Russian White goat
The Russian White goat from Russia is a dairy breed. It is derived from the selective breeding of Saanen and Toggenburg goats imported from Switzerland, crossed with various native goat breeds of the former USSR. Alternative names for the breed include Improved Northern Russian, Russian Dairy, Russian White Dairy and Russkava Belaya. The breed is typically found in the Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and Yaroslavl regions of Russia.
Characteristics
The Russian White Goat is a medium sized breed with a narrow head and a coarse coat that has been adapted for varying climates to deal with cold winters as well as hot summers. Not only is this a dairy breed but it is also used for its skin, which is used to manufacture luxury leather. The breed can be horned or hornless with the horned being large and crescent shaped.
The breed is also very prolific being that most females will kid twins and some even kidding twice per year. Records show that one female even kidded six normal kids at once. Russian Whites also have a high fat content of their milk, 4.2-5.3% and having an average of 550 kg per lactation. This however is offset by the fact that they only milk for 8 months.