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Guidelines to the Breed Standards


General points that describe the conformation of a dairy goat (Swiss type) - taken from the British Goat Society Breeds booklet.
  • The most important consideration in the female is dairy quality.

  • The head should be neat and fine, with jaws meeting evenly. The eyes should be full, bright and alert.

  • The neck should be long and slender, blending neatly into the shoulders, which should be fine and not coarse or lumpy.

  • The chest should be deep and full. Feet should be sound and not misshapen, with pasterns strong.

  • Front legs should be straight, with a good width between them.

  • Rear hocks should be wide apart when viewed from the rear - especially when walking. From the side the rear legs should not be neither too straight nor too curved.

  • The back should be straight from shoulders to hips, with a slight slope from hips to tail.

  • The ribs should be well sprung and the whole body should be wedge shaped when viewed from the side or looking along the goat's back.

  • The goat's skin should be supple with fine, short and soft hair.

  • The udder should be wide and deep, firmly attached to the body over a wide area at both the rear and at the front. Teats should be well defined from the udder, a comfortable size for hand milking, slightly tapering and pointing downwards.


Specific points apply to the British Toggenburg, in addition to the above:
  • Head: Facial line straight or slightly dished. With or without tassels.

  • Body: Larger than the Toggenburg.

  • Skin: Fine and supple.

  • Coat: Medium brown preferred, but darker and lighter colours acceptable.

  • Swiss markings. White hairs elsewhere unacceptable. Hair fine and short but slight fringes permissible.

  • Male coat: May be longer than on females especially on face, shoulders and hind legs.

  • Departures from General or Specific points in the Breed Standards are penalised by judges according to degree, and slight variations are permissible.