How to Make Basic Chicken Coops

Build a chicken coop as simple or complex as you like. Some commercially available coops look like miniature houses but are complicated to construct. A basic chicken coop requires just a couple of frames supporting the wire and an enclosed section for nesting. Lots of simple coops are designed to be mobile so that the chickens can be moved about the garden, fertilizing the ground as they go with their poop.

Things You'll Need

  • Saw
  • 6 2-by-4 inch wood planks, 60 inches long
  • 3 2-by-4 inch wood planks, 70 inches long
  • 1 plywood triangle, 60-inch sides
  • 3 plywood pieces, 36 by 60 inches
  • Chicken wire
  • Nails
  • Staple gun
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut with the saw the ends of the 60-inch six planks to a 30-degree angle, then nail them together to form two equilateral triangle frames.

    • 2

      Lay two of the 70-inch planks parallel, 60 inches apart, then line up the two triangle frames at either end. Make the planks flush with the sides of the triangles, abutting them and mirroring their angle rather than overlapping the sides. Nail in place.

    • 3

      Align the remaining 70-inch plank between the top of the triangle frames, nailing in place.

    • 4

      Nail the rectangle plywood pieces down around one end of the frame so they form a covered area, then nail in the triangle plywood piece on the end of the frame to complete the covered area of the coop.

    • 5

      Run the chicken wire over the frame, securing it with staples. The chicken wire does not need to go on the bottom of the frame.

    • 6

      Cut a 60-inch-sided triangle of chicken wire. Secure it down one side of the remaining open end of the coop. Nail four nails along the opposite side, equal distance apart, bending them over slightly. Hook the chicken wire over the nails, so that you have a secure but opening wire door to the chicken coop.