Simple Chicken Coop Ideas

As farm animals, chickens are small and require little space to thrive. They fertilize the ground under their housing, provide organic eggs, and end up as a dinner entrée sometimes. Prefabricated chicken coops can be purchased for $500 to $1,000. But for the homeowner with basic carpentry skills or with a friend who is a carpenter, constructing your own chicken coop and other structures they need to survive is an attainable goal.

  1. Retrofit Coop

    • A garden shed is an ideal spot for retrofitting a chicken coop.

      Save money and effort by retrofitting an existing structure to house your chickens. A shed, playhouse or corner of a large barn are great places to start. Light 2-by-2 inch framing and hardware cloth are all you need to close in a coop for your poultry. Build a simple door covered with hardware cloth to attach to the front of the space and cut a hatch for the birds to access the surrounding yard and your coop is complete. Ensure each chicken has 2 square-feet of space and that the ground under the coop is an easily cleaned surface, such as dirt, concrete or linoleum.

    Chicken Tractor

    • Cattle panels are bent to form the hoop top of a chicken coop.

      Construct a small, portable chicken coop called a chicken tractor. It is a semi-circle of cattle panel, bent into a semi-circle and attached to the sides of a base wooden frame. Close the back with lumber and hardware cloth and enclose the front and include a door for access to the coop. Cover the coop with a tarp to keep chickens dry, out of the sun, and warmer in the winter months. This chicken tractor can be pulled to different situations in your yard in order to fertilize multiple spots in your landscape.

    Chicken Feeders

    • Feeders set too low invite chickens to roost and poop in their food.

      Using a 3-inch or 4-inch piece of PVC pipe, cut a notch or doorway about 2 inches high at base of pipe and about one-third of the pipe's circumference. Screw the uncut side of the pipe, with two screws at 1 inch and 3 inches above the pipe's bottom, to the inside of a 5-inch sewer cap. Cut a hole near the top of the 3-inch or 4-inch pipe to use as a hanger inside the chicken coop. Hang the feeder at the height of the chicken's back so they will eat of it, not roosted and pooped on. Hang a large water bottle at the same height to keep the chickens hydrated.

    Nesting Boxes

    • Teach chickens where to nest by placing a fake egg in their box.

      Chickens need a clean, dry and dark area to nest and lay eggs. Build a simple nesting box for your chickens with a sloped roof to keep the birds from nesting on them and causing a mess. You need a nesting box for every one or two chickens. Add a roosting pole to the front of each box so the chickens have a place to perch before entering the box. Fill the box with dry, wood shavings for the chickens to nest. Dry wood shavings are the best bedding material.