Breed Profile: Saanen Goat
Milk Production per Day and Calm Temperament Ideal for Dairy Farming
Reading Time: 6 minutes
BREED: The Saanen goat is an international dairy breed, known worldwide for its high milk production. It forms the foundation of most large-scale commercial dairy herds.
ORIGIN: Goats were brought to Switzerland by settlers from the Near East from around 5000 BCE, then later by Romans. As farming in the Alps developed, goats found their niche as they managed to forage in places inaccessible to other farm animals. Those that settled in Saanental and Simmental, in the Canton of Bern in western Switzerland, became the landrace of the area and the ancestors of Saanen goats.
History and Development of the Saanen Goat
Among the rural population of the nineteenth century, many low-income families led a precarious existence, dependent on intermittent demand for day labor at fluctuating rates. Many owned no land and vegetable crops were often destroyed by extreme weather and the early onset of winter. They became dependent on small herds of goats to keep them in milk through lean times. Families kept up to three goats in the home (often literally). Goats were allowed to graze unsupervised on common land outside the village. They were then called home or collected each evening, often by children. They were milked each night, then bedded down with the family or in a shelter, then milked again before being let out to seek out their own forage.
The original Alpine landraces weren’t clearly differentiated visually. They were generally long-haired, horned, and of various coat colors. The goats of Saanental were often black or gray, but a dominant white gene arose. The white coat was useful for spotting out at pasture, and short fine coats were easier to keep clean in the home. Owners preferred docile goats who stayed close to home and were easy to retrieve, so it’s likely that they bred from goats with these traits. By 1887, the goats were already noted as good milkers with well-developed udders.
How Saanen Goat Temperament and Conformation Secured Future Success
The Saanen goat breeding cooperative, founded in 1890, endeavored to further develop the Saanen goats’ qualities to suit their domestic situation. Through patient selection, milk yield was increased, while short white hair, polledness, and docile, home-loving natures became standard. As breeders won prizes at agricultural shows for their bucks, and the new railway provided easier transport, the breed began to spread throughout Switzerland, then Europe, South Africa, and America. Later, it became known that goats carrying two genes for polledness could also be sterile, and horned goats are now accepted in the breed.
Although spending summer at pasture, breeding goals didn’t select for walking ability, as in most other Swiss breeds, and Saanens were mostly kept in stables over winter. These qualities predisposed the breed to more intensive domestic management, and controlled feeding encouraged higher yields of milk. This ease of management and ability to produce efficiently on good quality feed has brought the Saanen popularity worldwide.
Commercial Success Worldwide
The first import to the United States was of ten animals in 1904. American milking goats until then had been developed from indistinct breeds descended from goats brought over by settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries from northern Europe and Spain. Toggenburg goats were also imported in 1893 and 1904. From these and further imports up to the 1930s, the Swiss breeds became established in America. A few herds survived the Great Depression and were reinvigorated by British Saanen imports from Canada.
CONSERVATION STATUS: As an international breed favored by commercial dairies, the Saanen breed isn’t at risk. However, there are a smaller number of those truly purebred. In Switzerland, there are up to 15,000 but only 5,850 registered in 2022, and perhaps just a few hundred purebreds. Currently, 89 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America report populations, some having several thousand head. Saanen imports have been widely used to improve the production of native goats, and several national versions have been developed, either under the name Saanen or with a local name.
BIODIVERSITY: Selection has largely focused on yield, udder conformation, color, and domestic nature. Such focused selection may limit gene variety, especially when few males are favored. However, large controlled populations allow breeders to manage matings to keep inbreeding indexes low.
Characteristics of the Saanan Goat
DESCRIPTION: A large dairy goat with dairy conformation. The coat is short and fine. Males sometimes have a longer fringe along the back and hind legs, in addition to a full beard, mane, and crest. Some goats have wattles. The ears are quite large and held erect. The facial profile is straight or slightly concave.
COLORING: The coat is white to light cream. There are often black spots on the pink skin of the nose, ears, and udder. Individual black hairs may also occur in these areas. A Sable Saanen is a colored variant that may arise from a pure Saanen mating (if both parents carry the recessive gene for color) as well as from matings of Sables. The Sable was recognized as a separate breed in New Zealand in the mid-1980s and the United States in 2005. Black Saanen offspring contributed to the development of the Australian Melaan, which was recognized at the turn of this century as a hardy, adaptable dairy goat for variable climates.
HEIGHT TO WITHERS: This is the largest goat breed of Swiss dairy type, with adult does at least 30 inches (76 cm) and bucks 32 inches (81 cm). Swiss averages are 31 inches (80 cm) for adult does and 35 inches (90 cm) for adult bucks.
WEIGHT: American minimums are 135 pounds (61 kg) for adult does and 170 pounds (77 kg) for adult bucks. Swiss minimums are 132 pounds (60 kg) for adult does and 187 pounds (85 kg) for adult bucks.
Dairy Production Qualities
POPULAR USE: Large herds supply the dairy industry, while hobby breeders keep small purebred herds for show or as pets.
PRODUCTIVITY: The Swiss average is 1,847 pounds (838 kg) of milk over 264 days with 3.2% fat and 2.9% protein. However, USDA improvement program averages are around 2,500 pounds (1,134 kg). Saanen goat milk production per day is generally 6.5–7.5 pints (3–3.5 liters). Offspring grow rapidly and are first bred at around eight months. They can produce one to four kids (averaging 1.8 per litter) yearly.
Saanen Goat Temperament and Adaptability
TEMPERAMENT: These placid goats are easily trained for handling and milking, and enjoy human company. They adapt well to various management systems.
ADAPTABILITY: High dairy performance depends on good-quality feed. Saanens are naturally adapted to thrive with good pasture and water supply. They cope less well in the hot dry climates of tropical and desert regions. Their pale skins don’t sufficiently protect them from strong sunshine. Heat stress reduces feed intake and diminishes the immune response. In such locations, their yield can be severely reduced in quantity and quality. Fertility is also affected.
Being native to highlands, they fare poorly in damp, muddy pastures, requiring dry and draftproof stabling and regular hoof trimming to avoid parasites and hoof rot.
Selection goals have produced animals that prefer barns and home pastures to wandering in the mountains, and they aren’t adapted for hiking. Similarly, they may not be able to meet their nutritional needs without human intervention, particularly when kidding and lactating. They lack hardiness due to the biological demands on their bodies for high performance.
Sources
- American Dairy Goat Association
- Annual Dairy Herd Information (DHI) reports released by CDCB
- FAO Domestic Animal Diversity Information System
- National Saanen Breeders Association
- Porter, V., Alderson, L., Hall, S.J., and Sponenberg, D.P., 2016. Mason’s World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding. CABI.
- Raaflaub, H. (Ed: Weiss, U.), 2004. Schweizer Ziegen. Winterthur. via Gurtner-Duperrex, M., 2021. Anzeiger von Saanen.
- Strahsburger, E. and Scopinich-Cisternas, J., 2021. Goat Type Selection and Molecular Markers; a Solution for Milk Production in Recently Desertified Zones. In Goat Science—Environment, Health, and Economy. IntechOpen.
Originally published in the Summer 2024 issue of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
