Comments on: The Fainting Goats

By: yayo

yayo — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:37:45 +0000

Some male goats may appreciate too XD

By: Denita TwoDragons

Denita TwoDragons — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 14:50:53 +0000

"...which is a good thing, at least to farmers."

...or coyotes, wolves, stray dogs, and hungry bums...

--TwoDragons

By: nihilist

nihilist — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 13:56:05 +0000

I came across this in a show I watched recently, and if I recall correctly, the genetic defect also confers more meat on the goat, which is a good thing, at least to farmers.

By: jimbo

jimbo — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 04:19:18 +0000

ha, funny stuff I hadn't seen that before. Glad I did now.

By: Denita TwoDragons

Denita TwoDragons — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:58:44 +0000

Here in Texas they're bred as a novelty. Apparently there's a booming market for narcoleptic livestock.

Which is kinda sad, if you ask me. I'd prefer a flock of healthy herbivores and a few well-trained sheepdogs, thanks. Something about deliberately breeding neurological defects into an animal strikes me as cruel.

--TwoDragons

By: MrPumpernickel

MrPumpernickel — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:05:16 +0000

Haha, awesome, two posts with the same meaning at the same time.

They are still being widely used where sheep herds and predators are common. Eastern Europe where wolves are more common for instance.

By: MrPumpernickel

MrPumpernickel — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:03:35 +0000

One use for the breed is actually to protect herds from predators. A predator attacks, the whole herd runs away except this goat who gets killed and eaten. Which obviously is better than a predator mortally wounding several animals instead.

By: Voodoo

Voodoo — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:03:24 +0000

It's a genetic defect in the species. There are so many of them today because they were bred because of their defect. They were placed in flocks of sheep. When predators would attack the flock, the goats would get excited and pass out, allowing the sheep to escape while the predators consumed the helpless goat. Useful at one time and I'm sure they still are in certain parts of the world.

By: ted

ted — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:43:14 +0000

I feel guilty about it, but it's hilarious.

You have to wonder about the guy in the field deliberately spooking the goats for no apparent reason.

By: dead_red_eyes

dead_red_eyes — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:03:49 +0000

Haha, I've seen that before. Really funny stuff.

By: Omnipotent Poobah

Omnipotent Poobah — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:55:56 +0000

I love these things.

There is a small herd at California's Old Faithful geyser. The geyser is a pale imitation of Yellowstone's, but the goats make the trip worth it.