Goat Wise | Meat Goats, Feeding Goats, Goat Fencing, Livestock Management
Ranked in the top 2% of podcasts globally.
Are you serious about raising goats but tired of advice that doesn't hold up in real life? Are you adding goats to your ranch or homestead and realizing they require different infrastructure, nutrition, and management than other livestock? Do you want fencing, feeding, and production systems that work under pressure?
You're in the right place.
I'm Millie Bradshaw, Animal Scientist and rancher. I grew up in the commercial cattle world, earned a Master's Degree in Animal Science, and now run a forage-based meat goat operation integrated with cattle in the high desert. We've built the infrastructure, refined the genetics, managed the forage, and learned firsthand what works — and what fails — when you're responsible for animals in a demanding environment.
On Goat Wise, we talk fencing that actually contains goats, feeding and mineral strategies that make sense for your operation, genetics that match your environment and your goals, and the kind of steady decision-making that holds up when conditions aren't ideal. Production-minded livestock management for people who are in this for real.
If you're ready to build systems that last, welcome to Goat Wise.
Episodes
3 hours ago
3 hours ago
14 min
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've ever had, and why getting it all on paper before you move a single animal changes everything about the day. Let's get to it.
Related Episodes:
91 | Seasonal Planning for Livestock: How We Plan a Ranch Year Without Burning Out
97 | How to Create an Efficient Livestock Chore Routine (Step-by-Step)
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Oct 19, 2026
Oct 19, 2026
14 min
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 Episodes:131 | Adding Goats to a Cattle Ranch: The Behavior Realities
130 | How Goats See the World: The Biology of Goat Vision
125 | Why Goats Eat Brush: The Biology Behind What We're Seeing in the Sagebrush
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Oct 12, 2026
Oct 12, 2026
12 min
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 review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Oct 5, 2026
Oct 5, 2026
13 min
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 stubbornness and now just look like physics. Let's get to it.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Sep 28, 2026
Sep 28, 2026
16 min
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 | Virtual Fence in Action: A NoFence Progress Report from the Sagebrush
125 | Why Goats Eat Brush: The Biology Behind What We're Seeing in the Sagebrush
126 | Wintering Goats on Brush: The Feed Cost Strategy We're About to Test
NoFence affiliate code: BradshawGraze10 (capitalization matters) for 10% off your NoFence order. Here’s the link.*
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
*Some links and codes in these notes are affiliate — I earn a small commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Goat Wise.
Sep 21, 2026
Sep 21, 2026
20 min
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 because I’m still amazed at where the numbers settled. Let's get to it.
Episode Mentions:
16 | The Results Are In! Our 2024 Kidding Season Numbers for the Meat Goat Herd, and What You Should Be Keeping Track of in Your Herd
72 | Did We Reach Our Goal? 2025 Kidding Season Report Is Here!
113 | Kidding Season Week One: Forty Does, No Assists
127 | Iodine, Navel Dipping, Goiter, and Mineral: What Happened When I Didn't Follow My Own Advice
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Sep 14, 2026
Sep 14, 2026
12 min
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, and the actual cause turned out to be something I already knew and just didn't do. Let's get to it.
Related Episodes:
17 | Do My Goats Need Mineral? How to Meet Their Micronutrient Needs and Keep the Herd Healthy
65 | We Made It Through Kidding, Now What? The 6 Biggest Health Risks to Your Goat Kids Until Weaning Time
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Sep 7, 2026
Sep 7, 2026
14 min
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 costs might be the single most important thing any livestock producer can do for their operation's long-term profitability. Let's get to it.
Mentions:
124 | Virtual Fence in Action: A NoFence Progress Report from the Sagebrush
125 | Why Goats Eat Brush: The Biology Behind What We're Seeing in the Sagebrush
NoFence affiliate code: BradshawGraze10 (capitalization matters) for 10% off your NoFence order. Here’s the link.*
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
*Some links and codes in these notes are affiliate — I earn a small commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Goat Wise.
Aug 31, 2026
Aug 31, 2026
12 min
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.
Mentions:
124 | Virtual Fence in Action: A NoFence Progress Report from the Sagebrush
NoFence affiliate code: BradshawGraze10 (capitalization matters) for 10% off your NoFence order. Here’s the link.*
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
*Some links and codes in these notes are affiliate — I earn a small commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Goat Wise.
Aug 24, 2026
Aug 24, 2026
15 min
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 imagined. Let's get to it.
Mentions:
114 | Drought, Hay Prices, and Why We Bought Virtual Fence
NoFence affiliate code: BradshawGraze10 (capitalization matters) for 10% off your NoFence order. Here’s the link.*
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts + grab your free Kidding Due Date Chart: https://www.goatwise.com/kidding-chart
Join the insider email list: https://www.goatwise.com/join
Email: millie@drycreekpastures.com
Instagram: @drycreekpastures
More from the ranch: https://www.drycreekpastures.com
This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for veterinary advice.
*Some links and codes in these notes are affiliate — I earn a small commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Goat Wise.