How To Build a Chicken Coop

Fresh-Air Houses Are Essential

We all learn to coddle day-old baby chicks: we keep them warm and protect them from floor drafts that might chill them. It's easy to carry this too far when the chickens get older. Chickens have sensitive lungs and need good air quality to thrive. If we shut up our chicken houses too tightly, the houses will be dark, dank, and smelly, and the chickens will do poorly.

Since adult chickens are insulated by a heavy coat of feathers, trying to keep them warm is a waste of time, yet I get emails from people in Florida asking me if they need to use heat lamps on their adult hens in the wintertime! No, you don't. And leave the windows open all winter, too, while you're at it, even if you live in Canada.

I use open-front houses, and these work great. They're airy and stay dry. A less-open house that I built doesn't have the same kind of airflow and stays wet and nasty, even though I took its door off its hinges. Enclosed spaces are bad for chickens. Lots and lots of open window space is the key, even in winter.

I feel so strongly about this (and have been so appalled by the dark, airless chicken coop plans that are floating around), that I've republished the classic guide to open-front chicken houses, Fresh-Air Poultry Houses by Dr. Prince T. Woods. This is an oldie but a goodie. Read the sample chapter: it will convince you.

A Cheap Chicken Coop is a Good Chicken Coop

Paradoxically, while the issue of poultry housing is fairly complex, chicken coops themselves are quite simple.

My focus is always on chicken coops that are inexpensive and easy to build. I don't like spending more than $200 on a coop for 50 chickens. These coops are extremely plain, and are often several years old before I get around to painting them. The price difference between such an unpretentious coop and one that's a little fancier can be shocking.

People who feel they have an image to maintain will often spend ten to twenty times as much per hen as I do, and only end up with a coop that looks like a toolshed. Heaven knows what it would cost to make a chicken coop that looks like an English country cottage! "It's a coop, but it costs like a sedan." It's amazing how a little trim, the use of siding instead of plywood, and other simple changes balloon the cost.

Because of the immense cost difference, it's important to have things straight in your mind before you pick up a hammer. A lot of people have vague hopes of turning a profit someday, and use these as an excuse for spending lots of money on chicken coops. This never works out. Either you're in this for the money or you aren't. If you're not in it for the money, assume that every dollar you spent is one you'll never see again, and you'll stay out of trouble.

Chicken Coop Construction Articles On This Site

Read this article on chicken coops that I wrote for ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas). It talks about all kinds of chicken coops, including "chicken tractors" (portable pasture pens).

"Hoop coops" are cattle-panel hoophouses, which are much better than pasture pens (also called "chicken tractors").

Back to the Poultry FAQ Page.

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