Why we left the city for a rural goat farm

Come with us on a winter walk at Starling Acres as we check in on the animals, step through the barn and garage, and then head out across the rangeland. Along the way, we talk honestly about why we left the city, what we are trying to build here for our family, and how much store-bought food we are slowly replacing with our own eggs, meat, and milk.
This is not a polished “after” story—it is very much the “during”: half-finished projects, snow on the ground, and real numbers on the cost of food and feed.

0:00 – Winter introduction at Starling Acres
0:40 – Checking goats and other animals
1:00 – Quick look inside barn and garage projects
2:40 - Winter Watering
3:30 – Walking the rangeland
6:40 - Goat Soap
7:25 – Carnivore Cooking
7:55 - Plans for our holstein calf
10:34 - Why we left the city for this life, three reasons
12:45 – What food we now produce instead of buy
14:11 – Cost of our "carnivore diet" retail vs. what we pay for our animals to support it
15:00 – Closing thoughts from the pasture

🧼 GOAT MILK TALLOW SOAP – STARLING ACRES SOAP SHOP
In this video we briefly mention the soap we have been getting ready for our local Christmas market. We turn our own goat milk and rendered tallow into simple, old-fashioned bars—scents like Lemongrass & Lavender and other gentle blends for everyday use.
If you would like to support our little ranch directly, you can find our soaps here:

👉 https://starling-acres.square.site

Your support helps us cover:
Feed and minerals for the goats
Repairs and upgrades in the barn and pens
Long-term projects to make Starling Acres more self-sufficient
In this video
Goat and animal check-in – a candid look at our herd and winter setup
Barn and garage peek – the real state of infrastructure, projects in progress, and where we are heading
Walking the rangeland – a honest talk about why we walked away from city life
Food costs vs. farm production – how eggs, goat meat, beef, and milk are slowly replacing items on our grocery bill
Soap and side-income – how our goat milk tallow soap fits into the bigger picture of making this place pay for itself
About Starling Acres
We are a family in rural Alberta trying to turn a small acreage into a working, resilient homestead:
Raising goats, chickens, and bottle calves
Making and selling goat milk tallow soap and other simple body products
Experimenting with gardens, future tunnels/greenhouses, and better use of pasture
Building something that our children can inherit—roots instead of rent
Faith, family, and honest work are at the centre of what we are doing here.
Support & Stay Connected
🧼 Shop our goat milk tallow soap:
https://starling-acres.square.site

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