Valais Blackneck Goat Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Valais Blackneck goat breed is a beautiful goat with a regal stature and a set of large impressive horns. They bare a striking resemblance to that of the ancient British breed the Bagot goat breed.

Their gorgeous flowing long coat is black at the neck and white at the back of the goat and cover right down to the top of their feet. A truly remarkable breed with a calm and friendly nature that makes them easy to maintain and handle.l

Valais Blackneck Goat Quick Profile Overview

Of the mountain goat variety, the Valais Blackneck Goat is thought to be a direct descendant of the Old English breed the Bagot goat breed
Country of Origin:	Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland
Other Names:	Chèvre des Glaciers, Col Noir du Valais or Race de Viège (French Gletschergeiss or Walliser Schwarzhalsziege (German Vallesana or Vallese (Italian)
Breed Size:	Medium to large
You may Also Like:	Top 12 Large to Largest Goat Breeds
You may Also Like:	11 Smaller and Miniature Goat Breeds
Main Purpose:	Meat and milk
Can be used for	Breeding ,Meat,Milk
You may Also Like:	10 Best Goat Breeds for Meat Production
You may Also Like:	Top 10 Best Dairy Goat Breeds
Temperament:	Alert and well-behaved
Good with Kids?	Not really bread to be around children
You may Also Like:	10 Best Goat Breeds to Keep as Pet
Ideal Environment:	They are happy in a medium to large pasture that offers a diverse range of greenery for them to graze on.
Ideal Climate:	All Climates
Conservation Status:	Not Listed by the *ALC Status/ Rarity: Common
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Goat?	No, they are more for the established goat breeder
Goat Associations:	Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia
Goat Clubs:	No known goat breeders clubs
Note: *ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Valais Blackneck goat has a proud regal posture, is alert and has a bull body medium length legs and a full-length coat.
Color(s):	Black and white, There is no difference in coat color between the male and female goats
Goat⇒	Doe	buck
Breed Weight:	55 kg	75 kg
Breed Height:	75 cm at withers	85 cm at withers
Hair:	Long thick hair	Long thick hair
Ears:	Tubular and stand erect from the head	Tubular and stand erect from the head
Horns:	They are long and have Lyre shape	They are long and have Lyre shape
Matures at age:	5 to 15 months	3 to 15 months
Puberty Age:	4 to 10 months	4 to 9 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	1 Breeding cycle	Cover 20 to 30 does in 1 season

DOE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION

They only bred once a year and usually in the spring months of each year
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 12 to 36 hours Ave. 21 days/18 to 24 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 148 to 155 day but most are 150 days
Kids:	1 to 4 kids per litter
Good Mothers?	They will look after and wean their young
Lactation Period:	Usually around 250 to 284 days. Most common is 284 days
Milk Quality:	They will produce around 500 kg’s of milk per season
Milking Level:	They are not too hard to milk
You may Also Like:	Top 10 Best Dairy Goat Breeds

GOOD TO KNOW

A few more tidbits of information to know about the Valais Blackneck goat breed
Where to buy them:	They are not found in America as such there are no places that sell them
Agility:	They are agile and quick despite their hair and bulky bodies making them look cumbersome
Interact with other animals:	They do not mind interacting with other livestock breeds and have been known to mingle with wild deer

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The Valais Blackneck goat is also used in various fields and woods for vegetation control to ensure that there is not an overgrowth of the bush where they should be open spaces.

The Valais Blackneck goat is a very hard goat that is active, and they are raised in the mountainous areas of the province of Verbania and Vercelli in Italy.

The carcass of the Valais Blackneck goat is known to have moderately thick muscling and is nicely lean.

They are a meat goat, so their skin may very well be used in some form of leather production if it is hardy and of good quality. Although due to a decline in their numbers they are very rarely if ever used for their meat these days.

Although they have a mass of long flowing locks, they are not known for their fiber production

HISTORY

The Valais Blackneck is a domestic goat breed that originated from the canton of Valais in southern Switzerland and the areas of northern Italy which neighbors this Swiss area. Visp has the largest population of the breed in present times.

The Valais Blackneck goat is thought to be the ancestor to the English Bagot goat. A Valais Blackneck goat was presented as a gift to Richard II of England in 1380.

Although it was once held that the Valais Blackneck goat was found in Switzerland by crusaders on their return to England, this theory was discredited by Werner in 1978.

The Valais Blackneck goat is one of the autochthonous Italian goat breeds that is listed in the herd book and protected by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia. This is the Italian National Association of goat and sheep breeders.

There are not many of these beautiful goats left in Europe with numbers such as only between 191 to 446 in Italy, 3000 to 3400 in Switzerland, about 429 left in Germany and only between 100 to 300 left in Austria.