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Buying Purebred Dairy Goats
There are very many types and breeds of dairy goat in the world. But in Uganda there
are only three that are readily available.
If you are specialising in breeding purebred goats, you might want to specialise
in a particular breed. But if you are crossbreeding dairy males with local goats,
it does not matter very much which you choose.
The available types of dairy goat are described below. For an introduction into
how to keep them and the relative benefits of purebreds and crossbreeds, click here.
The only source of pure British Toggenburg goats in Uganda is Mount Elgon. They are
descended from goats imported by Farm Africa. The colour is brown, which may be lighter
or darker than the one shown here, but should be uniform over the whole of the goat.
They have “Swiss markings” - that is white face stripes and white around the mouth,
feet, edges to the ears and under the tail.
The supply is limited, so it is not possible to get large numbers at the same time.
These are pure dairy goats, with predominantly Toggenburg ancestry. The colour and
markings generally conform to Toggenburg standards, but the brown may not be perfectly
uniform, and occasional extra white spots may occur - such as the white fleck on
the forehead of the one in the picture.
These goats are mostly descended from animals imported by Heifer International from
Ireland and, more recently, South Africa. The imported goats were not registered
with the respective Breed Societies in the country of origin.
These are pure dairy goats, with predominantly Saanen ancestry. The colour is white,
or occasionally off-white. Sometimes non-white offspring occur, even when both parents
are pure white.
These goats are mostly descended from animals imported by Heifer International from
South Africa. The imported goats were not registered with the respective Breed Societies
in the country of origin.
Prices of pure dairy goats
|
Area
|
Description
|
Price
|
|
Kasese
|
Saanen-type
|
600,000=
|
|
Masaka
|
Toggenburg-Type
or Saanen-Type
|
690,000=
|
|
Elgon
|
British Toggenburg
|
750,000=
|
All prices are for goatlings of 8 to 9 months old and a minimum weight of 17 kg as
estimated by the heart girth method.
Who needs to buy purebred dairy goats?
Purebred dairy goats currently produce the most milk of all types of goat available
in Uganda. It is not possible to ‘grade-up’ to purebred - the only way to get them
is for both the mother and father to be pure. So if having pure dairy goats is important
to you - for instance if you want to sell purebred dairy goats, you need to start
with some purebred females as well as at least one purebred male.
But even if you want to keep crossbreeds, the most economic way to get them could
be to buy purebred males, and mate them with local females. Click on the links below
to see how to get 50% or 75% crosses in this way:
