# Chicken Coop Plans



## Battly

Does anybody have some links to sites that include chicken coop plans? I would like to start building one out in my yard.


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## txclark

Here is a couple I've got for future reference, good luck.

http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/extension/ExtPubs/Plans/6248.pdf
http://www.middlesexdesign.com/chickens/coop.htm
http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/nd727-8-1.pdf


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## gds

Buy you a copy of " Mother Earth news" or look at there website. Lots of useful info.


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## TechAdmin

How large does a chicken coop need to be bare minimum?


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## guyfour

It should be around 6 feet long, 3 feet tall, 2 feet deep. You could probably find big enough wiring to just bend it all into a big square then cut a door and bend some wire for hinges and one piece of wire to hold it closed without even having to purchase wood or build a frame as long as you can bend a good large box and have some plyers to connect the sides together.


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## Ade

While not exactly what you asked for, this may be of interest:

Save time and energy with the fenced chicken coop/garden by John Silveira Issue #44


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## TechAdmin

Great link. Backwoods Home is a great magazine! Always reading their articles.


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## dunappy

depends on how many chickens you plan on putting in it.



Dean said:


> How large does a chicken coop need to be bare minimum?


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## TrailWalker

*University of Tennessee*

Here is a list of various plans in pdf format from the University of Tennessee.

Agricultural Building and Equipment Plan List


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## cowboy

Super nice site TrailWalker


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## UncleJoe

Go to BackYardChickens.com - Raise Chickens, Build Chicken Coops, Hatch Eggs You can browse through scores of coops of all different sizes. I built mine using a combination of several I saw there.


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## JCfans

The general rule for coup size is 4 square foot of space per bird for large breeds. It can vary though. I usually go with 2 square feet per bird with my meat birds in the summer and 4 square foot for my layers. Check out BackYardChickens.com - Raise Chickens, Build Chicken Coops, Hatch Eggs it has all the info you could ever need.


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## david

There are a few plans out there.. here are a few:

http://www.organicgardening.com/pdf/coop_plans.pdf
How to build a chicken coop introductory page
Hope it helps!=)


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## guyfour

Just make a wooden frame about 6 foot long by 4 feet high by 4 feet deep, cover it with chicken wire, fill it with straw... make sure its propped off the ground of course... and have a wooden door with a wire to close it or hook...

Put golf balls in the nests to stop snakes


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## EvilTOJ

How do golf balls stop snakes? I thought golf balls are so the pullets know where to nest when they start laying eggs.


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## The_Blob

EvilTOJ said:


> How do golf balls stop snakes? I thought golf balls are so the pullets know where to nest when they start laying eggs.


that's what I thought they were for too... maybe the snakes try to eat them & 'learn' that the shiny round white things aren't edible?... idk


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## JCfans

From what I have been told if you have a problem with snakes eating your eggs you should put a golf ball in the nesting box. The snake will eat the golf ball and die because they can't pass it.


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## The_Blob

JCfans said:


> From what I have been told if you have a problem with snakes eating your eggs you should put a golf ball in the nesting box. The snake will eat the golf ball and die because they can't pass it.


why wouldn't they just regurgitate it? snakes barf all the time (well, as often as they eat anyways)

but then again, snakes really aren't that smart


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## JCfans

Yea it would make sense that they would barf it up but maybe it would get stuck in their throat. I don't know if it would really work or not. I am going on second hand info.


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## SurvivalNut

*Golf Balls*

Snakes will eat golf balls, just ask someone who works at a golf course. And yes, they don't pass them. It's a hole in one.


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## jennypink

Yes, I wrote some tutorial about How to build a chicken coop, hope you like this,


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## youpock

lol that bit about golf balls and snakes is hilarious


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## SnakeDoc

Virtually any snug, dry, draft free building will do. I have and old greenhouse that I fenced a yard off adjacent to and they love it. During our cold Idaho winters I line the north and east walls with Straw bales to hold in the heat. It is cool in the mornings but with 29 birds and a layer of organic material composting it stays comfy for the birds and eggs keep coming all winter.


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## doityourself

*Great plans here for chicken coops/cages*

For a backyard permanent structure:

Chicken coop plans DIY

Or a moveable cage on wheels:

Free chicken coop plans DIY


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## dawnwinds58

I'll offer this one up.

Chicken mansion

What I recommend is when it says to put sand under the roost, don't!
Use wood shavings, hard wood if you can get it, and when you clean out add it all to your mulch pile. It makes the absolute best compost that way.

Size is a matter of preference. Sorry, couldn't resist that one. But I have had 186 chickens at a time in a shed with 10 Toulouse geese. All breeds are NOT created equally. I suggest buff orpingtons and black australorps as dual purpose birds with good meat growth, great brown egg layers, and even temperments. Worst ones I had were Rhode Island/Hampshire reds, barred rocks and Dominiques or Dominikers as the country grannies call them.

If any large number of chickens get together, don't get enough salt, protein, minerals, and "scratchin' time" they will start to peck holes in each other. If they are jam packed together, they will do it. If any chicken is weak and wobbly they will peck it to death. Even smaller chickens you add are at risk of the "Pecking Order." This more like a death squad that a joke. There are always a few super aggressives in a flock. Either accept what they do, or make chicken and dumplings. I prefer the dumplings and a culled flock for both temperment AND laying ability. I'll separate a hen at night occasionally on a great summer night when the weather is perfect, and see what and if she lays in 24-48 hours. It's a "surprise" quiz to see what they are doing.

One thing we found out was a 12x12 chicken house with 8 laundry baskets weighted down for nests was way fine for what I needed; and a 100x25 yard was picked down in less than a week. I can't free range due to hawks, the odd bobcat, feral stray dogs, coyotes, and fox. If you have predators, keep a tight fence and keep it covered. A hen out at night means owls, sometimes really big ones like barns and horned.

Defend your food source.


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## brianpalmer2010

*Got Some Links for you*

Hi I have a link for you that you might be interested, they are offering chicken coop plans and even the small chicken coop plans. You can visit them and inquire for their prices.


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## Allan

Building a chicken coop is fun and easy if you use the right plans for chicken coop construction. I personally love to raise chickens and also built all by myself a chicken coop for my chickens...

Here are the plans that I used: Plans For Chicken Coop - Download Complete Plans For Chicken Coop -

Good luck in building your own chicken coop!

I hope this is useful to anyone who would like to have fun building a great home for their chickens.


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## Allan

It's really nice to raise chickens in your back yard. I am doing it for almost 5 years now... I also like to build the chicken coops all by myself and even for some of my friends


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## Sstevemichael

chicken coop plans

Many individuals ask myself all the time what the best hen house plan tend to be. this i will go over the chicken coop ideas which i think you'll enjoy. You will find easy to use and come several hen house designs. In case you are only would like a few right up until eventually 4 poultry you will find tiny pens, 7 untill eight you can find medium dimension houses and even fifty more you'll need huge coop.

Below some tips you need to remember before build your coop

Whenever making the hen house, you will also wish to spot gates the location the place that the hens sit on their particular eggs. This will make the gathering associated with ova a simple process and you may not need to disrupt the hens to get.

Make certain you've provided adequate protection against predators in your area. Slide bolts and simple locks are no match for a raccoon that smells chicken. Raccoons are smart and you may need to consider a padlock or other complex lock to keep them out. Hope the tips can help you.

Learn about how to get free chicken coop plan. just visit free chicken coop plans


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## Magus

I can get you a UBER chicken coop,fox proof and winter heat ready for 700/1000$
This will only work out in the sticks where nosy neighbors and health department drones won't bug you.

Go to the county garage and ask where the school buses with the blown motors are.

Buy one as scrap.

Drive or tow it to the farm.

Rip out all the seats and tastefully arrange them around your burning pit.[you do got a burnin' pit right?]

you can do one of two things now:jerk the tires and sell them or keep it mobile by fixing the motor or adding a tow tongue.

Insert 2 saw horses and 2 pine tree roosts on one side and your nest hive on the other.make sure you don't totally block the windows so
you can open them for ventilation in the summer.

Now you can go up front and install a heat source away from your straw and cover your bus with cool seal aluminum roof paint.


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## LilRedHen

SurvivalNut said:


> Snakes will eat golf balls, just ask someone who works at a golf course. And yes, they don't pass them. It's a hole in one.


My grandmother put old glass door knobs in her nests and I witnessed a few snakes that had swallowed one. Once my grandfather killed the snake, slit it open, retrieved the door knob, washed it and put it back in the nest. I made the comment that it was nasty and he told me 'right quick' that he wasn't going to let it go to waste or let the snake get away so that he couldn't find the door knob.


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## lilmissy0740

My one coop is made from an old metal shed we bought for $25. The other one is made from wood we purchased at an auction. No matter how many nesting boxes you have, they will still lay in the same 2 or 3. I have wood crates, milk crates and plastic desk paper things for boxes and they will lay in the straw pile.


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## goshengirl

Magus said:


> I can get you a UBER chicken coop,fox proof and winter heat ready for 700/1000$
> This will only work out in the sticks where nosy neighbors and health department drones won't bug you.
> 
> Go to the county garage and ask where the school buses with the blown motors are.
> 
> Buy one as scrap.
> 
> Drive or tow it to the farm.
> 
> Rip out all the seats and tastefully arrange them around your burning pit.[you do got a burnin' pit right?]
> 
> you can do one of two things now:jerk the tires and sell them or keep it mobile by fixing the motor or adding a tow tongue.
> 
> Insert 2 saw horses and 2 pine tree roosts on one side and your nest hive on the other.make sure you don't totally block the windows so
> you can open them for ventilation in the summer.
> 
> Now you can go up front and install a heat source away from your straw and cover your bus with cool seal aluminum roof paint.


LOVE it! :2thumb:

(and yes, we've got a burnin' pit... drives the next door neighbor nuts, but then, so do a lot of things...)


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## Magus

If all your chickens end up in dumplings, it makes a good green house too!


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## mudassar1

Here is a link that might be useful chicken coop kits


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