Brett Boysen bottle feeds a 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goat with daughter Sloan on their farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Brett Boysen bottle feeds a 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goat with daughter Sloan on their farm in Syracuse on Thursday. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity, Boysen said, adding there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. According to RoundAbout Farm in Spring Green, Wis., which raises “mini silkies,” the breed was developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s by crossing Tennessee fainting goats with long-haired Nigerian dwarf stock. Because fainting goats figure heavily in their backgrounds, most mini silkies exhibit varying degrees of myotonia, a muscle condition that causes them to stiffen or fall over when startled or overly excited. However, not all faint, but carry a gene for myotonia that will likely express itself in future generations.
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Sloan Boysen stands with a 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goat on her family's farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. Brett Boysen, the farm's owner, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Five 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goats stand in the field at the Boysen Family Farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Ember Hill places a 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goat back on the ground at the Boysen Family Farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Brett Boysen and daughter Sloan gather their 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goats on their farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Brett Boysen carries three of his 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goats on his farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Brett Boysen bottle feeds a 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goat on his farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Sloan Boysen smiles at her 7-day-old miniature silky fainting goats on their farm in Syracuse on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Five of 6 kids survived their birth, which is a rarity. According to Boysen, there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of a miniature silky fainting goat having five kids, and it is even rarer for all five to survive. Boysen bottle feeds three of the five kids every two to three hours. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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