How to Build a Chicken Coop

Raising chickens is a fun and rewarding endeavor you can enjoy with your family. They can be a bit smelly (the chickens), but the fresh eggs and manure for the garden more than make up for this. Most people I know with chickens build or buy cheap and not-so-pretty coops. That’s fine as long as they are functional, but some of these cheap coops start breaking down after a while.

I on the other hand, am willing to invest more time and money for a coop that is both functional and nice to look at. Building a pretty chicken coop is the only way my wife will allow me to have chickens. If you’re unsure how to start building a chicken coop, read on and I’ll show you how I built ours.

BUYING MATERIALS

I used the following materials:

• 2×2 lumber for framing and enclosure framing
• 4×4 posts for supporting coop
• 1×2 pine for coop ramp
• Lap siding
• 7/16″ OSB for coop floor, and wall and roof sheathing
• 1×4 wooden trim
• Wire mesh for window openings and enclosure
• Exterior hinges for nesting boxes, enclosure gate and coop door
• 3″ exterior screws for enclosure and framing
• Comp shingles, felt, and roofing nails

FRAMING THE FLOOR AND WALLS

I cut all the pieces with a miter saw and assembled the framing on top of a workbench, using exterior screws to join them together. The joists were spaced every 24″. I glued and screwed the OSB on top of the floor framing. I also assembled the walls on the work bench with the studs spaced at 24″ and installed cross pieces to support the windows and doors.

JOINING THE FRAMES AND SHEATHING

I started off with the floor frame upside down and attached six posts to support the coop (which you can see in the finished photo). Then I flipped it right side up and attached the wall framing and roof rafters. Once all the framing was up, I nailed the wall sheathing in place and attached the nesting boxes.

WATERPROOFING, SIDING AND ROOFING

Next I wrapped the walls and roof sheathing with felt. Then I attached the corner trim and started cutting and nailing the siding in between. Once I got to the level of the windows, I put a piece of siding in and then slid the window frame in and attached the trim. Next, I continued nailing siding up to the eves. With the siding complete, I moved onto the roofing (Desert Sand) and attached it with galvanized roofing nails. You can nail these in by hand, but since I have a nail gun, I got it done very quickly. Finally, I applied ridge cap at the top of the roof.

PRIMING AND PAINTING

I started priming and painting in the shop to minimize the work outside. The siding was salvaged, so I had to fill in a lot of holes. The coop wasn’t too big, so I applied paint with a brush and roller rather than my professional sprayer. After the paint was all done, Enna changed her mind about the color and decided blue would be better than green. We ended up installing the door and applying the final coat of paint after the coop was already set up in the yard. The final colors are Behr Starless Night for the siding and Arcade White for the trim and enclosure.

This chicken coop is SOLID. I had to move it from the shop to the backyard with a tractor. Unless you have access to a tractor, or about eight muscley friends, I would definitely recommend building this thing where you intend to keep it.

BUILDING THE HENCLOSURE

I made the enclosure with 2×2 lumber that I primed and painted before cutting and assembling. I used wire mesh with 2″x 3″ openings which are small enough to keep the chickens in. A very small chick might be able to get out, but that didn’t matter since we had our chickens indoors for the first few weeks.

I attached the mesh with medium crown staples and my pneumatic staple gun. I assembled the enclosure sections on a workbench in the shop and then moved them over to the coop. I used 3″ exterior screws to attach the sections together and then to the coop. One section was left open for a gate. The enclosure is 6′ tall so we can walk around inside without crouching.

I’ll be working on a more detailed post about the henclosure and chicken run next. Soon I’ll also have downloadable plans for the chicken coop with specific measurements and step-by-step instructions so you can build your own and get yourself some stinky chickens!