Many of you may already know this, but for those that do not, Sasha passed away on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. 🙁 Here is a short rundown of what I believe led to her passing.
On December 22, 2022, Sasha totally surprised all of us by giving birth to 2 kids, one boy and one girl. I had purposely not put her in with the buck in the fall because I felt that she was getting too old, BUT Sasha had other plans! Based on the gestation period of 5 months for goats, she must have found a way to get together with our buck back in late July. It is possible that he got out for less than 24 hours in July, but I can't recall it happening. My husband seems to think that it did happen.
Any ways, baby boy only lived for about 2 days, but baby girl survived and was thriving with her momma.
We named her Noel! 🎄
I was working a part-time job in late January, Tuesday thru Saturday, so I was only able to take care of the goats in the mornings on Sunday and Monday. It was on Sunday, January 29th that I could not find Sasha and Noel, until I finally located them way down in one of the pastures lying right next to the fence. Sasha walked back up to the barn, but it was at that point that I noticed how weak she really was. I did all that I could for her until she passed on Tuesday evening. Noel stayed right next to her momma the entire time. Thankfully, I pulled her out of the stall when I felt that Sasha's time was running low, so Noel was not with her at the exact time of her passing.
Here is a picture of Noel with Sasha earlier in the day on Tuesday.
Noel is doing well now, although she did have to be treated for a parasite called coccidia that is very dangerous to young goats if not treated right away. Thankfully we realized that she had been infected early on and began the treatment right away. This picture was taken today, February 9, 2023. 🙂
Sasha is the namesake for this company, Sasha's Soaps & Such, and she will live on forever in our memories. Having Noel as a reminder of her is truly a special gift! Check out my gallery of pictures of Sasha and some of her other babies through the years.