Our Top 5 Homesteading Fails - Free Range Homestead Ep 74

Welcome back to the Free Range Homestead! In this episode, we are excited to share our top five homesteading fails with you. As we embark on our journey towards self-sufficiency, it’s not always smooth sailing, and we’ve definitely had our fair share of amusing mishaps.

Ducks – Our First Homesteading Fail

We’ve always been fond of ducks, especially the Indian Runner variety. Their quiet demeanor and egg-laying abilities made us excited to add them to our homestead. However, we soon discovered that ducks are quite messy animals, with their droppings spreading quickly and widely across any area they inhabit. This led to a challenging experience, trying to keep both their water source and living quarters clean while providing the right environment for egg-laying.

Geese – A Second Attempt Gone Wrong

After parting ways with our ducks, we decided to give geese a try. We thought that geese would stay closer to our property and might even help with pest control. Initially, it seemed like the geese were enjoying their new home, but their desire to fly eventually led them over our neighbor’s fence to explore their dam.

Despite our efforts to clip their wings and keep them contained within our property, the temptation was too great. In the end, we had to consider the relationship with our neighbors and decided it wasn’t working out. Geese are delicious, though!

Mushroom logs – A Growing Experiment

We decided to try our hand at growing mushrooms on wood logs, inoculating them with various mushroom species. Unfortunately, we faced some challenges in the process, as our logs ended up sitting for a few weeks before being properly prepared and planted. Although there were signs of growth in the form of mycelium networks after a while, we were unsure if they were good mushrooms or just rotting away.

Hugel Bed – A Piggy Tale

In an attempt to create a hugel bed using logs, debris, and soil, we found that it was irresistible to our pigs. Upon introducing our first piglet (named Jimmy), the pigs quickly demolished the hugel bed in search of delicious morsels hidden within. In their excitement, they completely overlooked any potential fertility from the rotting logs, and so we had to rethink our approach to using hugel beds.

Guinea Fowls – A Loud and Aggressive Addition

The last but certainly not least of our homesteading fails were the guinea fowls. While we enjoyed their predatory skills, we struggled to keep them from harassing our other animals, especially chickens. They exhibited aggressive behavior and pecked relentlessly at weaker birds, leaving us with no choice but to part ways.

Looking Back on Our Homesteading Journey

Despite our misadventures in homesteading, we’re proud of the progress we’ve made and continue to learn from our experiences. The lessons learned from these mishaps have been valuable in refining our techniques and honing our skills.

Through all the failures, however, there are silver linings – our vegetable garden still provides for us during the leaner times, our dairy cow has turned out to be a delightful addition, and we’ve managed to preserve enough food to sustain us until next year’s harvest.

Thank You

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who have continued to support and follow us on this journey. We appreciate the comments, suggestions, and encouragement shared by members of our community.

Your financial support via Patreon helps keep the content rolling, and your contributions through the Ko-Fi page are equally appreciated. Thank you for being a part of our community and helping us on this adventure.

Next Time

Tune in to our next episode, where we will continue to share updates and further insights into the Free Range Homestead life. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on these experiences – have you gone through any similar trials? Leave a comment below!

Don’t forget, if you’re thinking of embarking on your own homesteading journey, consider some of the potential pitfalls we’ve faced along the way. And always feel free to reach out for support and advice from fellow enthusiasts.

Keep Enjoying the Journey!

We’re always excited to hear about your own homesteading endeavors, so keep sharing your stories with us. And thank you again for your ongoing support and friendship – we couldn’t do this without you! See you next time.