Golden Guernsey Goats

Donna1982 · #1 01/29/13, 11:48 AM

So its rainy and windy outside so I cannot be outside doing what I want so... I am goat shopping lol. I love love love the looks of the Golden Guernseys. Does anyone have them? If so what are they like? Any information you have to share would be great.

LoneStrChic23 · #2 01/29/13, 12:52 PM

Hmmm, someone here on HT has them, I just can't remember who....

IndyGardenGal · #3 01/29/13, 01:06 PM

They are beautiful.

hoggie · #4 01/29/13, 01:09 PM

I have Golden Guernseys - If I remember right, I don't think you can get pure bred Guernseys in America, but I believe they have a breeding-up programme.

I think Betsy had GGs?

Ask away

Donna1982 · #5 01/29/13, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoggie

I have Golden Guernseys - If I remember right, I don't think you can get pure bred Guernseys in America, but I believe they have a breeding-up programme.

I think Betsy had GGs?

Ask away

I was reading there is no such thing as a pure bred GG like the ones from overseas. Also read they do not milk like the goats were have here. I just think they are beautiful and I tend to go for things that are rare or strange (IE LaManchas lol).

Do they have the loving LaMancha like attitude or would you say they are more stand offish like my Boers? How hard is it to take care of that coat? I know ADGA was talking about accepting them? Has it happened yet? How much does a doe and buck run? I am sure I have more questions just cannot think right now.

hoggie · #6 01/29/13, 03:03 PM

I live in the islands where the Guernseys originate

They are very gentle, loving goats. I think the gentle gene must have been bred into them during WWII (if it wasn't already there). They only survived the war in Guernsey because people brought them into the house at nights, tethered the goats on the staircase and kept the kids in the bathroom. Very placid and easy going, and they don't seem to have the climbing gene that some of the other goats do. You do get short haired Guernseys as well as the long haired. The long hair isn't too hard to keep - just run a dog brush through it every now and again. Milking - my purebred doesn't produce on the same scale as my Guernsey cross BT's. There is a chap near me who claims to produce vast quantities from his - but by the same token, he buys milk from me to bottle feed his kids so I'm not sure how much I believe his claims

In spite of the long coats - I don't think they are as hardy as some others - again my purebreds get cold a lot quicker than the crosses.

saanengirl · #7 01/30/13, 08:35 AM

I have Guernsey goats. Be careful about saying Golden Guernsey to U.S. breeders since that specifically refers to purebreds, and the only purebred herd in the U.S. is the Southwind herd and they only sell males.

Most American breeders have Grade Guernseys or British Guernseys (which eventually will be American Guernseys).

Guernseys are a medium sized breed of dairy goat (similar to an old-style Toggenburg). They are efficient producers, and tend to require less feed than other dairy breeds. They milk well for their size and their production is probably most comparable to the Oberhasli.

They are generally easy to raise, but don't travel well from one part of the country to another. Once they adapt to a region they are hardy, but tend to be very susceptible to unfamiliar bugs when moved across the country.

To learn more about the breed join the yahoo group GGoats@yahoogroups.com