purebred Swiss Toggenburg dairy goats imported into the USA
for more detailed information, the AMGRA herdbooks are available for in-person review at the ADGA offices in Spindale, NC
from the Dairy Goat Journal, July 1977, pages 12-16 (reprinted from Togg News, April 1964):
Toggenburgs
in U.S. Since 1893
The Toggenburg
and Its History
by Frances S. Merrill
While Toggenburg owners know they have the best breed of dairy goat -- for them at least -- they may not all be aware of its history. They do probably know that as recently as 1960 Toggenburgs broke the all-time, all-breed records for both milk and butterfat production, but they may not realize how important their breed has been in the dairy goat industry of America.
Originating in the Toggenburg Valley in the Swiss Canton of St. Gall, this breed was called by the Swiss breeders association "the oldest and purest breed in Switzerland." By the time Toggenburgs were brought to America in the early years of this century, it was claimed, though impossible to prove, that they had been bred pure for 300 years. Imported into England in 1884, the Toggenburg became, in 1905, the first separate breed officially recognized there. The first purebred dairy goats brought into the United States were Toggenburgs and Saanens (also a Swiss breed). But Toggenburgs were the most numerous, and for many years they dominated the dairy goat industry here. "The whole modern industry was founded upon Toggenburgs," according to Corl Leach, late editor of the Dairy Goat Journal. Breeds later imported, French Alpines and Anglo-Nubians (developed in England), now surpass Toggenburgs in the numbers registered here.
While the percentages of Toggenburgs among dairy goats is less than in the early days, and it may no longer be the fashionable breed for hobbyists, it remains a reliable standby in both dairy and family herds. It is known for regular production and long lactations; there are more Advanced Register (official test records) for Toggenburgs than for any other breed. They have been called the "career girls" and "business girls" of the goat world, as well as "the standard breed."
The Toggenburg's appearance appeals to many as much as its other qualities. It is alert, lively, and deer-like in poise, as well as deerlike in color -- it's brown with symmetrical white trim. While it often has a longer coat than some breeds, there are many short-haired Toggenburgs in America. In its homeland shorthaired Toggenburgs are not accepted as purebreds, as a long shoulder shawl and long hair on the thighs are considered desirable breed points (as they also are in England), for protection from the cold. In this country, however, breed standards make no requirements as to hair length and Toggenburgs, like other dairy goats, are usually clipped for showing and cleanliness in milking. The Toggenburg udder is usually high, globular, and well attached, and our breed is frequently winner of "Best Udder" awards in shows where all breeds compete.
Originally the smallest of the registered breeds, the Swiss and British purebreds are still small. Some prefer a small dairy goat as more economical to feed, though it is often true that the production is smaller too. In America, however, the Toggenburg has increased in size over the years, and it was therefore necessary to increase the breed standard weight a few years ago. From 115 to 150 lbs. for does they were amended to read "125 lbs. and up." Some of the finest purebred does now weigh around 200 lbs. But even a large dairy goat is easier to handle than a cow and more economical to feed, though she cannot exist and produce milk on weeds, briars and tin cans -- as legend would have it -- any more than a dairy cow could. She requires similar feed, but less.
Qualities of the Breed
Noted for hardiness, the Toggenburg adapts to all climates from Alaska to the tropics. Experienced breeders often recommend that beginners start with the rugged Toggenburg. They are easy kidders and their "long and trouble-free life" has been remarked by many who have handled all breeds. They are fine foragers, but they also do well in confinement. Due to their long establishment as a breed, they excel in transmitting their physical type and production. In Great Britain they were deemend the most suitable for improving native goats, and the United States Department of Agriculture chose them for experiments in grading-up because of this prepotency.
The first purebred Toggenburgs in the United States were four brought from England by William A. Shafer of Ohio in 1893. In 1904, sixteen were brought directly from Switzerland by F.S. Peer. Between then and 1906, they were imported in considerable numbers from both Switzerland and England and again in 1920-21. Consequently, the foundation stock of purebreds was large enough for American breeders not to be hampered during the quarantines for hoof-and-mouth disease which later limited importations. A few were brought in during the 1930's and by 1941 there had been 190 imported Toggenburgs registered in the United States. A buck imported in 1937, Fink 53650, sired 14 Advanced Register daughters, one of which held the production record for the breed for fourteen years, and 3 A.R. Herd Sires. In the 1950's the last imported purebred buck, Spean Bumpus T115933, was brought from England. A son of his is in Laurelwood Herd in California, GCH *B Laurelwood Acres Sailor T122454, was himself a GCH and sired several GCH daughters. (CH is permanent show champion, winner under at least two judges at three different shows; a GCH or Grand Champion is a Ch. with an Advanced Register or Star Milker record.)
One of the most famous of the 1904 importations was a buck, Prince Bismark 159, which went to the El Chivar herd of Winthrop and Martha Howland. Mrs. Howland still had Toggenburgs when she died in 1962 at the age of 93; they were taken over by her sister, Mrs. Jane Storey White, whose own Fair Hope Toggenburg herd was founded in 1909. El Chivar's Elena III **M T103175 was all-breed leader for 1956 and a GCH; and in 1961 El Chivar's Thelka VII *M AmT-200 had one of that year. Fair Hope does too are still making outstanding records, Fair Hope's Aleuta's Allona *M AmT-238 being among the 1962 breed leaders.
A registry association for dairy goats, the American Milk Goat Record Assn. was founded in 1904, with Mr. Shafer, importer of the first Toggenburgs, as secretary. It was improvised at the St. Louis World Fair, where only registered animals were permitted, to allow a Chicago woman to exhibit her goats, which were listed as "American" and given numbers from 20 to 30. The next goats registered, Nos. 1-19, were purebreds from the 1904 and 1905 importations; Nos. 1-6 and 12-19 were Toggenburgs, with Violetta II having the honor of being the first registered purebred. By 1914, when the AMGRA published its first Herd Book, there were 900 dairy goats listed. Of these 304 were registered as purebreds (imports and their progeny), and 255 of them were Toggenburgs. There were also 13 so-called "Stucker Toggenburgs" from the importations of Fred Stucker in 1906, which were later recognized as purebreds. Among the grade animals listed, the Toggenburgs far outnumbered the others with 230. "It is quite probable," according to the Dairy Goat Journal, "that in the first two or three decades of the country, as many as two thirds of all dairy goats, purebred and grade, in the country were Toggenburgs."
Quite appropriately, the colophon on the title page of the first AMGRA volume was a Toggenburg head. The AMGRA secretary at that time, J.C. Darst, was an owner of purebred Toggenburgs and imported 27 more in 1920. Until 1949 all the AMGRA secretaries were Toggenburg breeders. Mr. Darst having been followed by Will L. TeWalt, Fred B. Kiefer, and Mary L. Farley. One of the five directors of AMGRA in 1914 was Winthrop Howland, and his El Chivar herdname was one of the few to appear in this volume. The membership list of 89 included Miss Irmagarde Richards, Toggenburg breeder and author of a standard work, Modern Milk Goats, but her Las Cabritas herdname does not appear until No. 927 in the AMGRA Vol. II.
In Great Britain the Swiss Toggenburgs were used to breed up native goats to form a new breed, the British Toggenburg, which now outnumbers the Swiss purebreds. The British Toggenburg is a big animal, in size and production, and few have been imported to this country. In the United States purebred Toggenburgs were likewise used to breed up grades and dairy goats of unknown ancestry. The AMGRA records grades with some purebred ancestry, and "native on performance" when they have an AR record but unknown forebears. When a grade Toggenburg has recorded purebred ancestry for three generations (7/8% purebred) and conforms to Toggenburg breed standards, it can be registered as an American Toggenburg in a separate herdbook from the purebreds. Unlike the British Toggenburgs, however, the American Toggenburgs are in a distinct minority. Their quality, however, is excellent. The recent production records of Americans from El Chivar and Fair Hope breeding has been mentioned, and in the last few years a number of other American Toggenburgs have been among the breed leades for production, including some from Mrs. Margaret Jacob's largely American Rockspring herd in Pennsylvania. In the show ring here, and other Americans such as those from Pam Riker's Suric herd have frequently won Best of Breed awards over purebred, an there are now four American permanent Champions, three of them GCH's; there are 62 purebred Toggenburg does that are GCH's and 7 purebred bucks.
Advanced Register Certificates
The first doe to receive an Advanced Register Certificate for an official milking test was not surprisingly a Toggenburg. Maria de las Cabritas 1153 in 1919. When in 1927 the AMGRA adopted the test rules of the American Dairy Science Assn., again the first to receive an A.R. certificate under new rules was a Toggenburg, Las Cabritas Preita 17265. In keeping with this, the first two A.R. Herd Sires (one with three A.R. daughters from different dams or two A.R. Herd Sire sons), were Toggenburgs, Las Cabritas Ben Yda 11363 (son of a doe imported in 1920) and Val. Verde's Lorenzo 30051, a herd sire at the University of New Mexico, which had a big experimental Toggenburg herd. Ben Yda had 14 A.R. daughters, including Preita. The first permanent show Champion was a grade Toggenburg which later became a GCH by winning a star for milking.
The famous Toggenburgs in the earliest days were in the far west, with the El Chivar herd of the Howlands, Fair Hope (Mrs. White), Las Cabritas (Miss Richards),l Canyon (Violet Kirby and Rose Saunders) and Fontana (Mrs. Martha Schmidt), all in California. The Naja herd of the Donovan Beals, established in Colorado in 1935 and moved to California in the 1940's, has produced CH's and GCH's of all breeds, as well as fine Toggenburg milk records. The largest goat dairy in the country now is Laurelwood Acres in California, which has all breeds, though they did not have Toggenburgs until about 1956. Their Toggenburgs, many from the excellent Chevonshire herd of the late Ira Peel, have been continuously on test since then, with both top production and show records.
It was not long, however, until Toggenburgs were becoming prominent in the Mid West, too. The Agawam herd of C.A. Stevens of Chicago and Delavan, Wis., was started with does sired by Las Cabritas Ben Yda; he bought a doe imported by Mrs. Darst for $1000 -- a price unique in the early days when purebreds were scarce. The Howlands sold one of their does for $1000. In 1922 Mr. Stevens held a famous Toggenburg sale, at which 40 purebreds averaged $498.75 each and 29 grades $172. One doe sold for $1600. This price, however, was topped by the $2500 paid for a buck, Chieftain 2112, about the same time.
The prices of the best Toggenburgs nowadays, is reflected in the National Spotlight Sales held annually at the ADGA conventions, when half a dozen or so dairy goats of each breed, selected from the most outstanding herds, are auctioned off, generally have averaged between $125 - $150. The top price was $360 in 1969 for a buck, and for a doe the highest price in the same year was $260. At the 4-H Junior Spotlight Sales in California, Toggenburg kids topped all breeds in prices in 1960 ($110) and 1963 ($180). Serviceable, if not such distinguished Toggenburgs, can of course be obtained for less.
Some Well Known Herds
In the Mid West, an exclusively Toggenburg herd of importance was the Buckeye herd of Charles Tulloss of Ohio, who started with dairy goats in 1912, and whose first purebreds were El Chivar's. He had a large commercial dairy and his herd was on official test from 1940 to 1962, when it was sold, a continuous testing record for Toggenburgs second only to that of the Chikaming herd of the late Mrs. Carl Sandburg.
Mrs. Sandburg did more for the development of Toggenburgs in this country than any other breeder. She started her Chikaming herd with Agawam Toggenburgs, and it was put on official test in Michigan in 1937. It remained on test after moving to North Carolina in 1946, and no other Toggenburg herd has had as many top records. This was achieved by careful selection of stock and scientific linebreeding, using closely related bloodlines. Chikaming stock contributed to many of the outstanding herds, for instance, Buckeye and Faunfrolic in Ohio, Chimney Rock in North Carolina and Robranna in Michigan. In the last, there never has been introduced anything but Chikaming stock closely related to the original stock the herd was started with.
Another early breeder, as well as historian of the Toggenburg breed, was Mrs. E. I. Ettien, of Arkansas, who had Toggenburgs for over 40 years, until her death in 1955. Her La Suise herd was never on test, but La Suise animals made excellent records in otheer herds that were. In Missouri, Dr. A.J. Durant, then head of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University, as a Toggenburg breeder did much to promote both his own breed and dairy goats in general. Now retired he is still an ADGA Director. Mid West Toggenburgs with long test records are the Diamond Toggenburgs of Harvey Considine's big dairy in Wisconsin.
In the East one of the prominent early Toggenburg herds was that of Serril J. and Eleanor Sharples, of Center Square, PA. Their Sharwal herdname appeared in Vol. 1 of the AMGRA Herdbook with registry No. 790. Eastern Toggenburgs came into bright limelight in 1939 with the record made by Crystal Helen 48639, of Mearle Rhinesmith's Yokelawn herd in New Jersey. This was the first Toggenburg to exceed 3000 lbs. of milk (2 lbs are approximately 1 quart) in 305 days on official test. Her record stood until 1946, when Sunshine Fink's La Hoya 4*M 61379, owned by Mrs. J. D. Mantonye of New Mexico, became the first to produce over 4000 lbs. milk and 150 lbs. butterfat. La Hoya held the record until 1960, when two Toggenburg half-sisters broke the all-breed records for both milk and butterfat. Puritan Jon's Jennifer II 9*M T121022, owned by the late Mrs. Sandburg, with 5750 lbs. milk and 191 lbs. butterfat, and Puritan Jon's Janista 8*M T121020, owned by William J. Shaw, of New Jersey, with 5593 lbs. milk and 202 lbs. butterfat. No other dairy goat of any breed has yet produced 5000 lbs. milk or 200 lbs. butterfat in 305 days. Jennifer II is the only dairy goat to get into Time magazine in the department headed "People" (May 5, 1961). Both these does had the same Chikaming sire and closely related GCH dams, though bred in the herd of Mrs. Doris Trobnick in Virginia.
Perhaps next to Chikaming for continuous testing of Toggenburgs, since the sale of the Buckeye herd, is the Shagbark herd of Miss Helen Hunt in Connecticut, on test since 1948 and also a leading show herd. The Brindell Toggenburgs of the Joseph J. Brinsters, now of Delaware, were also on test early. There were 15 Toggenburg herds on test, and some excellent records are being made by some that have only recently begun testing, such as Bunte's in Maryland and Isis (Harmon) in Missouri. In New England, New Jersey, and the Maryland-Virginia area, Toggenburgs still have a pre-eminent position.
The National Toggenburg Club was organized in 1952 for the improvement and promotion of the breed. Its monthly bulletin, originally called Heard, became Togg News in 1957. The NTC now also sponsors a Toggenburg page in the Dairy Goat Journal.
The production records of the Toggenburg leaders have been mentioned. These, while exceptional, are not freakish. There are 51 Toggenburgs with 305-day test records of 3000 lbs. milk or more, and 60 with 105 or more lbs. butterfat. About half of these records have been made since 1960. The average Toggenburg of course cannot be expected to give this much, but a really good one should give around 2000 lbs. in 10 months at maturity (age from three to six). This averages something over three quarts a day, which means she will give around a gallon a day at her peak. A leading Toggenburg breeder with a commercial dairy has said, "We expect a first freshener to give at least 1500 lbs. of milk and to milk over 2000 lbs. in her second or third lactation." For a family goat, however, when the milk is to be entirely consumed at home, a somewhat smaller production may be quite enough.
The important thing, in either the commercial dairy or the home, is to have a milker with steady production -- not one that pours out a flood for a short time after freshening and then drops off to a trickle long before the end of her lactation. For steady, consistent production throughout the lactation the Toggenburg has a good reputation. In fact, the best milkers are often hard to dry off after they are bred, as they should be for a rest before kidding. Toggenburgs also have a good history as long-lactation does. From the beginning they were bred in the El Chivar herd to freshen only every second year. Just last year Robranna Janus Spring Blossom *M T133346 completed in Mrs. Sandburg's herd a 20 month official test with a daily average for the entire test of over 10 lbs. and GCH Naja Chashew ***M T122363, in Mrs. A.S. Nordfelt's California herd, has a record of two tests of 21 and 22 months, respectively, with a daily average of over 6 lbs. for one and 7 for the other, and on her current test she has reached 442 days, still giving nearly a gallon a day. It must not be forgotten that dairy goats multiply rapidly -- multiple births being usual -- and unless the kids have the sale value of registered stock backed by official records, it may be an advantage to breed milkers infrequently. This is possible only with long-lactation does.
Among the unfounded legends are various popular beliefs that milk of one breed of dairy goat is better tasting than another. It is true that many people prefer the taste of milk with a high butterfat content, and that the Nubian breed is inclined to have a higher butterfat average -- and smaller milk production -- than the other breeds. But when it comes to off-flavors, undesirable "goaty" or feed tastes, no breed is immune if milk and milkers are not properly handled, and the evil-smelling mature bucks kept separated from the odorless does and kids. Results of the National Milk Scoring Contest held under the supervision of University of Missouri demonstrate that Toggenburg milk ranks high for flavor. Exclusively Toggenburg herds have been in the top brackets. In the latest Scoring Contest of which we have a record, that of 1958, the all-Toggenburg Shagbark herd scored among the top three and had top score in flavor.
To sum up, a good dairy goat may be of any of the standard breeds, but it is pretty hard to go wrong with the rugged, dependable Toggenburg.
* * *
Additional Notes:
I keep coming up with the year 1884 in my research. Here are a
couple links that also state the year as 1884. I am pretty sure that the year
1184 is a bit off. :) It stands to reason considering when the BGS started it's
registry and opened the herd book.
Goat breeds: Toggenburg
the Toggenburg website - About the Toggenburg Dairy Goat
Breed Characteristics.
According to the book "Goats of the World" by Valerie Porter, it states too that the first toggenburg was imported to England in 1884. "The first importation of Toggenburgs (via Paris in 1884) brought the breed to pre-eminence for its milking qualities and it's ability to improve native goats." It became the first imported breed to have its own section in the BGS herdbook (1905), in which all the regstered animals were of imported stock or with all ancestors imported.
Danielle Caprine Designs http://www.caprinedesigns.com
* Does * Bucks * Wethers & Kids *
Copyright 2002 -2006 Debbie Higgins/Rainhaven Farm