Guernsey Dairy Goats

When we first started looking at goats around 2019, we fell in love with Guernseys! Partly because that’s also the name of our favorite cattle breed, but mostly because they have such a neat history and everyone who has ever had them says that they’re incredibly hardy and sweet. Guernsey goats are believed to be descended from Swiss breeds, including Oberhasli, and were originally found only on the British Isle of Guernsey. There was a single purebred Golden Guernsey herd here in the US for a while. Most have passed on now. You might still be able to find purebred males and straws of semen floating around, but they are very hard to come by. 

Many farms, including ours, have started breed-up programs – pairing a purebred or American Guernsey buck with a Swiss doe. We will be trying this out with a few of our favorite Oberhasli does! We’re still learning the whole process and rules with the guidance of a few very helpful farms (especially Sarah at SWAK in Louisiana), and will write it out once we have it 100% down. 

Our top goals for all of our goats, more or less in order, are:

1. Herd with zero history of the major diseases
2. Friendly but not pushy personality, and respectful towards people – even in rut
3. Longterm health and vitality
4. Well-attached udders and decent-sized teats that hold up over a lifetime
5. Lots of milk and/or butterfat
6. Nice overall conformation

Feel free to check out our breeding plan (subject to change).