OT: Fainting Goats (was Re: SV: [AT] Some ads from the 10/15 Lancaster Farming

[Mike Sloane]

Mattias Kessén wrote:
> Here's another of those "please enlighten me questions". I really got to ask
> what is a fainting goat?

From: <http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jimknapp/goats.html>
"Fainting goats?" you ask. "This must be a joke!"

"No," I reply, "they are definitely real." Fainting goats are a slightly 
smaller version of the standard goat, who, believe it or not, thanks to 
a genetic condition called myotonia congenita, actually seem to faint 
when they are startled.

As strange as this may sound, these little critters have actually served 
an historical purpose. Shepherds often kept the goats in with their 
flocks as insurance in case of predator attacks. 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.

This breed has several names- the most common are Myotonic, Tennessee 
Fainting, Nervous, and Scare goats. The names refer specifically to 
myotonia congenita, a condition in which the muscle cells experience 
prolonged contraction when the goat is startled. The transitory 
stiffness associated with these contractions can cause the goat to stop 
moving, stiffen, and even fall down. This is not a true faint, but a 
muscular phenomenon unrelated to the nervous system. The actual degree 
of stiffness may vary widely from goat to goat and is based on a number 
of factors, including age, species purity, and degree of fright.

The breed's recorded history (or at least as much of it as I can find) 
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 to a litter).

The breed has gained popularity in recent years (especially evidenced by 
the number of emails I receive from interested students, TV news shows, 
and people who have lost bar bets), with two major trends developing 
amongst breeders. The first, a more traditional approach, emphasizes the 
meat qualities of the animals and selection based on growth rate and 
reproductive efficiency. The other trend emphasizes the "novelty" aspect 
of the goats, focusing almost exclusively on stiffness and small size. "

Mike
> 
> /Mattias
> 


-- 
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
mikesloane at verizon.net
Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>

Don't judge men's wealth or godliness by their Sunday appearance. 
-Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790)


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