The process of building a chicken coop is a lot easier than most may think. You can always opt to visit your local outdoors store and purchase a ready made chicken coop if you have the money spare. This is obviously a much quicker way to gain housing for your chickens but it does have it's drawbacks. Buying a coop will be buying someone else's idea or vision - if you build your own chicken coop you can include your own personal touches. Once you have purchased the chicken coop plans the rest is really quite simple and low cost.

The wood used on your chicken coop can be any old bits of wood ( as long as they are dry and not damaged ) and the tools needed are extremely simple ones. Once you have decided on the amount of chickens you are going to keep then you can search for suitable plans. Remember to always have a pen and paper handy and write down any ideas you may fall across on the way.

Your chickens will need suitable ventilation in their coop so try to pick a coop design with windows fitted into it. The front door to the chicken coop should be a sliding door system if possible. These doors let in a lot of clean air and also make the job of cleaning out the coop much easier. Windows will also give the chickens much needed daylight. Chickens need to sleep at night and awake at dawn otherwise their health and egg yield will suffer. It is a good idea to place the chicken coop in an area of your yard or garden where there is a decent amount of natural daylight. If this is impossible then you can always fix some lights inside the coop ( make sure they are high up and out of the chickens reach ).

One corner of the chicken coop should be set out as a feeding area. Feeders and water supply should be fixed high up so that the chickens will have to stretch their necks to get at them - the birds should not be able to use their feet on the feeders. Chickens will always make a mess around the eating areas so make sure you cover the floor with a suitable medium - wood chip or straw will suffice.

You don not need to be a qualified carpenter to construct a chicken coop so don't think of it as something you cannot achieve. Find some chicken coop designs that suit your needs and make sure you follow them point by point.