A friend of mine is moving away soon, and he’s going to have to downsize the population of his homestead as he is moving closer to the city.
I’m not going anywhere, so I’ve told him that I’ll take any of his animals that I can—I hate to see them go anywhere else!
He does have a few fainting goats, though, which I have never owned.
A couple of them were quite young, as well, so I wanted to know how long they tend to live before agreeing to take them.
So, how long do fainting goats live?
Fainting goats live from 10-18 years old. That’s quite a lot of variation, so you can expect a well-cared-for fainting goat to live for around 15 years on average, and possibly a few years longer. 18 years is a bit higher than the general average for goats.
So, despite their proclivity for falling over, they live for just as long as any other goat species—it doesn’t affect their health.
The important thing to note, though, is that how long they live is going to be very much bound up with how well cared for they are.
Let’s look further into this.
How long do fainting goats live as pets?
Assuming they are kept well, all their needs are met and their health is maintained throughout their life, a fainting goat could live for almost 20 years.
This is, for the most part, the outlier figure—most won’t reach this age.
It’s just beyond what most goats are able to get to.
That said, it gives you a good benchmark for how long they might live.
There’s obviously going to be a lot of variation between individuals.
But if you’re thinking of getting a fainting goat, the best thing to do is to prepare yourself for that goat to live for 20 years.
As I said, though, this is all dependent on many factors.
First of all, you need to make sure they get the best possible diet.
For my money, this means them having their own pasture to roam and forage.
This gives them both the bulk of their diet, and enrichment from searching for food.
Then, they will also need fruit, veg, and some specialized goat feed.
These things will make up a much smaller part of the goat’s diet, but nonetheless are just as important to keeping their diet balanced.
So, as pet, you can expect your fainting goat to live a good, long life.
What about in the wild?
How long do fainting goats live in the wild?
Though the condition which causes fainting can occur in the wild, it has only been through breeding programs that they have become a particular breed.
Thus, the breed which we refer to as fainting goats actually does not occur in the wild.
As you can expect, though, the fainting would be a considerably bigger problem in the wild.
Goats would be exposed to predation, and knowing they fainted would give predators a big incentive to hunt them.
The question is somewhat misguided, then, as fainting goats don’t really live in the wild.
If they did, they are likely to have their lives cut short by their fainting.
In general, though, breeds will live around 75% as long in the wild as they would in a domestic environment.
One big question about the lifespan of a fainting goat is whether it hurts them to fall over like that.
There must be some advantage to having this trait, though, so does it hurt?
| Related Articles |
|---|
Does it hurt a goat to faint?
Typically, no, it won’t hurt a goat to faint.
As long as it faints from a position where it won’t have a long way to fall, or hit its head, then fainting is generally not painful.
It can, understandably, be a bit distressing.
For instance, if the goat is afraid of something and is trying to run away, but can’t because it has fainted, this can be deeply distressing.
Fainting in general, though, doesn’t cause any harm to the goat, most of the time.
They’re used to it, and goats are robust and strong, so they’re generally quite difficult to injure with that kind of blunt force.
So, all this considered—are they good pets?
Do fainting goats make good pets?
Yes, they certainly do—if you know what you’re getting into.
Fainting goats are, with the exception of their fainting, really no different from any other goats.
Goats of all breeds are favored as companion animals, and fainting goats are no different.
Whether or not something is a good pet depends more on you than it does on them.
The first thing to consider, as I’ve said, is that a fainting goat might live for 20 years.
You’ve got to be ready to take care of it for all of that time.
Beyond that, goats aren’t like other pets.
They will need a big outdoor space, and they won’t form the same bond with you that a dog might.
Overall, though, for the right person, they make great pets.
Fainting goats are a pretty unusual case, then.
Their strange defining feature actually has no effect on their lifespan, generally speaking.
As long as you take good care of them in their domestic environment, then they will live a long life close to even two decades in length.
But it’s all dependent on giving them that good life. Goats are hardy creatures, but they still have particular needs just like any animal does.
Keep that in mind, you’ll have a friend for many years.