How To Build A Chicken Coop

The choice to keep and raise chickens necessitate the need for adequate housing, so one may want to learn how to build a chicken coop. There are a number of aspects which must be featured in a coop in order to maintain one’s flock and keep them safe. Nests will also need to be roomy enough to allow for the hens to lay their eggs, and it is highly suggested to offer the chickens a covered and enclosed pecking area.

How To Build A Chicken Coop

When looking to learn how to build a chicken coop it is rather simple. One of the more important aspects to keep in mind when building your own coop is how to disinfect and clean the coop. It is best if the floors and walls are constructed of a material that can be hosed down. Hosing the interior down will be quicker and easier than having to scrub the coop every couple of days.

It is important to remember that the interior of the coop must be kept in sanitary condition. If the chickens are living in dirty accomodations they can get sick. If the chickens get sick the quality of the eggs they produce will be less than desired, and may even get the people who eat them sick.

Roosts are also a good idea when planning how to build a chicken coop. Roosts will allow the birds time to get out of the nesting boxes but still remain in a safe atmosphere. The roosts should not be more than 18 inches from the floor. If they are too high up the cickens can get harmed when trying to access them. If the roosts are to low to the floor, the chickens can trip over them or spend way too much time on them making them a hazard to the production of eggs and the water supplies.

Nesting boxes are another consideration that needs to be planned out correctly when deciding how to build a chicken coop. A typical chicken nest for laying eggs is approximately 18 inches wide and 12 inches tall. There are sections between the actual nests to avoid hen fights and to keep the nests separated. When making plans for your chicken coop, remember that for every two chickens there should be one nest. Chickens do not always lay their eggs at the same time, so the two to one ratio is a suggested nest count.

Make sure that the chicken coop is properly ventilated. Chickens can get sick when humidity rises in the coop. The smell from the chicken droppings can also become quite pungent if the coop is always closed up. A good ventilation fan can be used, or one can plan for a couple of windows in the coop when planning how to build a chicken coop.

How To Build A Chicken Coop – Conclusion

If the individual does not desire to plan and draw up their own blueprints for a coop, there are many available at home and farm stores and online. However one chooses to go, detailed plans will make the job easier when engaging in how to build a chicken coop.

Chicken Coop Designs

There are many reasons to have chickens and the chicken coop designs available make finding the right one for your needs easy. Chickens provide food as well as fertilizer for the yard and garden. You can find numerous plans for chicken coops or even create your own. They will range from backyard small to condo large. The number of chickens and the space you have to put them in will determined the size you need. Furthermore, you will want to make sure the angle of the coop in response to the sun is cohesive for the chickens. Too much sun or not enough will affect the health of your chickens in turn that will determine the amount of eggs they lay.

Chicken Coop Designs

Always take several things into consideration when considering the chicken coop designs. Factor in the total number of chickens you plan on keeping. This usually means about 4 foot of space for each chicken. You will want an easy access door for gathering eggs and cleaning out the coop. It is important to maintain a clean coop for the chickens. Keep in mind the chickens will need nesting boxes. One long box for 4 hens. Don’t forget the poles for them to roost on. Sit aside an addition area for the food and water.

Chicken coop designs range from small to extra large. There are a lot of manufactured ones available through the country for you to buy with very competitive prices or you can construct it yourself. The option you take may depend on your budget or whether you enjoy building things by hand. If you do enjoy the do-it-yourself method then you can find chicken coop designs for any size on the Internet for free.

Small Quaker style chicken coops are the ones that look like a dog house. These are good for the undersized backyard. Another little scale chicken coop is the Gable style coop. This one has a more crafty designed adding a little flair, whichever design you choose they can be made to look attractive and blend with your yard pleasing any chicken hobbyist. Medium size chicken coops also can be found in a variety of shapes and styles from round to square with small additions, to long and 2 story. Large coops are for the serious minded individual who plans on creating a business out of their chickens. These will mostly look like an outside building although the designs out there today are quite unique offering something that will complement any chicken business.

Chicken Coop Designs – Conclusion

No matter which of these designs you decide you need to plan on adding an attached run to it. Chickens need exercise. Make sure the area is flat and consider pouring a bit of cement around the run so the chickens can’t peck a hole in the dirt. Take into consideration the material used in building it. Chickens like to peck and pull on wood so it needs to be durable. Many chicken coop designs today are great to look at and offer a lot of options.

Building A Chicken Coop Review

There are a myriad of reasons for owning your own chickens, but one thing is for sure: you’re going to be building a chicken coop. Whether you want chickens for the eggs, to use them as future dinners or just as pets, they’ll need to have a chicken coop to protect them from inclement weather and predators. However, with the price of pre-built coops starting at $500, who can even afford to keep chickens? It may sound difficult, but in the following article, we’ll outline some easy, practical, money saving steps for you and, in no time at all, you’ll be building a chicken coop all on your own!

Honest Building A Chicken Coop Review

There are a few things to consider before you start building a chicken coop. First, it’s important to educate yourself. Buy a book, or check one out from the library, that will help you learn about raising chickens and will give you complete, instructions on building a coop. Check out the zoning laws in your town so you’ll know how many chickens you can keep and how large a coop you’re allowed to build.

When you’ve gone through all of that and can finally start on that chicken coop, here are a few tips to make the job easier: 

tip #1 – you can design your own coop, but there are several designs available for free online. Just get that search engine running and look for “building a chicken coop.” 

Tip #2 – build a raised chicken coop. This will protect your chicken from predators and the cold ground while making it easier for you to clean the coop and collect eggs. 

Tip #3 – the climate of your coop needs to be controlled. Your coop is probably going to require an extra heat source, insulation and/or venting in order to accomplish said task.

Once you’ve decided on the design for your coop, make up a list of materials and tools you’ll need. This list should include: plywood, chicken wire, straw, a hammer, a chop saw and tape measures. There is quite a bit more to this list, so make sure you do your research! Note: pine shavings may be used instead of straw in your chicken coop, but DO NOT use cedar shavings as they can be toxic to chickens. Many times, contractors store excess material and are often willing to sell it for a fraction of the price of a retail store. Call some contractors in your area and see what they might be willing to work out. Your area may also have a reuse center with much of the material you need. The materials will be clean but will probably have nail holes or be cut at odd lengths. That’s why they’re so cheap!

Building A Chicken Coop – Conclusion

We hope this guide has been enlightening and helpful on your adventure to raise chickens. It may be a lot of work, but raising chickens can be a very rewarding hobby. At the very least, you now know how to get started on easily and cheaply building a chicken coop!

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Chicken Coop Design

... The high cost of a pre-built
chicken coop?

...The lack of complete (from start to finish) Chicken Coop Plans?

... The lack of Chicken Coop Plans that have easy step-by-step instructions that the average homeowner can follow?

"I Thought Raising Chickens In My Backyard Was a Great Idea, Until I saw the cost of a pre-built Chicken Coop"

A good friend of mine, Jim Stanley, has been a poultry farmer for over 25 years. Every time the kids and I would visit his farm, they would bug me for weeks to raise our own chickens. A few years ago they finally wore me down and I started looking into raising chickens in my backyard.

Just like you, I started with an online search to see where I could buy a chicken coop.

I was shocked to see how much it cost for a pre-built chicken coop. The prices ranged from $500 on up to the thousands (and this didn’t even include installation). I wasn’t about to pay that kind of money, not even close. I was disappointed in my findings and was about to inform the kids that we weren’t going to raise chickens, until I talked to my friend Jim.

Jim hadn’t built a coop in years, but he too was shocked by the cost of a pre-built chicken coop. As I continued my research, I realized I wasn’t alone. People were opting not to buy pre-built chicken coops, but were

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