lystn

What happens when you need to make the decision to take a break from homesteading? What happens when you have to start over as a homesteader? Let's look at some reasons you might consider starting over on the homestead, and why it might actually be a good thing. (Don’t want to read all the words? This blog post is also a podcast—just press the triangle play button on the little black bar at the top of this post!) Starting over on the homestead can happen for many reasons. - finances - natural/personal disaster - a move - farm-wide/flock-wide illness - major change or problem on your property - the stage of life you're in - your current set up isn't working - because you simply need a break I bring this up because sometimes you have to make a hard decision. And what I’ve found in the homesteading community is sometimes there are a lot of people who are faced with a hard decision and don’t want to talk about that hard decision because they are afraid of what other homesteaders might think or might say. There are a lot of you should or you coulds that tend to fly around when people need to take a break from or start over on the homestead. And although they’re often meant to be helpful, they’re often not when you’re in that situation. Why am I bringing up starting over on the homestead? Well. I didn't really publicize this, but we actually butchered all the farm animals on our homestead late last fall (2019)—egg birds, ducks, everything—with the intention of starting over in the spring. This wasn’t an easy decision. We've never not had animals on our farm. So, it’s not as if I walked out to the barn one day and just decided on a whim, “off with their heads”. Having said that, it really did make sense for us. -- We don't overwinter pigs. We buy feeders in the spring and butcher them in the fall. So pigs weren't part of this decision. -- We do overwinter ducks. But we were planning on switching from Pekins to Muscovies in Spring 2020. Knowing that, we decided it didn't make sense to pay to feed them over winter to then butcher them in the spring.  -- We obviously overwinter our egg birds. However, we had a really tough run with our Brahma egg birds. I think it may have just been this particular batch of birds, but they never really laid well for us at all. We're talking 3 eggs a week from 12 hens at peak. We knew we would be replacing this batch of chickens come Spring 2020, so it didn't make sense for us to continue to feed them through the winter. **Everyone runs their homestead differently. I know some people don't agree with culling birds that are no longer producing, and allow them to live out a long happy life on their homestead. Our homestead runs with the rule that if you're here, you need to be providing something for the money I'm putting into you. To each their own. Pros of starting over on the homestead: Even though it wasn't an easy decision to make, getting rid of everything gave me the opportunity to do many things. I could: - Assess what our farm is for. I had the brain space to think about whether our homesteading why, purpose, or direction had changed. - Figure out our homesteading priorities. Emptying the barn gave me a chance to step back and say, “hey, wait.” People often move to the homestead with many plans, and sometimes move forward with those plans because it's the next thing on the hamster wheel. Oftentimes you’re so busy, you don’t have time to step back and consider if it’s actually the next best step. - Go back to the drawing board. I got to ask myself if we are doing the right things for our homestead—feed-wise, seed-wise, etc. I was able to make a list of what needs to be fixed, changed, built, moved, or taken down without having to deal with animals in the process. - Re-ignite my love of homesteading. Sometimes you need that time without animals to remember why you love having them on the farm. Sometimes you need that year without a garden to remind yourself...