The Bluehills Herd of Golden Guernsey Goats

The Girls & Boys of the Bluehills Herd

We have seven Golden Guernsey goats at the moment including six girls and our breeding buck Alinus.

The reason we called our herd 'Bluehills' is because we first started keeping goats when we were living in nearby Shropshire. Probably the most famous son of Shropshire is of course A E Housman, and in turn his most famous work is 'A Shropshire Lad'. From there we took the immortal words…

Into my heart an air that kills
   From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
   What spires, what farms are those?
 
That is the land of lost content,
   I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
   And cannot come again

Golden Guernsey goats are the only rare breed dairy goats in the UK, and according to the latest census by the Golden Guernsey Goat Society, fewer than 1000 are left in mainland Britain.

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) lists Golden Guernsey goats as a 'Minority' breed, which is an indication of their rarity and their vulnerability.

Thanks to the RBST and The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the herd has been placed on the Breeds at Risk Register (BARR). This means that if there is another major outbreak of disease such as Foot and Mouth, DEFRA will be able to take into account our rare breed status. Under EU rules we'll be eligible to be given special treatment as a breeding nucleus for Golden Guernsey goats.

If you keep rare breed animals, talk to your breed society now. The rules have just changed to remove the requirement for a minimum herd size. So…if you weren't eligible for inclusion on the BARR in the past, you might well be now. It's worth doing because it brings you some protection against contiguous culls.

We hope you like the photos on our site and we invite you to take a look at the boys and girls we take care of.