Fainting goats take a bite out of buckthorn at The Preserve

On July 26, The Preserve Association welcomed new temporary residents to their community: myotonic goats, also known as “fainting” goats. The goats stay for four to six weeks to eat the buckthorn near Neill Lake.

The association oversees the management and maintenance of amenities for the southeastern Eden Prairie neighborhood, which consists of 1,700 homes. It first brought in goats in June 2020, during the early months of the pandemic.

“When people heard about the goats, they were excited for a reason to be outside in the fresh air where they could actually see other people and keep a safe social distance between them,” said Scott Anderson, association president. 

The goats have allowed the association to avoid using chemicals to remove the buckthorn.

“There is far less poison being sprayed onto the Earth, in addition to a natural fertilizer being spread around,” Anderson said. He believes that using animals to clear land is the way of the future.

Between 2020 and 2022, goats from Senjem Goat Pros grazed nearly 8 acres of Preserve property. Because of Senjem’s schedule, Double R Targeted Grazing and Ramage Fainter Acres of Princeton, Minnesota, were brought in this year.

The Preserve is Melissa Ramage’s, of Double Rs, first commercial property. “It’s mostly people who want to get rid of buckthorn and poison ivy on their private residences,” Ramage said.

Her crews consist of eight goats with their babies, and there are two crews working in The Preserve.

Myotonic goats, also called “fainting” goats, experience temporary paralysis, causing their whole bodies to freeze for around 15 seconds when frightened.

“All these goats have been doing this for two-plus years, so they are really used to people and bikes, so they don’t faint that often,” Ramage said. “The babies do more often.”

When checking in on the goats, Ramage looks at the color and sheen of their coats and their size to ensure they are not getting too skinny.

According to Anderson, the goats are the homeowners’ group’s most popular event of the year. “As good a job as the goats are doing eating buckthorn, the community impact is far greater,” he said.