Chicken Coop Designs

If you are thinking about building a chicken coop and you need a design to get started try searching on the internet. There are hundreds of websites that have chicken coop designs of all shapes and sizes. Many of these designs are offered free, others charge you for the details of the full design. If you are low on funds then start with a free basic design, use affordable materials and build it yourself.

Depending on your needs and how resourceful you are, there are many ways to build an inexpensive chicken coop. Chicken coop designs come in many forms and can use a variety of materials. If you are looking to save money then look around to see what you may already have on hand.

Get Some Great Chicken Coop Designs Here!

Some examples of materials you could use would be scrap lumber from other projects, left over shingles from a recent reroofing job, left over house paint used the last time you painted your house. Other materials you might be able to locate for free or virtually no cost would be PVC pipes, old windows or vents from old sheds or garages, tarps or outdoor covers from a boat or camper, scrap wire or fencing, discarded barrels or large empty paint buckets, and the list can go one as you become more creative with your design.

Chicken coop designs created from recycled materials can be challenging but someone with a creative mind and low budget, could make an awesome chicken coup. If you are someone who routinely recycles, this is an ideal solution for your recycling urges to be full filled along with making a chicken coop suitable for your chickens.

Once you have completed your chicken coop, another recycling tip for those into recycling is to use your chicken droppings as lawn fertilizer. Your lawns will be greener, you will save money on lawn fertilizers otherwise purchased from your local hardware store, and if you let your chickens out to roam around on your lawn they will appreciate the fresh green grass and newly available supply of bugs and worms.

Do not forget the chicken runs, chicken nesting boxes, perches and roosts in your chicken coop designs. It is important for your chickens to have a place to roam outside the chicken coop so you will need to build a chicken run. This protects your chickens from predators while the chicken coop protects your chickens from the weather.

Nesting boxes are used by your chickens to rest, sleep and lay eggs. It is recommended to raise the nesting boxes off the ground or off the floor of your chicken coop. This provides additional security from predators like snakes, mice or unwanted bugs. The nesting boxes can vary in size and will depend on the size and breed of your chickens but a good rule to go by is to build the nesting boxes fourteen or fifteen inches squared. Of course this will vary depending on your chickens and your available materials used to build the nesting boxes. You can fill the nesting boxes with straw, hay or wood shavings, as long as the box is padded so the eggs done crack when the chickens are producing their eggs. It is recommended to have one nesting box for each laying hen, but that number can vary depending on the total number of chickens you raise.

Share your chicken coop designs with others, especially if you have created a unique chicken coop made from recycled materials.

Want to learn how to build a chicken house? Not sure what chicken coop designs to use?

If your answer to the above questions is yes, then I strongly recommend that you check out Building A Chicken Coop for great plans and instructions.

This regularly updated, essential guide includes step by step plans, detailed instructions and more. Click here to go check it out now!