You Can Save Loads by Building a Chicken Coop

Saving money is important, whether you're just getting started or getting more chickens, so building a chicken coop yourself is a great solution. Good ready built coops are expensive - and you will still have to assemble the pieces themselves, so find some well-produced plans and get going.

Building a chicken coop is an ideal family project. Children can follow the instructions and tell you what to do next, they can assemble sections and may be able to build the whole coop themselves.

The first thing to decide is what kind of chicken coop is right for you. If you only have, or are planning to get, a few hens, say around three, then a chicken ark could be a good solution.

Chicken arks can be moved each day so the chickens get fresh ground to graze, or you can leave them in one place and let the chickens out. A chicken ark is a simple triangular shape with a nest box and roosting space at one end and a run at the other. Building a chicken ark is a simple project that would take a day to build.

A larger hen house with a run is more like a weekends work, but still based on simple shapes, so easy to build. This is your answer if you have five to seven hens. You could even build both a hen house and an ark, so you have the chicken ark to move the hens around and to use if any of them are poorly.

A larger flock of ten or so will need a bigger hen house. You'll find the pitched roof designs with nest boxes accessed externally work well, and you can always build a run to go round the outside.

To save costs even further, source some plans that include instructions and plans for building all three types of chicken coop. Then you're all set to really save money.

About the Author

Take a look at building a chicken coop for plans and step by step how-to's for three chicken coop designs and comprehensive information on keeping chickens.