Backyard Chicken Coop

Cheapest Materials to Build Your Coop

Building a backyard chicken coop will be one of the best investments you ever make. Aside from being a fun hobby, you will enjoy fresh eggs whenever you want!

All you need is the space, free time and above all a good plan for the backyard chicken coop. You may have seen prefabricated chicken coops for sale.

Get a Do-It-Yourself professional plan for building a chicken coop

These can cost thousands of dollars and usually come in pieces you need to put together anyway! By building your own backyard chicken coop you have the freedom to chose the right size, style and also have the flexibility to enlarge the coop or add on a chicken run if you want.

You can find dozens of reclaimed materials to build your chicken coop that are free or very inexpensive. Plus, you can easily add to the design of your coop with found objects that offer a whimsical or fun design.

Unfortunately, building a backyard chicken coop from the ground up isn’t as easy as just nailing together some wood 2x4’s and wire mesh. You need to follow a professional plan to make sure you allow for all the design elements and make sure your chicken coop will stand the test of time. Skip any of these priorities and you might end up with trouble:

Ventilation
Positioning
Lighting and heating
Protection from elements and animals
Nesting
Perches
Litter collection and composting

Materials can be found from demolished buildings, houses or from new construction projects where they have materials left over. Be sure to ask permission before taking materials for your chicken coop! Many cities have a resale yard for lumber, doors and windows, electrical supplies and insulation. Follow these steps to make sure you have the important materials you need.

Step 1
If you live in a cold climate, you will need insulation in your chicken house. Insulate the walls and ceilings when you build to protect the hens from freezing temperatures.

Step 2
Ensure good ventilation by adding fans or swamp coolers on the roof. This will make sure the chickens don’t overheat in the summer when indoors.

Step 3
Use high grade wire mesh for the chicken run. Sink the wire into the ground when building to make sure fox don’t burrow under the coop. You can also lay 2x4s along the ground inside the base of the run to keep chickens safe from predators. Chicken wire mesh or hardware mesh is sold by the foot and is inexpensive. Be sure to connect a post every 3 feet between the wire to add to the security of the fence.

Step 4
Use reclaimed windows in the hen house to make sure they get enough light. They need 14 hours of light per day to thrive. Include windows especially if you do not have an outdoor run for the chickens.

Step 5
Watch ads for farm auctions. You can find heat lamps, waterers, feeders, nesting boxes, and sometimes lumber and chicken wire. Be sure to clean and disinfect all materials before installing them.

Step 6
Set up your chicken coop for electricity. You will find it comes in handy when you need to use extra heat lamps over waterers, brood areas, or security lighting outside the chicken coop.

Step 7
Plan for a compost area for used litter from the chicken coop. You can compost and reuse it for garden fertilizer. Keep apple-pickers, rakes and wheelbarrows close by for handy daily cleaning.

Get creative with your coop. You can easily find all kinds of materials to use inside and out. Milk carton boxes or old (untreated) wooden boxes make great nesting boxes. You can use and old wood picnic table for a chicken roost. Save old flexible desk lamps for use in the chicken coop. You will be surprised at what you can come up with at little or no cost!

These are the plans I settled on:

They really worked for me and I got the chicken coop I wanted within my budget and my building skills. I highly recommend you check out Building a Chicken Coop.

Backyard coops made easy with a guide to planning and building. It includes drafts of plans, dimensions, materials lists and sources to everything you need to build a sustainable chicken coop.