Leon and Leonie Wolmerans have been farming with Toggenburg breed and Saanen goats for the last year.
They sell their milk and also use it to make and sell feta and ricotta cheese.
They have been staying on their smallholding in Ten Acres for two years and started farming with goats after Leonie’s dad initially started the idea.
When the Herald met the goats it was with great surprise these goats acted more like tame, loving, pets. They loved the attention and inspected everything with their mouths. You could also clearly see the love Leon and his wife have for their goats.
The Wolmerans’ are mainly farming with Toggenburg breed and Saanen goats. The Toggenburg goats, nicknamed Togg, is a breed of milk goat named after the region in Switzerland where the breed originated, the Toggenburg valley in the Canton of St. Gallen.
It is considered the oldest registered breed. Toggenburg’s are larger in size and their colour is solid varying from light fawn to dark chocolate.
Toggenburg’s are generally a friendly, quiet and gentle breed and are good as pets, although they are classed as dairy goats. They are often extremely curious and inquisitive animals.
The average life span of the Toggenburg goat breed ranges from 8 to 12 years old. A mother Toggenburg goat will call their young so they stay close at all times, a baby goat is called a “kid”. The mother and kid goat recognize each others calls as soon as the mother gives birth. Baby Toggenburg goats are weaned off their moms after around six months.
Saanen goats are considered to be the best animal in milk production throughout the world today.
They are the largest of all the dairy goat breeds. They have strong legs with tough bones. It is easily adjusted in the Mediterranean climate as well as in a variety of weather conditions depending on unit installations.
A Saanen goat gives birth in average to two young ones. An adult male Saanen goat weights about 70 to 90kg and an adult female goat weights between 60 and 70 kg.
Saanen goats are highly milk productive so they need some extra protein and energy with their regular feed.
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