Building the coop is perfect if you love do-it-yourself projects and sustainable living. Plus, you can save hundreds of dollars by building your chicken coop instead of buying a commercially available one.

1. Lumber

If you buy lumber to build the coop, the type of wood you select will impact the overall cost. Softwood, such as pine, is a budget-friendly framing material and costs $2 to $3 per board foot, depending on quality. Pressure-treated lumber is popular because it’s rot-resistant and prevents insect infestation; it’s available for $7 to $10 per board foot on average.

Redwood or red cedar are great choices because they’re both naturally weather resistant, but they’re relatively expensive, costing about $10 to $12 per board foot.

2. Fasteners

The hardware that goes into your chicken coop depends on the design and size of the coop. To construct a typical coop, you can expect to spend about $20 to $50 on fasteners. Ensure that all the fasteners and hardware are rated for use outdoors.

3. Flooring

Chicken coops do not necessarily need floors; the bare ground is acceptable. However, depending on where you live or where you are building your coop, a floor can help keep your birds dryer and safer from predators. Plus, floors are easier to scrape or sweep clean than bare ground.

Plywood is a common choice for flooring; it’s quick and easy to install and comes in large 4×8 ft. sheets. However, it tends to absorb odors and could be chewed through by some predators. If considering plywood, it costs about $10 to $20 per sheet. Pressure-treated plywood is much more weather-resistant than untreated plywood. Protect plywood with two coats of exterior-grade polyurethane varnish applied to both sides. You can also install vinyl sheet flooring over a plywood floor. Sheet vinyl costs about $2 to $8 per square foot. Another option is to make the floor out of solid-wood boards, such as 2x6s or pressure-treated decking. Wooden flooring ranges from about $6 to $10 per board foot.

A concrete floor will be the best option if you live in a region where predators pose a severe threat. However, at around $110 per cubic foot poured, it’s also the most expensive type of coop floor. Concrete floors can be cooler. Which is good on warm days, but will require a deeper litter base in winter to keep the chickens warm.

4. Walls

Wire mesh fencing, commonly called chicken wire or poultry netting, is ideal for covering the walls of your chicken coop. It’s inexpensive and resistant to predators and the weather. A roll of good-quality 4-ft. x 50-ft. roll of chicken wire costs about $50. Depending on the size of your coop, you may need more than one roll.  Coated wire, while a bit more expensive, is less prone to rust and lasts longer.

Solid-wall options include plywood and corrugated metal. Each option costs roughly $10 to $20 per sheet. Covering part of the coop with a solid wall and the remaining walls with chicken wire creates two spaces for the chickens, one indoors and one outdoors.

5. Roofing

Any roofing used on your home is suitable for a chicken coop, including asphalt shingles, metal roofing, or wood shingles. You could also use pressure-treated plywood. It all depends on your preference. Depending on the size of your coop, you can expect to spend about $70 to upwards of $200 on roofing.

6. Chicken Run

Unless you intend to keep your chickens entirely indoors, you must provide a safe space for them to roam and explore. A chicken run is essentially an enclosed pen that provides a protected outdoor area.

To minimize the chances of predators attacking your chickens, you may want to take two additional precautions.  First, burying the outdoor fence in a toe-out manner can help deter curious predators that may want to attack your chicken by burrowing under the enclosure.  Secondly, if raptors are a concern, you may need to net the tops of your chicken pens.

Setting your coop on a concrete slab and chicken run is effortless to construct, requiring just a few posts, some chicken wire, and a roof. Depending on the design and size, you can expect to spend $100 to $300 to construct a chicken run.

Safety gear

• Garden tools: shovels, rakes, etc.
• Tape measure and pencil
• Saw
• Post-hole digger
• Hammer
• Drill/driver
• Level and square
• Wire cutters

Please read our complete guide about the costs of building a chicken coop.

Many chicken breeds are relatively hardy. However, they need somewhere to escape the elements and frigid weather when winter rolls around. They must also live safely in a clean environment with enough space. Here are some basic things you need to keep in mind when building your chicken coop:

1. Shelter from the weather

While it is true that chickens are hardy birds, protecting them from severe weather conditions is imperative. No matter the style of your coop, the idea is to keep your birds dry and healthy.  Chickens do not tolerate damp or cold drafty conditions, which will lead to various diseases and foot conditions.

Building your chicken coop on high ground can help prevent flooding and wet pens, but higher areas are windier, which can drive rain inside and increase drafts. To create a comfortable environment for your chicken, try these tips:

• Build the shed on a level ground that drains well after rain
• Do not build your coop and outdoor run in low, wet areas
• Equip the interior of the coop with enough sleeping roosts for the chickens
• Provide a protected, roofed outdoor space for your flock to frolic in all types of weather
• Monitor temperature and humidity inside the coop, and add additional insulation or ventilation, if necessary

Remember to maintain good coop ventilation to provide a dry, safe, and comfortable environment where your chickens are protected from the elements and harsh weather. Good ventilation will prevent stagnation of moisture, ultimately reducing the risk of frostbite, moldy feed or bedding, and possible respiratory infections.

2. Protection from predators

One of the most important considerations when building your coop is how to protect your birds from the threat of predators. Coyotes, raccoons, fisher cats, foxes, bobcats, dogs, hawks, owls, weasels, and snakes are some predators that pose the biggest threats to chickens. While most predators attack hens when foraging outdoors, some may take a more conventional approach and try to break into the coop through the cracks and opening to the coop during the dusk and dawn hours.

To minimize the chances of predators attacking your chickens, avoid placing your backyard chicken coop close to wild areas that appeal to predators. Shrubs, woodpiles, and low-hiding objects can harbor predators, snakes, and rodents. Hawks and owls can also hide in overhanging branches unnoticed.  If raptors are an issue, you may need to net the tops of your chicken pens.

Raising the coop about 10 to 12 inches off the ground is advisable to protect your chickens from predators. This will prevent them from burrowing under the coop to live. This can also prevent wood rotting, ensuring longevity.  Whether you build your chicken coop on or off the ground, it is imperative to use sturdy wall materials and set it on a reinforced foundation to deter digging predators.

Setting your coop on a concrete slab and burying the outdoor fence in a toe-out manner can also help deter curious predators that may want to attack your chicken by burrowing under the pen. For a more comprehensive understanding and additional tips, be sure to read the full guide on predator proof chicken coops.

3. Space

This depends on what type and the number of chickens you plan to raise.  Take time to think through how many chickens you would like to raise to supply your fresh egg needs and how many you can afford to feed.  Then, you can get an idea of what space is required and where that space is available on your property.  

Providing your chicken with adequate space is vital to keeping them happier and healthier.

Chickens also like to explore and look for a meal. When deciding where to build the coop, consider a location with natural foraging areas. Chickens eat nearly everything, ranging from grass, insects, plants, seeds, worms, and small rodents, so they will live happily in a space where they can forage.

4. Lighting and electricity

The coop should provide natural and supplemental light for layers and to aid working in the coop at night in the darker winter months. One 25- to 40-watt bulb located above the feed and water area at ceiling height for every 40 square feet of pen is ample. Provide 14 to 16 hours of light per day for maximum year-round egg production. Do not light adult birds longer than 16 hours per day. Never decrease the lighting period on birds in egg production, or they may stop laying. Most flocks will need to add supplemental light in the fall until early spring to sustain egg production. An inexpensive time clock can be installed to turn lights on in the early morning hours and let the birds go to roost with the natural sunset.

Lighting a coop can help your chickens stay warm during winter and keep egg production consistent. Adequate light helps you see everything when cleaning the coop or caring for your birds. However, remember electricity in the chicken coop can pose a fire risk if not set up properly. 

When choosing lights, research shows that blue or green spectrum LED lighting helps keep the birds calm and in optimal egg production.  If using heat lamps to heat the coop, red light soothes your flock.  Red spectrum lights work well if you are having severe picking issues.  However, chickens won’t continue laying eggs because they do not perceive red light as daylight. 

The most important point to remember about lighting is that chickens see light at a different spectrum than the human eye.  So, full light to a chicken is at one-foot candle or very dim light.  So do not use high-intensity lighting. They only need the equivalent of 1 25-40 watt bulb in most coops.  Intense light will stress the chickens and can bring on behavior problems in the flock.

5. Water Hygiene

It is essential that you provide a constant supply of fresh, clean water for your chickens.  Clean the waterers and provide fresh water daily. Place the waterers so that the lip of the waterer is level with the birds’ backs. If you use a nipple watering system, have the nipples just above eye level.  Never let the laying hens go without water for more than eight hours; you will see a drop or stoppage of egg production.

In winter, a heater may be required to prevent the water from freezing. If you do have issues with freezing water, make sure to clean and provide fresh water first thing in the morning and at least an hour prior to the birds roosting for the night.

6. Ventilation

Every living creature loves fresh air, including chickens! For this reason, every chicken coop, no matter the size, should be well-ventilated. Ventilating chicken coops allows heat, carbon dioxide, and moisture to flow out while permitting fresh air to flood the coop, ultimately helping ensure the health and happiness of your feathered friends.  Ventilation is critical to keeping the coop dry.  If you ever have an ammonia odor in your coop, the litter is too wet.   

Chickens need an ambient air temperature of 55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but the optimal temperatures chickens need can vary depending on the breed, the climate, and the time of year. Ventilating their home will ensure they feel comfortable all day and night.

It’s worth noting that chicken coops need less ventilation during colder months. Preventing moisture build-up and cold drafts in winter is important for the chicken’s respiratory health

In hotter climates, more air movement is needed to cool the coop’s interior — chickens handle cold better than heat. 

7. Cleanliness

Cleaning your chicken coop is one of the essential maintenance practices. Generally, if your chickens spend most of their time outside, you won’t do as much cleaning as you would if they stayed entirely indoors.  Most manure will be dropped below the roosting area.  Racking and removing these droppings weekly can help.

Keeping your coop clean can go a long way to reducing the chances of your birds getting diseases. Depending on the size of your flock, you may want to consider a daily coop cleaning routine and then thorough cleaning monthly.  

To make cleaning more manageable, you may also want to consider these tips:

• With small coops, use a droppings board (must be cleaned daily)
• Install removable roosts
• Use 3-4 inches of pine shaving for bedding in the coop. Chickens will naturally scratch and stir this type of litter.
• Sand works well for outside runs.  Rack and clean as needed. Sand used in inside pens increases dusty conditions
• Build the coop door large enough for you easy access and clean the coop.

Cleaning the chicken coop gives your birds a clean, comfortable environment and helps with moisture and dust control, helping ensure your chickens grow happily and healthily.

8. Temperature control

Stress in chickens due to less-than-ideal coop temperatures is one of the problems many producers have to deal with. That’s why it is vital to commit to managing the temperatures of your coop. Heat stress occurs when the temperature and dew point reach a sum of 150 (an 80°F temperature and a dew point of 70 = 150). So, how do you control coop temperature?

Depending on the breed you are keeping, you need to understand what temperature is too hot or too cold, then find ways of keeping your chickens in ideal temperatures.

The optimal temperatures for most chicken breeds are 55°F to 75°F.  When heat-stressed, the birds will stop eating,  consume more water, and decrease egg production.  The best way to cool the birds is to move as much air over the birds with fans.  When the temperatures drop significantly, you may consider using a UL-approved chicken coop heater.  Remember, chickens tolerate cold temperatures best when the coop is dry.

If you live in a region with wide temperature swings, from very cold to hot, it’s advisable to build a coop whose design is optimized for temperature control and insulate it as needed. 

9. Nesting Boxes

Nesting boxes are one of the most crucial chicken coop components. They offer a private place for your hens to lay eggs. Chickens can be particular about where they lay eggs (they can and do lay where they feel secure), and having nesting boxes can encourage them to lay eggs in a safe and clean environment. What’s more, they make egg harvesting super easy when built correctly. This is vital, considering no one wants to hunt for eggs, except perhaps at Easter. 

When building your chicken coop, you want to include enough boxes for the flock size and make them attractive to hens. Precisely, you want to ensure they are:

• Placed off the floor
• Quiet
• Place in a darkened area of the coop
• Secure
• Private

Notably, even though hens need plenty of light to maintain peak egg production, the nesting boxes have to be placed in a relatively dark and not too-busy area. Otherwise, the hens won’t use them.  Also, make sure the nest boxes are not placed on the floor or near the roosting area.  This increases traffic, allowing the dirty litter to enter the nest, and may result in increased egg eating and contamination of eggs.

The number of boxes you need will depend on your flock, and it is recommended to have at least two nest boxes for the first four (4) hens and then add a nest for every additional 3-5 hens in the flock. Please read our complete guide about how to build a chicken nesting box for more information.

10. Feeding and Watering Systems

It is a no-brainer that chickens need access to food and water to stay healthy and happy. Chickens need a steady, balanced diet and water supply to maintain optimal weight, feather condition and egg production. For this reason, it is vital to determine where to place your feeders and waterers when building your chicken coop. 

Moreover, whether you are a novice chicken grower or a seasoned pro, you can reduce waste by placing your equipment at the proper height and using automatic chicken feeding and watering systems. Building yourself spill- and mess-resistant feeders and waterers is one of the easiest ways to avoid tipped feeders and soiled waterers. 

Talking about placement, it is advisable to place your feeders in the coop and waterers inside the aviary, not outside. Inside the coop, your feed system can keep the food dry.   If outside, food can get wet and mold.  Also, when the chicken feed is outside, it will attract rodents, wild birds, or other animals, threatening your bird’s health and safety. In the long run, building automatic feeders and waterers and strategically placing them will give your flock easy access to feed and water and help you save time.

Find more great tips and tricks by reading our complete chicken housing guide.

There are many reasons why anyone would want to raise chickens. Whether you consider chicken rearing a hobby or part of sustainable living, making sure the breed(s) you are considering best meets your expectations before bringing any birds home is imperative. With so many types and breeds to choose from, it is important for you first to decide why you want to raise poultry and then find a bird that is a good fit for you. Only you can decide what you are interested in raising. What is my purpose for raising poultry: for eggs, meat, exhibition, or dual purpose (that can meet multiple objectives); hybrid or purebred; for hobby or profit?  This is vitally important because raising chickens can be a long-term commitment.  Chickens in most small flocks live eight years, but they can live for more than ten years.

1. Egg Production Breeds

While all chickens will lay eggs, there is great variability between strains. The best layers have relatively small bodies. From the pure egg-laying efficiency standpoint, the commercial red sex-linked hybrid will lay 240 to 280 brown eggs a year. They are a hardy yet docile bird that is great in a small-flock setting.  They are known as ISA or Hy-line brown egg layers. One of the earlier hybrids is known as the golden comet.

Common heritage-type breeds will lay 50 to 200 eggs a year. However, there is great variability between strains and the source of these breeds.   Common heritage breeds known for their egg production are Buttercups, Ameraucana, Anconas, Australorp, Campines, Hamburg, Leghorn, Minorca, New Hampshire Red, Sussex, and Welsummers.

Eggshell colors vary between breeds, from white and shades of brown to green and blue shell colors. Egg shell color is determined by the breed and makes no difference in the nutritional value or taste of the egg.

Feed an 18 to 20 percent protein starter to the chicks for the first six to eight weeks and then feed a 14 to 15 percent protein grower or developer to 16 weeks of age. For laying hens over 16 weeks of age, feed a 16 to 18 percent protein layer ration with grit and a calcium source like oyster shells free choice in a separate feeder. Adult layer diets have the proper nutritional calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus ratio to provide proper shell formation and sustain maximum egg production. If you do not feed a proper ration to the laying hen, she may not produce eggs, produce soft-shelled eggs, and/or become fat, which will shorten the bird’s life.

Regarding nutrition requirements, chicks need a diet that aids growth and feather development. When mature, layers need extra calcium in their feed to support shell development. Typically, hens should start to lay eggs around 18 weeks of age and continue to do so until 85 weeks of age if managed properly. Shortly after the onset of production, 94 percent of your birds will lay an egg daily. They will gradually lay fewer eggs until 60 percent of the hens lay eggs daily near the end of the laying cycle. On average, hens lay one egg every 23-32 hours, but there are days when a hen will not lay an egg at all. Hens will rest or molt at the end of a laying cycle or if severely stressed.  They will lose and replace their long feathers and, in 10 to 14 weeks, start another laying cycle. Each cycle, the birds will lay fewer eggs over a shorter time. Most laying chickens will lay well for the first 3-5 years.  After that, they lay much fewer and lower-quality eggs.

2. Meat Production Breeds

The best type of chicken to raise for meat production is a commercial hybrid. While all chickens will produce some meat, purebred or heritage breed chickens are less efficient and have large variability between strains. A good commercial strain will reach 5 pounds by six weeks of age and eat 1.8 pounds of feed per pound of meat produced, while heritage crosses will take 14 weeks or more to reach 4 pounds and often eat over 3 pounds of feed per pound of meat. The commercial meat birds also have a much greater meat yet verse frame. There are some strains sold as ranger broilers that are slow-growing and will provide a bit more meat than common heritage breeds.

Some breeds that were developed for meat production include the Cornish and the Jersey Giants.   Chickens bred for meat production have two characteristics in common: They have poor egg layers and grow faster. To support their faster growth rate, their diet should be rich in proteins and require a more significant amount of feed than layers.  Feed a meat chicken starter crumble containing 20 to 23 percent protein until slaughtered. 

3. Dual Purpose Hens

Dual-purpose breeds are average layers and can grow large enough to produce some meat.   Although they are not efficient and produce meat or eggs, they tend to have colorful plumage be average layers, and the males or old spent hens can be used for meat.   The most common breeds known for their dual-purpose traits are the Australorp, Barnevelder, Buckeye, Delawares, Maran, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Reds, Sussex, Welsummers and Wyandottes. 

Unlike meat birds, dual-purpose hens can be raised and fed much like layers and will grow large enough for meat over time. However, they grow slower than chickens solely raised for meat.

4. Chickens for Shows and Exhibitions

The fancy purebred poultry always catches the eye of chicken lovers.  There are over 350 different breeds and varieties of purebred chickens recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA). There are large purebred chickens as well as bantam (miniature) purebred chickens. Large chicken breeds require a floor space of 2 to 5 square feet per bird. Bantam chickens can live in half the floor space.

The hardest part is selecting which breed you like best. Remember, purebred birds are selected for specific appearance traits rather than the ability to produce eggs and meat.  While these birds do lay eggs, expect ranges of 30 to 150 eggs at best per year from purebred chickens. However, when you are first starting out, do not pick a breed that is too rare and hard to find or that needs special equipment or care. If you want to be competitive at exhibitions, you will need to find a quality breeder of foundation breeding stock who is actively engaged in the exhibition of poultry. Most of the commercial hatcheries do not sell truly purebred lines. They do not select their breeding pens based on quality breed traits, and their chickens are seldom of show quality. Attend quality poultry shows sponsored by the APA to find breeders. 

Exhibition chicken breeds have attractive traits and are usually bred for their appearance.   Many breeds may have unique features specific to them. For instance, The Polish Breed has crested (feathered heads), and the Faverolle Breed has five toes, feathered legs, and a bread and muff of feathers around the face. One consideration is not to raise different breeds with too many unique traits together. These unusual traits tend to draw attention from other breeds and cause picking. 

For novice backyard chicken growers and families with young children, it is best to raise docile breeds like commercial red sex-linked, Brahma,  Cochin, Orpington, Wyandotte, and Plymouth Rock. Bantams are also smaller and easier for kids to handle.  Whatever your goal for raising chickens, the idea is to choose a breed whose temperament is compatible with your family. The only way to know the right breed is by gathering as much information as possible.

Building a chicken coop can save you a lot of money. Thankfully, you don’t need any special skills. You can easily build a good home for your flock with basic woodworking skills. All you need is a detailed chicken coop plan. Depending on the number of birds you want to keep, grab a plan and start building your chicken coop today!