Alpine/ Valais Blackneck Bucklings

[LocateBlacknecks]

They're adorable! I'm in southeast Colorado so we're not that far apart. I'd love to come down and see your Blackneck goats sometime. I need another goat like I need a hole in the head, but it's always fun to look and to learn about new breeds. I love the look of the long hair out in the pasture, but I'm wondering how you would deal with it in packgoats, especially since so much of packing is done in the hot summer months. When you cross them with Alpines, does the shorter Alpine hair tend to win out, or do you get a mix of some long-haired and some short-haired kids? It looks like Blacknecks are a tri-purpose breed: Milk, meat, and fiber. It certainly is a striking breed!

You’re more than welcome to come check them out! As for the long hair issue, they can be trimmed and it generally only needs to be done once a year / year and half since they’re not a true ‘fiber’ breed(like  Angora) and it takes awhile for the hair to grow back. The kids have come out with a variety of coat lengths. The tan buckling will most likely be a shorter coat with long chaps, the black and white bucklings are likely to have a more traditional long coat. We find it takes around 2-3 years for their full cost to come in.
As for packing with the long hair, I know of several people in Switzerland that have taken up packing with the Blacknecks and it doesn’t seem to be a problem, even with the saddles.