Crazy goat behavior…

TonyE · #1 04/14/08, 04:45 PM

Are goats really this chicken?

Sweet Goats · #2 04/14/08, 04:50 PM

That is those fainter's. Yep they are.
Are those yours? It seems like i have seen that on youtube.

tmfinley · #3 04/14/08, 04:51 PM

They are probably Tennessee fainting goats. When they get scared their muscles go rigid.

TonyE · #4 04/14/08, 05:09 PM

Thanks you all, I have never seen that happen to any goat and those goats are not mine...these are!

Crazy goat behavior… - Goats

Niamh · #5 04/14/08, 05:22 PM

Poor things.

Our neighbors had those. They finally got rid of them because their teenager's friends would spend all their time over there doing stuff like that.

susanne · #6 04/14/08, 05:42 PM

why people have fun to scare animals like the one in this little clip, is beyond me.

CookingPam777 · #7 04/14/08, 06:04 PM

Now I have a question. Why did the fainting goat breed ever come to be? Isn't this um cruel? Also how did you know you have this goat down to make it a breed? That first poor goat must have been in terror every second. Plus the one that came from it they had to be sure this passed down.

MissMenagerie · #8 04/14/08, 07:01 PM

Farmers raised them to keep with their sheep. If a dog/wolf/coyote attacked, the goat would faint, the predator would get the goat, and sheep would be able to get away.

CookingPam777 · #9 04/15/08, 07:55 AM

Oh that's even nicer! Some real goat haters they must have been

. They should make a fainting sheep to protect your goats! That's my new take on it

.

fishhead · #10 04/15/08, 12:06 PM

I wonder if it's like night terrors (or whatever the sleep disorder is called) where an awake person is locked in fear but can't move.

MissMenagerie · #11 04/15/08, 01:36 PM

Ok, if you hear of anyone with fainting sheep, let me know and I will get one.

Backfourty,MI. · #12 04/15/08, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CookingPam777

Oh that's even nicer! Some real goat haters they must have been

. They should make a fainting sheep to protect your goats! That's my new take on it

.

Go Pam, That's too funny! But I'll take one if you find them!!

Mary Cody · #13 04/15/08, 09:14 PM

TonyE, What kind of goats are they? They are adorable! I have one doe that looks exactly like your goats and she kidded with a doeling that is her mirror image... I never knew what kind of goat she was. Mary

sungirl · #14 04/15/08, 09:49 PM

They are also called Myotonic Goats. I seen a few they scare me half to death when they faint!

Didgery · #15 04/15/08, 09:56 PM

The "fainting" goats have a genetic condition called myotonia congenita which is a disorder that causes stiffening of the muscles when the goat is startled. It is linked to "meat goat" characteristics in this breed, as the contraction of the muscles builds bulk. Weird, in my opinion. They are cute goats but I don't see the ethics in intentionally perpetuating the problem.

By the way, I'm new here . . . I have Saanens. Sorry to come in ranting!

-Marnie

Otter · #16 04/15/08, 10:03 PM

I think that breeding these poor animals is really cruel. They not only have no natural defense, but are a danger to themselves. And too many people do abuse them because they think it's funny to see them fall over.

I don't think it's any funnier then watching an epileptic have a seizure.

I had a friend who kept them once for meat goats, since they are small, meaty and easy to get in her area. All except two were dead in a week. Her whole herd (including the new fainters) would hang out near her fence line in the shade of a big tree, near a small, knee deep pool. The neighbors dogs running around when they were let out in the evening scared the new goats who weren't used to them, they'd startle, fall in the pond and drown in 8 inches of water. My friend was heartsick over it, she couldn't figure it out. One, one day, then nothing, then one again, then six!! Just depended on where in the shade they were. The dogs didn't even bark, she thought something was poisoning the water and was out there testing it when the dogs ran past and the last poor guys fainted.

Sorry to rant, I just think it's mean that people breed for this trait.

J.T.M. · #17 04/15/08, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMenagerie

Farmers raised them to keep with their sheep. If a dog/wolf/coyote attacked, the goat would faint, the predator would get the goat, and sheep would be able to get away.

:

Quote:

Originally Posted by CookingPam777

Oh that's even nicer! Some real goat haters they must have been

. They should make a fainting sheep to protect your goats! That's my new take on it

.

:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMenagerie

Ok, if you hear of anyone with fainting sheep, let me know and I will get one.

Jillis · #18 04/16/08, 06:56 AM

As soon as I learned of myatonic goats, I wondered why anyone would base a whole breed on a genetic disorder. I agree it is cruel and stupid.

CookingPam777 · #19 04/16/08, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.T.M.

:

Don't be mad at me I'm against having goats that faint poor things! I was just joking around. It's not very nice to sit around and purposly make something to faint all the time. It no funnier then when someone has a seizure. However I am saying why did they pick goats and not sheep? Sheep have a whole lot less uses anyway if you were going to do that to a poor animal.

TonyE · #20 04/16/08, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mary Cody

TonyE, What kind of goats are they? They are adorable! I have one doe that looks exactly like your goats and she kidded with a doeling that is her mirror image... I never knew what kind of goat she was. Mary

Some are mixed nubian and pigmy/??? They are fun to look at as they play in the field, my wife takes good care of them; I just repair what ever they knock down and flip the bill!