Goats are hilarious. They love to play, eat, and give their parents a bit of a fright by pretending to faint sometimes. They’re the life of the party and they know it.
Listen, sometimes, the playing is just too fun. In that case, the goats get so excited that their little brains just short circuit:
@sparkyb54 Fainting goat down!
If I could have goats like @sparkyb54, I would. They’re so cute!
Though goats fainting is very funny, not all goats do it. Fainting is reserved for the Tennessee fainting goats, which first came from central Tennessee, with most documentation of them originating in the late 1800s. I pity whatever poor Tennessean farmer first discovered this issue!
The fainting is not actually fainting. These goats have a genetic condition called myotonia congenita. When this condition is present, a goat’s muscles can go stiff very quickly in response to a fright or if they’re moving too quickly. Think of it like a cramp when you’re out for a run, but instead of running through it, you just fall over.
Myotonia congenita can occur in other animals as well as humans: as long as you have two copies of the gene from your parents, you’re susceptible. These fainting spells don’t hurt, and they only last about 30 seconds max. So long as the goat doesn’t fall off of something from high up, they’ll be alright!
Other than the fainting issue, fainting goats are one of the best breeds to keep as a pet. They’re very kind, relatively small, and easy to please!
The goats in this video seem to faint in response to their quick movements. We see them running up their little stairs and the first one faints after the jump. The second goat faints in response to the first one fainting, and kind of rolls down his slide. Both goats are totally fine, and this is definitely not the first time it’s happened!
