How often tshould I change bedding?

[wilkinsfarm2020]

Those are the roosting bars he made.
Shelving and boxes he made. I think the one on top is too high and why they haven't used that one.

 

[wilkinsfarm2020]

The turkeys will have their own separate coop eventually.
We plan on getting the wood for it around the first.
I also have two pekin ducks that are just babies same age as my smaller baby chickens(3-5 weeks old in age differences.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting. I grew up in East Tennessee, the Cumberland Gap area, and once dated a girl up the road from you in Murray. That was a long time ago.

I don't know how it's going to work out for you. I still worry about predators, that's usually the biggest problem. Your area is a lot flatter than the area I grew up in but that doesn't mean anything to the chickens. From a feed perspective they will probably do OK most of the year but will need additional feed in winter. Kind of play that by ear, judging by your eggs and how the chickens grow. Some additional feed around the coop may help keep them sleeping in that area.

 

[BReeder!]

I use pine shaving from Walmart I get for just under 10$ for 4.0 cubic feet. 14l bag... We have roughly a 6x6 coop for 12 chickens with a cement floor underneath. We will soon have nearly 40 in our flock. We will extend the coop once the new ones become of age to combine them with our adult birds.

My question is, is how can prolong/cut costs/ and keep upkeep costs at a minimum so raising these free range birds becomes less expense and more profit? I'm worried I'm spending to much in upkeep already to raise them compared to biteing the bullet and getting commercial on raised birds and eggs. 17-20 on a 50$ bag of all flock nutrena feed. As well. It doesn't last very long even though using preventative measures to prevent waste. I hear some people change bedding every week as well on a previous thread... I definitely would be cutting it close even when all my birds are laying and processing them for meat with upkeep I think

You are over paying for shavings. I pay $4 for compressed pine shavings at Farm & Fleet here. TSC and Stock and Field should have similar prices.
I have a wood floor and change the bedding twice per year (Spring and Fall). I have a board under the roosts to collect poop, this us this best thing to do if you want the bedding to last. I would say 90% of their poop ends up on the board under the roast. I just school the poop and toss it into the compost.
I have an enclosed run too. I don't purchase bedding for the run, but use leaves, grass clippings and mulched branches (I have a shredder/mulcher).
You mentioned $17-$20 for 50lb of feed. I pay $10-13 for the feed I buy, which is 16% protein layer feed from Farm & Fleet, but again I think other farm supply chains would have comparable pricing. My feed is not organic, but I don't think yours is either from your initial post. All flock is a little bit more, but I don't bother using it and I feed these turkeys, ducks, chickens and quail the same feed. To increase protein for game birds, I can a 40% protein feed made by Prince from a small family run feed store for about $20 and mix it in 1 part to 2 parts layer feed so it stretches a long way and doesn't kill the feed budget.
My birds don't free range, but if I could free range them I would significantly reduce the amount I feed, perhaps even skipping every other day to encourage then to find their own food.

 

[BReeder!]

We live in puryear tennessee. For reference and have 13 acres. They roam about 3 acres of it. Sometimes they venture into the beginning of the wood line. I'll show pics of outside. There are TONS of bugs, and foraging for them.

We do have 3 dogs one of them being a pyrenees so predators are typically not a problem.

We made our coop put of a side of our barn that we dont use for ourselves.

My husband says he thinks its 6x12. It's got shelving prebuilt into it we just need to extend the opening of the coop that we have it at now to come all the way to the front. Hes built in roosting bars but the shelving they've also used as roosting.

It has 2 nesting boxes currently and both pullets we have that are already laying both use the same one

My in-laws are in TN near Mcminnville. It's mountains and hills where they are. I'm not sure what the terrain is like in your area except what I see in your pics. I would assume you have similar predators though. Thet have rattle snakes, foxes, wild dogs (run aways or abandoned to fend for themselves), hawks, raccoons, opossums and worst of all cougars. That's a lot of predators, many of which will challenge even Great Pyrenees, and I probably missed several.

 

[wilkinsfarm2020]

My in-laws are in TN near Mcminnville. It's mountains and hills where they are. I'm not sure what the terrain is like in your area except what I see in your pics. I would assume you have similar predators though. Thet have rattle snakes, foxes, wild dogs (run aways or abandoned to fend for themselves), hawks, raccoons, opossums and worst of all cougars. That's a lot of predators, many of which will challenge even Great Pyrenees, and I probably missed several.

We Have 3 dogs, an aussie cattle mix, pyrenees and heeler mix. They are outside free range all year.

 

[wilkinsfarm2020]

We have a rat snake, coyotes do roam in this area but we haven't had any where we are. Mostly in the areas of farmland which is about 2 miles down.

 

[wilkinsfarm2020]

I measured coop. Its 8×18.

 

[BReeder!]

I measured coop. Its 8×18.

8x18 is going to be tight for 40 chickens. Are you planning on extending or choosing to raise some just until butcher weight? You could get away with raising them to butcher weight for 8-10 weeks in a tighter space, but they certainly will not be happy.

EDIT: Neverming, I just seen in your first post that you intend to expand the coop once the new birds come of age.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think 8x18 should be just about big enough unless you have long periods of very cold/cold + windy temps, where the flock does not want to go outside.

You'll need to add a lot more roosts though. I'd advise you ditch the diagonal roosts and run them width or lengthwise, as those tight corners in a diagonal aren't usable space.