How To Build A Chicken Coop - An Introduction

Do you want to learn how to build your own chicken coop? Let's take a look what you should think about before you get started. With a little bit of help, you can save a lot of money by building your own chicken coop. Also, of course you will be able to individually build a coop that is pleasing to you and your neighbors.

The first thing to remember is, keep your neighbors in mind! Unless nobody but yourself will see your chicken coop, make sure that it's not an eye sore, and that your neighbors can live with it, too! This will save you a lot of frustration in the long term. Make sure to keep your chicken coop nice and clean, both for hygiene and aesthetics reasons.

The next thing we need to think about is how much space you will need. Plan for at least 3 square feet for each animal. Don't cram too many birds into a too small coop. This will only do damage to your chickens' health and hurt the egg production. Also consider that you will need some space for a waterer and chicken feeder.

Build your chicken coop with hygiene in mind. The more thoroughly you plan early on in the process, the less work you will be faced with afterwards. For example, it's a good idea to build your chicken coop with a tilted floor, so that it will be easier to clean the coop. If you slope the floor towards the door, the water can collect and flow outside when you spray out the coop.

Your chicken coop needs to be weather and predator safe! Don't underestimate the will power of predatory pets such as your neighbors' cats or dogs - they may very well dig their way through. Badgers, raccoons, foxes and rats are a common threat to your chickens, too.

Building a Chicken Coop - Find the Right Location

Besides the actual chicken coop plans, finding the right location for your coop will determine whether you and your chickens will be happy with your chicken coop efforts. Building your chicken coop in the right location and position leads to happier, healthier chickens and results in them laying more eggs.

Find a well protected area in your yard. This depends on how large your yard is after all. If you have a lot of space, you may want to consider building a chicken coop where you can easily have an eye on it. You can also build a portable chicken coop if that is more convenient to you.

Think about what predators there are in your area. That includes domestic predators such as your neighbors' cats or dogs. Wild predators will often include raccoons, foxes, badgers and rats. But don't forget the treats from the air. Hawks can also pose a danger to your poultry. If you know that there are hawks in your area you will want to consider building a covered run. If the plans you pick don't include a covered run you may have to modify them to your needs.

Additionally, picking the right fence to go with your home-made chicken coop will be a major asset in protecting your chickens. If there are a lot of predators that may dig their way underneath, you will have to build your coop far enough into the ground to deter the strongest-willed predator.

Another thing to think about when building a chicken coop is that your chickens require a great deal of sunlight. Make sure to position it so that it faces the sun as long as possible during the day. Building a chicken coop in overly shadowy areas is not such a good idea. If your chickens don't get a lot of sunlight, you will have to install electrical lighting, which is not very cost effective.

While your coop should be well ventilated, it should not be too windy either. So if you live in a very windy area, consider building the chicken coop close to the house or a group of trees that break the wind a bit. The same is true for very rainy climates. If you get a lot of rain, position your chicken coop so that it is as much protected as possible. Also you don't want to build the coop so that rain can flow down and flood the coop.

Build a Backyard Chicken Coop - Step 3

Better Safe Than Sorry

One of the most important aspects of learning how to build a chicken coop is keeping your birds safe.

There are many different types of predators that will prey upon your hens if you aren't careful. This can be anything from the neighborhood cats and dogs to less likely threats such as rats. Of course rats are one of the smaller threats, if you live in the country you might also have to contend with larger predators.


These can include foxes, coyotes and badgers. The fencing you use plays a big part in how safe your chicken coop is. Don't use too weak of fencing or you will have to pay a big price later. Make sure to bury your fence deep enough in the ground to keep out animals that try to dig their way into the coop.

Don't forget the threat from above. Hawks will also prey upon chickens, to keep this from happening you can cover the run with more fencing or with a roof.

Build a Backyard Chicken Coop - Step 1

Size, How Many Chickens Do You Want?

I know what you're thinking, and to be honest I thought this myself once. You know where you want to place the hen house, and you know how many chickens you want to hold, is that not enough? The answer is quite simply, no! Even if you already have a location in your yard picked out, this doesn't mean it is a match made in heaven. To put it simply the chickens and the size of your coop might just be incompatible. And if your hope is for fresh health eggs every morning, there is a very good reason why you will want to avoid over crowding your roost.

Each chicken requires at least 3 square feet of room inside of the chicken coop. Going by this you will now have a better idea of the actual coop size, and if it will fit where you originally planned to build it.

It isn't any wonder that a crowded coop is a chaotic coop. Hens that are forced to spend their time fighting over room will be less likely to lay eggs. And the eggs that they do lay will leave something to be desired. If you build a backyard chicken coop don't waste your time and money trying to squeeze the most hens into the smallest space. Make sure your chickens have the space they deserve. So now you are in the perfect position, you can now decide how many chickens you really want to house and build the appropriate coop for your backyard.

If you find out later that the chicken coop you've built it too big (Something that is very unlikely) you can add another hen or two to the house.

Build a Backyard Chicken Coop - An Introduction

When you build a backyard chicken coop, there are four main elements that you want to keep in mind. In this article we will explore these and other important aspects of building a chicken coop, and when you're completed you will be ready to take things to the next stage, purchase some high quality plans, and breaking out the hammer and nails.

The first step we will cover is size. The size of a coop directly effects the number of chickens you can raise. And building a coop that is too small can have drastic effect on your birds happiness. From there you will be able to choose a style that you will be happy with and more importantly fits the location you have chosen for it.

Once you have this information, you will want to look at building both a safe and health coop. More on that in a moment.

The final step will cover the importance of building an aesthetically pleasing chicken coop. But you may be surprised when you find out how important this step really is.

I see that you of you are already to get the plans and get building, so I had better get started!