Thinking of adding goats to the farm... fainting goat?

[BlakesFarm]

Hi BYC,

We are thinking of adding some goats to the farm in a year or two, and I need some breed ideas.

We have had pygmy goats many years in the past and we want something different. We would like a goat that you can get some milk from (like for making soap), a small size, tame, doctile, and could be used for a 4-H project. We were wanting to get 3 goats, breed them, and selling the offspring. Theay would be for pets not meat.

I like the fainting goat, is there anyone on here that has them? Any tips on the fainting goats?

.

 

[allanimals21]

I have fainters. Not really a milk goat. They are meat goats. You can get big fainters and mini fainters. It all depends on the breeder. I don't know of many people myself that use them in 4-H but I don't see why you couldn't. They are really fun and tend to keep themselves out of trouble. I was told they know that if they scare themselves that they will faint so that is why they stay out of trouble. They don't wanna faint. I've never had any issues with mine. My alpine wether is a terror. He's like a child stuck in terrible twos. Here are my 2 fainters. Looking for more does right now....

Billy the alpine and Laila is my fainter doe

and Gus my buck. This was the first day I had him. I don't have an updated pic of him right now.

Here is Gus fainted

 

[jason_mazzy]

Pygmy's can be milking goats. and for their size produce adequate milk. If you want to go full size, Nubians can be meat or milk, and Alpines have some of the best milk of all goat species.

I know a goat breeder who had Pygmy's, Fainters, and Boers. He also has cattle, and maybe some alpines. I am about an hour to charlotte how far are you?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I'm in the same boat and we've decided on nubians, they are supposed to have really good tasting creamy milk, and are not known for being terrorists.

PLus they are very pretty.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I love to see fainting goats but I don' think that I could have any. Every time that they would faint, I would think that they are dead and I would end up fainting right along with them.

ETA: Why do fainting goats faint?

 

[chickenzoo]

I have mini Fainters, I love them . They don't seem to climb all over everything like other goats do. Never milked mine yet... hehe

 

[BlakesFarm]

Quote:
Theay do not faint but fall over from a myotonic condition. The myotonia causes the muscles to stiffen when startled or overley excited, this results in the goat falling over.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Theay do not faint but fall over from a myotonic condition. The myotonia causes the muscles to stiffen when startled or overley excited, this results in the goat falling over.

Oh my! My nerves couldn't take that. I would be dead in a week's time if I saw them fainting like that.

 

[AKsmama]

How do the fainting goats do around predators, though? Wouldn't the few seconds that they are seized up give a predator even more of an advantage? Or do you just make sure they are penned up safely at night? Or do you just have a few really good LGDs around?

 

[BlakesFarm]

This is where the scape goat term comes in play. Sheapords will put the fainting goates in there more expensive herds that way the preditors would kill them and not there more expensive livestock.