Tennessee Goat - Description

The Tennessee Goat is a breed of goat, they are not just a goat that displays myotonia.

Breed - a distinctive type of particular species of animal or, sometimes, plant having recognizable inherited characteristics that are the result of a long period of selective mating.

Tennessee Goats have been called many different names over the years, Nervous, Stiff Legged, Wooden Leg, Fall Down, Scare, Mountain Ghost, and Fainting Goats.

I have known these goats as Tennessee Goats since the early '80's and personally do prefer to call them that. I feel it is more of a Breed name than the name of Myotonic that has been given to them in the United States, as I do not like to put so much emphasis on one of the many characteristics of the breed, myotonia.

Aside from the myotonia, they have distinctive, and quickly recognizable characteristics that are only seen in this breed of goat.

Tennessee Goats have a gene called myotonia that causes their muscles to stiffen when they are startled or get excited. This stiffening often causes them to loose their balance and fall over. They are not having a seizure, and it doesn't hurt them. They don't actually "faint" and become unconscious, they just stiffen and often fall over when they are unexpectedly startled. They are fully conscious, and once they relax, (10-15 seconds), they get up and are on their way.

This stiffening of the muscles builds muscle, much like a body builder would by lifting weights. Tennessee Goats have powerful muscular bodies and smaller bones, thus a higher meat to bone ratio, which makes them a great meat animal. However, in Canada these goats are extremely RARE and are CRITICALLY ENDANGERED and need to be preserved until their numbers have been built up.

Tennessee Goats are a medium size, horned or polled, multi-purpose breed, raised for pets, meat, milk and fiber. In general they are a very proud, calm and docile breed, and have personalities that will capture your heart. They are very intelligent, and I can often see the "gears" just turning in their heads, thinking about a new situation and reasoning it out before they decide what to do.

One other thing to mention is that the myotonia prevents these goats from jumping over fences or onto other higher objects.

One must however, keep in mind that myotonia is not the only characteristic of this breed. Just because a goat "faints" does not mean it is a Tennessee Goat!

Some of the most important characteristics of the Tennessee breed are with their facial features, the eyes and ears, muzzle, and body conformation.

The eyes of this breed are often called "bug-eyed" or "pop-eyed". The bone structure of the forehead, surrounding the eye is rounded and then narrows as it goes back towards the ear. The eyes are set wide apart and tend to face more forward than other breeds. There is often a "break" or "dip" just below the eye, but not dished, separating the head from the facial area. Many of these goats have eyes which look like they protrude from the socket. It is the way the bone is structured that causes the eye to look that way.

The ears of the Tennessee Goat come in three different styles. All styles of ears are medium in length and width and are held horizontally from the side of the head, but slightly turned so that they are facing forward. At times the ears are fully horizontal, like wings on an airplane, other times facing forward, depending on the mood of the goat. The attachment of the ear to the head feels very free and moveable, unlike most other breeds whose ears seem more tightly attached.

I have in my herd all three types of ears.....

1st type.....this ear is straight. It does not have a ripple.

2nd type.....this ear will have a slight horizontal ripple, on the inside of the ear, about mid-way, and will bend slightly downward. These ears seem to be straight some days and other days they are slightly bent.

3rd type.....this ear will have a more pronounced horizontal ripple on the inside of the ear, about mid-way, and will bend downward and forward, shading the eyes. The ear does not droop at the base, but bends in the middle.

There isn't a particularly favored ear style, all three are acceptable, but each breeder may have their own preference.

The head of the Tennessee Goat is short to medium length with a fairly straight profile, a slight dip just below the eye set is common, but not roman nosed as seen in the Boer or Nubian breeds. The nose is medium in length and is wider, flatter and more rounded than other breeds, not "snippy" or "pointed".

Their bodies have an overall greater muscle mass due to the myotonia gene. Young animals show visible signs of increased muscle mass and it increases and becomes more apparent as the animal matures. They are more stocky with obvious width for height. Their body is full, wide and deep, with heavy muscling throughout.

The bones of the Tennessee Goat appear to be finer, or "more delicate" than other breeds of similar size, however the bone density is much greater throughout their body, making their bones stronger. This enables them to carry the weight of the extra muscling that naturally occurs with their myotonia.

The muscling should be consistent throughout their body and be heavier in the rear. Muscling increases with age and Does will also show a lot of chest and rear muscling, as well as along the spine.

Coat length varies from short and smooth to long and shaggy. Some animals have a skirting effect around their front and back legs with the rest of their coat being short or medium long. Others have a fairly short coat with longer hair along their spine and combinations thereof. The only type of coat that is not acceptable is one that hangs from the animal in ringlets, like that of the Angora breed.

In the winter months, especially in colder climates, many Tennessee Goats will grow abundant cashmere coats, varying from animal to animal. Some will have a short cashmere coat while others have enough that can be carded and spun into a yarn to make gorgeous soft sweaters. Some animals will have such a wonderful cashmere coat that it curls slightly at the tips. These beautiful warm coats will fully shed out in the warmer weather and should not be confused with the Angora type coat.

The Tennessee Goat comes in all colors, though it has been thought that the original color of these goats was black and white. Today all colors, combinations, patterns and markings exist. The most common color remains black and white, however, all colors and schemes are acceptable with no color or combination being better than another.

Along with a vast array of coat colors, eye coloring also varies, from the usual brown, with varying shades in between, to the rarer blue ranging from the deep blue to a lighter ice blue.

Wattles are also acceptable, but some breeders believe that is a pygmy or dairy characteristic and do not like wattles on their goats. I personally take into account the goats overall build and characteristics before I shun the wattles. They just add a bit more "decoration" or "jewelry" as some like to call them to the goats. This is a personal choice of a breeder.

Tennessee Goats have a life span equal to other breeds of goats and with proper care can live 12 -15 years or more. They are slow growers and are not fully mature until the age of five.

They are very feed efficient, meaning they are able to sustain and grow on less feed intake than other breeds of similar size.

One study shows them to be one of the best highly parasite resistant breeds. However cross breeding them to other breeds reduces this resistance. The goats that have been bred true and have very little or no cross breeding with other breeds are the ones that show best resistance.

Care needs to be taken when breeding these animals because of their slow maturation rate. If the Does are bred too soon they may not reach their full adult potential and not become as densely boned as they should causing future problems of not being able to carry their muscle mass once mature. They should not be bred until they are a minimum of 18 months of age.

Tennessee Goats are easy kidders and excellent mothers. First time moms need no encouragement to clean or feed their kids and she is very protective of them. The kids are born alert and are up and about in no time searching for their first drink of milk.

Some kids may start to show myotonia within hours of birth with most normally showing by 1 month of age with some taking even longer.

Tennessee does should NEVER be bred to breeds larger than themselves.
Breeding them to Boers for the commercial market is a disaster in the making. The babies are way too big for the does and could result in dead kids and a dead doe. If you are breeding for the commercial market always use a Tennessee buck on Boer does.

From a preservation stand point, using the Tennessee Does in any cross breeding program is truly a shame and a waste of precious female breeding stock. The future of this unique breed in Canada is in our hands. Help to preserve them for future generations to enjoy