Here at Lickskillet Acres we raise small to medium size Myotonic goats.  For those of you who are not familiar with myotonic goats here is a little information. They are also known as Tennessee Fainting Goats, Wooden Leg Goats, Scare Goats, Nervous Goats or any other variety of names that refers to their stiffness.

Following is a description of myotonia congenita as written by Dr. Phil Sponenberg:

Fainting goats have a muscle condition, which is called myotonia congenital.  This is a condition which occurs in many species, including humans.  Myotonic animals have a change in some of the channels that occur in the outer membranes of skeletal muscle cells.  These channels provide for the transfer of certain ions that control muscle contraction & relaxation.  The result of this is that when muscles fire rapidly in a myotonic animal they cannot quickly relax, resulting in a prolonged contraction.

The myotonic condition is strictly muscular and does not involve the nerves or the brain.  The animals do not truly “faint” in any sense of the word, as they never lose consciousness because of the condition.  They remain fully conscious.

Myotonia and its side effects, varies in degree from individual to individual.  Some myotonic animals rarely exhibit the stiffness usually associated with it.  Other animals are consistently myotonic, and exhibit some signs of the condition even when walking on level ground.  In most animals it is only exhibited when they are startled, or when they step over a barrier.

 

Because the Myotonia causes heavy muscling in the goats they have been bred primarily as a meat goat, but because of their smaller size, their docile temperament & their ease of up keep this wonder breed of goat has found its way into the pet market.

 

 The American Livestock Breed Conservancy placed this breed of goat on their "rare" list, with an estimated world population of under 10,000.  But this number has grown due to the efforts of the breeders who prefer to raise this wonderful breed of goat and the organizations that track these goats including the Pedigree Project, The Myotonic Goat Registry, & the International Fainting Goat Association.  We are proud to be a Myotonic Goat Registry breeder.

Along with this wonderful breed of goats we also have Black Belly Sheep, Donkeys, Llamas, Rhea, Emus, a pony, Peacocks, Turkeys, Chickens, Guineas an assortment of Cats & of course our Livestock Guardian dogs.  We also have a couple of Canada Geese, one of them thinks he is a donkey

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