Fainters in Action

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Fainters in Action
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Just a small selection of some past & present goats showing myotonia (aka fainting).
We do NOT scare our goats unnecessarily and will not allow visitors to do so either. Please read below the photos for more info about myotonia.

JFH Passion	B's Barn Willy Wonka lives in Semmes, AL	Redbud Eight Abra-Ka-Dabra
R Fainting Ms. Keebler owned by Cindy in Iowa	R Fainting Jill owned by Kevin in Alaska	R Fainting Rolex
R Fainting Joker owned by Karen in Arkansas	R Fainting Firefly owned by Belinda in Georgia	JFH Mask of Zorro owned by Joycelyn in Louisiana
R Fainting Jingles owned by Jill in Ohio	JFH Pandora lives in Grand Bay, AL	R Fainting Double Stuff Oreo owned by Jamie in Mississippi

Fainting Goat Videos
Click here to see an awesome video!
Click here to see another neat video clip.
Click here for a news video.

These goats don't actually "faint" and become unconscious, they just stiffen and sometimes fall over when they are unexpectedly startled. Tennessee Fainting Goats have a genetic condition called myotonia that causes their muscles to stiffen when they are startled or get excited. This stiffening often causes them to loose their balance and fall over. They are not having a seizure and it doesn't hurt them. They are fully conscious and once they relax, (10-15 seconds), they get up and are on their way.

The effects from the myotonia can range from a mere stiffening in the legs, where the goat’s knees are locked, to a complete stiffening of the body, where if the goat is off-balance it will fall over. This stiffening of the muscles builds muscle, much like a body builder would by lifting weights. Tennessee Fainting Goats have powerful muscular bodies and smaller bones, thus a higher meat to bone ratio, which makes them a great meat animal.

We do NOT scare our goats unnecessarily and will not allow visitors to do so either. Yelling, clapping, etc. only makes the goats wary of strangers and after a while they will learn to avoid people and will become difficult to catch. Soon they will learn not to show any myotonia at all and will no longer "faint". We love our goats and expect would-be buyers to treat them in a gentle and caring manner.