Anglo Nubians


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The Anglo Nubian Breed Standard General Appearance (style & quality): The ideal is a large exotic animal with a high, proud head carriage, majestic bearing and upright stance. The goat should show the true attributes of sound dairy type. Head (skull, eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils): Profile short and arched. Muzzle fine and tapered, nostrils flat, the teeth may extend beyond the dental pad. Ears long, broad and pendulous with little or no tendency to lift (as a guide, tips of ears should meet across nostrils). Eyes should be almond shaped and set wide apart. Neck: Strong, medium length and without tassels, dewlap may be present on both bucks and does. Backline: Straight back either level or slightly rising to hips. May show slight dip behind withers but with no sign of weakness. Forequarters: Withers well defined, blending firmly into shoulders. Chest broad and deep. Body (barrel): Heavy framed with good length and reasonable depth. Legs (hooves): Legs strong and straight with no inclination to cow hocks or weak pasterns, which should be short, strong and upright. Udder: Showing a broad attachment and no pocket, softly textured with a good capacity. Slight division allowed. Testicles: Showing a broad attachment and no pocket, softly textured with a good capacity. Slight division allowed. Teats: Two, of good size, set well apart and distinct from the udder. Rudimentary teats: Two, set wide apart slightly to the fore and side of the scrotum, of good size but not overdeveloped, unless the buck is milking. Size (height at withers): Does 32 inches (81 centimetres), Bucks 37 inches (94 centimetres). Coat: short, fine and glossy Colour: Any colour or combination of colours. May be plain (all one colour), broken coloured or mottled but should not carry full Swiss markings. Skin black, but may be grey with black pigmentation. Differing from the ideal (found & recognised): Horned. Wry tail. Faults: Fine bone and lack of size. Short, stiff ears. Straight face. Tassels. Cow hocks, dropped pasterns. Size differing substantially from the ideal. Visible teeth. Roach back or sway back. Tan skin. Poor feet. Splayed feet. Weak or narrow chest. Lack of dairy quality. Fleshy udder. Pocket in udder. Teats: small, thin, ill defined or unbalanced. Lack of milking capacity. Lack of masculinity in bucks. Unduly pendulous, divided or uneven scrotum.
A Brief History of the Anglo Nubian
The Anglo Nubian was made in Great Britain by using Middle Eastern and Indian stock, firstly upon existing native English, Welsh and Irish stock and later on the much more beneficial introduced Swiss breeds. The Middle Eastern breed was mainly Nubian (hence the name), but also using the Zareber. The Jumna Pari which came from India was also used. The development of these goats was following an already well used path of breeding to long eared goats which had been utilized aboard ships. The three exotic breeds mentioned above were not all of the same build or appearance. Some were more solidly built than others. The Jumna Pari was tall but not heavily built, for instance. Some had more breadth to the ears or a longer ear. The nose and mouth of the Indian goat was quite different to some Mediterranean stock. They were, however, very distinct to British goats with the crossbred offspring showing strong 'Nubian' characteristics.
The Anglo Nubian was well established prior to the introduction of Swiss breeds into Britain. The first goat show in 1875 saw some of these striking animals exhibited. They were of many colours from solids to mottled. They had a very distinctive arched head with pendulous ears, while the stance was upright with the rear often higher than seen in other breeds. Importations until 1904 ensured that the Nubian character was maintained. Recognition in 1910 saw the Anglo Nubian as a breed enter the British Herd Book. Most probably goats similar to the early arrivals in Britain were also landed in Australia during early settlement as ships followed the African coast and would have used the goat as an onboard provider. There are no records of such, though.
It was only as recent as 1954 that imports were recorded in New South Wales. Ten of the breed were introduced before the importation ban of 1958. It can only be said that all Australian Anglo Nubians are descended from these imports. The purebred Anglo.Nubian is regarded as having a higher butterfat percentage and better fleshing qualities than the Swiss breeds. This makes them a useful dual purpose animal for meat and milk. Having been bred-up from warm climate stock these goats are well suited to the sparse environments and arid regions such as are found in Australia. They are good browsers with their size and jaw set being particularly useful in this regard.
Now around fifty years on since the last imports the Anglo Nubian's appearance is still quite distinctive and different in form to the Swiss breeds. Their exotic look and particular qualities need to be maintained.

The Anglo Nubian Breed Standard

A Brief History of the Anglo Nubian