When I built our first
chicken coop we were short on both time and money.



Someday I’d like to build a
bigger and better coop incorporating some of the lessons we’ve learned
over the years since we first started raising chickens.



1. Make the door big enough
for a wheelbarrow.



We took a couple doors off an
old camper and regret not being able to have the extra elbow room. A
regular or oversized door would make coop cleaning a whole lot easier.



2. Use increments of 8 to
choose how big you want to go.



In my opinion the length or
width should not be shorter than 8 feet. Keep in mind a sheet of
plywood is 8×4.



3. Make it a tight fit.



You might get lucky the first
year or two, but eventually a local predator will come sniffing around.
I noticed we’ve got a problem with little birds swooping in to feast on
laying pellets.

An old freezer makes a good
rodent proof container to store chicken feed.



We recently cleaned this one
up to keep the mice out.



Put it in the shade to
prevent water condensation.