Discover Animals’ Geoff Moore visits Peter and Mandy Girard, who are the leading Royal Golden Guernsey Goat farmers on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.
They have around 45 of the rare breed goats, which are fed and milked each day on their Le Douit Beuval farm in the west of the island. The milk is turned into numerous milk and cheese products with some being used for skincare too.
In an effort to improve the breeding stock on the island, a new batch of five males and five females have recently arrived. Protecting the bloodlines is important: “We have started to get to the point where we need to bring some new ones in,” said Peter.
He added: “It’s important to widen the gene pool so bringing in new stock from the UK has been vital.”
The farm is very much on the tourist map and visitors are welcome, with many families arriving to see and get close up to the elegant and distinctive looking animals. Purchasing a bag of food that can be fed to the goats as you tour the small farm is also possible along with staying longer to enjoy the countryside and picnic.
The goats themselves are generally smaller than most British dairy breeds. Fine boned, quiet and docile, they are ideal in some respects for a pet goat. Their coat can be long and fringed, and vary in colour from golden to a deep bronze. They produce a good yield of milk for their related size, which is certainly sufficient for most small families; the milk is quite high in fat and protein, which makes it ideal for making yoghurt and cheese.
The Royal title was granted in 2024 so the breed is now known as ‘The Royal Golden Guernsey Goat’.
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