planetdan

Monday, October 03, 2005 :::

Fainting Goats

Apparently some goats are bred to faint when startled so as to be sacraficed for the good of the lamb when the wolves attack. It sounds like a horrible Biblical allegory, but it's for real and it's fun as hell to watch:

Watch the Fainting Goats in Action [FP]

I also like these random shots of fainted goats. I want one as a pet.

This video is awesome, too:

::: posted by dan at 9:56 PM :: [ link ] :: (21) comments

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By

buba69, at 11:32 PM

I was gonna call bullshit because the low quality video kinda looks like they are all just running into each other and falling down, but perhaps the running into each other is what makes them freak out.

Then I was going to make a obscure reference to http://www.bonsaikitten.com/

By

buba69, at 11:41 PM

Actually, my initial reaction was internet hoax, but I did quite a bit of research before I posted it. More here. I dunno, kinda seems legit, even though it's posted on ebaumsworld. And here. And on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_Goat

By

dan, at 11:53 PM

Thank you for this post! I first read about fainting goats when I was about 15 and have wanted one ever since. My boyfriend at the time said "Poor goat. If you had one, you'd just be constantly sneaking up on it". And he's right. Best. Pet. Evar.

By

Anonymous, at 1:50 AM

Dan,

Is it true that your Uncle Ray was a goatherd and was the inspiration for Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Lonely Goatherd from the Sound of Music?

High on a hill was a lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Loud was the voice of the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo

By

billthecatlives, at 5:22 AM

ha! that's hysterical!

By

Honey Bunny, at 7:53 AM

so cute! I could watch that video all day.

By

Christine, at 9:46 AM

Ha! That's awesome-
I can just imagine the breeding process-some farmer wandering around trying to find the wussiest goats and then letting them mate with the females. The real tough goats must have been like "Dude? What the fuck?"

By

The Bourbon Samurai, at 12:06 PM

The goats are too funny. Wierd how they have muscle control to keep their legs up in the air while fainting? Dan, you site is a great break to a tense day at the office. But what is with Bill the wierd cat guy? His obsession with Uncle Ray is disturbing. Enough already Bill!

By

canadiangirl, at 2:02 PM

Am I the only one who finds that a bit sad.
Kinda funny - but the laugh caught in my throat when I saw their little legs sticking up in the air. Poor goatees.
Maybe it's cos I'm a girl.

And yay - Bonsai Kitten's back. Last time I tried to look, all I got was an error message. I thought it must have been taken down.

By

alivicwil, at 6:28 PM

Oh, fabulous! I have been laughing so hard for the past ten minutes that I actually drooled onto my keyboard. I have worked with goats, and can see the flight response being autonomic, like normal goats react, and the fainting kicks in while they are mid-gallop. I don't agree with buba. They are clearly starting to run away before they faint. Goats can run full-tilt at close quarters without running into each other, and these guys are clearly losing consciousness after they are already moving.

I was sent a link to the Georgie animation by a friend in NY, and was thrilled to discover the rest of your site! Great stuff!

By

hpl575, at 1:28 AM

Sorry canadian girl about the obsession with Uncle Ray. I guess he will just have to ride his topiary into the sunset. But you have to admit Dan’s posting about Uncle Ray was a classic, the picture and the narrative.

By

billthecatlives, at 4:32 AM

A friend of mine in high school had a couple fainting goats in with his herd.
shamefully, we did often sneak up on them to make them "faint"
They are not actually unconscious, though. Their muscles just sort of freeze up, which is why the little legs stick up. They are totally aware of the humiliation, however.
poor goat-ies

By

Anonymous, at 12:10 PM

holy crap man! Can you even imagine the dialogue those goats are having as this happens? Wow. How do they train them to do this?

By

Amanda Frazier, at 12:59 PM

yar petha pullayoe theriayla so ho and help it.

By

Anonymous, at 9:32 AM

I have actually seen a fainting goat. It didn't actually go down but it got all stifflegged and probably would have fainted but I dont think it was quite scared enough... :)

By

jill, at 4:51 PM

This is hilarious! But do you know why they do that? They're epileptic. Seriously. And I feel kind of bad laughing at an epileptic goat.

By

Anonymous, at 8:49 AM

THAT IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS I THINK I HAVE EVER SEEN.
THANK YOU.

By

n8 b, at 12:47 PM

I HAVE ONE OF THESE.A FRIEND GOT IT WITH SOME MILK GOATS AT AN AUCTION AND HE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A MINITURE..HE SOLD IT TO ME.WHEN SHE FIRST FELL OVER I THOUGHT SHE WAS SICK OR DYING.MY SON CAME IN FROM SCHOOL TELLING ME HIS AG TEACHER LOOKED IT UP ON PUTER..SO THIS IS NOT A HOAX,TY.CATHY

By

Anonymous, at 1:59 PM

heres some true info on fainting goats
http://faintinggoats.com/

By

Anonymous, at 6:17 PM

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By

Anonymous, at 9:06 AM

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