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Chris Higgins
Fainting Goats
by Chris Higgins - April 30, 2007 - 10:30 AM

Are you a shepherd, tired of losing sheep to pesky predators? Sounds like you need a fainting goat! Because of a neuromuscular condition called myotonia congenita, fainting goats go stiff (”faint”) when startled or excited. (”Premium fainters” can even fall over on their backs, legs sticking up in the air.) In the event of an attack on your flock, the fainting goat would be a sort of (excuse the pun) sacrificial lamb for predators — a briefly catatonic goat making an easier meal than a fleeing sheep. Although the condition is not a true “faint” — the goats are conscious the entire time — it’s a strangely endearing trait.

Fainting goats have gotten a lot of play on the web. Here’s a YouTube clip of a news story on fainting goats:


Goat fanciers should consider joining the International Fainting Goat Association (IFGA). See also: Wikipedia page on fainting goats. Check out another fainting goat video after the jump.

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Comments (8)

  1. OK, I’m not crazy. I saw a local news story on these goats (they interviewed a breeder at - get this - the OverEZ Acres) some years ago. It’s a fun topic to ponder, but people rarely believe that they are real. Thank you, mental floss, for once again restoring my sanity.

    posted by elizabutt on 4-30-2007 at 10:56 am

  2. Poor things! I would think if they had a predator chasing them they would be in BIIIIG trouble!

    posted by JaneM on 4-30-2007 at 12:15 pm

  3. The fainting goats were on dirty jobs on Discovery Channel, they interview farm owners somewhere up north (i live in texas so everything is up north –sorry) neat show still comes on reruns or the animal specials

    posted by Lindsey on 4-30-2007 at 2:09 pm

  4. Am I the only one who remembered the fainting goats topic in Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick’s cheesy movie Addicted to Love?

    posted by Cheryl on 4-30-2007 at 3:10 pm

  5. The first fainting goat website you linked to was created about ten years ago this spring, which is a significant milestone. It’s sites like this (posting someone’s thoughts about his stepfather’s crazy pet goats), that make the internet great. So it’s almost like the Greatness of the Internet is ten years old this spring.

    posted by Mary on 4-30-2007 at 3:27 pm

  6. Guess I should have shared this for the April Fools email, but my MIL once put a fainting goat in her boss’s office for his birthday. She was assured it would faint when the door was opened, but all the dang thing ever did was poo on his floor…still a testament to her creativity (and a shock to the old guy!).

    posted by Elizabeth on 4-30-2007 at 3:39 pm

  7. Correcting my own…April Fool.

    posted by Elizabeth on 4-30-2007 at 3:46 pm

  8. Thank you Cheryl! I thought I was the only one. Ever since this popped up online, I’ve been thinking about Addicted to Love. Glad I’m not the only one.

    posted by Emily Jane on 4-30-2007 at 6:17 pm

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