chicken coop design plans videos

Chicken Coop Plans

Our chicken coop plans are drawn to help you easily build a chicken coop. We have several styles and sizes of chicken coop plans to choose from.

Urban chicken coop plans

Styles of Chicken Coops

Building your own chicken coop has never been easier. Our chicken coop plans will give you the knowledge you nee to plan and build the perfect chicken coop for your yard or garden. With several styles to choose from you can pick the perfect coop to house your hens so you can start collecting fresh eggs. Choosing the coop size and style you need to fit your needs is easy with our large selection of chicken coop plans.

Lean To Roof Chicken Coop Plans

Using a lean to roof is the simplest way to put a roof on your chicken coop the single sloping roof that goes from one side of the coop to the other allow you to use a single board for the roof rafter instead of creating a ridge and having two roof planes. The nesting box can be either inside the coop or added as a box on the outside of the coop.

Gable Roof Chicken Coop Plans

The gable roof design creates a larger space up in the roof that some builders use to create a roost for their chickens. The double sloping roof resembles a barn which adds a certain charm to your backyard chicken area. The nesting boxes can be built under the main roof inside the coop or installed on the outside with their own roof that fts up to easily give you access to the eggs and cleaning.

A Frame Chicken Run Plans

The A Frame Chicken Run is the simplest chicken coop to build. Its simple design also makes it the most cost effective chicken coop plan to build. Most A frame coops are easy to move around the yard which makes them great to use as a "chicken tractor". This allows you to fertize different areas of the yard and keep from ruining the ground under the chicken run.

The A-frame chicken coop comes in several design styles. It can be built as a two story coop with the nest boxes and roosts up in the roof of the coop and the chicken run down below on the ground level. It can also be built with the coop on one end and the run on the other end.

Chicken Runs A chicken run can be added to any chicken coop design. The chicken run allows you to safely let your chickens out of the coop and still have protection from predators and keep them from wandering off. The typical size of chicken run per chicken is 10 square feet. Even with a chicken run that has protected walls and roof there is still a possibity of predators digging under the barrier. Keeping the door to your chicken coop closed and locked at night is the best way to protect them at night.

Why Chickens Take A Dust Bath

Chickens love to take a "dust bath". They will dig in the dirt and throw it on themselves and anything around them. Taking a dust bath helps them clean themselves and to get rid of parasites ke mites, fleas and ce.

The dirt and sand soak up oils from their skin and feathers. The oils are removed from their feathers and skin when they shake it off.

The parasites are less kely to stay around with all the dirt and will be less kely to stay on your chickens.

What Makes A Good Chicken Dust Bath?

They like warm and dry dirt or sand that is loose. Adding food grade DE, Diatomaceous Earth, to the dirt that the chickens take a dust bath in will help to control ce and mites. After the dust bath they will shake off the dust and then preen their feathers. You can make a chicken dust bath by providing a low walled container. Most home stores sell a tub for mixing concrete or tile mortar in. Kitty tter pans also work great. They makes the perfect dust bath tub for your chickens. If your dust bath is in a container make sure to drill holes in the bottom so water can drain out when it rains. If you do not want to use a tub your chickens will find any dirt patch and start making dust. If you use a tub for your chicken dust bath it should be cleaned of chicken droppings every two or three weeks. In hot weather chickens will did holes in the dirt and take a break in the cooler soil.

How Much Space Does A Chicken Need in a Chicken Coop?

Even chickens need their space. These are the different square footages that are typically recommended for chickens in the chicken coop.
Coop: 4 square feet of floor space for a large chicken 3 square feet of space for a Bantam chicken Chicken Run: 10 square feet of ground per large chicken 7-8 square feet of ground per bantam chicken
Nesting Boxes: 12 inches by 12 inches minimum is the most common nesting box size. 1 nesting box per every 3 egg laying chickens
Perch Space: 12 inches of perch per chicken 9 inches of perch per bantam chicken
Perch Location: The perch should be at least 12 inches from the wall. The perch should have at least 18 inches above if the perch is off the floor. Provide room for the chickens to fly up to the perch without hitting their head.
Perch Size:
3 to 4 inches. A 2x4 board laid flat works well for Large Chickens 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches. A 2x2 board works well for Bantam Chickens Ways To Prevent Stressed Chickens
Chickens, just like humans, will get stressed if they are overcrowed in the chicken coop and chicken run. Using the recommended chicken coop and run sizes shown above will help to keep your chickens calmer and provide them with "personal space" when they need it.
Providing plenty of space and "chicken furniture" like perches in the chicken run and a dust bath area will reduce the chances of getting stressed.
Perch Space: 12 inches of perch per chicken 9 inches of perch per bantam chicken
Perch Location: The perch should be at least 12 inches from the wall The perch should have at least 18 inches above if the perch is off the floor. Provide room for the chickens to fly up to the perch without hitting their head.
Perch Size: 3 to 4 inches. A 2x4 board laid flat works well for Large Chickens 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches. A 2x2 board works well for Bantam Chickens Ways To Prevent Stressed Chickens. Chickens, just like humans, will get stressed if they are overcrowed in the chicken coop and chicken run. Using the recommended chicken coop and run sizes shown above will help to keep your chickens calmer and provide them with "personal space" when they need it.