Chicken coops are becoming more and more popular in rural and urban houses. The modern day interest with more organic foodstuffs containing less chemicals and additives has led to this popularity spike. A chicken coop is a basic enclosure or 'shed' which houses the chickens and keeps them safe from the various weather systems. The inside of these chicken coops have nesting areas ( nesting boxes ) where the chickens can lay their eggs and they also contain special chicken perches where the chickens can sleep.

The floor of the chicken coops are usually covered with a medium that will soak up the chicken waste and general mess. This medium will usually be a wood substance or very basic hay - using these mediums also makes the chicken coop much easier to clean out when the need arises. The certain smells that the chicken waste produces are usually easily removed by the ventilation systems created in the construction of the coop.

Building a chicken coop has become easier in recent times with the introduction of cheaper design plans for sale. Although it is easier to construct these coops now there are still plenty of chances to mess the design up. The first point you should concentrate on is the appearance of the coop. Make sure you sketch out your plan first, it will not matter if you are a good artist or not - a simple plan will suffice. Color certain important parts in a different color to highlight them so you remember their importance.

When constructing the doors of the coop remember that they must be big enough for you to fit in ( lean in ) to clean the area out when needed. Sliding doors are prefered in most cases as they are easy to move. The weather will play a big part in the construction of your coop. If you live in a relatively low climate you will receive a constant barrage of bad weather. remember that your coop must protect your chickens from the wind, rain snow and other damaging elements.

Chickens can cost a tidy little sum of money so the last thing you will want is for any of your chickens to be stolen. keeping this in mind the chicken coop must be suitably secure so no-one can steal your chickens when you sleep at night.

Chicken coops are no longer a difficult project to complete and if you decide to construct your own you will save a lot of money compared to buying a manufactured one. Building your own chicken coop will also allow you to put your own personal touch on the outcome.