I found an interesting article about a goat that faints, and I though it was interesting enough to share it here.
It seems these animals have a gene, which produces a hereditary neuromuscular condition, which causes their muscles to lock up or freeze, and get stiff. While running and playing these goats can fall down as a result of the muscles in his legs stiffing up. They do not pass out or lose consciousness, remaining awake, with legs sticking up in the air.
I read the goats date back into the early 1880's, when a man by the name of John Tinaley, showed up in Tennessee, with 4 goats and then sold them to Dr. H.H. Mayberry, of Marshell County Tennessee, for a total of $36.00. Mr. Maybery was the proud owner of 1 billie goat and 3 nannies. They were said to be black/white and a stocky breed. He started breeding them and sold many of the kids through out the State.
In 1904, this breed was described as Myotonic goats, by George R. White, a State Veterinarian of Tennessee, and Joseph Planskett.
In 1923, R.J. Goode purchased a pair of these animals and later wrote a article about them called "Epileptic, Fainting, Nervous, or Stiff-legged Goats."
Over the years many of these goats fell prey to coyotes and other animals, do to when stressed out instead of running away they would freeze in position and then fall down. Stockyards used them to protect other livestock and after a time they became rare.
They were put on the Conservancy Watch List, as a rare endangered animal. That was when excitement for them began again.
In 1987, the American Tennessee Fainting Goat Association was created for the purpose of registering these goats.
In 1989, the International Fainting Goat Association was started to again register this breed of goats.
They are said to be a very gentle breed. And that the gene is hereditary and is a recessive gene, meaning if a fainting goat is crossbred with a non-fainting goat the offspring will be normal, but still carry the gene. But the second generation if they are bred back to a fainting goat, there will be a mixture of normal and fainting offspring. The disease gene skips a generation.
Have you ever seen a fainting goat or do you own goats? If so please share your experiences about them here.
