Chicken coops are easier to
design than chicken
tractors because
you
don’t have to worry about mobility. If you live on an established
farm, chances are there’s already a shed, outbuilding, or corner of
your barn that could be turned into a coop without much effort.
I’ve even heard of suburbanites who build a coop in the corner of their
garage.
If you’re starting from scratch with storebought materials, I recommend
using basic “stick house” construction practices. Walls are
framed one at a time using two by fours — one on each side and then
interior two by fours every two feet or so for stability. Add
plywood on one side of the wall to close up the space, then screw the
walls together to make a box. The roof begins with two by four or
two by six rafters, topped with plywood and then some sort of roofing
material. You can make a lot of mistakes on your chicken coop and
then be a pro when the time comes to put an addition on your house!
We’re skinflints, so our
chicken coops are cobbled together out of old
lumber, pallets, doors, tin, and even cardboard. The supplies
cost next to nothing, and luckily we have no neighbors to complain.
What does your chicken
coop look like? If you email your photos to info@avianaquamiser.com, I’ll add them to this post
so you an show off your building skills.
easy you’ll have plenty of time to watch your hens’ antics.
of his coop. He said:
is our coop. It was on our recently purchased property and in
pretty rough shape. We added a layer of insulation and new siding
this year, next year will be trim, a roof and gutters for collecting
water in rain barrels.