How to Build Your Own Backyard Chicken Coops

Raising chickens can be a fun and rewarding activity. Chickens need to be protected from predators and the weather, but they also need a place to sleep, eat and lay eggs Building a chicken coop is not unlike building any other small backyard building. Because of a chicken's specific needs and requirements, it can be easier to design a coop from the ground up than to convert an existing building. Each chicken will need 2 to 6 square feet of floor space in the coop. An eight-by-eight coop will be able to house 11 to 32 chickens.

OSB sheets
2-by-10 lumber
2-by-4 lumber
2-by-6 lumber
Roofing
Concrete
Chicken wire
4-by-4 treated posts

Instructions

- 1
  Decide if you want an off-the-ground coop. An off-the-ground coop has several advantages over an on ground one. The chickens are more secure against predators and in a slanted terrain water will not accumulate and damage the walls or leak inside the coop. If you do not want to have an off-the-ground coop, you will have to protect your chicken from digging predators by either pouring a concrete floor or installing an underground metallic fence under the coop walls.
- 2
  Prepare the location of the coop based on what type of coop you want to build. For on-ground coops, you can dig 6 inches and pour the concrete, or burrow chicken fence 2 to 3 feet underground on the perimeter of the coop, leaving between 6 and 12 inches above ground. For an elevated coop, dig a 4-foot-deep hole, 12 to 16 inches wide, every 4 feet and cast the 4-by-4 treated posts in concrete. Use 2-by-10 lumber and 1-inch OSB sheets to build the floor of the elevated coop.
- 3
  Frame the wall with 2-by-4 at 16-inch on center. If you are building an on-ground coop nail the 6 to 12-inch chicken wire left above ground to the bottom of the wall. Frame the roof with 2-by-6 at 16-inch on center. Frame a full-size door and a 16-by-16 inch aperture. (While it is tempting to use a smaller door because of cost issues, remember that you will most likely have to carry 50-lb. bags of feed inside the coop and that a full size door will be better in this instance.) The smaller aperture will be used by the chickens.
- 4
  Frame for a window and a 8-by-8-inch vent on top of one of the wall. Cover the walls with OSB. Install siding or paint the OSB to avoid decay. Install metallic or shingle roofing leaving an overhang of 8 inches to protect the walls from rain, especially if it is painted. In warm or cold climates, you can install insulation, but you will need to cover it with OSB to to prevent the chickens from pecking it.
- 5
  Finish the inside of the coop by laying bedding on the floor, hanging the feeder and waterer, and installing the light and the perches.

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