Goat Wise | Meat Goats, Feeding Goats, Goat Fencing, Livestock Management
Millie Bradshaw, MS – Animal Scientist & Rancher 129 episodes Nov 9, 2026
Goat Wise is a practical podcast for people serious about raising meat goats, whether on a ranch or homestead. Host Millie Bradshaw, an animal scientist and rancher, shares firsthand experience building infrastructure, managing forage, and refining genetics in a forage-based goat operation integrated with cattle. Episodes focus on fencing that actually contains goats, feeding and mineral strategies, and production systems that hold up under real-world pressure. The show aims to help listeners make better management decisions for healthier, more productive herds.
Episodes
135 | Culling Isn't a Decision. It's a Standard: Eight Years of Goat Herd Selection
Today we're talking about culling criteria, and specifically how that changes over time. We'll cover where ours started in 2019 when we had 40 does and were focused purely on herd growth, how the criteria have evolved year over year from "did she have a kid?" to sitting at a computer this fall and removing a quad mom without walking out to look at her once, and what I'd do if I were back in herd
134 | If You Want Your Goat Herd to Get Better, Keep Records
Today we're talking about goat record keeping. Not just for seedstock producers, for everyone. If you want your herd to get better, you need to know what actually happened, not the way you think you remember it. We'll cover where to start, what goes in the notebook, and how a simple steno notebook eventually becomes lifetime doe records that drive your best selection decisions. Let's get to it.
133 | Build the Map First: A Practical System for Smoother Livestock Working Days
Today we're talking about how to plan a complex livestock working day. The kind where you've got multiple groups of animals that all need to move somewhere specific, and if you lose track of a step, things end up in the wrong pen or without a place to go. We'll cover why big working days pile up in the first place, the actual system I stumbled onto that made our most recent one the smoothest we'v
132 | Why Goats Are the Best Weed Management Tool on Your Ranch
Today we're talking about how goats eat what they eat. We'll cover the anatomy of their mouth, how they select forage, what they do to a pasture that cattle and sheep simply can't replicate, and what all of that means for weed control, irrigation ditch banks, and vegetation management on a working ranch. The biology and the practical application are the same story. Let's get to it.
Related Ep
131 | Adding Goats to a Cattle Ranch: The Behavior Realities
Last week we talked about how goats see the world. Today we're talking about what that means when you have goats on a cattle ranch. The behavior realities, what you can actually control, what to cull for, and how to set yourself up to succeed instead of selling them in frustration. Let's get to it.
Related Episodes:
130 | How Goats See the World: The Biology of Goat Vision
Leave a rev
130 | How Goats See the World: The Biology of Goat Vision
Today we're talking about how goats actually see the world. Horizontal pupils, panoramic field of view, a reflective layer in the eye that makes them glow at night, and color vision that runs closer to red-green colorblind than to anything like ours. We'll also get into what all of it explains about behavior in the pasture and in the working facility, including a few things that used to look like
129 | Electric Netting in Winter: Why We Still Need It and How We Set It Up
Today we're talking about electric netting in winter. Why we use it, which fence types we use and why, the setup details that actually matter when the ground is frozen, and whether virtual fence is going to replace it. The short answer on that last one: not entirely, and I'll explain why. Let's get to it.
Episode Mentions:
109 | Electric Netting in Freeze Country: The Afternoon Teardown Fix
124
128 | The 2026 Meat Goat Kidding Report: Numbers Are In and They're Good
Today I'm giving you the 2026 commercial meat goat kidding report. We'll go through the numbers, how they're calculated, how they compare to previous years and to industry benchmarks, what the death loss stories are, and what eight years of culling toward a self-sufficient, low-input herd looks like when it all comes together in one season. I’ve been sitting on these numbers for a little while be
127 | Iodine, Navel Dipping, Goiter, and Mineral: What Happened When I Didn't Follow My Own Advice
This year we stopped routine iodine navel dipping on newborn kids, something we'd been testing for a couple seasons and finally committed to fully. And then at about five to six weeks of age, some of the kids showed up with goiters. My first thought was that we'd possibly caused it by stopping the iodine on the navels. I went and looked it up. What I found was more interesting than I expected, an
126 | Wintering Goats on Brush: The Feed Cost Strategy We're About to Test
Two weeks ago, I gave you the field report on what we're seeing in the sagebrush with the virtual fence. Last week I covered the biology, why goats eat brush, how the MFO enzyme system builds tolerance, what Cedar Eater genetics tells us about browse as a heritable trait. Today I want to talk about what all of it means for winter feeding strategy, land improvement, and why reducing purchased feed
125 | Why Goats Eat Brush: The Biology Behind What We're Seeing in the Sagebrush
Last week I gave you the field report on what we're seeing with the virtual fence in the sagebrush. Today I want to answer the question I get asked all the time: When will goats eat brush, and does season matter? What I've learned is that for goats, that question has a very different answer than most people expect. And the biology behind it is more interesting than I anticipated. Let's get to it.
124 | Virtual Fence in Action: A NoFence Progress Report from the Sagebrush
Back in Episode 114, I told you our NoFence collars had arrived and what we were hoping they'd open up. Today I want to give you the first real field report: What's working, what we had to work through, what the sagebrush looks like after the goats have been in it, and why this tool is changing what's possible on this ranch. This is a progress report, not a verdict. But so far, it's better than we
123 | Goats Don't Have to Be So Hard; Smoke Ridge Goats Proved It
Last week in Episode 122 I gave you the framework: The two phases every goat herd goes through and the three strategies for building toward what you actually want. Today is the story behind why that framework matters. The show goat era, the Montana doe kids that survived a brutal winter, and the contrast that finally made everything clear. And I’ll also tell you what our replacement criteria look
122 | Building a Goat Herd Strategically: Two Phases, Three Strategies, and Why Herd Growth Projections Are Almost Always Wrong
Back in Episode 105 I talked about why people quit goats, and genetics was one of the two big reasons. Today is the follow-up: not why genetics matter, but what to actually do about it. I want to walk through the two phases nearly every goat herd goes through, three different strategies depending on your situation and goals, and why the math people use to project herd growth is almost never reali
121 | We Sold Our Cows and Started Over with Dexters: Improving Our Multi-Species Grazing System
I know this is a goat podcast. But I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you what we're doing with our cattle herd, because it's part of the same system, and the philosophy behind the decision is exactly the same philosophy that shaped our goat herd. Today I want to talk about why we're switching to Dexter cattle, how we got here, what we were actually evaluating when we looked at br
120 | It's Not Just a Breeding Behavior: The Flehmen Response in Goats
Yesterday I was watering the goats in town, put fresh water in the trough, one of the does took a drink, and right after she drank, she did the flehmen response. That funny lip curl. No bucks around. Middle of July. Not breeding season. And I realized I didn't actually know what was going on. I thought I did. So, I looked it up. Today I want to tell you what the flehmen response actually is, beca
119 | Selling Meat Goats at the Sale Barn: How to Get the Best Price
A couple of weeks ago in Episode 117 I talked about how our market evolved away from the sale barn. Today I want to talk about why the auction can be a great place for meat goat producers to start selling their goats, and for a lot of producers it's the right long-term market. Today I want to talk about how to use the sale barn well, the research, the timing, the relationship building, what to do
118 | Summer Heat Management in Goats: What I've Learned and What I Did Wrong
Today we're talking about heat management in goats, the basics that actually matter, what I learned during one brutal kidding season, some coat science that surprised me, and a practical tool I wish I'd had sooner. I’m also going to tell you about the time I dunked a kid in a water trough. Let's get to it.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www
117 | Selling Meat Goats: From Sale Barn Auctions to a Waitlist
Today I want to tell you how our goat market evolved from sale barn auctions to direct-to-consumer meat sales to something I stumbled into sort of by accident that turned out to be a much better fit for the goats we've been raising. There's a mental block I had to work through in there too, and I think a lot of producers run into the same one. Let's get to it.
Mentions:
Idaho Goat Grazers
116 | Early vs Late Banding: The Management Problems We Solved by Castrating Early
Back in Episode 46, I talked about early versus late banding of buck kids. We went through the full debate, the urinary calculi argument, the research, all of it, and I reported on a small test group we'd banded at birth. I said I'd follow up when we did it at scale. We've now done it at scale, and this is that follow-up. Let's get to it.
Episode Mentions:
46 | Early Banding vs Late Banding
115 | What Is a Freemartin, and Do Goats Have Them?
This is a question I get asked a lot, and honestly, one I've wondered about myself for a long time. Freemartinism is something every cattle producer knows about, a female born twin to a male that ends up sterile. But you almost never hear about it in goats. Today I want to get to the bottom of why that is, because the answer isn't that goats are immune to it. It comes down to anatomy, and it's ac
114 | Drought, Hay Prices, and Why We Bought Virtual Fence
Our NoFence collars showed up on Friday, shipped all the way from Norway, and they've been sitting in boxes since they got here. Today I want to talk about why we finally pulled the trigger on virtual fence after years of waiting, what it opens up for us, including over two hundred acres of brush ground we've barely been able to touch with goats, and how it fits alongside the electric netting we'
113 | Kidding Season Week One: Forty Does, No Assists
We are one week into kidding season. Forty does have kidded, seventy-eight kids on the ground, two sets of quads, four sets of triplets, and we have not assisted on a single birth. Not one. Today I want to tell you about day two, when four does kidded in a rainstorm, and the harder question that was sitting underneath all of it: how do you know where the line is between trusting your animals to d
112 | Kidding Management: Building the Right System for Your Operation, PART 3 of 3
We've spent the last two weeks on how our kidding system evolved and what it took to reshape the herd through selection pressure. Today is Part 3, and this one is for you. We're going to walk through the factors that actually determine your kidding system, genetics, weather, business model, predator protection, and labor, so you can stop second-guessing your setup and start making decisions that
111 | Kidding Management: Selection Pressure and Behavior Reshaping, PART 2 of 3
Last week we started this series with the story of how our kidding system evolved — from show goats and January barn kidding through commercial Boers, and then the Spanish goats arriving and refusing to work in the system we'd been running for years. Today is Part 2, and this is where we get into what that shift actually took. How do you move a herd that's been bred for intensive management towar
110 | Kidding Management: How Our Kidding System Evolved, PART 1 of 3
Today we're starting a three-part series on kidding management, how a system actually works, why it matters which genetics you're running, and how to build an approach that fits your operation. Part 1 is the story of how our system evolved from show goats and January barn kidding in twenty-below weather, through commercial Boers, and then the moment the Spanish goats arrived and showed me somethi
109 | Electric Netting in Freeze Country: The Afternoon Teardown Fix
This year we went out on grass almost six weeks earlier than we ever have, and right after we did, it started freezing hard again. Today I want to talk about what that actually looks like operationally, specifically what happens to electric netting stakes in a hard-freeze climate, why that matters, and what we changed to make it work. I'll also tell you what the does look like on pre-kidding gree
108 | Two Years of Goat Wise: What We’ve Learned, Where We Are, and Where We’re Headed
Two years ago, I hit publish on the very first episode of this podcast, not really knowing if anyone was going to listen or if I'd make it past ten episodes. Today we're marking that — 50,000 downloads in 115 countries, and I still have days where that doesn't feel real. In this episode I'm going to talk about what these two years have actually looked like, what shifted and what I learned, a conc
107 | Goats vs. Cattle: The Financial Comparison Nobody's Doing
Today we're talking about the financial comparison between goats and cattle, done in a way that's actually fair. Most of the comparisons I've seen don't account for feed consumption, and when you leave that out, the math just doesn't work. I'm going to walk you through the framework I put together using real numbers from our operation and this last selling season, and I'll show you how to drop you
106 | Watering Setup: Troughs, Buckets, and the Problems That Get Goats Killed
Today we're getting into the physical setup for watering goats, what you put water in, how deep, how many, and the specific problems that can kill kids and trap horned goats. I covered the big picture in Episode 9, water as the most important nutrient, monitoring intake, why goats are picky about water quality, and how we haul water for rotational grazing. This episode goes deeper into the actual
105 | Two Reasons Why People Quit Goats: Fence and Genetics
Today we’re talking about why people quit goats, and I mean the real reasons, not just “it was too hard.” There are two things that send people to the exit almost every single time, and both of them are preventable. We’re going to talk about fence, we’re going to talk about genetics, and we’re going to talk about what it actually looks like to build a system you can stay in for the long haul. Let
104 | The Medication Side of My Goat Health Kit – Part 3
Today we're wrapping up the four-episode series on goat health supplies, and we're finishing with medications — what's on the shelf, what's in the fridge, and the single best storage hack I've come across that costs almost nothing. I'll walk through the full list: what I actually reach for, what I keep on hand but rarely use anymore, and some things that are worth understanding before you need the
103 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2B
Today we're back in the health supply boxes for part 2B of this series: Eye care, disbudding, first aid, wound care and injury prevention, a few rarely used kidding supplies, and the storage systems that hold it all together. I've got a couple of stories in here too, a prairie dog hole, a stick coming out of a goat's chest, and a dog that made a decision it quickly regretted. Let's get to it!
Ep
102 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2A
Today we're opening up the goat health boxes, the ones I actually reach into on a regular basis. Last week we talked about the philosophy behind low-intervention management and the must-have supplies. This week we're getting into the working kit, what eight years of goat management looks like accumulated in boxes, and what actually sees regular use now versus what I used back in the show goat yea
101 | The Most Important Tools in Your Goat Medical Kit - PART 1
Today we're starting a three-part series on your goat medical kit, what actually needs to be in it, and why the most important item isn't something you can order from a supply catalog. In this first episode we're covering the foundation that makes everything else work: observation, your vet relationship, and then the supplies for diagnostics and supportive care. We'll also get into basic treatmen
100 | Management Flexibility: Why Helping Too Much Hurts Your Livestock
Hi friends! Today I'm talking about something we dealt with last week right here on the ranch, managing livestock through an absolutely abnormal winter with weather that can’t make up its mind. I'll share what we did when our night pens turned into a muddy disaster with no dry ground anywhere, why we made the decisions we did, and why sometimes the best thing you can do for your animals is resist
99 | Why the Goat Industry’s Lack of Structure May Be Its Strength
For many years, I believed the goat industry needed to look more like the beef industry. More centralized, more coordinated, and more structured. But after watching how highly efficient systems respond to disruption, I began to see the lack of consolidation in goats differently. In this episode, we talk about flexibility, market timing, grass-finished realities, and why producers have more option
98 | 5 Mistakes That Quietly Kill Goat Herd Profitability
If you’re working hard but your goat herd isn’t really moving forward, this episode is for you. Today we’re breaking down five quiet management mistakes that slowly erode profitability, from breeding too early to feeding without running the numbers. These aren’t dramatic failures. They’re small decisions that compound over time. Let’s tighten up the system and build a herd that actually performs.
97 | How to Create an Efficient Livestock Chore Routine (Step-by-Step)
If your chores feel chaotic or like they take longer than they should, the problem probably isn’t the amount of work, it’s the lack of a clear order. In today’s episode, I’m walking you step-by-step through my winter morning livestock chores, explaining not just what I do, but the thinking behind the routine. If you’re ready to build a chore system that actually works, this one’s for you.
R
96 | Commercial Meat Goats, Pet Goats and the Management Mistakes That Cause Burnout
I hear a lot of people say goats “just didn’t work for them.” And most of the time, it wasn’t goats. It was a mismatch between their goals and how they were managing them. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down why starting too big or too small can both cause problems, how bottle babies fit into this conversation, and why being honest about your goal — pets or commercial goats — solves more issues
95 | A Simple Self-Sufficiency Strategy: Build Food Storage Based on What Your Family Actually Uses
If you’re the kind of person who likes a plan, but every food storage list you’ve ever seen felt overwhelming or unrealistic, today’s episode is for you. I’m going to walk you through a simple way to build food and household storage based on what your family actually uses, instead of someone else’s checklist. This isn’t about fear or extremes. It’s about paying attention, stewarding your home wel
94 | Winter Feeding Goats: How Growth Rate Changes Hay Needs and Marketing Plans
Fast-growing goats sound like a good problem, and they are, until you start running the feed numbers. In this episode, I’m walking you through a real-time management decision we’re making on our ranch. Mild winter weather pushed our weaned kids 15–20 pounds ahead of schedule, and that growth changed our hay needs by 30–44%. I’ll show you how I ran the numbers, why buying more hay doesn’t pencil ou
93 | Winter Livestock Care Without Burnout: Chores, Water, and Simple Systems
Winter chores don’t have to take all day, but they do require good systems. In today’s episode, I’m sharing what a typical winter day on our ranch looks like, how we divide chores, manage water in freezing temperatures, and keep winter from turning into a constant crisis mode. If winter feels overwhelming, this episode will help you think through a simpler approach.
Episode Mentions:
09 | The Mo
92 | Breeding Goats with the Long Game in Mind: How We’re Making Herd Decisions This Season
Breeding season is underway here at Dry Creek, and this year our breeding decisions look a little different than they have in the past. Today, I’m walking you through why we made those changes, not just what we’re doing, but how we’re thinking through the genetics, mothering ability, and long-term herd direction. If you’re raising goats, planning to, or just trying to make better livestock decisi
91 | Seasonal Planning for Livestock: How We Plan a Ranch Year Without Burning Out
This week on the podcast, I’m sharing what real-life planning looks like on a working ranch, mud, weather swings, breeding decisions, and all. We’re talking about seasonal rhythms, why rigid schedules don’t work for us, and how planning around your actual life can bring more steadiness and less frustration.
Related Episodes:
02 | Overwhelmed? 4 Steps to Create a Practical Plan for Adding Livesto
90 | 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting Goats (Hint: They Are NOT Sheep)
Before you get goats, or if you already have them and things feel harder than you expected, this episode is for you. Today I’m sharing five things I really wish I had understood before I got goats. These are lessons that would have saved me time, money, frustration, and a few hard-earned mistakes. Let’s talk about what goats are actually like, not the myths, and how to set yourself up for succes
89 | How to Prepare Your Goat Herd for Breeding Season: Feed, Flushing, Mineral, and Water
Breeding season success doesn’t start the day the buck goes in, it starts weeks earlier. In today’s episode, I’m walking through how we prepare our goat herd for breeding season, including our feeding strategy after weaning, what flushing actually is and when it works, why mineral intake matters more than most people think, and how winter water access quietly determines whether any of it works at
88 | Regenerative Ranching Is a Process, Not a Destination: How We Actually Make Decisions
Regenerative agriculture isn’t a checklist or a finish line. It’s a decision-making process you repeat over and over as you learn what your land can actually do. In this episode, I’m walking you through the framework we use on our high-desert ranch to turn regenerative principles into real-world management decisions with goats and cattle. We’ll talk about learning without copy-pasting, asking “how
87 | Coccidia in Goats: Understanding Coccidiosis, Symptoms, and Practical Prevention That Works
Coccidiosis is one of the most common and most misunderstood health issues in goats. Some herds barely deal with it. Others lose kids every season. Today, I’m breaking down what coccidia actually is, how it functions, which strains are the most dangerous, how genetics and stress play into it, and the management shifts that finally broke our yearly cycle of coccidiosis. If you’ve ever dealt with di
86 | Can Goats and Chickens Live Together? What’s Safe, What’s Not, and How to Do It Right
Hi friends! A lot of folks claim you have to keep goats and chickens separate. Others run them together year-round with no issues. So, which is actually right? Today we’re breaking down the real risks, the benefits, the newest research on coccidia, and the simple guidelines that make mixed housing work safely. And at the end, I’ll share a teaser for next week’s episode, where we’re talking all ab
85 | Gratitude, Grit, and Finding the Good: The Mindset That Makes Homesteading Work
Today we’re talking about the mindset that actually makes farming and homesteading sustainable. Not perfection and definitely not a life where everything is easy. We’re digging into gratitude, grit, and learning to find the good even in the messy parts of livestock and off-grid living. Let’s get to it!
Related Episodes:
02 | Overwhelmed? 4 Steps to Create a Practical Plan for adding Livestock
84 | The Messy Middle of Regenerative Ranching: Key Insights from “A Bold Return to Giving a Damn” by Will Harris
Hi friends! Today I want to talk about the transition from conventional agriculture and livestock production to a regenerative or restorative system. I spent two days in the truck, listening to Will Harris’ book, A Bold Return to Giving a Damn, and it gave me some great insights into the decades-long journey of White Oak Pastures, as well as a look into the future of our ranch. If you’re consid
83 | How to Build a Confinement Goat Fence that Keeps Goats Inside and Predators Out and Do It with Limited Equipment
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about goat fence, specifically, a night trap which is one part of a big fence project we’re working on right now. A night trap is a pen that is used to securely contain goats while protecting them from predators. We’ve built a few of these over the years, and I’m going to give you the overview of how to do it with very little tools like we did in the beginning, t
82 | Internal Parasites in Goats: Monitoring, Prevention, and Treatment for Barber Pole and Other Worms
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about internal parasites, or worms, different species, the problems they cause, and how you can help your goats resist parasites, how to monitor your herd, and how to treat them when you need to. Internal parasites are one of the biggest problems that goat owners face, and being armed with some strategies to monitor, support, and treat your goats is the best defen
81 | Should I Raise Registered or Unregistered Goats? Breed Registries, Performance Data, and Breeding Decisions Explained
Hey there, thanks for listening today. I'm so glad you're here. If this episode helped you or encouraged you in some way, share the link with your homesteading friends and if you really want to help me out, click on over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and a review. You can connect with me on Instagram or email, linked in the show notes and meet me back here soon for more Get Goat Wise.
[MU
80 | When Should I Wean Goat Kids? Timing and Strategies for a Successful Weaning Season
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about weaning goat kids, different methods for weaning, timing to prevent unintentional breeding by buck kids, if you should wean wether and doe kids at all, and how to decide what weaning strategy will work best for your goat herd and management system. Let’s get to it!
Mentions:
46 | Early Banding vs Late Banding in Buck Kids: Will Your Goats Be Healthy if Y
79 | The Unpractical Project: Why I Said Yes to Ducks Even When It Didn’t Make Sense
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about youth livestock programs, gaining wisdom by learning from experience, and the importance of teaching kids about livestock and where their food comes from. Whether kids are involved in a formal program or have their own projects on the homestead, farm, in the back yard, or even a rented space at a nearby farm, raising livestock can be a life-changing experien
78 | Winter Grazing: Low Cost and Regenerative Strategies for Goats and Other Livestock
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about winter grazing and the different ways you can feed your livestock in a sustainable, regenerative way while meeting their needs and promoting nutrient cycling and land improvement. We’ll define terms like swath grazing, bale grazing, cover crop and residue grazing and discuss how each of them could benefit your management system. Let’s get to it!
Related E
77 | How to Prepare for Winter on the Ranch and Homestead
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about preparing for winter on the ranch and homestead, and what we do to make sure the animals and people are taken care of through the cold winter months. We’ll talk about livestock feed and water, general fall clean up that makes winter work easier, and a quick overview of what we prepare for our family that supports us through the winter as well as the rest of
76 | How to Choose Future Breeding Bucks for Your Goat Herd
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about selecting replacement bucks, the criteria we use to qualify bucks as breeding stock, and we’ll walk through the sorting process and how we handled it this year. I’ll also be sharing some interesting things we observed while sorting and how it’s going to affect future decisions and data collection. Let’s get to it!
Mentions:
46 | Early Banding vs Late Ba
75 | How Livestock Shaped My Life and Why I’m Here to Help You
Hi friends! Today’s episode is a little different. I’ve been deep in thought as I’m sure many of you have been also, reflecting on all that has happened recently. I want to share some of what I’ve been thinking about, particularly as it relates to why I care so much about raising livestock, healthy food, and self-sufficiency, as well as what’s coming up for our ranch, the meat business, and thi
74 | Too Many Roosters? What to Do Now and How to Create a Management Plan for Your Future Flock
Hi friends! It’s time for a chicken episode! Today we’re talking about what to do with all those roosters you ended up with after buying straight run chicks this year – because that was all you could find, right? We’ll talk about options to deal with this year’s roosters as well as long-term strategies for your flock, including rooster management and setting goals for meat and egg production. L
73 | Raising Livestock for Meat: 3 Tips to Keep Butcher Day Low-Stress and Meat Quality Excellent
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about handling stress before butcher, and how it can affect meat quality. We’ll talk about the meat science behind stress and I’ll give you practical tips you can use to make sure you and your animals are prepared for hauling on butcher day. You’re already putting in the work to raise your own meat, and with a few management practices, you can make sure that meat
72 | Did We Reach Our Goal? 2025 Kidding Season Report Is Here!
Hi friends! Today I’m going over the numbers from our 2025 kidding season. We’ll talk about our challenges, victories, and the things we learned this year, and I’ll be sharing the actual production numbers from our herd. We’ll comb through the data, pull out the important stuff, and talk about what worked great and what we’ll change for next year. Let’s get to it!
Episode Mentions:
26 | Is
71 | Livestock Management Decisions and Why We Are Selling Part of Our Goat Herd
Hi friends! Today I’ve got an update from County Fair, and then we’re talking about a management decision we’re making to sell some of the goat herd. We’ll talk about the factors influencing the decision, which goats we’re selling and why, and how it will help us improve our herd long term. Let’s get to it!
Related Episodes:
30 | Livestock Decision-Making: What to do When You Make a Wrong D
70 | How Livestock, Chores, and Good Mentors Create Resilient, Confident Kids Who Are Prepared for the Challenges Life Brings
Hi friends! It’s almost time for County Fair here, and with that comes a lot of reflecting about the kids and their growth doing livestock projects. Today we’re talking about the power of animals and livestock in the lives of our kids, and how responsibility, work ethic, and good mentors can launch kids into a new level of self-confidence doing hard things even when they don’t want to or they th
69 | How to Make Money Grazing for Hire and Weed Eating with Goats
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about another way to make money with goats – grazing for hire. We’ll talk about the infrastructure you need and different ways you can use the goat herd you already have to bring in some extra income while grazing your goats for other people to help clear out overgrown forage or mitigate fire risk. I’ll talk about our experience grazing for hire, what was challe
68 | New to Raising Livestock? Risk Management Strategies When the Learning Curve is Steep
Hi friends! Last week we talked about all the reasons to start with terminal livestock if you’re a beginner or just getting started raising farm animals. Today I’m going to dive into that a little deeper and talk about why you should start with smaller livestock like sheep and goats instead of cattle. We’re going to talk about meat and dairy and risk management, especially through those beginne
67 | Why Beginners Should Start with Terminal Livestock First
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about all the reasons to start with terminal livestock if you’re a beginner or just getting started raising farm animals. I’ll explain the advantages to starting with meat animals rather than breeding stock, and how those animals will be your best teacher and set you up for success with your future breeding herds. Let’s get to it!
Related Episodes:
06 | What
66 | What’s Happening in the Beef Market, What It Means for Consumers, and What You Can Do About It Now
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about what’s happening in the beef market, and what that means for future meat prices. I’m sharing advice from a local rancher on how to build a good relationship so that buying directly from a farmer or rancher works long-term. Mostly, though, I want you to make a plan now to take at least some control over your food supply so you can weather whatever storms of
65 | We Made It Through Kidding, Now What? The 6 Biggest Health Risks to Your Goat Kids Until Weaning Time
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about what to watch for once you’ve gotten your baby goats through that first critical week. We’re talking about the most common problems we see in the first month after goat kids are born, what to watch for, and what to do. I’m also sharing about a big loss we had this year, what we learned from it, and I’m reminding myself that it’s only a failure if you don’t
64 | Healthy Food, Self-Sufficiency, and Homesteading: How to Make Lasting Changes and Ditch the Overwhelm
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about how to avoid overwhelm and make real progress on your journey to healthier food, self-sufficiency, and homesteading. We’ll talk about the power of focusing so that your progress is sustainable over the long term, creating real impact and lasting change in your life. Let’s get to it!
Episode Mentions:
04 | Avoiding Homestead Comparison: The “Good, Bette
63 | How to Get Started Raising Livestock When Your Budget Is Small but You’re Willing to Work
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about the unique way we got started with our own livestock, and how you can do the same. Spoiler: We didn’t inherit anything. We’ll talk about ways to get creative and start increasing your self-sufficiency no matter where you live or what resources you have. Let’s get to it!
Episode Mentions:
10 | 5 Tips to Raise Bottle Goat Kids That Thrive
Related Epis
62 | The Buck Effect: What Is It, What Causes It, and How It Affects Goat Herd Management
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about the buck effect, what it is, why it happens, and why we didn’t see it in our meat goat herd this year. I’m walking you through my thought process evaluating why it didn’t happen, how it has affected our kidding season, and what that means for our goat herd. Let’s get to it!
Mentions:
Buck Effect Instagram Reel (ranch humor and lots of marking paint)
R
61 | How to Build a Simple Off-Grid Water System with a Solar-Powered Pump and Water Storage
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about off-grid water and we’re going to dig a little deeper into the options you have for a solar water system. We’ve had our system going for nearly 5 years, and it’s pretty much maintenance free, which is really nice. Water is so important in every aspect of our lives, and the last thing you need is to have water issues when you’re trying to do so many other th
60 | Breech Births, Goat Mentors, and When to Intervene During Kidding
Hi friends! We’re in the thick of kidding season, and today I’m sharing about a new kidding experience I had a couple days ago, assisting a doe with a posterior or breech kid. We’ve had lots of breech kids before, but never one that I couldn’t safely get the back legs repositioned, so this was a new one. Goats never stop teaching me new things. I’m also sharing some tips on how to be prepared
59 | Get Ready for Kidding: Last Minute Details that Support a Successful and Fun Kidding Season
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about getting ready for kidding. We’ve already done the early preparations – ordering tags, making sure we have the needed supplies on hand, and now it’s time to get everything organized and in place so we’re ready when that first kid is born soon. We’ll talk about the details – the little things that make caring for kids and keeping good records easier, and the
58 | Don’t Make This Mistake When Choosing Your First Livestock Animals: Focusing on Breed Only
Hi friends! Today we’re talking about within-breed variation and how it affects the way you select your livestock. This will help you avoid a common mistake when choosing your first animals – focusing on breed only. Getting clear on your goals, deciding what traits are important to you, and asking questions to figure out if the livestock you’re looking at will fit your goals and management plan
57 | The Ideal Weight and Age for Butchering Meat Goats to Get Premium Quality Meat
Hi friends! Today we’re answering a listener question about butchering meat goats. What is the best age and size to butcher, and how to feed them so the meat quality is amazing. We’re going to talk about commercial weight and age standards or, rather, the lack of standards, and what I have found to work really well to meet our goal of premium quality meat. Let’s get to it!
Episode Mentions:
56 | True or False? Goats are Escape Artists (Hint: The Answer Is in Your Management Strategy)
Hi friends! Last week we talked about building fence for goats, and today we’re talking about how to manage your goat herd so that they respect your fence. Goats are notorious for challenging fences, usually by jumping over or shimmying underneath, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’m going to share what we’ve learned about dealing with problem goats, and what you can do to prevent problems
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