How to Build a Small Chicken Coop - Step by Step

Any person who raises chickens realizes the importance of building a good chicken coop. A chicken coop is essentially a makeshift habitat for your chicken, where they will live, eat, sleep, and lay eggs. They also serve to protect chickens against both predators as well as against inclimate weather. Of course you will always find that there are those people who say that keeping chickens confined in coops is unethical and that they should be allowed to remain free, outdoors, at all times. But if you are in the business of raising chickens to produce eggs then you need to keep them healthy, well-fed, and safe, all three objectives of which are met if you have a good chicken coop set up.

So do you think that you are handy enough that you could learn how to build a small chicken coop, step by step, on your own? This, as opposed to buying a pre-built coop?

Well, here is a brief overview of the step-by-step process you would need to follow to plan, design, construct, and maintain a small chicken coop all by yourself:

1. Decide how many chickens you intend to house at any one time. Based on this, you need to allow for about 4.5 square feet of space per chicken. You also need space for nests. The bare minimum, if you are looking to cut corners and have the chickens time share the nests to have 3 nests for every 8 chickens. You also should be prepared to provide at least 9 inches of perch length for each and every chicken.

2. Decide on a layout. Where will the nests be? Where will perches be? Where / how will the chickens get access to their food supply and to their water supply? How will you gain access to the coop to clean out the animal waste? Will the chicken be able to enter and exit from the coop into a small yard area to get some occasional exercise?

3. Decide on whether you want the coop to be portable, on wheels, or not, and try to assess how portable you expect to be.

4. Select the materials you will use. This depends on how portable you expect the coop to be. If it is going to be stationary, you are encouraged to use a wood frame, wire meshes for the walls, and aluminum or steel for the roof. If it going to be mobile, you are better off using lighter materials like PVC pipes for the frames and you should build the roof and walls from tarp.

5. Begin construction of the chicken coop according to your design specifications.

How to build a small chicken coop if you have the carpentry skills, as long as you can follow the design specifications that you have chosen.

Raising chickens can be a fun and rewarding experience, but knowing how to raise them can be a challenge sometimes. Check out my website if you want to learn more about raising chickens and how to build a small chicken coop step by step. Another great resource that I have found for building a small chicken coop step by step can be found HERE.