If you are building your own chicken coop then it is best to work from a set of tried and tested chicken coop plans rather than making it up as you go. If you have a set of plans and checklist of required materials you are going to save a lot of time and money.

There are many things to take into account before you even start building your chicken coop or even deciding on which chicken coop plans you intend to build from.  You need to decide on how many chickens you intend to start out with and also how many you would ideally like to keep once you are up and running and confident with your chicken keeping.  My suggestion is that you start off with two hens until you are sure you have everything under control.  Once you are happy that you are keeping happy and healthy chickens, you could comfortably keep around six chickens without much fuss.  This is the amount most backyard chicken coops house.

Another thing you should do is survey your back yard and decide where you are going to put your chicken coop.  This is not a huge issue because my suggestion is that you build a chicken coop that can be easily moved but as long as you have room for it then it is fine.  Its great to have a movable one because the chicken poop is great for your lawn so moving it about will spread the goodness all over your yard.  It also allows the chickens to peck at new grass and bugs in the lawn.

Handy Tip: Convenient access to fresh water is important.

There are very specific requirements that your hen house must meet for your chickens to be healthy and happy egg layers.  This includes requirements for perching, lighting, nest boxes.  For example, As a rule, 6 egg layers require approximately 9 square feet (1 sq. meter) of nesting space.

One set of chicken coop plans that I think is ideal for everyone starting out in chicken raising is the 6 Chicken Double Decker Coop Plans. It has the full supplies list for the project with full step by step, easy to understand instructions and photographs that take you through each stage of the project.  It covers framing, interior, exterior, netting and covers plenty of hints and tips and even comes with some fantastic chicken care bonuses.

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If you only have some hens, this is straightforward to do. There are several chicken coop designs out there that may be camouflaged as a recycling bin or other tiny structure. Even a tiny run can be designed with slats to appear like a compost bin.

Your neighbors will not have a clue! You can even select “stealth” chickens that mix in with the environment better than others. Rhode Island Reds, Red Stars or other brown chickens are better at camouflage than some of the other breeds. You’ll even consider some of the black chickens like Australorps or Jersey Giants. Another option is to plant around your chicken enclosure. You’ll be wanting to select plants that may keep your coop and run concealed year round, but that don’t provide lots of hiding places for predators. A hedge rose or other plant that you can keep trimmed may work best. Roses are also edible, so if your chickens nibble a bit, they will not be mistreated. Don’t plant round the side that faces your place so you can enjoy watching your chickens. You will need to look at Chicken Coop Designs that look more of an application shed or other structure that any one could have in their yard. Paint the exterior to match your house and make it interesting. Neighbors are typically engaged with the view out their window, so if it appears to be nice, they will not be as inclined to moan.

These “stealth” chicken sheds can essentially use a few different designs and still not alert the locals. Be certain to cover the chicken run so your hens can’t fly out and go visiting. This may also protect them from aerial predators like hawks and eagles. If the run isn’t awfully tall, ensure you can lift the covering simply to obtain access when required. Many Chicken Coop Designs include a run. This can offer you an idea of how to approach this. Hens do make a little bit of noise when they lay eggs, so if your neighbors are still not cheerful, offer to share some fresh eggs with them when your hens start to lay. They may never protest again once they’ve tasted them. If they find your chickens more enchanting, hiding your coop will not be such a problem.

They may even decide to get some themselves, and you are going to be able to recommend them on the best chicken coop designs to think about as well as on general chicken care. You may become the area chicken expert, and before you know it you may all be swapping chicken stories and egg recipes over the back fence.

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All these are highly good questions, which has got to be answered right before you commence building your chicken shack. The number of chickens that you can keep is only prohibited by the dimensions of your yard. You can keep five, or you can keep twenty-five ; however you have to build a coop that can accommodate the amount of chickens you plan on having.

If the chicken coop plans you build is not enough, then the chickens will become stressed and pissed off that will impact on their laying patterns. If you are raising chickens just for their eggs, then you definitely don’t have to interrupt their habits, because this can make you lose the revenues you make from them, as well as a decent food supply for yourself. There are three basic sorts of chicken shack you can build, and they are little , medium, and big . You’ll decide to build your coops in two alternative ways.

The primary way, is to build it with an A-shaped roof. A-Shaped roofs are and example of decent chicken coop designs because they will last for a bit longer, and they are going to permit rain and snow to run off the top. The disadvantage is they seem to be a bit costly and need rather more wood.

Another advantage of having an A-Shaped roof is the chickens won’t be hitting the ceiling quite as much. You’ll also build a roof that is flat, though it’ll collect more snow and rain, this creates a likelihood of roof collapse, though it is cheaper. To ward off the roof collapse, the public build the flat roof at an angle, but this involves building your coop at an angle too which is a bore in itself.

Small Coops : Little chicken shed Designs are idea for folk that only need to keep two or three chickens. These may consist of a small fenced in enclosure, with a tiny indoor area that sleeps two or three chickens. These are relatively inexpensive and are often for pet chickens.

Medium Coops : These are a bit bigger as far as chicken coop designs go, and they’re customarily for housing 5-10 chickens. They can be converted from an old shed, or made from nothing but they have matching basic makeup as the little chicken coop designs.

Big Coops : This is for an individual that goes all out on their chickens, falling just short of building a total warehouse in their honor.

Occasionally these coops will appear to be chicken condos or castles, and the chickens customarily enjoy living in these. They consist of the enormous coop, and the fenced in area, which customarily is just as massive. For some chicken coop plans, if you would like fast access to the eggs, you can build a strategy to retrieve the eggs without ever going into the coop. Such a thing would be a door on the outside that opens up into the nesting boxes. Just don’t forget to go in there frequently to check on the conditions of the coop.

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Just a quick anouncement to let you know that the chicken coop plans Discussion forums are now live. You can access them by clicking the “Chicken Coop Forum” link up the top or simply follow this link and sign up (for free of course):

Chicken Coop Plans Forum

Now, please remember, I’m not a real tech head and I did install the forum software myself so f there are any problems I do apologise in advance!  If you notice anything not working or strange then can you please let me know in the comments of this blog post (comments).

Also, I’ve put the following initial forum topics in:

• Chicken Coop Plans
  Discussion on various chicken coop plans that you have designed yourself or found on the net. Share these here for everyone to use and learn from.
• Chicken Breeds
  Discussion on various Chicken Breeds
• Introduce Yourself
  Introduce yourself to the forums and its members.
• Chicken Coop Eqiuipment
  Discussion on Other chicken coop equipment such as feeders & lighting etc.
• Chicken Coop Gallery
  This is where you can show off your own chicken coop. Tell us how you went about building/buying, post photos, plans etc.

If there are any other discussion topics you would like me to add then please let me know.

To get started, head over to Introduce Yourself and click the “New Topic” button to create a new post (See diagram below).  This is where you can tell us a bit about yourself and why you are in to keeping chickens.

There hardly any post on the forums at the moment but we have to start somewhere right?  Hope to see you on the forums soon!

Clance.

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One of the best things about this product is that on top of the 3 very detailed step by step plans, there is about 70 pages of information containing everything you need to know before you actually get started.  There is plenty of information about various chicken breeds and what would be best for various environments and climates.  It has information on how to successfully raise chicks, and how to care for adult chickens and very importantly it goes into some detail about the various predators your coop is likely to encounter.  It comes with a bunch of bonuses too including

• How to best position your chicken coop
• How to easily build nesting boxes out of common material
• Best material for Chicken coop floor
• The Cheapest materials to build your coop out of.

I went and bought this product and have done a video review of it for you where I go through and show each of the chicken coop plans, I go over the table of contents of the 57 page eBook called “Building a Chicken Coop” and I touch on each of the bonus eBooks too.  Please forgive me, the video has lots of umms and aarrs in it and is a bit rough overall but I recorded it all in one go and its the first time I’ve ever recorded a product review like this so hopefully I’ll get better as I do a few more.  So go ahead and click the play button below.

Let me know what you think of the video and also let me if there is anything you think I could do to improve them for the future.

Bottom line, I can very happily recommend these chicken coop plans to all aspiring chicken keepers from beginner to expert.  If you agree, check it out for yourself over at Building a Chicken Coop.

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I’ve had a lot of emails from folks in the UK, in particular London, asking me for a recommendation for chicken coop plans to suit UK and its chilly climate.  See it’s coming into spring in the UK so there is a real spike in interest which is great.  The thing to remember is that while the weather is becoming nice now, there is always the next winter ahead and so you should always plan your chicken coop for the most extreme conditions you are likely to experience.  To be honest, its no big deal.  Chickens are very resilient animals, particularly the heavy feathered and large breeds (Orpingtons, Australorps, Barred Rocks, Comets etc..) as long as the chicken coop they live in gives them good protection from the elements. You can get away with having an open style coop as pictured below but I would not recommend it.

The chickens won’t have much interest in leaving the coop if it is snowing or extremely cold but they will of course come out when the weather is nicer.  I’d recommend a fully enclosed chicken coop for a cold UK winter.

The chicken coop above (left) is ideal for the UK climate.  It is completely enclosed so your chickens will be protected from the cold and it has an optional run (above right) that can build around the chicken coop.  It’s basically just an enclosure that your chickens can wander around and scratch in in the finer months of the year.  This is also a very secure chicken coop which is very important as there are many foxes in London that prey on back yard chickens.

If you really are serious about building a chicken coop in the UK then I really think you should take a look at Building a Chicken Coop by Bill Keene.  It has 3 sets of detailed chicken coop plans as well as a massive swag of information on raising and keeping happy and healthy chickens.

Here is what one hobby chicken keeper from the UK said about Building a Chicken Coop by Bill Keene.

“…If you are considering keeping chickens in your back yard, you must read this book. Whether you have a tiny courtyard or acres to play with, Keene’s advice will stand you in good stead and help you build the right chicken coop. The focus of the book is on being well-prepared for your flock before they even arrive. Keene ensures that you consider every issue before you spend a cent on birds, feed or equipment. He discusses which species is appropriate for your garden, what they should eat and, as the title suggests, how you should house them. Anyone with basic do-it-yourself tools and a patch of land could follow his instructions. The drawings and diagrams are easy to interpret and the lists of materials and tools needed are very helpful. Keene also appreciates that the value of using recycled materials in your chicken coop – cheap and environmentally friendly. Keene encourages responsible husbandry – his reminder of tasks to be completed weekly, monthly and sixth monthly should be replicated onto the calendar of any careful poultry keeper. The level of detail is just right, from a list of the color of the egg you might expect from you hen to a description of healthy hen’s poop! If you follow his tips, your happy hens will be very productive. Next we need a cookbook for ideas to use up all the spare eggs…” Tracyann – Amateur Chicken Farmer – Devon, United Kingdom

If you have any extra advice for those looking at building a chicken coop in the UK or if you are keeping chickens in london then please feel free to share it with everyone here by adding a comment below.

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You know what I find really hard at my age, coming up with new Christmas presents for my family every year. Each year it gets harder and harder because you have bought for that family member year after year so eventually ideas dry up. Well why not give a service this year rather that a produce. The gift could easily be a set of chicken coop plans packaged elegantly in an envelope with a promise to build it for them in their very own backyard. It won’t cost you hat much other than a bit of time and a bit of sweat. Especially if you utilize some recycled materials for the build.
A word of advice, when you present the chicken coop plans along with the promise to build them, plan ahead and specify the weekend that you intend to build the chicken coop and then stick to it. That way the person who receives the gift knows that it is for real. If you wanted to spend a bit more money and add to the gift, then throw in a book on keeping chickens or an egg recipe book. There are some examples below.

Building a Chicken Coop

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Low Ceiling : you will not think about this, but chickens are birds, and simply because they don’t fly well, does not imply they do not give it their best shot. Consequently, if you’ve a low ceiling, the chickens are probably going to harm themselves when they try and fly in the coop. If it is strangely low, there’s a chance the chicken will manage to break its neck. This actually isn’t something you would like to see when you come out to feed your chickens in the morning, so remember, if you’ve got to duck while basically walking around in your coop, the ceiling is too low, that’s something to consider in your Chicken Coop Plans.

Exposed Wires : Chickens need lighting fourteen hours per day to lay correctly, and for you need a heat lamp in your Chicken Coop Designs. This doesn’t mean you need to run an extension twine across your ceiling and let it sag. When you install the heat lamp, ensure that you either wire it into the ceiling, or at least fasten the core soundly to the ceiling so that your chickens don’t start running into the hanging wire. This may also bring about a problem for you when you are going in and out of the coop, so ensure you do it the right way!

Poisons : You may necessarily have some rodents rambling your coop, and while they can get exasperating, you mustn’t set out poisons, and this is for 2 reasons.

One reason is that your chickens will eat the poison and you may find them dead the following morning. There’s one other reason, and that’s even if you are smart, and put the poison out of the reach of your loved birds, the rodent that eats the poison won’t always be that far away. In truth, your chickens will probably attempt to attack declared rodent, and likely soak up the poison that way, ending with the same result.

Bad Fence Design : if you do not design your fence correctly, your chickens will finish up dead one way or another. Ensure that you build the fence from chicken wire, or run some plastic chicken wire around the base of the fence so the chickens don’t poke their head thru it and finish up getting hurt when a predator is near.

Poor Lighting : Some folks forget that chickens do need light, and have a tendency to leave the poor birds in the dark all day. This is not just negative to their health ; it also meddles with their laying habits. Ensure that you add in decent lighting when you are doing your chicken shack Designs, or you could meet with catastrophic results.

Those are a few of the major flaws in Chicken Coop Plans, and hopefully by reading this article, you’ve learned to avoid them altogether, and your chickens will live a long and productive life.

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• Easy To Construct With Common Hand Tools So Those With Little Prior Carpentry Experience Can Accomplish
• Easy Step-by-Step Instructions So That Anyone Can Easily Follow
• Raised From Ground Level So The Chickens Would Be Safe From Predators and Cold Damp Soil
• Make Egg Collection and Cleaning Easy So Everyday Tasks Would Not Be Back-Breaking
• Attractive Appearance So You Will Not Offend Neighbors
• Clever Design and Simple Construction So Techniques Are Not Complex
• Plans Can Be Scaled So You Can Accommodate More Hens If So Desired
• 60 Days 100% Refund Policy  - No Questions Asked

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This video gives you tips on what you really need to think about when preparing to build a chicken coop.  Some of the tips are common sense but there are some things that you just might not have thought about.

If you like Bill’s work then head over to his site and pick up some of his chicken coop plans.  They are the pick of the bunch in my opinion.

Building a Chicken Coop

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