Goat Wise | Meat Goats, Feeding Goats, Goat Fencing, Livestock Management

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!

Episode Mentions:

43 | How to Treat Entropian or Inverted Eyelids in Baby Goats

07 | Should My Goats Have Horns or Not? Pros and Cons of Disbudding Goats

Episodes in this Series:

101 | The Most Important Tools in Your Goat Medical Kit - PART 1

102 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2A

103 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2B

104 | The Medication Side of My Goat Health Kit – Part 3

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: [email protected]

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.

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 years. We'll cover weighing equipment, marking tools, tagging and records, hoof care, blood draw supplies, kidding tools, and a few things I keep in a five-gallon bucket right by the barn door. Let's get to it.

Episode Mentions:

11 | Should I tag my goats?  What You Need to Know About Government Requirements and How to Use Tagging to Benefit Your Herd

52 | What’s in My Kidding Bucket and the Supplies You Should Have On Hand When Your Goats Kid

Episodes in this Series:

101 | The Most Important Tools in Your Goat Medical Kit - PART 1

102 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2A

103 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2B

104 | The Medication Side of My Goat Health Kit – Part 3

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: [email protected]

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.

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 treatment supplies and what to do when things get serious. Let's get to it.

Episode Mentions:

102 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2A

103 | What's Actually in My Goat Health Boxes — Part 2B

104 | The Medication Side of My Goat Health Kit – Part 3

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: [email protected]

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.

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 the urge to do too much. Let's get to it.

Mention:

31 | Are Winter Heat Lamps Bad for Chickens? How to Prepare Your Flock for a Comfortable Winter

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: [email protected]

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.

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 options than they think if they’re willing to understand their market and design their system intentionally.

Related Episodes:

21 | Seeking Sustainability? How to Evaluate Options and Make Decisions with a Sustainability Mindset

22 | What Is the Perfect Meat Goat? How to Choose the Right Breed for Your Farm or Homestead PART 1

45 | Health Benefits of Ruminant Red Meat, Grass-Fed vs Grain-Fed, and Special Characteristics of Goat Meat

66 | What’s Happening in the Beef Market, What It Means for Consumers, and What You Can Do About It Now

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: [email protected]

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.

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.

Related Episodes:

22 | What Is the Perfect Meat Goat? How to Choose the Right Breed for Your Farm or Homestead PART 1

23 | Boer vs Kiko, What Meat Goat Breed is the Best Fit for Your Farm or Homestead? PART 2

27 | Which Goats Should I Keep for Breeding? How to Select Replacement Does and Plan Your Goat Breeding Season

29 | Are Your Goats Too Fat or Too Thin? How to Body Condition Score and Adjust Your Feeding Strategy for Healthier Goats

68 | New to Raising Livestock? Risk Management Strategies When the Learning Curve is Steep

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: [email protected]

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.

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.

Related Episodes:

06 | What Livestock Should I Get First? My Top Pick for Your First Homestead Animals

12 | Raising Kids and Livestock? Teach Life Lessons, Build Character, and Strengthen Your Relationships While Raising Animals

68 | New to Raising Livestock?  Risk Management Strategies When the Learning Curve is Steep

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: [email protected]

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.

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 than any fence or shortcut could. Let’s get to it!

Related Episodes:

71 | Livestock Management Decisions and Why We Are Selling Part of Our Goat Herd

68 | New to Raising Livestock?  Risk Management Strategies When the Learning Curve is Steep

03 | Ready for Goats! 4 Steps to Help You Confidently Shop for and Purchase Your First Goats

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: [email protected]

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.

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 well, and creating a plan that fits your life and adapts as seasons change.  Let’s get to it!

Related Episodes:

25 | Concerned About the Food Supply?  Simple Ways to Ensure That Your Family Will Be Fed in the Event of a Food Availability Crisis

49 | 3 Strategies to Make the Best Use of Bulk Meat Storage and Avoid Freezer Overwhelm

64 | Healthy Food, Self-Sufficiency, and Homesteading: How to Make Lasting Changes and Ditch the Overwhelm

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: [email protected]

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.

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 out, and how we decided when it made sense to sell early instead of sticking to the original plan. If you’re raising goats and trying to balance performance, feed inventory, and cash flow, this episode will help you think through those trade-offs with clarity instead of guesswork.  Let’s get to it!

Episode Mentions:

28 | Winter Feed for Livestock: Calculate How Much Hay You Need and a Strategy to Save Money

Related Episodes:

35 | Winter Hay Feeding Evaluation: Meeting Nutritional Requirements of Goats and Reducing Hay Waste

78 | Winter Grazing: Low Cost, Regenerative Strategies for Goats and Other Livestock

71 | Livestock Management Decisions and Why We Are Selling Part of Our Goat Herd

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: [email protected]

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.