My first interaction with fainting goats was unintentional. I was jogging along a park trail, watching the trees go by while enjoying the quiet rhythm of my pounding feet. That reverie was jostled into confusion, however, by the sound of something screaming.
It wasn’t human, and as I looked for the source, a goat blundered into my path! He was obviously not where he was supposed to be.
我记得最近经过一个农场,我想这个小家伙可能是那里的人。我有些冲动地把它抱在怀里,往回走,直到找到了田野的栅栏和牧场,然后笨拙地把它举过栅栏,放到了安全的地方。
And that’s when I found out its breed. Though the drop was 6 inches at most, it was apparently, enough to trigger the Tennessee Fainting’s most famous attribute — a stiff-legged somersault. I couldn’t help but laugh as the rescued goat gave a pathetic bleat and laid still on the ground, legs skyward.
You’ve seen them inonline videos可能也笑了。但这个品种远不止意外的体操。它们为什么会昏倒,在田纳西州是谁认为它值得培育,它们还能为家园提供什么?让我们深入研究一下晕倒的山羊的世界。它们可能会成为你的完美品种。
Tennessee Fainting Goat Characteristics
The Tennessee Fainting is an unusual breed in the world of goats. While most breeds have a pretty strict set of standards defining their appearance and type, the fainting goat is sometimes still known as alandrace–“ananimal breed这是在不受现代农业科学影响的情况下,在特定地区通过传统农业实践多年发展起来的。”虽然他们绝对是一个品种在自己的权利,在这个领域允许的属性远比大多数其他品种。
These goats are like the proverbial box of chocolates — “you never know what you’re gonna get.” Fainting goats may have long hair, short hair, or even cashmere to offer the home spinner. They can (and do) come in any color or pattern.
你可以有角小的,没有角的,又长又弯的。甚至它们的大小也是可变的。有些山羊只能长到50磅,而有些可以长到175磅。有些有极好的乳头结构,可以提供与尼日利亚侏儒一样多的牛奶。其他人不会。
With all that variation, however, there are a few relative constants. Fainting goats should display some degree of the myotonic faint. Devotees of the breed say this characteristic is arequirement for the true, historical type. Additionally, these goats typically have upright, horizontal ears, a concave profile with a defined eyebrow ridge, and the trademark buggy eyes that give them an endearing face.
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由于它们的长白羊性质,昏倒的山羊可以被用于任何山羊能填饱肚子的目的。它们的身体密度大,肌肉发达,是很好的肉用山羊。由于羊绒的可能性,它们可以成为纤维动物。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国一些养山羊的人说,他们的羊奶是他们尝过的最油腻、最不“山羊味”的羊奶。由于它们温顺的天性和缺乏攀爬能力,它们可以成为令人愉快的宠物。
Finally, they make a good contribution to the genetic diversity of a larger herd. They are known for their parasite resistance and easy kidding, and they can be bred all year round. Just make sure a small doe is never bred to a bigger buck!
Why Does A Fainting Goat Faint?
The many names used to refer to this breed (Texas Wooden-Leg, Stiff-Leg, Nervous, Scare, and Tennessee Fainting) show peoples’ fascination with the breed’s unique attribute. These goats don’t suffer from a weak constitution, so you can shelve the smelling salts. They are not actually losing consciousness in a true faint. The actual cause of the fainting is a condition calledmyotonia congenita.
The unusual phenomenon is a genetic disorder that causes the muscles to get stuck in a prolonged contraction when the goat is startled. It’s a muscular issue, rather than neurological, so you’ll sometimes observe the goat continuing to chew its cud while it waits for its muscles to release.
It’s also totally harmless (the goat will usually unfreeze after about 10 to 15 seconds) and admittedly quite amusing. The degree of faint-ability varies with every individual goat. Some will do the trademark stiff-legged-fall-over while others will simply seize up and freeze in place. Some goats may only react occasionally, while others may faint every time they are triggered.
Goats aren’t the only beings that can have this disorder. It’s been observed in other living things including people — and is sometimes referred to as Becker-type, Thomsen disease, or (appropriately) fainting goat syndrome.
How To Get Started Raising Fainting Goats
If you have decided to make fainting goats a part of your life, there are several bits of infrastructure that need to be in place before you welcome them home. Adding any animal to the homestead should never be an impulse buy, and this is especially true when it comes to larger livestock.
Preparing a safe place, good fences, and the necessary supplies before the animals arrive is key to a less stressful transition and enjoyable start to your fainting goat relationship. And I do say animals, rather than an animal because you should always plan on having more than one goat at a time. These social herd animals will not thrive in solitude.
Install Goat Fencing
The first thing to secure is boundaries. Remember my story about the wayward goat in the intro? That wasn’t a novel circumstance. When I found the farmer and let them know I had returned his goat, I learned that escaping was a daily MO.
Anyone who keeps goats knows they are surprisingly intelligent when it comes to testing the confines of any fence. Often, they can pinpoint and exploit a weakness with surprising perseverance. Though fainting goats aren’t climbers, they are known for tunneling beneath a fence which is why the heavy stone fences of historical Tennessee were so effective in keeping them contained.
To avoid wandering goats and keep your neighbor’s lettuce bed — and friendship — in prime condition, good fencing is paramount for keeping goats.
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I wrote an article about goat fencing basics here, so if you want some in-depth information on your options, be sure to check it out. For the CliffsNotes version: If you’re going to go cheap on anything for your herd, don’t do it on fencing. Taking the time to install a solid fence will pay for itself in terms of safety, peace of mind, and secure gardens. Maybe you can take a note from the past and pile rocks along the borders of the goat paddock for some extra security.
Build A Secure Shelter
第二件事是庇护所。山羊不像绵羊。他们不能忍受在恶劣的天气里外出,他们会吃苦头的。给你晕厥的山羊一个远离风、雨和雪的地方会让它们保持健康和快乐。这在开玩笑的季节尤其重要,对于能够全年繁殖的山羊来说,一个坚固的庇护所是必不可少的。
The third thing is predator protection. Fainting goats are on the smallish side, and the fainting certainly doesn’t help if they are surprised by a hungry stray dog.
Make Sure Your Property Has Lots Of Goat Food
Feeding goats isn’t that complicated. If you keep just a few goats and have enough land, you can even source the majority of their feed from the land itself.I wrote another article on the basics of goat feeding here.
Goats, as browsing animals, are much like deer in their feeding habits, meaning tree branches and leaves are much more their style than endless green pastures.
A Brief History Of Tennessee Fainting Goats
The origins of the fainting goat sound like the opening to a mystery novel. The best summary goat historians can trace starts in the 1880s with a man named John Tinsley. He was believed to be an itinerant worker who came to a farm in Tennessee. No one really knew where he’d been before Tennessee, so the origin of the four goats he brought with him was unknown.
The three does and buck were odd. They would often get stiff and fall down for no apparent reason. After a year, Tinsley sold his strange fainting goats and left the state to disappear in the mists of time. Meanwhile, his curious caprines started to breed and slowly spread through several Tennessee counties.
The goats were desired for their unique characteristics — particularly the fact that they were terrible at climbing fences due to their faint-ability. In an area of the state covered in stone fences, these goats were nicely docile and far easier to contain than other breeds.
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A handful of the Tennessee goats were taken to Texas, where they were developed into a meat breed. In modern times, depending on who you talk to, these meat-type Texan goats may be on the cusp of being their own breed. They have changed quite a bit of their appearance from their old Tennessee siblings, and many of their descendants don’t faint anymore.
Resources
Welcoming fainting goats to your homestead offers you many opportunities. This article is merely an introduction to a much larger study. Please check out the links below to start your journey in learning.
如果你有兴趣为你的冰箱饲养肉类,它们是一个很好的选择。如果你想为家人提供足够的牛奶,他们可以提供。如果你对保护历史悠久的山羊品种感兴趣,网上有许多热情的晕倒的山羊鉴赏家,他们会告诉你如何努力。
If you strike cashmere gold with your specific goats, you may even be able to generate a side income. And if you just want to laugh at the companionship of these funny little fall-over friends, you could probably do no better than these docile creatures. Find more information at the following resources.
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