We have a couple whose primary function is weed control. We sell them at the end of the year (Christmas season) to our Mexican customers. For our business, it's as much an advertising effort as a revenue effort. Anything we can do to get the customers talking about us in positive terms is a good thing. Goats are one of those things.
There is a strong seasonality to the demand, and if you try to sell when you want to sell, there's no money to be had. At the right time, with an animal the right size, to the right person, you can make a buck. Think of it as selling the equivalent of hams or turkeys, but to Hispanics and Muslims. Don't try to sell turkeys to white people on the 4th of July.
This time of year, every Tom, Dick and Harriet is getting rid of goats from their back yard, cheap, cheaper, or free. Lots of "come and get it" ads in the paper. Usually with a tear jerker explanation "these are my friends, can't split up the two sisters".
Biggest concern I have is predation (both two legged and four legged). Anything larger than a house cat will kill a kid and drag it off, and it's a lot easier to cap a goat and throw it in the trunk of a car than a steer.
