The breed comes originally from Switzerland, but under the name of Alpine it has become a worldwide spread goat breed starting from France. They are fine build, and their conformation refers to a pronounced dairy character. Their hair is short in length and most often sandy in colour with some black along the spine. Due to their vivacious temperament they bear being kept in fold less. They have proved good under semi-intensive conditions, and they adapt themselves suitably to the grazing technology. With appropriate raising they can be first mated at the age of 7 to 12 months. They have an average progeny of 1.7 per kidding. Under good conditions their milk yield can be 1000-1200 kg over a lactation period of 270 to 300 days.