Golden Guernsey Goats

This Web site is a homage, a little tribute if you will to the Blonde Bombshells of the caprine world, the Golden Guernsey goat.

As there are many sources of information relating to Golden Guernseys this site will be a work in progress for some time to come.

As its name suggests, the goat is golden in colour, with hues ranging from pale blond to deep bronze. They are smaller and more fine-boned than other British milking goats, and there is great variety in coat length. Their personalities have been described as "very docile, very friendly". The males have been said to be especially smelly during the mating season.

The goat is efficient milking livestock for its relatively small size, producing an average yield of 3.16 kilograms of milk per day; this is less than most Swiss goats, but the milk's high butterfat and protein content (3.72% and 2.81%, respectively) makes up for the small yield.

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) has labelled the Golden Guernsey Goat as a 'minority' breed which means that the population in Britain is supposed to be less than 1000. This supposition appears to be supported by the census carried out in 2009 [pdf] by the Golden Guernsey Goat Society that puts the number of goats on the mainland at less than 900.

As if the rare breed status of Golden Guernseys needed further emphasis...according to reports from Guernsey in Summer 2009, there are currently fewer than a dozen male Golden Guernseys on the Island and not more than 100 females. With the gene pool being so small it seems that the best option for the population will be to import new animals or, more likely, semen for artificial insemination (AI).