Backyard Chicken Coop

I made this little chicken barn a few years ago to house 3-5 laying hens in my back yard. I'm in town and had to design a "pretty" one to keep people from having a chicken coup (ha ha). This one was inspired by some Kansas barns I've seen. I spent about $40 when fully completed. Chicken wire, some 2x4s and damaged siding were the costs. Damaged siding is half price at my local lumber store. Other things used were scrap wood from old bathroom cabinets, leftover hardware, paint, and wood from house projects, and lot of scraps and hardware from a condemned house down the street (I got permission to take things before they bulldozed it.) Shingles were given by my neighbor leftover from roofing his garage.

There are some basic rules for designing and running a good healthy chicken shack:
1. Adequate floor space per bird.
2. Dry with good ventilation.
3. Temperature control.
4. Predator protection.
5. Keep it clean + fresh water/food = happy & healthy birds.

Many towns actually allow up to 5 chickens but no roosters. Check local rules on this if you plan to build. If you do get chickens in town, be courteous to the non-chicken majority so the rest of the city chicken people don't get punished through politics and zoning.

I submitted pictures of this coop to someone who was working on a coops book a while ago and they included a picture of it in "Chicken Coops, 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock." By Judy Pangman

Sources for my chicken knowledge:
"Building Chicken Coops" Gail Damerow
The City Chicken, http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/
Backyard Chickens Forum, http://p098.ezboard.com/Backyard-Chickens/bbackyardchickens
FeatherSite - The Poultry Page, http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html

I recently posted another coop, a chicken outhouse with a beer can roof at diylife.com

Step 1 Floor Space, Framing, and Nest Boxes

My floor space includes the exterior run. I knew I wanted 3 heavy egg layers, so from the charts I used 10 square feet per bird rule. There are different suggestions in different books/guides; this link has a pretty good chart: Virginia Tech Small Scale Poultry Housing PDF.

I built this 18" off the ground to create a shady part of the pen underneath the coop.
The floor is 2x4s framed like a little porch 3 feet by 4 feet sitting on 4x4s attached with many 3" screws.
The walls are just under 4' tall and I used 3" screws to put together the 2x4s. 4' walls are a good dimension because siding and plywood come in 4'x8' sheets.

I framed in next boxes here. I think a rule is one box per 3-5 laying birds. They like dark, comfy places to lay. Making the boxes the size of a 12" dust pan works great when cleaning the coop. Lots/all books suggest elevated boxes, but these floor boxes have worked great for three years now.

Avoid treated lumber inside the coop or where they perch; the toxic stuff can affect the birds (ie. sickness/death)

Comments

[craftycat721]

This is perfect! i have been wanting to get some chickens but coops are way too expensive! this is also really good because we have a lot of cats in my neighborhood. we own three ourselves! so it should protect them pretty well!

[pam819]

I'm thinking of making a Chicken Coop to house 6 outside cats this winter. I made a cat shelter last year from plans I found online, but honestly it takes up too much room on the porch. I thought a smaller version of a chicken coop would work really well. Something like 2' x 2. You think that would work or would that be too small?
Pam

[kevinhannan]

this is a wonderful 'ible - I hope to do something like this one, one day ;-)

what a great idea! a kid and dog coop! now that's a competition winner!

[DidierE]

Great instructions! Just what I was looking for for my own chicken coop...
Compared to the usual kits, this method of yours is actually very affordable.

Thanks for sharing this!!

[Very Adorkable]

I love the little storage area over the nest boxes I'm totally gonna use that. I'm in the process of building a second coop... I told hubby it's a "grow out area" for my new babies until they're big enough to go in with the big girls muwahaha =x

Thanks for sharing this ;)

[ronmaggi]

the 5th pic has some funny looking chickens!!!

[rrcole]

CoolCoop!I might try and build one like it. Thank for sharing.

[drewva]

 Thanks for a great instructable. I was toying with building my own chicken coop for a while but felt time and skill challenged. In the end I found a great portable chicken coop made by Handcrafted Coops. It's an A-Frame kit model that holds 4-6 hens. Very sturdy, handsome and affordable.
If anyone is interested you can see it at: 
http://HandcraftedCoops.com

[build a chicken coop]

I really like the design of your coop and they are very affordable compared to some of the kits that are available.

[shouldabeenbornonafarm]

i have a question about this coop.... I plan on getting two RIRS and I live in canada (very cold winters)... Is it insulated enough against such cold temperatures for my chickens to live comfortably in the winter ?  And also is the run large enough for them ?
Answer would be very much appreiciated... The chicks come in 2 weeks ! :)

[robbtoberfest]

It's definitely big enough for two birds. My coop isn't insulated and works well with 6 hens; winters here in Kansas are about 15 to 35 degrees Farenheit throughout a February day. If you insulted the walls with foam board or styrofoam and covered it on the inside to keep the chickens from pecking at it, it might just do it. A south facing window is a must for solar heating, but a double or triple paned one would work even better. The more birds in a roost space, the better for heat at night (but you don't want the humidity too high either from all the bird breath); so if you only have two birds, you could just make a smaller coop so their bodies heat a smaller area.

[robbtoberfest]

 That sounds like a plug.

[drewva]

 It is a plug - I love my coop!

[matthew111688]

What's the purpose of the cupola (just ventilation?) and what specific qualities must it have to fulfill that purpose?

[kobra8]

To heck with the lawn...eggs for breakfast and bbq chicken for dinner.....LIFE IS GREAT ! 

[robbtoberfest]

Just a way for air to vent out and rain not get in. It's also a decorative feature that makes this look more barn-like.

[irsmun]

What are the deminsions of the run? What are the recomended dimensions per hen and can you count the underside since it has no feeding value?

[rlawrence]

it is ussually 3 - 4.5 ft per chook :)

[lesliew]

Great coop! I took the book "Chicken Coops, 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock" out of the library and there were lots on creative coops in there, including yours of course.
Does the "guard puppy" ever chase the chickens?http://simplechickenhouseplans.com/

[robbtoberfest]

 Thanks. The dog helped raise the chicks so they're under his care, but he'll chase anything else that's alive in the yard.

[swoopsdad]

This is a great instructable. I built this coop, with a few small modifications, and it now comfortably houses 8 laying hens. The only changes I made were to use a sloped roof, a smaller man door on the side, and a door hinged at the top for collecting eggs. It works great, and with a large brooder lamp inside keeps the hens warm even in this harsh climate(New Brunswick, Canada). Thanks for lots of pics and great instructions.

[bddc4]

Your coops are really very nice. Seems simple to construct too. I just wish I could inspire my son to be so creative!!!

[Tornado of Knives]

Take away his toys and video games. Give him a hammer, some scraps of lumber, a pot of paint, and a bowl of oatmeal for energy.

[Mattrox]

you know that according to regulations chickens have to have two square meters for each chicken don't you?

[robbtoberfest]

What country and what regulations? I agree with your 2 meter rule if they're to be locked up all the time. If you let them run and graze it can be different. It's also different depending on inside or outside floor space. Here's a good link on minimum floor space http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1092/2902-1092.pdf

[Mattrox]

Okay.

[hettie]

Hello anyone there I am British living in Spain, my sister and I have an allotment and plan to have 4 chickens, my brother in law will make a chicken house for us but we need some plans. It needs to be fairly simple and cheap. Can anyone help. Thanks

[jkbruce]

I got my 4 hens a year ago and now I have a rooster. I only have one hen sitting at this time my question is this when do I need to take the rooster out of the pin and for how long? And also how long does it take a egg to hatch?

[LeumasYrrep]

Thanks for the inspiration. Your coop was just what are chicks were looking for. We (four of us) were able to finish most of this in one weekend with the detailing taking another. There are 6 chicks in there now. Expecting eggs in about November. Thanks again for the inspiration. Great instructable

[altomic]

chickens are a great way to get rid of piles of dirt. I moved in to a place that had a pile of dirt the size of a family car. I put chicken wire around it and added my 6 chickens. those chickens scratched at that pile of dirt for about 3 months until there was nothing left.

[awang8]

Maybe... But chickens are also a great way to get rid of your grand prized, lovingly watered, well maintanted lawn's grass!

[Holy Kalimari!]

Only if they can't go anywhere else to scratch and dig. XD

[royalestel]

Spiffy! Thanks!

[14yroldfarmer]

ok i joined FFA and got 5 new baby chiks...i am building coop but dont know what i need for it plz help me =(

[becauseican]

i am talking from experience when i say u dont need anything fancy. as a child my family had ducks then we got chickens andwwe kepot them in an old doghouse that had a closing door and a small hole in the side.. u could add roosting boxes if u would like. i live in chilly new england. wen u first get chicks u need to put them in a box with shvings or hay with a heat light or u could just put them in an exeptionaly warm spot. when the are older and live outside makesure they r properly insulated with hay. chiken feed is pretty cheap. after mating the males will attack the chicks. u need to seperate him from them. because he has no other use u should starve him for 12 hours and kill him and clean him =for meat. a good book to by isfaising fowl the modern way or the concise guide to self sufficiency.

[chickenrun]

I live in Montana and it can get to -30 degrees here would i need to insulate something like this?

[robbtoberfest]

I think it wouldn't hurt; there are also hearty chicken breeds that can tolerate cold better than others. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
A south facing window will heat the coop during the day, and an incandecant bulb at night. Check this chicken forum http://backyardchickens.yuku.com/ about cold weather areas.

[JoeFrank]

Great concept great work! Just 1 thing: can you give us a photo of the inside completed please or a vide on how it works? That's the only thing I think its missing. Thanks a lot

[robbtoberfest]

I'll get it posted soon; thanks.

[bodach]

Very cool; this will help me finish before my chooks arrive.