It was not long before I discovered that they were 'fainting' goats. What an amazing idea! Goats that faint! Well actually they don't faint. They have a genetic trait called myotonia that causes them to stiffen up when surprised. The trait is relatively rare in the animal world and is a recessive gene so both parents must have the gene for it to be observable in the babies. It does not harm the animal in any way. They simply lose control of their leg muscles for a few seconds.  This does  make them EXTREMELY vulnerable to predators. It is awfully hard to run from predators when you are laying on the ground stiff as a board!

I bought a few more goats. One was a longhaired black buck named Buck. I still have him but he is retired. Along the way Suzie had a small longhaired baby I named Fancy. She was my inspiration to develop a herd of miniature longhaired fainters.

Over the years I have bought and traded until my herd is almost entirely miniature now. I have used VERY selective breeding to enhance the longhair trait while keeping the size small.

Definition—Miniatures by my definition are 50 lbs. or less at 18 months of age. The does are typically less than 60 lbs. throughout their life. The bucks may grow to be in the 70 to 80 lb. area as they age although some are still at 50 lbs. at two years old. Since they are derived from a meat goat breed they are muscular, but most are not stocky—just appear to be smaller versions of the full size fainters.

The normal size for Woodenlegs is 100 lbs. up. There is a subspecies called the Tennessee Meat Goats that have been bred up in size to over 200 lbs. by Suzanne Gasparotto of Lohn, Texas. (http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com) My breeding program has dropped the size in half while enforcing the longhaired gene.

Why—My breeding program started as a stress relief project. My fast paced life in the PC customer/sales support industry was getting to me. Coming home to my babies was the best relaxation I could find, but the project soon became an obsession and I loved every minute of it!

My 10 acres of pasture will only support about 20 goats at best. I was lucky to live next to a large cattle pasture (over 200 acres). The owner invested in clearing the cedar and brush off of about 50 acres next to my property. I was asked to let my goats into the pasture to keep the brush from growing back. It was a great partnership. I had access to the pasture and the goats kept the brush from growing back. My herd grew to 80 goats, and then I VERY selectively culled them to drop back to my core herd of 30 to 40 animals.

But recently the deer hunters who buy the hunting lease rights decided that my goats and Pyrenees dogs were 'ruining' their deer hunting. They told the owner either the goats went or their money went. So now I am forced to cut my herd at least in half. I am seriously thinking about dropping by two thirds back to as few as 10 animals.

So here is a summary of my complete herd. I will list by name and age followed by descriptive information. I plan on getting photos of each animal that I can scan and email to anyone requesting more info on specific animals. None of my animals are registered but all are 'fainters'. They have had almost no health problem, except a few occasional isolated cases of pinkeye are the only disease they have had. They are wormed with SafeGuard cattle blocks two or three times a year. I do not vacinate because there has never been a need. I have had to feed very little supplemental feed since the goats found everything they needed to stay healthy and fat in the big pasture.

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My Bucks:

Zeigy—DIED OF INJURIES 2002.   He is the AnheuserBusch ZeigenBock beer mascot goat.  You can read about him at http://www.hopnotes.com in the ZeigenBock subsection. I have one son of his who is miniature and longhaired.  Zeigy is a solid white small full size.  There is a picture of him on the banner on my homepage.

Buck —DIED OF OLD AGE.   He was my first longhaired goat.  His blood runs all through my herd.  He is mostly black and is a small full size.  He is 10 years old and is retired.   His only job now is to mow the lawn at his leisure.

Beau—SOLD. He was my first full size buck - there is a picture of him on the banner on my homepage.   His blood runs all through my herd.  He is listed here for geneological reasons.

Eric—SOLD.   Eric is my cornerstone herd buck.  His picture is on the banner on my homepage.  He has GORGEOUS fine long hair that reaches to the ground.  He is a quad color with black brown tan and white markings.  He has fathered over 20 'thru the fence' babies—I had to put up a hot wire just to keep him away from the girls, except when I wanted him to be with them!

Rush—SOLD.   Rush was obtained in 1995 from Suzanne Gasparotto's her.  Rush faints in a big way.  He is taller and leaner than most of my herd.  He has a unique reddish brown color that is almost burgundy in the summer.  He is two color with brown and white.  He has only whispy skirts, but he has a strong longhair gene that passes down through the line.

Apollo—SOLD.   He is a solid white with a long beautiful mane and chest hair.  He is in the pictures (with the red ear tag).  He is from Suzanne Gasparotto's herd.

Samson—SOLD.   He was born in 1996 and is from Suzanne Gasparotto's herd.  Samson is my smallest herd sire.  He looks like a black and white bulldog.   He is very muscular and faints at the slightest provocation.  I have gotten my smallest offspring out of him.  He is short haired.

Bob—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His  sire is Eric and his dam is Boots.  Bob is a twin. He has long coarse hair over all of his body.  He is quadcolor—brown, black, tan, and white.  His picture is on the 'da Boys' page.   His twin, Bobbie, was killed by a coydog.

Bart—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His sire is Rush and his dam is Star (full size, now   sold).  Bart is black and white and he has skirts.

Chris—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His sire is Eric and his dam is Chastity.  Chris is GORGEOUS.  His picture is on the 'da Boys' page.  He is a quad color with long hair and skirts.  He is a twin to Chrissy.

Babe—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His sire is Samson and his dam is Millie.  Babe is a twin.  He is black and white and is built like his dad.  He is short haired.   His twin, Babs, was killed by a coydog.

Seth—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His sire is Rush and his dam is Summer.  Seth has the gorgeous color of his dad (the reddish brown and white).  He has long skirts.   His  twin, Selena, was sold.  His picture is in the 'da Boys' page.

Diamond Jim—SOLD.    He was born in 1997.  His sire is Rush and his dam is Nellie.   Diamond Jim is black and white.  He is short haired and has a muscular build.  His twin, Diamond Lil, was killed by a coydog.

Moe—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His sire is Samson and his dam is SweetPea.   Moe is my smallest offspring.  He just barely makes 50 lbs. at two years of age.  He is  twin to Minnie.  He is tan with white short hair.  I had planned on breeding him to BG this fall.

Zag—SOLD.   He was born in 1997.  His sire is Zeigy and his dam is Aggie.  Zag is pure white with a long mane and skirts.  He has long bangs that curl down over his eyes.

Joe and Jake—SOLD.   They were born in 1998.  Their sire is Eric and their dam is Star.  They are tripletts.  Their sister, Jeri, is sold.  Joe is mostly black.  Jake is black and white and short haired.

Spade—SOLD.   He was born in 1998.  His sire is Eric and his dam is LillieB.  He is a twin.  His brother, Ace, was  killed by a coydog.  Spade is a tricolor brown black white with skirts and a mane—pretty contrasting markings!

Chas—SOLD.   He was born in 1998.  His sire is Eric and his dam is Chastity.  He is a twin.  His sister, Cheri, was killed by a coydog.  Chas has reddish brown, black and white markings with a hint of skirts.

Pudd—SOLD.   He was born in 1998.  His sire is Eric and his dam is Samantha.  His twin sister, Puddin, was killed by a coydog.  Pudd gets his reddish brown color from Rush and he has beautiful blond skirts.

Daryl—SOLD.   He was born in 1998.  His sire is Eric and his dam is Daisy.  He is a twin.  His brother, Dean, was killed by coydog.  Daryl is a surprise to me.   He has definitely followed after Eric.  His picture is on 'da Boys' page.  He has long fine multi-colored hair and long bangs.  Daisy is my only full size doe and she is the one feeding in the upper branches of the picture on 'da Girls' page.

Peanut—SOLD.   He was born 1998.  His sire is Eric and his dam is SweetPea. Peanut is an unusual reddish tan color with very striking skirts.  His picture is on 'da Boys' page.

Terry—SOLD.   He was born 1998.  His sire is Apollo and his dam is Tina.  Terry is pure white.  He is fine boned and lightly built like Tina with just a trace of skirts.

NOTE: See, I told you Eric was busy with the 'thru the fence' breeding.

NOTE: The coydog got 12 of my goats over a 6-month period before I finally got a bullet into him.  He was the worst predator I or the county hunter had ever run across. I will put a story about him on my web page someday.  He still gives me nightmares! (A coydog is a halfbreed coyote dog cross - extremely smart!)

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My Does:

Snow—NOT FOR SALE.   She was born in 199.  Her sire is Beau and her dam is Suzie.  Snow is solid white and mid-size she but has had small babie.  She currently has twins that were born in 1999 that look like they are going to be mini-longhairs.

Daisy—NOT FOR SALE.   She was born in 199.  Her sire is Beau and her dam is Sally.  Daisy is a solid white and full size but she has had small longhair babies.

Ninny—DIED OF OLD AGE.  She was born in 1993.  Her sire is Buck and her dam is Smokey.  Ninny is a solid black and is a small-boned frail-looking doe who has had beautiful kids.  I have mixed feelings about offering her for sale.  I may change my mind.

Milly—SOLD.   She was born in 1994.  Her sire is Beau and her dam is Snow.  Milly is a small, almost white short hair who has had small but strong and healthy babies.  She mated with Samson and she has given me my smallest offspring.  She had twins on May 1st—bred to Samson.

Boots—SOLD.  She was born in 1994.  Her sire is Buck and her dam is Suzie.  Boots is brown with black accents.  She survived a coydog attack but she  will always walk with a limp. She was twin to Fancy who was killed in the coydog attack.

SweetPea—SOLD.   She was born in 1995.  Her sire is Beau and her dam is Snow. SweetPea is a cutie.  She is a gold brown color, has a stocky build and has ears that flop half way out.  She has had small babies and is an excellent mother.

Chastity—NOT FOR SALE.   I bought her from Suzanne Gasparotto at the same time I got Eric.  They have given me my best miniatures.  Chastity has had 12 babies from 5 freshenings.   She currently has newborn tripletts that look very promising.

Summer—SOLD.   She was born in 1995.  Her sire is Buck and her dam is Lillie. Summer is strikingly black and white with fluffy skirts. Her picture is on 'da Girls' page. She is due to deliver in May 1999—bred to Chris,

Tina—NOT FOR SALE.  She was born in 1995.  I bought her from Suzanne Gasparotto.  She is gold and white and is a small boned, dainty doe.  She just lost two nice buck kids who were at least 10 days premature.  There seems to be no reason for the premature births and she appears to be healthy.  The babies were big and strong but just not mature enough to survive in spite of my round the clock efforts to save them.

Anjie—SOLD.   She was born in 1996.  Her sire is Beau and her dam is Annie.  Anjie is my baby—at least she thinks so.  She and her brother were premature.  I fed them with a syringe for the first 24 hours and then held them to a nipple so they could nurse for two days. She is imprinted on me and NEVER takes advantage of her pecking order status as daughter of the alpha critter (me).  She is white with gold accents.

LillieB—SOLD.   She was born in 1996. I bought her from Suzanne Gasparotto.   She is a solid sleak black and has beautiful long-haired babies.  She is a nursing nanny but she will be ready to wean her black baby doe born in January 1999.

Samantha—SOLD.   She was born in 1996.  Her sire is Rush and her dam is Boots.   Samantha has the red brown color of Rush and has skirts.  Her picture is in 'da Girls' page.  She is twin to Sammy, who is sold.

Aggie—SOLD. She was born in 1996.  Her sire is Beau and her dam is Daisy.  Aggie has long fine hair over her whole body.  Her picture is on 'da Girls' page. She is white and beige and is real fine textured.

Chrissy—SOLD. She was born in 1997.  Her sire is Eric and her dam is Chastity.  Her brother is Chris.  Chrissy is a buckskin short hair.

Minnie—SOLD.   She was born in 1997.  Her sire is Samson and her dam is SweetPea. Her brother is Moe.  She and Moe are the smallest offspring I have produced.  She is beige and white and has floppy ears like SweetPea.

SallyB—SOLD.   She was born in 1998.  Her sire is Eric and her dam is Celia.  SallyB was a 'thru the fence' accident.  She is fine boned and has tricolored short hair.

Taffi—SOLD.   She was  born in 1998.  Her sire is Eric and her dam is Brandi.   Dear sweet Taffi—she is at the bottom of the pecking order and faints SO easily.  She is multicolor brown and has fine hair over all her body that I think will eventually be long and beautiful.

AnnieB—SOLD.   She was born in 1998.  Her sire is Eric and her dam is Anjie. AnnieB is a black and white short hair, a twin to AndyB who was killed by a coydog.

BG—SOLD.   She was born in 1998.  BG is a totally unique bloodline.  She is purebred Nigerian Dwarf with a show quality pedigree who faints.  Her picture is on the 'da Girls' page.  She is a TINY thing—only 30 lbs. at 18 months.

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1999 Newborn Kids

Lisa—SOLD.   She was  born in January 1999.  Her sire is Eric and her dam is LillieB. Lisa is mostly black with white streaks on her sides.  She is small.  I can't tell yet about long hair.

Little Big Man (SOLD) and Little Big Girl (SOLD)were born in March 1999.  Their sire is Eric and their dam is Snow.   Their pictures are on 'da Kids' page.  Little Big Man shows all the signs of being an outstanding miniature longhair like his daddy.

Ellie, Eddie, and Ernie (ALL SOLD) were born April in 1999.   Their sire is  Eric and their dam is Chastity.  Their pictures are on 'da Kids' page.  It's too early to tell, but Eric and Chastity have a perfect record of outstanding babies.

Mac and Missy were born in May 1999.  Their sire is Apollo and their dam is Millie.  They are a 1-1/2 lb. doe and 2 lb. buck.   It looks like they are going to be dark colored—kind of a dusty brown now but have dark underhair.  They are strong and active. SOLD.

Storm was born May 11, 1999. Storm is SOLD.