I'm very sad today because I lost my favorite Jacob ram today.  He had been sick for about a week.  My husband found him laying on his side with a glazed look to his eyes one morning when he went to feed them.  We had a young ewe with his same symptoms last fall, but she finally got better.  I was just wondering if someone out there had any clue as to what was wrong with him.  He acted really weak, had to be helped to his feet and would fall down very easily.  He was still eating and drinking, but he had diarrhea and seemed pretty bony when you actually felt him.  With all the wool, he looked fine, but when  you sunk your hand into the wool, he felt skinny.  When he did eat, he acted like he got choked really easily.  Do you think one of the other bigger rams hurt him or what?  It's just the not knowing that really hurts.  He was a Jacob/Merino cross and was super sweet and super soft.  He just turned a year old on February 24th.  He has a twin brother, but his brother is all white.  He was black.  Im really hoping we don't have some sort of disease that will affect the others.  Any ideas?

Thanks for the sympathy, Suzanne.  My husband gets the worst jobs around the farm.  I work in an office 5 days a week so he gets all the dirty jobs like burying the animals (we lost 3 out of 10 lambs this year plus a couple of roosters).  He actually had the horrible task of shearing the one that died today.  He had beautiful wool as you can imagine being a cross between a Merino and a Jacob.  I will now have to learn to spin or get someone to spin it so I can make something in tribute to him.  He was so sweet!  I will miss him.  My husband did say that he wasn't as skinny as he first thought after he sheared him.  It probably was pneumonia.  Did you have an autopsy done on your goat(s)?  Do you know how much that would cost?

Thank you, Suzanne.