In September 1999,following personal visits to many top quality Swiss goat farms and a visit to the impressive Swiss buck semen collection center where we were able to personally view the select group of bucks being collected, we received our first shipment of frozen Swiss buck semen.

This was a, first of it's kind, dairy buck semen importation from Switzerland to America. In accordance with new and stringent USDA regulations, these bucks were quarantined and health tested for 6 months while they were being collected. In addition, the herds the bucks came from were inspected and certified to be disease free. The semen was collected and processed at a licensed, professional collection station operated by Swiss veterinary reproductive specialists whose business it is to produce a quality product, shipping buck and bull semen worldwide.

Why seek out Swiss genetics? Because Switzerland is the place of origin for these breeds, it serves as an important source of diverse, quality genetics. Along with structural correctness and milk production, in Switzerland, a dairy goat's breed character plays a major part in both show scoring and appraisal scoring. There, animals exhibiting improper markings, color or pattern defects, etc. are effectively eliminated by severe penalties in overall scoring.

In Switzerland, a breed standard is simply that...a standard to be met by all. We were truly impressed with the generations of dairy goat breeders in Switzerland dedicated to producing quality dairy goats, just as their ancestors had. Visit the Oberhasli homepage to learn more about the Oberhasli in their native Switzerland.

On February 5, 2001, we finally received American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) registration numbers for Sento, Balz and Zenith. By recognizing the buck's certified Swiss registrations, along with all proper semen importation documents, these dairy bucks are now listed in the appropriate ADGA Purebred herd books. In doing so, all U.S. born offspring, produced via artificial insemination (AI), can now be registered, shown and legitimately take part in all performance programs (appraisals/production testing, etc).

We thank the breeders and owners of these fine bucks, the Swiss Goat Breeders Association and the Swiss semen station for allowing us to purchase semen from these outstanding bucks and we look forward to additional future semen importations in order to broaden our dairy goat gene pools here in America.

Redtail Ridge Oberhasli is honored to act as the exclusive commercial importer/distributor in America for these exciting new genetics.To see photos of our first generation stock sired by 'Sento' and 'Balz', go to Bucks, and Yearlings. If you have questions or would like find out how to place an order for semen from any of the bucks below, contact us.

BALZ

'BALZ'

Purebred Swiss Oberhasli buck
born: 1/27/98

Swiss Reg# 843 MN

ADGA Reg# B1181685

DNA typed/horned

This tall, promising young buck with the gorgeous head and stylish presence was exciting to watch in motion. He's barely a year old in these photos and in full rut. Balz has good width throughout, a high, open escutcheon and shows nice length of body. He is naturally horned (disbudded).

Balz' dam, Tina, has been scored 6/6/6/6 as a 4, 5, and 6 yr old. These four categories include topline/body capacity; foundation/feet/legs; udder/attachment/shape; teats/shape/size/placement. The highest score for mature does in all categories is '6'. Her milking average (5 freshenings), recorded over 260-300 day lactations was 2650# with a 3.6 % bf average. (Alfalfa hay is not available in Switzerland).

Balz' sire, Pascal, received a 6/6 score, the highest score possible, as a 5 yr old. Though we didn't personally view Balz' relatives or herdmates, we are confident he will be a great addition to the North American purebred Oberhasli gene pool.

We had 9 'Balz' kids born this spring out of our American Oberhasli does and their ADGA Young Stock Appraisal overall scores were 4 'Very Good' (85-89) and 4 'Good Plus' (80-84). One son was sold prior to our appraisal. See Balz' daughters in Yearlings and jr herdsire sons in RR Bucks.

Balz' semen is available in very limited quantities.

SENTO

'SENTO'

Purebred Swiss Oberhasli buck

born:1/4/97

Swiss Reg# 1142 AE

ADGA Reg# B1181684

DNA typed/polled

Our search for quality Oberhasli genetics in Switzerland led us to this beautiful, young buck and the outstanding herd that produced him.

Sento is tall (approx 42"), upstanding and long bodied with sharp, well laid-in shoulders and flat bone. His appraisal score at 18 mos old was 5/5, the highest possible for his age. On the move he travels correctly with both power and grace. Based on what we saw in his closely related herd mates, we expect he will pass on stature, length of body, flat toplines including rump, width and flatness of bone along with high rounded escutcheons and at least, some, strong foreudders. Sento is naturally polled (hornless).

Sento's dam, Mosel, was scored 6/5/5/5 in '99 as a 7 yr old. These four categories include topline/body capacity; foundation/feet/legs; udder/attachment/shape; teats/shape/size/placement. The highest score for mature does in all categories is '6'. Her milking average (6 freshenings) recorded over 253-300 day lactations was 1886# with a 3.1% bf average. (Alfalfa hay is not available in Switzerland).

Sento's sire, Dino, received a 5/5 appraisal score, the highest possible for his young age.

We had 17 'Sento' kids born Spring 2000 out of our American Oberhasli does and their ADGA Young Stock Appraisal overall scores were 2 'Excellent' (90 and above; 100 pts possible), 10 'Very Good' (85-89) and 3 'Good Plus' (80-84). Two bucklings were sold prior to appraisal. See Sento's daughters in Yearlings and 2 jr herdsire sons in RR Bucks.

Sento's semen is available in limited quantities.

ZENITH

'ZENITH'

Purebred Swiss Toggenburg buck
born: 7/2/94

Swiss Reg# 1131 EE

ADGA Reg# T1181588

DNA typed/polled

This 5 yr old buck showed impressive overall strength from his wide muzzle down to the width of his table top rump. These photos don't do justice to his length of body and it's hard to believe a buck's topline could look this good while in full rut. Zenith has received the maximum appraisal score every time he has been appraised. He is naturally polled (hornless).

Zenith's dam, Ulena, received the max. appraisal scores as a 5 yr old. Her average milk production over 6 (277-300 day) lactations was 1830# with a 3.2% bf average. (Alfalfa hay is not available in Switzerland).

Zenith's sire, Kay, received the max. appraisal scores allowed as a 4-6 yr old. Zenith was selected for this official Swiss AI collection based on his many quality progeny and pedigree.

Zenith's semen is available but very limited.

MAX

'MAX'

Purebred Swiss Wallis Black-necked buck

born: 2/18/94

Swiss Reg# 2199 NT

This striking breed is known as the Walliser-Schwarzhal in it's native Switzerland. Max is one of only 22 registered bucks out of a registered Swiss population of nearly 2600. His appraisal score as a 3 yr old was 6/5 and there is no question of his horn status!

Though described as 'medium sized', the minimum height for bucks is 34"; does 31"at withers. They are heavily built, rather slow to mature, undemanding and hardy. The Wallis black-necked goat is not considered a 'dairy' breed since it averages only 1100# milk in a 202 day lactation. There is currently a growing interest in this breed in Europe and around the world since it is rare but population numbers are on the rise.

Max was so impressive we couldn't resist importing a small amount of his semen for experimentation. Fiber goat breeders have expressed interest in crossing 'Max' on Cashmeres and Angoras. We've also have a few ideas of our own that we plan to try since there are no Wallis does in North America and importation of live goats is not presently allowed. Here's your chance to get into some real creative breeding.

Max semen is available in limited quantities.