Alpine / British Alpine Goats

A Rare Breed of British Origin

Alpine buck   (Photo from NZ Dairy Goat Breeders Association)

      There are currently two types of Alpine dairy goats in New Zealand:

British Alpine – These are the direct descendants of the original 1956 imports. All these animals are registered Herd Book animals. The British Alpine is a created breed developed from a single Swiss female in 1908. The offspring of this goat were used to create the fixed colour-pattern of this breed.

Alpine – These include Herd Book animals bred from crossbred or Appendix animals according to New Zealand Dairy Goat Breeders Association rules and unrecorded stock of the same breeding.

Alpine doe   (Photo from NZ Dairy Goat Breeders Association)

      Probably one of the most striking looking of goat breeds, these handsome goats have a short glossy black coat with dazzling white face and leg markings – sandy white markings or less than jet black colouring is considered a fault. They are tall and elegant into the bargain. The hair should be sleek, smooth and short, but there is sometimes a transitory period when the winter coat is changing and the black markings are rusty, with a longer coat that is giving way to the jet black spring coat.

      Alpines are very good browsers and probably more content with part woodland and part pasture; if confined on a small acreage they tend to stand looking longingly over the fence.

      A fault that some novices make when starting goatkeeping with this breed, lies in not supplying sufficient bulk. It can stunt the kid's growth if, from quite an early age, they are not encouraged to eat all they will of good roughage, as they have a large frame to grow.

      Alpines are proving their worth in commercial herds for their quality milk of high total solids that is required for today's market – something dairy product manufacturers all over the world are seeking. In New Zealand, protein tests usually average over 3.0% and milkfat tests over 4.0%. As a household milk supply, Alpines have the advantage that they milk through for two years without kidding, their milk being well known for its good flavour and high nutritional value.

      By the middle of the year 2002, 3760 Alpines and British Alpines had been registered with the New Zealand Dairy Goat Breeders Association, representing 7.34% of registered dairy goats.

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