In my opinion the best chicken coops are the ones built by your own hand. Why is this? Simple - building your own chicken coop will leave you the option of putting your own personal touches to the project. If you buy a ready made coop you will be purchasing something that a lot of other people already have sitting in their garden. The other hurdle I like to avoid is the price of ready made chicken coops - can you afford up to five hundred dollars for a coop. By building your own coop you can reduce the costs by up to 50% and in the current financial climate this extra cash will come in very handy.

Before you even think about searching for some chicken coop design plans you need to have a solid figure on how many chickens you plan to keep. Once you have decided on this number try to find some plans that fit your needs exactly - rule of thumb is that you need at least four square feet of space per chicken. Chickens need this space to feel relaxed and to stay healthy. If you cannot find a design that fits your needs exactly then try to get one slightly bigger - you can always expand your project at a later date.

You are going to need space in your garden or yard to set up a chicken coop and you are also going to need plenty of sunlight. Try to pick the part of the garden that gets the most sunlight - chickens need to be awake at day and sleep at night so sunlight is essential. Without this day/night cycle the chickens yield of eggs will suffer. If your garden is quite built up and does not receive much sunlight you can always fix some lights inside the chicken coop. Make sure the lights are set up high to protect them from the pecks of the chickens.

Moisture can seriously effect your chicken's health so ventilation is paramount when it comes to chicken coops. Try to pick chicken coop plans that include a window or two in their design - these really do help with ventilation. The main door to the coop will also provide a good source of ventilation ( chicken coops tend to carry a lot of odors at times ),

You do not need to be a qualified carpenter to build a chicken coop and the materials are very affordable. Find yourself some chicken coop plans that fit your needs and crack on with them, in no time at all your coop will be up and running.