Flock in a commercial operation in Sernur, in the Mari El Republic of the Russian Federation, showing both horned and hornless animals
The Saanen[a] is a Swiss breedofdomestic goat. It takes its name from the Saanental in the Bernese Oberland, in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, in western Switzerland. It is a highly productive dairy goat and is distributed in more than eighty countries worldwide.[3]
The Saanen originates in the historic region of Saanen (French: Comté de Gessenay) and in the neighbouring Simmental, both in the Bernese Oberland, in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, in western Switzerland.[4]
It is reported from more than eighty countries. The total world population is reported to be over 900,000 head.[3] Of these, some 14,000 are in Switzerland.[5]: 404
It has since the nineteenth century been exported to many countries of the world, and has given rise to many local sub-breeds, often through cross-breeding with local goats. Among these local variants are the Banat White in Romania, the British Saanen, the French Saanen, the Israeli Saanen, the Russian White, the Weiße Deutsche Edelziege [de] in Germany, and the Yugoslav Saanen.[5]: 404
A black variant, the Sable Saanen, was recognised as a breed in New Zealand in the 1980s.[5]: 398
The Saanen is the largest breed of Swiss goat:[5]: 404 billies stand about 90 cm (35 in) at the withers and weigh a minimum of 85 kg (190 lb).[2] It has white skin and a short white coat; some small pigmented areas may be tolerated.[2] It may be horned or hornless, and tassels may be present. The profile may be straight or somewhat concave; the ears are erect and point upwards and forwards.[5]: 404
The Saanen is the most productive milk goat of Switzerland,[5]: 404 which has the most productive milking goats in the world.[5]: 345 Average milk yield is 838 kg in a lactationof264 days.[5]: 404 The milk should have a minimum of 3.2% fat and 2.7% protein.[2]
It is not well suited to extensive management, and is usually raised intensively. Being pale-skinned, it does not tolerate strong sun.[5]: 404
^ abcdefgRassenstandards (Ausgabe 01.01.2014) (in German). Fédération suisse d'élevage caprin/Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband/Federazione svizzera d'allevamento caprino. Archived 3 February 2015.
^ abTransboundary breed: Saanen. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2016.
^Saanen/Switzerland. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2016.
