. It is the most numerous population of Jersey cattle in Europe and constitutes approximately 13% of the Danish dairy herd.
The Armoricaine or Armorican is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle. It originated in Brittany in the nineteenth century. It has a red coat with white markings, and has short horns.
The Royal 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.
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 Danish Landrace is a Danish breed of dairy goat.
The Dutch Landrace is a traditional Dutch breed of domestic goat. It has been known in the Netherlands since the seventeenth century, and was formerly numerous there. It came close to extinction in the 1950s, but was saved by cross-breeding with unrelated goats, and by 2020 numbered over 2000 head.
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 Laoshan goat breed from the Shandong Province of China is used for the production of milk. It is derived from the selective breeding of local goats crossed with Saanen goats first introduced to the area in 1904.
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 Swiss Holstein is the Swiss variant of the international Holstein-Friesian breed of dairy cattle. It results from systematic cross-breeding, through artificial insemination between 1966 and 1973, of the traditional dual-purpose black-pied Fribourgeoise from the Canton of Fribourg in western Switzerland with Canadian Holstein stock.