The Nubian type goat is most likely the oldest
species of goat known to mankind. Some breeders feel
the name Nubian is not an accurate name for the
breed, due to the crosses made in its development. The name
"Nubian" originates from
Nubia, a desert region in Northern Sudan. It is said that
the animals from this area did not play an important part in
the development of the Anglo-Nubian. Although the French
started working on the Nubian type animals before the
English, credit must be given to the British for the
development of the present day Nubian. Known as the
Anglo-Nubian, the Nubian is mainly a combination of two pure
breeds, the Anglo or English, and the Nubian, whose origin
is more obscure, tracing to a variety of sources. The Anglo
part of the ancestry includes the English breed and various
cross-bred animals. Under the development of the
Anglo-Nubian, regulations were in place to bring in new
blood, provided foreign blood other than Nubian was not
evident for a given number of generations. A small
percentage of Swiss blood has in some cases been gradually
introduced in this way. The first Nubians imported to
England came from Paris, France in 1883. A pair named Arabi
Pasha and Aida were said to be descended from stock sent
several years previously from Nubian for the Society
National d'Acclimation. Ali Baba was imported in 1891.
Between 1850 and 1875 many other Eastern goats of Nubian
type reached England aboard ships, brought to produce milk
on the voyage home. With no important restrictions in force,
goats of foreign breeds, described as Persian, Abyssinian,
Indian and Syrian were free landed and early prominent
English breeders would go down to the docks and buy these
goats. These early animals did not play an important role in
the breed and were not recognized in the herd books.
By 1896 the Anglo-Nubian was recognized as a breed with
only four imported goats, all males, being recognized, two
from India. The description of these goats, according to the
British Goat Society Herd Book, are as follows:
·
No. 1. Sedgemere Chancellor. Nubian (Jumna Pari) Horned.
Imported 1986.
·
No. 2. Sedgemere Sangar. Nubian (Waraiby or Zaraibi) Horned.
Imported 1904.
·
No. 3. Bricket Cross. Nubian (Chitral) Horned. Imported
1904.
·
No. 4. Bricket Zoo. Nubian Hornless. Imported 1904.
The two bucks imported from India, Sedgemere
Chancellor and Bricket Cross, had the most influence in the
development of the breed. The British Herd Book records no
less than 72 progeny of Bricket Cross and 29 of Sedgemere
Chancellor. The other two were less used and less
successful. Sedgemere Chancellor sired the first recognized
Anglo-Nubian star milker, Sedgemere Louise.
The
Jumna Pari was bred for meat and milk in India, was tall,
rangy, slender and was normally horned. The Zaraibi or
Saraiby from Africa was also tall and rangy, but was deeper
bodied and usually very undershot. The coat was short and
sleek except on the thighs and was any color or combination
of colors and was normally polled. The Chitral, also from
India, was thicker or heavier boned. The breeds in each
case, had been specially selected and were kept for milk
production in their respective countries where they were
considered outstanding.
In 1933 a rule against horned animals was adopted and
was a hardship on the breed. Many great animals were
discriminated against for being horned and were not used.
Nubian type does were imported into America as early
as 1896, but most of these early imports were lost to the
breed until the import of three animals, buck, Holly Lodge
Shingle, and twin does, Wigmore Brownie and Wigmore Pansy,
by Mr. J.R. Gregg of California. Mr. Gregg imported another
buck, Scriventon Bellerphone, and a doe, Luxor Butane, in
1913. These animals formed the nucleus from which Nubians in
America descended. Mr. Gregg developed two important lines:
the Bonzai line Holly Lodge Shingle, who was a grandson of
Bricket Cross, and a great grandson to Sedgemere Sangers,
and the Inkyo line from Scriveton Bellerphone.
Between 1909 and 1918, Anglo was dropped from the name
and forty were registered as Purebred Nubians in the United
States. In 1917, Major C. C. Mowat brought in five
Anglo-Nubians into British Columbia, Canada. The bucks he
had were Harborough Volunteer and Edenbrook Cyrus, a pure
white hornless sire of many Nubians including Spring Beauty
AR#7, the first Nubian to qualify for an AR.
Nubians are the most popular breed in the United
States and continue to outnumber all the currently
recognized breeds.
Reference: Nubian History and Great Britain, Second
Edition, Revised. By Mrs. Robert M. Reinhardt and Alice
Hall.
Other Historical and Informational Links:
History of the making of the Anglo-Nubian breed
History of the Anglo-Nubian in Australia
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