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Chicken Coop Designs and Plans

Kundan Pandey
Many people have the wrong assumption that building a chicken coop requires a fair amount of money. However, the fact is that if you wish, you can design and build your own coop within a limited budget. Before you do that however, you need some designs. This story provides some ideas.
Many people have the wrong assumption that building a chicken coop requires a fair amount of money. However, the fact is that if you wish, you can design and build your own coop within a limited budget. Before you do that however, you need some designs. This story provides some ideas.
If you want to give more security and maintain the health and hygiene of your chicken, plan and construct a chicken coop for them. This will discipline your chicken and keep them from loitering unnecessarily in the home or backyard areas and spoiling any herbs or shrubs planted there.
Also, if your chicken are moving unattended outside your house premises, they may disturb your neighbors. Besides these reasons, securing them from uninvited guests like cats is also a major issue. So, if you have planned to build a coop, then do it at the earliest. You can productively utilize your weekends by constructing a home for your chicken.
There are many simple plans and designs that can help. The DIY plans offer you a flexibility in working with materials that you can obtain from your house or a nearby local store. You just need to check your locked store rooms, terrace areas, and backyard areas for them.

Some Coop Designs
Learning to make a chicken coop is not as abstruse as it is thought to be. The fact is that you need not be an architect or an expert carpenter for the same. All you need is to consider a few important facts. First of all, the size of the coop must be in accordance with the number of chicken that will stay in it.
As a general rule, try to give some margin in the size so that adjustments can be made if required. The design must be done keeping in mind the chicken breed you are choosing. Triangular shapes, often like the typical shape of huts, is a popular design.

Materials Required

The essential materials that you may need for building chicken coops are some old building materials, rectangular wooden boards, PVC pipes, nails, roofing materials (shingles), broken pieces of wooden logs and some 50 gallon barrels.
You need to look into the quality of the wood as it may have to face weather changes and can be infested by termites and insects during the rainy season. If you wish, you can place some wired gates at the entrance that can be locked once the chicken are inside. This will make sure that they are safe at night.

Some Coop Plans

First of all, consider the dimensions of the chicken coop, for which you must have a rough layout. Whatever designs you are choosing, ensure that at least 3 to 4 square feet area is available per chicken on the floor. If you have 4 square feet per chicken, then use the space completely.
Generally, if there are 10 chickens, then the size of the coop must be around 40 square feet. The area required in outdoor spaces is many times larger than what is required in the coops. Also consider the height element. The height of the coop must be sufficient enough to make the chicken feel comfortable.
If the roof touches the head of the chicken, they will hardly settle in with ease. You can also consider backyard coops that are popular in the rural areas. These are generally surrounded by fences and have the typical form of a yard. The chicken are allowed to roam freely in their fences. The open structure provides them with proper ventilation.
Another good idea is that of portable coops. These designs are also known as chicken tractors and they can be moved form one place to another. This is very beneficial for people who are raising chickens in urban areas and there is a scarcity of space.
Also, while cleaning the coop, you can take it outside or to your backyard, clean it there, and then bring it back.Chicken also hate poor light conditions and damp surfaces. If you are providing them with a home, then make sure that there is proper hygiene in it.
Regularly clean the droppings. Use these as a fertilizer in your garden. Provide chicken feeders in the coops so that the birds never fall short of nutrients, and keep water in a separate container so that they can use it whenever required.