Chicken Coop Designs

When you begin planning your chicken coop designs, there are an infinite variety of plans to choose from.  It makes it easier if you have a general idea of how you want the chicken coop to look.  Do you prefer a rustic look with country charm, maybe just a lean to, an A frame, a cottage look complete with gingerbread, or a look that will compliment the style of your home.

When planning you chicken coop designs there are some factors to keep in mind so that you don’t run into problems after you are finished or near finished.

• Plan your size appropriately for the number of chickens you plan to keep.  You will need at least 4 feet of space per chicken.  More space is better, especially as your flock grows.  Adequate space cuts down on bickering and stress in the hens.  They need space for exercise, and a roost up off the floor.  Happy hens lay more eggs.
• If you are just raising chickens for eggs, you don’t have to have a rooster.  But if you want to produce fertile eggs a rooster is mandatory.  Only keep one rooster per pen or coop.  Two roosters do not cohabitate well.  They will fight violently.  This will injure or kill the roosters, and cause stress among the hens.  Stressed hens do not lay eggs regularly, and may stop laying at all.
• Make your life easier by planning a convenient way to gather eggs.  A door that opens over or near the nest boxes is a good idea.  You will also need to access for cleaning the coop out regularly to keep your chickens healthy.
• Plan upfront for the safety of your poultry.  You will need to protect your chickens from predators like raccoons, skunks, rats, opossums, and neighborhood dogs.  Using chicken wire on the bottom of your pen discourages predators from digging under fencing.
• Some building materials can be toxic to your poultry, and to you through their eggs.  Lumber that has been treated to withstand termites and rot can be laced with arsenic.  Some paints can contain lead and other heavy metals, so choose carefully.  Remember that chicken will peck at most anything and ingest it.

You can plan your chicken coop designs with as little as a pencil and paper, or you can download many from the web at fairly low cost.  There are books available at your local farm store or home improvement store that will give step by step instructions and pictures.  The great thing about these plans is that they come with a list of needed materials.

You can take good, ready made, chicken coop designs and make small changes to suit your taste and preferences and make it your own.

Simple chicken coop designs can go upscale with the addition of some inexpensive gingerbread ornaments, or adding picturesque “windows”.   A plain coop can also become something special when you add some leftover materials from a past home project like cedar shingles.  Leftover wood can become miniature window boxes for real or plastic flowers.

Since backyard chicken keeping has become so popular recently there is a wonderful variety of chicken coop designs available to spark the imagination of any chicken hobbyist.