Fainting Goats are for Real?

Fainting goats, also known as the myotonic Tennessee Fainters, seem to be the new popular goat to own in the goat world. When I saw my first fainter it was by accident on the Internet. I was scrolling through funny videos on YouTube and clicked on a goat video. Who would have believed a hooved animal with a stubby little tail that goes baa-baa faints? Me? You’re right. I’d believe in just about anything. They’re such cute weird little creatures. Yep! Every once in a while Mother Nature decides to surprise humankind with some oddity to tickle the hearts of those who really enjoy different animals. That would definitely be my nineteen grandchildren and me.

Oh, my gosh! I was hooked. When these goats get startled or frightened their muscles lock up and they fall over. When it happens their legs go straight as a board, until they can move again. It’s the strangest thing to watch…and worth a laugh or two.

Being as I’m the kind of person who is always on the lookout for nature’s newest and most talked about miracles, it made perfect sense to procure one of these goats sooner than later.

Some fainting goats are tinier than others. I quickly discovered the fainters that most appealed to me were the miniature silky fainters, which essentially means a goat with a lot of long silky hair, that is usually smaller than the standard fainter. Anything smaller than an average goat, though I had no idea what that meant until I studied it, seemed perfect for our family.

Finding the right fainter though, was harder than it looked. And the cost! Expensive! No doubt, something I presently owned and valued less than I valued my desire to procure a goat would need to be sold ASAP.

The first myotonic goat I bought was a darling little doe that didn’t faint. She didn't have long hair either. I jumped and shouted, waved my arms, tried to catch her off guard, and she stood there looking at me like I was a crazy woman. It didn’t matter to me, though. I thought she was beautiful. The round little moon spots that covered her furry tri-colored body reminded me of chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to name her Cookie, but the grandchildren named her Missy.

The problem was she didn’t faint. I wanted a fainter that actually fainted, perhaps a buck, so Missy could have babies. You know the old saying…once you think like a mother…you always think like a mother. Everything I’ve ever owned has needed a baby or two.

So the next goat I bought was a black and white little buck. All my husband had to do was say, “Boo!” and down our new little guy went in a straight-legged faint. The grandchildren named him Oreo. Sometimes he wouldn’t drop to the ground on all fours. His back legs would stiffen for a few seconds, and off he’d run. He quickly became the sweetheart of the two.

A third little black and white doe became part of our herd after that. She didn't seem to be a fainter either...until one morning I was carrying some hay out to their feed buckets, and I tripped on a stone in the large corralled area where they were kept. The three goats were running by my feet, eager to be fed. Hay flew in four directions, as I fell forward, twisting midair, so that my back would hit the ground instead of my face. When I turned to see what had happened to the goats, if one of them had been injured, there was cookie lying right next to me. All four hooves pointed skyward. She had fainted. I began laughing. By the time I was up and moving, so was she, bouncing around my legs as if nothing had happened.

Would everything I was doing be worth my efforts? Of course…until feeding, worming, vaccinating, trimming hooves, birthing problems, neutering, and dehorning took a little of the fun out of it.

Notice I didn’t say excitement, because life is seldom boring at our house. But then…isn’t that how it is on a chicken/goat/horse ranch? The unexpected goes along with the expected. Life is life; it marches on with or without me. I might as well have a good time, and that includes the many surprises along the way.