by yesterday. » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:00 am
@rayn.i
sorry for such a late reply! i haven't been on in ages.
they certainly can be. purebred goats can cost hundreds of dollars, but breed doesn't necessarily matter if you aren't interested in showing them. the hay for them can cost like $30 usd per bale (at least where i live), and you usually have to buy pellet feed as well. they also need lots of shrubbery to graze on, and (depending on where you live) often need to be wormed fairly often. which you can do at home, but you still have to buy the meds. not to mention building them an enclosure. you also shouldn't have just one, as they are a herd animal and can get very lonely and problematic. and often, unless you milk them and sell the babies, there isn't really any return (except their adorableness!)
so yes, they can be fairly expensive to keep. but it really depends on how many you have, what you do with them, and how much resources are in your area.
if you think it's something you might be interested in, though, you should definitely give it a go! maybe find someone in your area with goats and ask to visit their farm a few times and help out to get a feel for what they're like. that's what i did, and it was very helpful.
hope that helps!!