The Toggenburger or Toggenburg is a Swiss

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

dairy goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

. Its name derives from that of the

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...

region of the

Canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern ...

, 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.

History

The Toggenburger is the traditional goat breed of the

and Werdenberg regions of the

in eastern Switzerland. The

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

was started in 1890. At first, the goats were often dark-coated, sometimes with white markings; there may have been some

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

with Appenzell and Chamois-coloured stock in neighbouring areas. The typical mouse-grey colour with white facial markings was fixed by

selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant mal ...

in the twentieth century. In 2006 there were 850 goats in the Toggenburg and the Werdenberg regions, out of a total of in Switzerland; this is much lower than in the 1950s, when there were more than . The Verein Ziegenfreunde is an

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

of owners of the goats within their historic area of origin. British Toggenburgs are heavier and have improved milk quality. By the middle of 2002, 4146 Toggenburgs had been registered with the New Zealand Dairy Goat Breeders Association.

Characteristics

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.

Tassels A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric and clothing decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe. History and use In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord spoke to Moses instructing him to ...

may be present; billies and nannies may be naturally horned or polled (hornless).

Use

It is a highly productive dairy breed. The

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

calls for minimum milk yield of per lactation, with a minimum fat content of and minimum

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

content of .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toggenburg (Goat) Dairy goat breeds Goat breeds originating in Switzerland