Alpine goats are an unassuming breed for a zealous owner
The Alpine goat breed belongs to a group of ancient rocks, spontaneously bred in the Swiss Alps. Graceful animals that provide milk, meat, wool, skin with minimal labor and capital expenditures are a real treasure for a prudent owner.
Goats, feeling great in areas abounding in roughage, have since ancient times served as a "lifesaver" for peasants living in mountainous areas. In the cantons of Switzerland, the goat has been the only breadwinner for many centuries. It was there that the traditions of modern goat breeding were born and, thanks to intuitive selection, three main dairy products were formed - these are Zaanen, Toggenburg and Alpine, which are still considered the leading ones.
Alpine goat (alpina, ibex) interested European breeders in the 19th century. Local French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese goats were actively crossed with Swiss animals. The genes of numerous relatives still make themselves felt by the variety of colors of Alpine goats.
Important. In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation announced the creation of a new domestic breed "Alpine", bred using French local, Toggenburg and Zaane breeds. The breed was considered promising for breeding on farms.
In 1922, Alpine goats from France arrived in the United States. The Americans did not immediately pay attention to the new breed and even refused her official recognition. Only ten years later, alpines, once again crossed with the Zannen, Toggenburg and local breeds, firmly established themselves on the American continent.
Alpine goats are of several types within the breed.
Today, there are several main types of Alpine goats:
- Swiss (Oberhazli), in turn, having several subspecies, of which the Gruyer is the most famous;
- the French Alpine goat (chamois), which forms the basis of dairy goat breeding in France (98% of the country's total dairy herd);
- American Alpine: very similar in appearance to French goats, but with a larger size and production characteristics;
- British Alpine breed registered in England in the 1920s;
- italian;
Alpine goat in Russia
In pre-revolutionary Russia, goat breeding for a long time not only did not have state support, but was also prohibited in some areas so as not to damage forests. Goats were mainly kept by the poor, pedigree breeding and industrial milk processing were absent.
Important. Breeding of goats still remains at the level of small-scale production. The transition to a production scale is hampered by the lack of scientific support, a regulatory and technical base, and processing facilities.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Prince Sergei Petrovich Urusov, who served in the Ministry of Agriculture, the author of the book "On the Goat", stood up for the goats. With his help, the “Russian Society of Goat Breeding” was established, a herd book was created, exhibitions of pedigree goats were held, and a monthly magazine was published.
Alpine goat breed is only gaining popularity in Russia.
From Germany and Switzerland, enthusiasts brought more than a thousand pedigree animals, and breeding work began, the main goal of which was to create a new "race with significantly higher milk yield". However, after 1917, goat breeding was again recognized as unpromising and the number of Swiss goats degenerated due to spontaneous crossing with indigenous low-yielding breeds.
Feature and description with photos
The official standard for the Alpine breed in the Russian Federation has not yet been developed. The variety of subspecies and the predominance of crossbreeds of purebred males with females of other breeds on Russian farmsteads leads to discrepancies in the description of external signs, sizes, and production characteristics. Most often, in domestic farmsteads, you can find Alpine goats corresponding to the American and French description of the breed.
Alpine goats in the pasture.
In the photo: Alpine goats.
Appearance
Alpins have retained the features inherent in mountain goats:
- the weight of the goat is 60-63 kg, the height at the withers is 75-85 cm, the live weight of the goat is 75-78 kg, the height is 80-90 cm;
- the trunk is proportional, elongated, narrow with a strong skeleton on short, stable dry legs with a clearly marked withers, a prominent ridge, a voluminous deep chest;
- the back is straight with an oblique, narrow and short croup;
- the udder is voluminous, the nipples are of the correct shape;
- the head is not large, light, with a straight profile on a thin, short neck;
- flattened muzzle;
- the horns are hard, oval, flat, short, erect and curved towards the back;
- lumpiness (hornlessness) is permissible;
- ears are erect, short, with a slight inclination forward (long ears are considered a defect of the breed);
- the tail is long, covered with wool;
- the hooves are massive, with a strong outer rim, a sensitive rim, elastic inside;
- the coat is short, smooth, with a thick puff, longer on the back and thighs.
Color
Alpine goat breed has different, very bright colors.
The color of Alpine goats is diverse, in one litter there can be gray, white, and brown babies. The standards of different countries describe several options for the main colors:
- White neck. The most common classic color in Russia. Neck and shoulders are white. The main part of the body, the head is gray or black. On the outside of the legs from the knees there is a dark or black stripe extending to the hooves. Ears, stripe on the abdomen, muzzle of the same color as the "leg" band.
- Red neck. The brownish-red color from the neck and shoulders smoothly transforms to the rump in black or dark brown.
- Bay or chamois. The main color is brick red, ocher. Black markings on the head and neck. A black stripe runs along the ridge. The legs are black.
- Magpies or magpies. The head is white. Colored markings on the main background.
- Sandgow. White markings on basic black background.
- Paid. Spotted or variegated color.
- Kunavar. The front of the animal is black, the back is white.
There are many more one-color, two-color, tricolor color variations.
Manufacturing qualities
It is profitable to keep a herd of Alpine goats.
The performance characteristics of different offspring of Alpine goats vary. largely depends on the conditions of detention and diet. A goat gives from 800-900 liters to 1600 liters of milk per year. A record of 2,215 liters was recorded in the United States. You can milk from 2 to 5 liters per day.
The quality of milk in all varieties of alpin is consistently high:
- fat content 3.5-5.5%;
- protein content 3.1% (higher than that of the famous Saanen goats);
- high content of essential acids, vitamins A and C, microelements (Ka, Ca, P, Zn, Fe, Na, Cu, Mg, Ma);
- milk is delicate in taste, with a sweetish creamy aftertaste, odorless, recommended for baby food;
- milk is heat-resistant, suitable for sterilization by prolonged high-temperature exposure;
- the structure of the milk is dense;
Dairy products made from goat milk are healthy and nutritious.
For the production of 1 kg of feta cheese, 4.5-4.6 liters of milk is enough, 1 kg of cottage cheese - 4.3 liters. In many countries, alpine milk is used to produce butter, cheeses, yoghurts, and fermented milk products on an industrial scale.
Important. Alpine goats are easily milked by hand and using machines. If, after milking, the milk is immediately filtered and cooled, then the shelf life will increase several times.
Alpine goats have fairly high meat production rates. How many kilograms of meat you can get from a goat depends on the live weight of the animal. The average yield of edible pieces is 43% of live weight. Up to 10 kg of goat meat is obtained from one young animal.
Goats have good fertility. In the first goat, the female brings 1-2 kids, in the next up to 5, sexually mature goats become in 5-6 months. They gain weight well with low feed costs, usually by 7-9 months the weight of young animals is up to 50-70% of the weight of an adult animal.
The nature of the goats is calm, balanced. However, when kept together with goats of other breeds or sheep, alpins do not let them go to the feeders and strive to take a leading position.
Alpine goats are prolific, they are distinguished by good health and strong immunity.
The main distinguishing feature of Alpine goats is the ability to acclimatize in the most severe climatic conditions. Alpines are not afraid of frost, heat, poor food supply, they rarely suffer from diseases.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
In the industrial and small-scale production of goat milk in France and the USA, the Alpine breed occupies a leading place. This is facilitated by:
- unpretentiousness;
- endurance;
- the ability to forage in highlands, forest-steppes, steppes, semi-deserts (milk quality does not depend on feeding with hay or pasture);
- genotype stability (breed qualities are manifested even after several generations);
- a long period of lactation (they give a lot of milk all year round from 1 to 3 years in the intervals between lambing).
In Russia, it is almost impossible to buy purebred Alpine kids. The imports are scanty, the percentage of deception is high. For pure-bred producers, animals with dubious pedigree are often passed off.
Thoroughbred Alpine kids are purchased only in large nurseries.
The variety of colors, discrepancies in the description of sizes allow unscrupulous sellers to pass off a cross of Alpine goats with other breeds as pure breed material.
The paucity of the breeding herd also affects the pricing. Alpine goats are expensive, bargaining starts at 30,000 rubles.
For the well-being of goats, they provide:
- a spacious, light, dry room without drafts and with moderate humidity (the area is calculated using the formula 3-4 m2 per individual);
- loungers raised above the floor to a height of about 60 cm;
- artificial or natural walking.
To avoid injuries and diseases of the hooves, the floor in the barn is covered with boards, covered with a layer of straw or hay. Damp and dirty bedding is regularly replaced with a clean one. When keeping a large number of animals, it is advisable to use a deep bedding, which is sufficient to change once every six months. Dry straw is poured daily.
Diet and feeding
Alpine goats do not require a special diet, even in winter.
As soon as the deep snow melts, the Alpine goats are transferred to walking. Most of their diet in the spring-autumn period can be roughage with a fiber content of up to 62%. The alpine digestive tract is adapted to process:
- foliage,
- escapes,
- branches of shrubs and trees,
- tough vegetation
- of course, milk yield increases if the goats have the opportunity to graze in meadows with lush grass.
- In summer, alpins can be fed with weeds from the garden, mowed with green mass.
The winter diet includes:
- hay, straw, shrub shoots, grain mixtures;
- root crops, vegetables, fruit and food waste;
- combined feed;
- chalk, salt, mineral additives.
Important. Alpines will never drink dirty water. Drinking water should always be clean.
Breeding
For purebred breeding, only pedigree producers should be used.
Animals quickly reach maturity, but they begin to mate at 8-9 months, after they gain at least 35 kg of weight. adhere to the basic rules:
- Mating of closely related individuals leads to the birth of non-viable offspring with low productive characteristics.
- The brood goat must come from a high-yielding uterus. Have a good exterior. The chest should be wide, the back should be straight, the sacrum should be voluminous, the legs should be strong.
- Mating is best done in August-September.
- Mating is carried out only during the hunting period, which lasts a day or two.
- If insemination has not occurred, mating is repeated after 2-3 weeks with the onset of the next estrus.
The onset of hunting can be easily identified by frequent bleating, overexcitation, and decreased appetite. The outer part of the goat's vagina swells, and a mucous fluid flows out of it.
Pregnancy, lambing and young care
In the first month of pregnancy, goats are free to graze for a walk.
Pregnancy lasts 145-155 days. A month and a half before giving birth, to ensure intensive nutrition of the fetus, the goat is stopped milking. 10-15 days before the goat, the generic room is treated with 5% creolin or milk of lime, protected from drafts, the floor is covered with straw. Pregnant women in good weather are allowed to take a walk on a fenced walk.
Immediately before lambing, the expectant mother begins to worry, bleats pitifully, often lies down and gets up, her udder volume noticeably increases. Alpine childbirth is easy, quick, as a rule, help to females is not required. The second and subsequent kids come out immediately after the first or with a slight interruption.
In a newborn, they cleanse the sinuses, mouth, eyes from mucus and apply it to the mother for licking or wipe it on their own with clean napkins. In babies, the umbilical cord is cut, the tip is smeared with iodine, and placed on a warm, dry mat in the same stall with the mother.
Before lambing, the goat is placed in a separate pen.
After giving birth, alpine goats must be milked to avoid inflammation. An hour and a half after the appearance of the last kid, the mother is poured with warm water. In the early days, the uterus is fed with high-quality hay, warm mash of flour or bran, fresh green mass. After three days, root crops, bran, and silage are added to the menu.
For the first three days, the goats are milked 4 times a day before feeding the babies. On the 2nd month, 3 milkings are carried out per day.
The kids are born viable, rarely get sick, the survival rate of the young is very high. The upbringing of the offspring takes place practically without human intervention, the Alpine goats themselves feed and raise the kids.
Possible diseases and their prevention
Alpine goats are very healthy.
The Alpine breed is distinguished by innate immunity and rarely gets sick.
The main goat diseases include:
- bruises, wounds, trauma, tympania, inflammation of the bronchi, lungs;
- anthrax, brucellosis, bradzot, enterotoxemia, hoof, infectious mastitis, paratyphoid fever, anaerobic dysentery of young animals or, dermatitis, scabies, fascioliasis, coenurosis, moniesiasis.
The acute form of the disease is accompanied by an increase in temperature (over + 39.5º), increased respiration, and decreased appetite. Sick animals are isolated and a doctor is called. To prevent anthrax, foot and mouth disease, goat pox are vaccinated. The main means of prevention are disinfection of the premises, drinkers, equipment twice a year.
Alpine goats make good use of grazing.