Chicken Coop Plans: Discover How to Build a Chicken Coop
 I highly recommend these plans to anyone looking to build a chicken coop from scratch and raise their own chickens. These plans are perfect for beginners. You can read my full story below or just go directly to the guide (Click Here) |
When I first began looking into the idea of raising my own backyard chickens
I realized I would need a high quality chicken coop. A quick search revealed that a decent chicken coop would cost me about $700 I even saw some that where priced at over $1000. That was way too much for me to afford.
That's when I began to entertain the idea of building the chicken coop myself. The only problem is I didn't know how and I am hardly handy with tools. Naturally I was a bit worried that I could even finish such a project. But I decided not to give up so easily and started researching and looking for plans I could use.
At first I was a bit frustrated because many of the chicken coop plans that I managed to find where actually really confusing to me. I needed easy to understand, step-by-step instructions that would explain everything from start to finish.
I finally came across a DIY chicken coop guide that came highly recommended by a few people I trust. Needless to say I decided to give it a try and fortunately it was exactly what I was looking for.
The instructions in the guide are detailed but simple enough for a complete beginner like me. It is well written and the layout makes it easy to comprehend. This specific guide I used covered chicken coops of all sizes which were convenient as I wasn't quite sure what size I should build it at first.
When I was all done building my chicken coop I added up my costs and was pleasantly surprised that I spent less than $100. This is a nice savings when you consider the price of a brand new chicken coop. I was very happy with the result and below you can see a picture of the exact chicken coop I built with the help of
this guide.
The chicken coop that I built:
If you're interested in chicken coop plans and step-by-step instructions on how to build a chicken coop then I recommend taking a look at this guide.
Helpful Tips For Raising Backyard Chickens
Raising backyard chickens can be a great activity that can involve the whole family. Chickens make great livestock and pets and are fairly simple to care for. Below are some tips for raising backyard chickens that will help you to get started with you flock.
Be certain to check with your local government so that you understand the rules regarding keeping chickens. Most municipalities will limit the number of birds you can keep in suburban and urban areas and do not allow roosters. It may also help to speak with your neighbors so that they understand that you have the birds and that they can help by keeping their pets out of your yard.
Coop size is relative to the number of birds you will be keeping but if you plan on allowing the chickens to roam a bit, then you can build a small coop. Chickens will gravitate together anyway, so there is no reason to build an extra large coop. Larger coops are difficult to clean and the chickens may have trouble generating enough heat to stay warm in a large coop. In addition, you will want to keep the coop fairly close to your home. This helps with chores and feeding and will also discourage predators who will not want to get to close to your home.
If you wish to allow your chickens to do some free ranging it is important to have an area that is fenced in with chicken wire. This will keep the chickens in and keep the predators out. If you have land, then you will likely be able to let the chickens roam free as they will return to the coop themselves at the end of the day. It helps to build a door to the coop that is like a pet door in the home. These doors swing freely, allowing the chickens to come and go as they please. At night, you may wish to lock this door, so no predators can enter the coop.
Chickens will eat scraps from the table and anything that is headed to the compost can be thrown in the coop. Pieces of fruits and vegetables will not only be attractive to the chickens but will also attract the bugs that chickens like to eat. Chickens will even eat their own egg shells if you break them up and thrown them in the feeder. Be certain that the chickens always have fresh water available. It helps to change the water every day as the chickens will often make a mess of it.
When constructing your coop, you will also want to place doors where the chickens sit on their eggs. This will make the collection of eggs a simple process and you will not have to disturb the chickens to collect. You simply reach beneath them while they are sitting and remove the eggs. If your chickens are good producers, you may be able to start a side business, by selling the fresh eggs to neighbors and friends. It helps to collect egg cartons so that you will have a place to keep the fresh eggs.