RBF
River Bluff Farm
434-579-0486
Myotonic Goats, also known as Tennessee Fainting, Nervous, and Stiff-Legged are an amazing breed of goat which are first reported as coming from Tennessee in the 1880's. A farmer, John Tinsley who was believed to be from Nova Scotia showed up to work on a farm with his four goats. Not much is know about John or his goats, other that after John left the farm he was working, and his goats with it, the owners found that these goats had an interesting characteristic that they hadn't seen before.
Myotonic goats have a condition called Myotonia Congenita which causes their muscles to experience traction when they are excited or scared. The muscle stiffness causes the goat to lock up, walk stiff legged, or even fall over. Each episode only lasts a few seconds and the goat gets back up unharmed. Stories say that Shepherds often kept the goats in with their flocks of sheep in case a predator would attack. As the predator would begin chasing the flock, the goats would become startled and they would faint. This allowed a clean getaway for their flock of sheep, not a nice ending for the goat.
Many people, including us, have found Myotonics to be an amazing goat for first time owners. Unlike other goat breeds, you don't have to "have a fence that can hold water" to keep a Fainting goat. They are not climbers so they don't escape as much. They're more disease resistant which requires less wormings and intervention, and have a higher reproductive rate with twins being the usual. They also have a high muscle degree compared to non-fainters.
All River Bluff doelings and bucklings can be registered with the Myotonic Goat Registry (MGR). Long haired myotonics can also be double registered with the Miniature Silky Fainting Goat Association (MSFGA) and paperwork will be given to new owners so you can register your doe or buckling.