There are many things that goats are known for, from eating practically anything they can chew to letting out screams that sound strangely human. But what about fainting? Why do goats do it?
Goats faint when they suddenly become scared or excited. But, contrary to popular belief, they don’t actually lose consciousness. Their muscles simply stiffen up because of the sudden adrenaline rush, causing them to fall over for a few seconds until they loosen up again.
There’s more that goes into why exactly goats do this because it’s not as random as you might think. There is only a certain type of goat breed that faints, and there’s a reason for it. Below you will find more information about why it is that goats faint and the history of this strange response in the animals.
The Tennessee Fainting Goat
Not all goats faint; there is only one specific type of goat breed that does it. This is the Tennessee fainting goat, also known by names such as myotonic, stiff-legged, nervous, or wooden-leg goats. They are a goat breed native to North America and are commonly found in, you guessed it, Tennessee, as well as in neighboring states. They seem to originate around the late 19th century, although no one really knows if they existed before then.
The reason that Tennessee fainting goats actually faint is because of a condition they have known as myotonia congenita (also known as Thomsen’s Disease). It’s a genetic disorder that affects the skeletal muscles, which are the muscles animals and humans use for their movement. Some goats have this condition worse than others; it depends on factors such as their breeding and environment.
The basis for this condition comes from the word myotonic, which means the inability to relax your muscles voluntarily after vigorous effort, and is a combination of the Greek root word myo meaning “muscle” and the Latin root word tonus meaning “tension.”
This condition can actually appear in not just goats but humans and other animal species too, such as mice. For fainting goats, theirs is just a more evident version because of how their bodies respond to the condition. This is mostly because of the structure of their bodies because they have 4 legs (and rely on each of them for their balance) and a rather stocky build as they grow up.
The Tennessee fainting goat is a breed most often raised because of their meat, but they are becoming increasingly popular to have as a pet instead.
Why Do They Faint?
The most typical reason that these goats faint is because they are scared – by loud sounds, other animals or even people, or by sudden movement. But besides their bodies responding this way because of fear, they can also faint because of an immense amount of excitement too. Something as exciting as when they’re about to get dinner could be enough for them to react this way.
According to an article from the Natural History Museum, when the muscles of the Tennessee fainting goat contract, perhaps because they need to get away from a predator or threat, or just when they’re scared or startled, there can be a delayed response before the muscles actually begin to relax. This leaves the muscles rigid so the animal is unable to move for a period of time.
The running theory about the workings of this condition is that there is something in the brain of the goats that blocks the normal chemical rush, the rush we get from fear or excitement, and what happens right before adrenaline starts to pump through us, from providing them with a normal response. Instead of causing them to seize up for only a moment as they make a “fight or flight” decision, it causes them to seize up much longer.
The span of this “fainting spell” typically lasts around 5 to 20 seconds before the stiffness of the muscles wears off and the goat is completely back to normal. The Tennessee fainting goat can get just as nervous as any other type of goat, the body just shows it differently.
The goats could just be trying to get away, but the sudden reaction of movement will more often than not cause the unfortunate stiffening of their muscles and cause them to fall over instead. The result is a goat that looks very much like it has fainted but actually has not. It’s just scared.
These goats aren’t actually unconscious when they fall over because of this physical condition. That’s right, they are completely conscious the entire time but just have to wait until their muscles finally decide to relax to get back up and moving again. This can be incredibly dangerous for them, especially if they’re just trying to get away from something that could cause them to be injured or killed.
Think of the “fainting” response to this condition as the “fight or flight” mode of the goats responding, except that that panicked moment of indecisiveness doesn’t go away as quickly as it does for humans or other animals, and renders them temporarily paralyzed until their muscles loosen up again.
History Of Fainting Goats
The earliest known account of fainting goats begins at around the year 1880 with the story of a man named John Tinsley who reportedly brought four unusual goats with him from Nova Scotia, Canada down to Marshall County, Tennessee, USA. He brought down three does (also called nannies) and one buck (also called billies) that soon became noticed for their proneness to fainting. Source
Not much else is known about John Tinsley, and there isn’t a certain way to confirm that he actually did travel originally from Nova Scotia to his new home. Before moving away from Marshall County, he sold his goats to a Dr. Mayberry, who couldn’t find anything about the origin of this specific breed of goat. But he did decide to breed the goats to make sure the trait was a hereditary one and that it stayed within the growing herd.
People in the area quickly came to like the goats because of how calm they were. Many goats like to try and escape their enclosures and have a tendency to do so frequently, but Tennessee fainting goats are a breed that doesn’t seem to be very inclined to do that. They also increased in popularity because of their higher muscularity rate when compared to other goat breeds.
Another reason this particular breed of goat started to gain attention was because of how high its reproduction rate is. Tennessee fainting goats typically have two or more kids in a litter and can produce more than one litter in a year.
These fainting goats are now known as indigenous to North America. By the 1950s, this breed of goat was mainly known and produced as a great meat source within the farming community. While some still might raise them for that purpose, many breeders of fainting goats now strive to keep the population healthy so this breed of fun-loving goats will stick around for us to enjoy. Source
How To Help Fainting Goats
So is there anything that can be done to help with this fainting condition? And what should you do when it happens? Unfortunately, there is no sort of cure for this condition, but there are still things to know about it that can help you as you take care of your fainting goats.
Myotonia Congenita, the condition that causes the fainting reaction, is caused by a specific gene that is not able to be passed on through crossbreeding because it is a recessive gene. So if you decide to breed a Tennessee fainting goat with another goat breed, you will greatly minimize the chances of passing the gene on.
There are no long-term bad effects that come from these fainting spells. Most of the paralysis will wear off within 10 to 20 seconds with only some extra stiffness in the back legs that will stay for a little longer (probably up to an hour at most), but eventually, go away. That’s the extent of the effects so you don’t need to be worried about it.
Older fainting goats are even able to learn over time how to stay upright when the condition causes their legs to stiffen, instead of falling over like a stiff board like the younger ones tend to do.
Don’t worry, your goats are not in any pain when their body reacts this way, although they can become quite distressed at not being able to move (especially if they’re trying to get away from something), so DO NOT deliberately scare them and just give them time to shake it off.
To prevent any fainting, just do your best not to make or present opportunities that might frighten your goat; create a calm, peaceful environment for them to live in. In summary, simply make sure that your goats are okay and haven’t been hurt from the fall and it should all be fine!
To see what it looks like when goats faint, watch the video below.