Valais Blackneck goat (Capra)
One of the oldest domestic goat breeds in the world. The predecessors probably arrived in the Europe with immigrants from Africa and Arabia around the year 900.
Distribution: Europe – Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany.
In the Rakši since 2017 – imported from Germany.
Weight: 55-90 kg
Height at the shoulders: 75- 85cm
Life Span: 15 years (sheep – 12, cow – 20, hen – 8)
Gestation: 5 months
Environment: highlands
IN THE WORLD
* originated in the canton of Valais in Switzerland and in the northern regions of Italy.
* Real highlanders, who also tend to be called the “glacier goats”.
* Bred for meat, milk and fur production.
* Around 1960 there were only 200 such goats left in Switzerland.
* There are currently around 3,000 goats of this species in the world.
* The herd-books of these goats are registered and stored.
FACTS ABOUT VALAIS BLACKNECK GOATS
* black-and-white. The front part is always black and never the other way around.
* The color transition is straight – as drawn with a ruler.
* The length of the coat has increased more over the last hundred years.
* Both sexes have elegant horns and beards.
* Bucks’ horns can reach 80 cm.
* Strong, sinewy legs for mountain climbing.
* Playful in a herd, but timid with strangers.
* A limited amount of goatskin is used make bag production.
* It is possible to train to graze of a particular weed species.
* Goat can also be purchased on the eBay.
* It is the black-necked buck named Rasputin that has the record for the widest goat horn spread in the world – 140 cm.
