How to Build Homemade Chicken Houses

Although chicken houses can vary widely in shapes and sizes, a basic chicken house is comprised of the following basic elements: the coop, the nesting boxes and the run. The nesting boxes are generally contained within the walls of the coop, while the run is an outdoors area, contained within a fence, allowing the chickens to graze.

Things You'll Need

  • Four full sheets of plywood
  • Two spools of large chicken wire
  • Closet bar kit
  • Two three-gallon plastic storage bins
  • Saw
  • Power drill and wood screws
  • Four 2-inch by 2-inch posts
  • Four metal posts
  • One 8-inch wooden plank
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Instructions

    • 1

      Dig four post holes, each two feet deep. Fill each hole halfway with gravel. Bury the stilts in the gravel, then fill the holes completely with gravel. Your stilts should now each extend two feet above the ground. The gravel helps to prevent the wood from rotting.

    • 2

      Construct a plywood box, 4-inch by 4-inch by 4-inch, with a hinged door on one side. Install several air vents along the top of the coop. Cut a 1-inch by 1-inch opening on any one side of the coop, and attach a door to this opening. This will open towards the run, or fenced area.

    • 3

      Lift the coop onto the stilts and attach it using very large wood screws.

    • 4

      Inside the coop, install a perch for the chickens, about one foot off the floor. To do so, simply use a closet bar kit.

    • 5

      In order for your chickens to lay eggs, they will require at least one nesting box per two hens. To make easy-to-clean nesting boxes, use 3-gallon plastic storage bins. They should measure approximately one cubic foot. On one side of the bin, cut (or saw) an eight-inch opening, leaving a four-inch lip along the bottom of the bin. Install these bins inside the coop.

    • 6

      Outside the coop, build a chicken wire fence that attaches to your coop, encompassing an area of about 15-inch by 15-inch. This is the chicken run. It is a good idea to bury the bottom of the fence about one foot under ground, to prevent predatory animals from digging under the fence. Also lay chicken wire over the top of the run, to protect the chickens from predatory birds.

    • 7

      Finally, attach a ladder or plank to the outside of the coop, just beneath the door that leads into the run. This will allow the hens to enter and exit the coop.