Fainting Goat Facts

1) Fainting goats are also known as nervous goats, stiff-legged, wooden legged, tennessee mountain goats, myotonic goats, etc. The Myotonia name comes from the disorder, known as Myotonia Congenita, which can also be seen rarely in humans, as well as, mice and schnauzers (a specific dog breed)! 

Blackjack--one of our first fainting goat kids.

2) Distinguishing characteristics are pop eyes, long and wide muzzle (not dished), long ears that stand put to the side, not erect. Many kids are born with ears hanging down but they gradually come up before too long. Fainting goats can come in any color or size. 

Lily with her floppy fainting goat ears at 2 months old.

Mercy is your typical fainter with her pop eyes.

3) As strange as this may sound, these little critters have actually served a historical purpose. Shepherds often kept the goats in with their flocks as insurance in case a predator would attack. The theory went something like this--as wolves would come down from the hills to attack a flock of sheep, the goats would become startled and, as per the name of their breed, they would faint. The sheep would make a clean getaway, as the wolves would focus on the stunned goats rather than pursue the fleeing sheep. Not that wonderful if you were one of the goats, sure, but downright dandy if you happened to be a sheep.

Fortunately, fainting goats are not used in this way anymore and are rarely seen without a herd guardian (guard llama or guard dog). They are prized for their meat now because the muscles in their legs tighten up when they faint--it is believed that this improves their carcass quality.

We don't use our goats for meat purposes--just as family pets! Kissy and her twin doelings are pictured here having fun at the fair!

Our guard llama, Scrat, and the goats.

Scrat is a great guard llama and really enjoys the kids. He lets them climb all over him!

4) The breed's recorded history reaches back to the 1880's, when a migrant worker named John Tinsley brought four of them to Tennessee. Not much is known about Tinsley, though he is reported to have come from Nova Scotia. The breed soon became popular throughout the region, thanks to three major factors: 1) they were less prone to climbing (and therefore escape), 2) they had a higher degree of muscularity than their non-fainting relatives (and thus would make a better dinner), and 3) high reproductive rates (typically two or more per kidding).

Most fainters still enjoy climbing, but they will typically only climb things that are closer to the ground, like this concrete wall. Kissy and her friend, Boo, were just young kids when they first went to the fair.

5) Myotonia Congenita is a muscle disorder which causes fainting goats to lock up and/or fall over when startled. This condition is caused by a combination of recessive genes. The goats are affected in the following manner: when startled or excited in any way they fall to the ground with their entire bodies becoming perfectly rigid and stiff. This condition lasts for about ten or fifteen seconds after which the animal arises and walks off, still showing a decided stiffness, especially in the back limbs. After a little distance and time the goat walks and acts just like any other goat. When approached visibly and quietly they likely will not fall over but will show a stiffness in their hind legs as they begin to move away. This does not decrease the normal goat life span.

A fainting goat kid in a full faint..don't worry, a few seconds later and he was walking around like nothing happened.

Paco (on the right) is stiffened up, but hasn't fainted. As fainting goats get older, they normally won't faint all of the way anymore--instead, their back legs will stiffen up.

6) Whether food or friend, fainting goats don't seem to be going away anytime soon. Numbering an estimated 3,000 to 5,000, the animals are rare, but still recognized as an official breed and are raised throughout the United States.

Fainting goat kids are always cute and fun to hold.

7) Fainting goats can be registered with the International Fainting Goat Association (IFGA), the Myotonic Goat Registry (MGR), and/or the Miniature Silky Fainting Goat Association (MSFGA).

8) All colors, combinations, patterns, and markings seem to exist. Hair coats can vary from short to long (silky), with many animals producing a noticable cashmere coat in the winter. A few examples of different coat variations are shown below.

Landon, one of our bucks, with his silky coat

Mercy with her cashmere coat in the winter time.

Mercy in the spring time with her normal, short coat.

9) Fainting goats are easy to raise, require minimal facilities, are safe around people, and are unique enough to be conversation pieces. They are profitable to raise, fit small farmettes, and make you happy to be around :) They are also somewhat resistant to parasites and don't usually like to climb on objects that are too tall (in case they might faint!)--thus, they are unlikely to climb on your car. The highest a few of our goats will climb is on top of their dog house. 

All of the kids love to climb on the dog house and so does Dior! But most of our fainting goats won't even climb that high.

10) Myotonic breeders have developed sturdy, colorful fainting goats of every sort and size. As a result, there are Myotonic goats for every taste and purpose—probably even yours!

One of our first Exotic goat shows.

Most of the buckets that we use are Miller brand buckets. Mainly because they are sturdy, they come in a wide variety of colors, and some even have a conveniently flat back so that it hangs nicely against a wall (like the one pictured above). We always use them at the local fair and hang them up using bungee cords. Our goats use the 8 quart buckets (smaller ones) while our llama, steers, ponies, and horses use the 20 quart buckets (larger ones).