PAGE 4 MYOTONIC GOAT REVIEW

MGR BREEDER STEPHANIE AKERS

My interest in and love for animals has
been a lifelong passion. Among the wonderful
creatures I’ve known and enjoyed
have been the various nanny goats and
kids that I have collected along the way.
One day I encountered several informative
websites – complete with photos –
featuring the fascinating creature we
know as the “Tennessee Fainting Goat,”
the “Wooden Legged Goat,” the
“Nervous Goat,” or simply the Myotonic
Goat! The rest is history, as they say.
Speaking of history, it has been interesting
to discover that these goats are a true
heritage or landrace breed of goat indigenous
to North America. Although originating
in Nova Scotia, they were introduced
to the United States in the 1880s.
Today the American Livestock Breed
Conservancy has the Fainter listed on the
“Threatened List,” which means that
there are fewer than 1,000 annual registrations
in the U.S. with an estimated
global population of less than 5,000 head.
An important breed in its own right, the
Fainter has earned a sterling reputation in
the areas of meat production, ease of
reproduction, temperament – and they
make wonderful companions and pets.
So, how does this relate to my story? My
husband, Wallace, and I live in Loudoun
County, Virginia – we are located on the
outskirts of Purcellville, in the western
portion of Northern Virginia. In the
autumn of 2002, we purchased 15 ½
acres on the corner of what had once
been an enormous farm and built our
home in the midst of a once-thriving hayfield.
Well, we have continued the tradition,
fertilizing and seeding the land for
Timothy – and harvesting Timothy-
Orchard Grass hay every year since.
Our farm is called “Windhover Green,”
really named after the beautiful raptor the
“Windhover” – also known as the sparrow
hawk or the American Kestrel. The
smallest of the true falcons, these fascinating
birds inhabit the countryside here
where they live in the tree lines and special
nesting boxes. They soar across the
fields hunting for insects and small rodents
with a rather sharp cry that sounds like
“Killy, killy, killy.” This is the setting for
our little family, which includes indoor
koi, assorted cats (mouse patrol), three
family dogs, nine Rhode Island Red pullets
and one cockerel named Hank – and our
budding herd of Fainting Goats.
Pictured above: R Fainting 1st Noel
and Moonlight Farms Sienna – it was
love at first sight!
Sienna loves to pose – see his smile?
Pictured above: Noel (left) and her companions,
Silent Night and Christmas Carol (foreground),
enjoy each other’s company.
To begin our breeding program, the goals
we set included high standards for health
and regular veterinary care (vaccinations
and testing), soundness of conformation,
openness to the full spectrum of eye and
coat color, and good temperament. Our
first doeling, R Fainting 1st Noel (thank
you, Sharon Reeves!) is a brown-eyed,
black and white beauty with a gregarious
personality. She is very friendly and if
anyone is ever likely to get into mischief –
it would be Noel! Born December 26,
2006, Noel came to our farm the following
March with two companions named
Christmas Carol and Silent Night (twins
born on December 25th, of course).
While continuing to look at other farm
websites, one day I was captivated by the
picture of a strikingly handsome buckling
kid born to Moonlight Farms Bramble and
Beechkeld Mr. Brown. Although “Sienna”
was listed as “not for sale,” I called Cindy
Bene to introduce myself anyway. Much
to my good fortune, it turned out that I
was able to arrange to purchase Sienna
to become our herd sire here at Windhover
Green (thank you, Cindy!).
Sienna has a wonderfully kind and gentle
temperament, a deep chestnut-red
coat, and clear blue eyes. Truly he is
the leader of our little goat herd, keeping
everyone organized and doting on
Noel.
According to plan, we believe we have
put together a start-up program that
brings together the best that the wonderful
world of Fainters has to offer.
Our hope is for Noel to give birth this
spring – an occasion which our farm
veterinarian can confirm via ultrasound.
We are very blessed to have
the benefit of excellent health all
around, soundness of conformation,
substantial genetic variety in eye and
coat color, and lovely personalities.
All of this plus we have met some
really terrific people on our pursuit of
this adventure!