Toggenburg goats are a dairy breed, a distinctive feature of which are light strips on the muzzle, stomach and legs. Rich and healthy milk, contains a large amount of nutrients. The animal is unpretentious in care, productive in breeding. Toggenburg goats are more common in Switzerland, USA, Canada, Austria and Holland. In Russia, this breed is little known.
Origin of breed
The birthplace of the Toggenburg goats is a picturesque valley in the north-east of Switzerland, from which the name of the breed came from. The history of animals begins in the mid-18th century and continues to the present. Initially, breeders set 2 tasks - high milk yield and quick acclimatization to any weather conditions. Goats were bred by prolonged selection of “outbred Aborigines”, which with each new generation only strengthened their immunity.
Thanks to milk production, the Toggenburg goats immediately became popular in the 18-19 centuries. They were actively sold in Belarus, Poland, Holland, Switzerland and other countries where livestock breeding was well established. In Russia, goats have not taken root in all regions. In a small amount you can meet them in the Altai Territory, in the Vologda, Leningrad and Kostroma regions.
Appearance, dimensions and character
The Toggenburg goat differs from its neighbors in small size, in its good looks. Outwardly, it is a graceful animal with a shortened body and well-developed muscles, a small head and slender legs. The coat is richly brown in color, 2 longitudinal strips go along the sides of the muzzle, descend to the stomach and to the hooves. In the area of the small tail, there is also a bright spot. Ears of small size, erect. Cromolled goats (without horns). Varieties are found with small, sickle-wrapped horns.
The height of adult males at the withers is 75-85 cm, females are smaller - no more than 78 cm. The average weight of a one-year-old goat is 60-65 kg, but larger representatives of this breed are also found. Females weigh 48-60 kg, newborn kids - up to 3.5 kg (in the litter there can be up to 4 individuals). Grown goats for 8 months weigh 40 kg.
The Toggenburg goats have dark brown hair of medium length. In four-legged inhabitants of the northern regions, it is thicker due to the growing undercoat, to the touch soft and silky. Males and females have a small beard. Young goats have earrings on their faces, a large, round udder with massive, long nipples. Animals are adapted not only for manual, but also for machine milking.
This is a very peaceful breed, unpretentious in food and living conditions. To date, inferior in popularity to the Zaanen goats. Animals are not too smart: they run up on pastures, cannot come home on their own, they do not recognize their nicknames. The goat breeders have to go in search of them, spend time.
Productive qualities
Toggenburg goats because of their miniature are not suitable for large-scale meat breeding, although their meat has an unforgettable taste. On the skin and hair of the animal, too, can not earn much.
The main value for goats growers is milk, which is further used for the production of elite cheeses, and is spent on the sale for the needs of one's own family. The number of milk yields is the same all year round (in winter, milk volumes do not decrease). For lactation, the Toggenburg goats give up to 1,000 kg (a record is known - 1,200 kg) with a fat content of 4.5-8%. Healthy milk, actively used in the food industry. Daily milk yield is from 4 to 6 liters.
Toggenburg Goat Care and Breeding Rules
This breed is adapted to the harsh mountain climate. Animals tolerate low temperatures well, are frost-resistant and hardy in strong winds. But in the heat, they feel uncomfortable, eat poorly and are often sick.
Toggenburg goats do not tolerate dampness, they should live only in a dry room. Permissible moisture content is 60-75%. If you create favorable conditions and properly feed your pets, they give healthy offspring, high milk production rates.
How to contain dairy goats is briefly described in our other article.
How to equip a barn?
When installing a barn, remember the basic rule: animals tolerate cold well and do not tolerate heat. The maximum air temperature in the goat house should not exceed 20 degrees. In winter, Toggenburg goats feel comfortable at 5 degrees, so there is no need to additionally warm the barn with mineral wool.
To learn more about the conditions under which goats should winter, read our article on how to keep goats in winter.
When installing the goat house, consider the following recommendations from experienced breeders:
- Choose a light and dry room, exclude the penetration of excess moisture and mold.
- Install the shed in places remote from cesspools and large accumulations of manure.
- Ensure a high-quality ventilation system, as animals can die from dampness, and their milk production is reduced.
- Make a concrete floor in the goathouse - preferably under a slope to drain the liquid. To prevent the flooring from being cold, insulate it with wooden boards and straw.
- Withdraw windows so that the room is well lit. Make sure that ultraviolet rays do not enter the goat, do not fall on the goats.
- Divide the barn into separate stalls with wooden partitions so that each goat has its own space.
- Organize the space so that the females and males are separate. This minimizes the risk of unplanned mating and weak offspring.
- Set up a walking yard next to the barn. Goats love a large space. If there is no room, walk the animals on spacious, prolific pastures.
Not only comfortable living conditions for the Toggenburg goats, but also meat and dairy indicators depend on the correct construction and compliance with the recommendations. With a regular examination of the goat's for parasites, the disease of the whole herd can be prevented. To prevent the wall of the shed, it is necessary to treat the solution of copper sulfate 1-2 times a month.
How to properly arrange the habitat for goats, read in our article "Instructions: do-it-yourself barn for goats."
What and how to feed?
In summer, an adult goat eats up to 7-9 kg of greenery, in winter it suffices 3 kg of hay and additives per day. Servings and variety of nutrition depends on the age of the animal, the presence / absence of pregnancy and the phase of activity.
In winter, fresh hay, root vegetables, chopped vegetables, and necessarily mineral additives should be present in the daily diet. This is a good opportunity to strengthen goat immunity, prevent a number of diseases.
In summer, animals graze in the fresh air, from the green grass receive the necessary vitamins and nutrients. Do not give whole grains to goats, chop them in any convenient way.
Juicy and other feed
Toggenburg goats need vitamins during vitamin deficiency. Include 500 g of concentrated feed in your daily diet. The presence of beet or carrot tops, cabbage leaves, boiled potatoes, and peel of vegetables on the menu is also important. Grind root crops, give the goat up to 4 kg per day, potatoes - no more than 2 kg.
Brooms
In winter, it is recommended for goats to dry brooms from thin branches 1 cm thick and 50 cm long. When live bushes and fresh greens are not available, animals love to chew them. To make brooms, use branches of maple, linden, birch, alder, oak, hazel, willow and willow. How to make such a broom:
- collect thin branches;
- tie them together to make bundles 12 cm thick;
- immediately hang them under a canopy and let dry;
- hang on a draft, while avoiding moisture and direct sunlight;
- After 2-3 weeks, fold in a dry, warm place, like a blank for the winter.
Prepare more of these brooms, since the animal needs 2-3 pcs a day and 1 at night. Count on the number of goals in the goat house. If the brooms are not prepared, replace them with clean, dry leaves.
For the cold season, the goat needs 500 kg of roughage, which includes not only hay and straw, but also brooms, dry leaves.
Mineral supplements
Include in the daily menu of an adult goat 15 mg of salt and 10 g of pre-ground chalk, which are added to feed or water. Without such components, the goat's appetite is reduced, weight and milk production are lost. Mandatory presence of mineral additives - 10 g of bone meal.
Feeding procedure
Develop a stable diet, feed the goats at the same time of the day - morning and evening. This is a prerequisite, because the pet very quickly gets used to the daily routine, and its violation can cause severe stress, reduce milk productivity.
Approximate Diet:
- Breakfast. Swill with compound feed and vegetables, after milking - roughage.
- Lunch. Vegetables, swill, after receiving the milk yield - dry leaves and brooms.
- Dinner. Softened with a swill concentrate, after milking - brooms, leaves, hay.
Read more about the nutrition of domestic goats in this article.
Drink
Be sure to include a swill from automatic drinkers in the daily diet of a ruminant. Such devices in the goat house greatly facilitate the life of goats breeders, otherwise the animals will have to be watered several times a day. Firmly fix the cups, otherwise they will move, and the goat cannot drink enough.
Keep track of the amount of water in the drinkers. Fluid regularly add and update. Clean the drinkers daily. If mold or algae appears on their walls, the animal can become very sick. In the summer, the goat should drink 3-4 liters of water 2 times a day, in winter these figures are reduced. The optimum fluid temperature is +15 degrees.
How to feed the goats manufacturers?
The male must be active and healthy. The daily diet of pedigree goats includes up to 2.5 kg of hay, 300 g of feed concentrate and 1 kg of fresh vegetables. In about 2 months, take the male to pastures rich in green grass, double the amount of concentrate. When mating, give him more carrots and other vegetables that are high in carotene.
Sraka - breed features
Breeding Toggenburg goats is very profitable and promising. As with other breeds, 1 pregnancy per year is welcome. Of course, goats can happen every 7-8 months, but the result is a weak offspring that is sick and poorly gaining weight.
A distinctive feature of these pets is a large offspring - up to 4 kids. Babies grow quickly, gain weight intensively, and by the age of 8 months they reach 40 kg. For comparison, an adult goat weighs 60-65 kg.
Mating options
From September to March, the Toggenburg goats come to the hunt. This is the best time for mating. Goats walk 5-7 days every 20 days. This period can be determined by the behavior of the female. She becomes nervous, irritable, hostile and aggressive. Other cases are known when the female, on the contrary, is lazy, passive, which also indicates hunting.
There are several options for inseminating the breed. Among them:
- Manual. The owner processes the goats, after which the individuals happen. This is a convenient option for small farms, where there are several females per goat.
- Artificial. More suitable for breeding selection, conducted with the participation of an experienced veterinarian.
- Freestyle. Animals are in the same pen and are independently looking for a mate for themselves. It is better not to conduct such experiments with the Toggenburg breed, otherwise you can completely remain without offspring.
If the mating occurred in the fall, lambing (the appearance of kids) falls in the spring. This is a favorable period for their cultivation. The offspring is strong and active, does not get sick, quickly gaining weight. Almost from the first months of their life, the kids graze with their mother and receive substances necessary for health and rapid growth from pastures.
Goat pregnancy period and lamb features
By 4-5 months, females become sexually mature, but it is too early to happen. Wait until the animal grows to 8-12 months. The optimal age of the Toggenburg goats for mating is not younger than 1 year, not older than 6-7 years. In a young goat, the offspring are weak, non-viable.
The optimal gestation period is 150 days. At birth, wash the goat's udder, or she will do it herself. Otherwise, the newborn may become infected. Immediately transfer the kids to the goathouse, where they are fed with expressed maternal colostrum. This is necessary to activate the immune system of young animals. Otherwise, goats are born weak, die in the first months of life.
In order not to impair the milk production of the goat, keep the kids separately from the mother for 3 weeks after birth. Feed the kids the expressed milk, gradually introduce complementary foods.
Health and Life Expectancy
The animal lives up to 13 years, subject to the rules of feeding and care - longer. The productivity of the Toggenburg goats is 7-8 years. Diseases in goats worsen closer to old age, when immunity weakens significantly. A healthy animal is cheerful and playful, pulse - 70-80 beats / min, body temperature - 39-40 degrees. If these indicators are violated, a suspicion of a disease arises, you need to consult a veterinarian.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
To date, the popularity of the Toggenburg goats has been lost, they were replaced by the Zaan breed. Nevertheless, these noble animals have a number of advantages, attractive to farmers.
The list of positive qualities:
- Attractive appearance. White stripes on the face make goats original, unique. Medium length wool allows you to compare pets with dogs.
- Quick acclimatization. Goats tolerate cold well, so there is no need to warm the goat. This is a good option for the mountainous and northern regions of Russia.
- Character features. Goats are calm and non-conflict, quickly get used to humans, replace pets.
- High milk production rates. During lactation, goats give up to 1000 kg of milk. The amount of milk yield does not decrease in the winter.
- Beneficial features. Milk contains vitamins and nutrients, is used for the preparation of butter, high quality cheeses.
- The lack of horns. Such breeds cause less panic among breeders.
- High fecundity. In one litter there can be up to 4 viable kids.
Against the background of positive moments, do not forget about the disadvantages of the Toggenburg breed:
- Goats do not tolerate heat. At elevated air temperatures, animals do not milk well, eat nothing, and often get sick.
- Goat nutrition is associated with the taste of milk. It is important to observe not only the daily diet, but also the diversity of the diet.
- Deficit. Since Toggenburg goats are not particularly popular in Russia, it is difficult to purchase them.
Sables
A distinctive feature of the Toggenburg goats is the original color. It is difficult to meet an animal with symmetrical white stripes on its face. If other breeds have such a color, unscrupulous breeders give it out as Toggenburg and try to sell it more expensive. As a result, the need for mestizos.
Close relatives of the Toggenburg breed are the Saanen goats. They are carriers of the recessive gene, which is why they have different colors, except for white. Such motley descendants are called sables. They can be of the same color as the Toggenburgers.This is a separate breed, which is also popular among goats breeders for its high milk yield and fecundity.
Frequent diseases
A long selection period made the Toggenburg goats hardy and resistant to infections. The risk of pseudotuberculosis or brucellosis is minimal. The animal tolerates cold well, and strong immunity protects against unwanted diseases. But there are different cases, and the Toggenberg goats get sick too.
The most common are the following diseases:
- Udder inflammation. Such a pathology often develops in violation of goat hygiene rules or improper milking. The udder hurts, a course of antibiotics is needed.
- Respiratory diseases. The animal rises in temperature, chewing gum disappears, and appetite decreases. This is due to dampness and frequent exposure to drafts. The treatment regimen is determined by the condition of the diseased goat, a consultation with a veterinarian is needed.
- Colic, bloating. This problem is observed in violation of the regimen of drinking and feeding goats, an unbalanced diet, and a lack of nutrients.
- Mastitis. This is an infectious and inflammatory process in the mammary glands. Impurities of pus appear in milk, taste changes. With such symptoms, stop lactation, conduct a course of antibacterial therapy.
- Parasitic diseases. If you violate the rules of hygiene goat, the animal may become infected with fleas. Treat with special antiparasitic agents, additionally treat the walls and partitions of the shed with a solution of copper sulfate.
- Rheumatism. This is a consequence of living in moist sheds with high humidity and in a draft.
- Hoof inflammation. Such a disease develops with mechanical injuries. Among the triggering factors is non-compliance with hoof hygiene rules.
To reduce the risk of morbidity, routinely vaccinate and revaccinate the goat. Also keep the goat house clean and tidy, regularly inspect the coat and hooves of the animal. Clean the last after each grazing, otherwise a pathogenic infection affects sensitive skin.
Who is the breed suitable for?
Toggenburg goats are more suitable for large and medium-sized farms, for small agriculture less relevant. This is explained by the characteristics of feeding. To obtain high-quality milk, a varied diet is needed, which small goats cannot provide. In addition, the amount of meat (due to the size of the animal) is not suitable for large lots for sale. The skin, although valuable, but with each head it turns out a little.
We suggest watching a video in which you learn about the features of the breed and how to properly care for the Taggenburg goats:
Reviews of Toggenburg breed
Inga, 39 years old, farmer, Vologda region. I have 6 heads of such goats. She doubted for a long time whether it was worth contacting. Still, in Russia this breed is not often found. But I really liked the funny color of the kids. I bought and did not regret it. I get up to 5 liters of milk per day. We have enough for a family of 6 people. Something even manages to sell to neighbors. Milk is tasty, hearty and healthy. Goats do not require special care. The only negative - if the animal eats something wrong, the milk begins to be bitter.
Andrey, 52 years old, combine operator, Kaluga Region. Toggenburg goats stand out from the whole herd. Beautiful, funny, all the children pay attention to them. But they just need an eye and an eye, they constantly fight back from the herd. By productivity: every day they give 5 liters of milk, they have not tried meat yet. Caring for goats is easy. My wife sells milk, so the whole village is being bought up from us.
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Toggenburg goats are great for growing and breeding in Russia. The animals are unpretentious and frost-resistant, rarely get sick and can give offspring of 3-4 kids for 1 lamb.