To develop, preserve and promote the Alpine Dairy Goat...
Alpines
International
Club
About the Alpine Goat...
Goats were the first
animals domesticated by man. Bones of goats have been
found in caves along with
evidence of human habitation of those caves. One of the
goat remains had evidence of a healed broken leg that
could have only healed under the protection of humans.
That animals would have died in the wild. Her remains
have been carbon dated to 12 to 15,000 years ago. These
goats were the Persian (Middle Eastern) goat Pashang.
All European Mountain goats descend from the Pashang
goat, also known as the Bezoar goat. This includes our
present day Alpines and the other breed variations based
on color including the Saanen, Toggenburg, and
Oberhasli. Alpines were named for their home mountain
range, the Alps. Once you get to know the Alpines
friendly curious personality, you wonder who
domesticated whom?
Over
thousands of years, natural selection developed the
Alpine breed with superior agility to survive on steep
mountain slopes. They developed a perfect sense of
balance. The breed maintained its ability to survive in
arid regions. European goat herders started selective
breeding for milk production and favorite colors.
The Alpines
adaptability, sense of balance, and personality made
them good candidates for voyages. Early voyages were
made feasible by taking along goats for milk and meat.
The early sea captains often left a pair of goats on
islands along their shipping routes. On return voyages,
they could stop and catch a meal or a fresh source of
milk. Today Alpines can be found thriving in nearly
every climate and the goat is the most common farm
animal found around the world.
When the first settlers
came to America, they brought along their milch goats.
Captain John Smith brought milch goats over on the
Mayflower. A 1630 census of Jamestown lists goats as one
of their most valuable assets. Swiss breeds along with
Spanish and Austrian goats were brought to North America
from 1590's to 1700. The Austrian and Spanish breeds
were similar to the Swiss breeds though smaller. Cross
breeding produced a common American goat.
1904
was a turning point for goats in America. The 1904
World's Fair, in St. Louis, Missouri, held the first
dairy goat show in America. The Missouri Historical
Review said "The first provision made at a World's Fair
for a display of Milch Goats brought to the Exposition
some choice imported and home bred specimens of that
valuable type." At the same World's Fair, Carl Hagenbeck
imported two Schwarzwald Alpine does from the Black
Forest of Germany. They were displayed in a natural
setting mimicking the Alps Mountains in Hagenbeck's Wild
Animal Paradise. More than 20 million people attended
the 1904 World's Fair and had the opportunity to watch
Alpine Antics. After the fair, Hagenbeck's goats were
shipped to Maryland. Their history is a mystery. Also in
1904 Frenchman Joseph Crepin and Canadian Oscar Dufresne
imported a group of Alpines to Canada and California.
The American Milk Goat Record Association (now ADGA) was
started in 1904. The official spelling of milch changed
to milk in the USA. Interest in milk goats was spreading
across America.
In 1906, Mrs. Edward
Roby of Chicago worked to create an "American Goat" that
would help to provide a safe tuberculosis free milk
supply for the children of Chicago. These were a cross
of common American goats and imported Swiss genetics.
Her crossbred goats could have become American Alpines
had there been a registry at that time. In 1915, a wild
Alpine type goat was taken from the Guadeloupe Islands.
She produced 1600 lbs of milk in 310 days.
From
1904 to 1922, 160 Saanen were imported to the United
States. From 1893 to 1941, 190 Toggenburg were imported.
Common American goats were then crossed with the
superior Toggenburg and Saanen goats. This breeding up
program was very successful. In 1921, Irmagarde Richards
speculated that the success of the breeding up program
was due to common American goats having a similar
European ancestry to the Purebred Swiss goats. Since the
resulting animals often didn't match the color
requirements for Saanen and Toggenburg, the animals
became grade Alpines.
French Alpines...
French Alpines were first imported to the
United States in 192, by Dr. Charles P. Delangle.
Delangle was an accomplished scholar, member of the
French Academy and close personal friend of Mr. Joseph
Crepin. Crepin was the chief authority on French
capriculture at the time and author of influential book,
La Chevre. In the Fall of 1922, as hundred of goats came
down from their summer pastures high in the Alps, to
winter in the Alpine valleys, Mr. Crepin helped Dr.
Delangle select 19 does and 3 bucks from these huge
herds.
The two then
transported the 22 selected animals to Parish for
shipment to America. Going by steamer, they spent
quarantine in Cuba and arrived finally in America at the
port in New Orleans. From there they continued overland
by rail to California. Dr. Delangle's herd name was
"Alpine Goat Dairy" but it was short lived. He was in
poor health and had conflicts with a number of goat
breeders, including the Goat Association Board of
Directors. On August 20, 1923, he was expelled from the
American Milk Goat Record Association. Shortly
thereafter, he sold and gave away his herd and
apparently left the world of goats. However, Dr.
Delangle's legacy lives on as all goats registered
"French Alpines" directly descend from the 22 animals he
selected and imported in 1922.
Rock
Alpines...
Rock Alpines were created by crossbreeding goats of the
1904 and 1922 importations. In 1904, through Frenchman
Joseph Crepin an importation of Alpines including
Saanens and Toggs was brought to Canada. Mary E. Rock of
California purchased some of these because of the
illness of her little daughter. One doe from the 1904
importation was a Cou Blanc named Molly Crepin. She is
the only imported Cou Blanc doe of record. She then
acquired French Alpines from the 1922 importation. Rock
Alpines were the result of breeding these animals
together without any other outside genetics. Rock
Alpines were the finest of their time and regularly won
at shows and milking competitions. The Saanens used were
either Sables or color carriers. One of her Saanen does
was named Damfino. She was a black and white Saanen.
When a friend asked, "How come the color?" she replied
"Dam-if-I-no" and that became the doe's name. (And you
thought the Sable debate was new!) Mrs. Rock's herd name
was "Little Hill". She was an avid writer and
contributed articles to popular goat publications for
many years. The American Milk Goat Record Association
recognized Rock Alpines as a breed in 1931. AGS
recognized Rock Alpines, Rock Alpines flourished until
World War II. Rock Alpines have not been registered for
many years now, but their excellent genetics have been
absorbed into the American Alpine herd.
British
Alpines...
British Alpines look like black and white Toggs. They
also resemble the Grison breed of Switzerland. British
Alpines were first bred in England after Sedgemere
Faith, a female Sundgau goat was imported to England
from the Paris Zoo in 1903. The British Alpine Section
of the British Goat Society herd book was opened in
1925. Allen Rogers imported British Alpines to America
in the 1950s. In America, British Alpines are no longer
registered separately, but as Sundgau in the French and
American Alpine herdbooks. Sundgau is the name of the
hilly geographic region near the French/German/Swiss
border alone the Rhine River.
Swiss
Alpine...
Swiss Alpines, now called Oberhasli, have a warm
red-brown coat with black trimmings along the muzzle,
face, back, and belly. This coloring is known as
Chamoisee for Alpines. The Oberhasli come from the
Brienzer region of Switzerland near Bern. The first
Oberhasli were imported into the United States in the
early nineteen hundreds. Three Swiss Alpines (called
Schwartzenberg-Guggisberger in a 1918 USDA Farmers
Bulletin) came with Fred Stucker's 1906 importation, but
their descendants were not kept pure. Purebred Oberhasli
descend from four does and one buck imported in 1936 by
Dr. H.O. Pence of Kansas City, Missouri and identified
as Swiss Alpines. In 1937 Dr. Pence wrote, "I was
particularly interested in pure blooded animals, long
lactations, large quantities of milk with extra fine
quality. This I found in Switzerland. The goats were in
the Alps. The secretary of the goat association
personally conducted a tour of 10 different herds of
hundreds of goats of different breeds. After seeing the
herds of the various breeds, I chose the Swiss Alpine,
which are a rich chamoisee in color with black inside of
ears and tips with black stripe down the entire back,
black feet. They are hornless and have been for over
thirty years period." Three of the four does had been
bred to different bucks while still in Switzerland,
Purebred descendants were registered as Swiss Alpines,
while the crossbreds were registered as American
Alpines. In 1941, Dr. Pence sold his Swiss Alpines in
two divided groups. One of the groups was eventually
lost in the 1950's while the other ended up in
California, owned by Esther Oman. Her herd names were
Patterswiss and Play Fair. For the next thirty years she
was one of the few breeders preserving the Swiss Alpine
in the United States. The pedigree of most purebred
Oberhasli can be traced to Mrs. Oman's herd. In 1968
Oberhasli breeders first asked ADGA for recognition as a
distinct breed with a separate herdbook. In 1979 ADGA
recognized Swiss Alpine as a separate breed and the name
was changed to Oberhasli. In 1980 the Oberhasli herdbook
was created and these animals were pulled from the
Alpine herdbook. No doubt Oberhasli genetics are still a
part of the American Alpine gene pool.
American
Alpines...
American Alpines are an American original. This breed is
the result of crossbreeding with French or
American Alpines.
Information for this article was
excerpted from the book "The History of Goats in
America".
Used with permission
First published in United Caprine News
copyright May 2000 Paul Hamby