We sell goat meat at the farmers market and sell quite a bit of it ( $10-$15 a pound last year) .
We started out spending way too much also but learned how to cut some cost. I am the vet pretty much now, except for emergencies I can't deal with but we haven't needed a vet for a goat in a few years ( mostly the sheep now)
We started out buying those $15 bags of goat grain now we just get gluten, soy hulls and whole corn at the local farm bureau store, plus loose mineral.
Instead of using expensive straw for the barn in winter, we get sawdust from the mill here which is a lot cheaper plus older hay
I am trying something new this year also , instead of processing 1-2 year olds for meat, we will keep them to 2-3 year old so they are bigger, since the processing fee at the meat processor is the most expensive part and they charge per goat, regardless of size With sheep, technically if they are 2 years old they are not lamb, but mutton. But with goats, goat meat is goat meat. They still taste good also, we have butchered a few older ones.
One more thing: we get or breed a new little buck every few years so they don't get so big they destroy everything. it's a lot easier plus to prevent too much inbreeding
oh we have Kiko/Boer mixes. They are fairly healthy because Kiko and fairly large because Boer
Dairy goats are harder, less meat, milk is difficult to sell
I personally don't like this but we know someone that makes a small fortune with his goats. He lets people come to his farm and butcher them there for a lot of money ( mostly Muslims) .He also does not provide vet care, whatever survives survives. He started with 5 mixed breed meat goats and a buck and put them in a large pasture with his cows and a few dogs and let them go. They do have a large shelter and he does feed hay ( round bales, he has enough acres to cut his own) . We bought a little buck from him and he is super healthy so far
