Your fine-feathered flock will appreciate a safe, functional, and stylish coop.
Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Why Trust Us? Chicken Farming Equipment
So, you’re thinking about taking up backyard chicken-keeping. Before you start choosing chicken breeds or shopping for cute chicken accessories, first things first: a coop to keep your flock happy, healthy, and safe. Whether you are building your own from a set of chicken coop plans, weighing store-bought options, or scouting ideas for DIY chicken coops, it’s homework time. So, we called on an expert.
Lisa Steele is a fifth-generation chicken-keeper, host of APT’s CreateTV series Welcome to My Farm, creator of the FreshEggsDaily blog, and author of Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens...Naturally. Our first question for Lisa: Is it really cheaper to build a chicken coop versus buying one?
“If you are the least bit handy, then absolutely, building your own is cheaper,” Lisa says. “And it’s going to be sturdier likely, because in between building your own and buying your own, there are those kits that tend to be priced in the middle, where you get all the pieces and put them together. But they’re so flimsy and, in the long run, it’s a waste of money because they’re not going to hold together. They’re not going to keep predators out.” (On that note, a cautionary tale.)
“Unless you want to lay out the money to buy a shed-style walk-in that will withstand heavy winds, bears, coyotes, and everything, building your own is the way to go. Then you can customize it. There are plenty of photos, tutorials, and videos out there, so you can look at the features that you like and build it exactly the size you want it.”
Scroll through these coops plans, including some free options and DIY inspo. Afterward, return here for these essential reads:
When Lisa moved to her current home in Maine, she opted for a professionally built coop from Horizon Structures, which was constructed off-site and delivered in one piece, save for the attached run with a lean-to roof. She replaced the window screens with half-inch welded wire and added a predator-proof door latch to the entry. But long before this gracious coop, Lisa started by DIYing her own little henhouse, and she has some words of encouragement for you:
“I built my first chicken coop knowing nothing about building really, and it held together for years,” Lisa said. If you are looking for a weekend DIY, check out her build plan for her very first coop, the right size for 5 to 6 hens, below.
“Everything has to be like Fort Knox,” Lisa says, to keep out clever predators like raccoons and weasels. “Make sure that your coop is more secure than you ever think it needs to be.”
Antiques dealer Christi Wilson (@thebrownshed) designed a pretty backyard coop that both complements her own farmhouse and provides function with easy cleaning. The 8'-by-12' structure (with an attached enclosed run of the same size) is divided with the front area providing space for feed and supplies and the back area housing the nesting boxes and roost. Its roomy walk-in design is ideal for 6 to 9 chickens.
This cottage-style chicken coop, designed by Daniel McCurry, co-founder and CEO of Father Nature Landscapes, features a charming metal roof and a large attached run in a shady Southern landscape. Thoughtful details include a mailbox and a cheery window box.
*These plans are free but only include master and front elevation plans.
A wider view shows a lush border, including ferns and oakleaf hydrangeas, that nestles the coop and run seamlessly into the property. Daniel's landscaped design is a reminder to think beyond the coop.
Spacious and easy to clean, this 20'x9' walk-in coop and run for 12 chickens is beautiful in its simplicity. Since you are building your own, you can customize your coop in any combination of paint or wood stain that your backyard-chicken-loving heart desires. You can even paint it to match your house.
At easycoops.com, you can peruse coop plans for lots of styles and sizes, and you can find how-to guides on topics like building permits and costs. Free plans include step-by-step instructions with illustrations and a basic materials list. If you want a full materials and cuttings list, a breakdown of tools and fastening elements needed, additional illustrations and blueprints, and technical support, consider upgrading to a premium plan—it's only $20.
Planning for 10 to 12 chickens? A 16'x8' run attached to this 4'x8' walk-in coop will give them plenty of room to roam. These building plans include a materials list and all the details you need to build the structure and nesting boxes, but personal details like the decorative trim, hardware, and roosting bars are up to you. You'll find creative inspiration aplenty for customizing those items on Bee Jeweled Coop's Instagram (@bee.jeweled.coop) and website (beejeweledcoop.com).
A quaint 4'x8' coop and run housed under a single roof is the right size for a petite backyard with a small flock of 4 to 5 chickens.
This Cape Cod-style coop, complete with a cupola and circular vents, belongs to photo stylist Heather Bullard (@heatherbullard) and is prettier than most human dwellings! The name, Chez Poulet, translates to "chicken house" and rhymes in French! You can build Heather's coop for your own chickens using stock building materials and hardware from the home improvement store.
RELATED: Peek Inside This Cute Coop
This elevated backyard charmer houses up to 8 chickens and has two large back doors that swing open wide for easy cleaning. One happy reviewer reports, "I really really like the design of this coop. No bending over to clean. As good as any walk in coop." The post foundation is set in a 4'x8' configuration, but the nesting boxes bump the width to 11'. The building plans include a complete tools and material list, as well as instructions for an attached run (not shown).
This 10'6" x 4' walk-in run and coop combo is suited for 8 chickens. It has two big wheels that allow you to tow it from one patch of lawn to another so that your chickens get fresh territory for foraging, fertilizing the grass as they go the old-fashioned way. Free and premium versions of this plan are available at easycoops.com.
We love this fetching design for 10 chickens, and you can scale the plans up or down as needed. This coop features a unique angled roost with an easily accessible droppings board that streamlines cleanup. Along with detailed plans, this one also comes with an 18-minute video tutorial that you can preview before you buy—the more visual and audio aids the better, we say!
This bundle features to plans: one for a small mobile chicken tractor (aka, The Garden Ark) and the other for a larger backyard coop and run. It's a deal you can't beat.
Two windows, a large access door, roost rails, and a hinged lid make this DIY coop a winner. The detailed 31-page plans created by an experienced carpenter seal the deal. Paint it white for a blank slate you can decorate any way you like. Just a few ideas: a seasonal wreath, a cute or funny sign, and blooming containers.
If you need a little encouragement to get in the DIY spirit, watch interior designer (and coop designer!) Brittni Poisson (@bhomeliving) build this coop from the ground up in fast motion in this Instagram Reel. Plans include drawings, build photos, lists of materials and suggested tool, notes, and tips. The Little Giant Coop plan suits flocks of less than 20. The B. Home Designs shop also offers a plan for a cute little red coop that can fit inside a freestanding run, as well as run plans.
The traditional 40th anniversary gift is rubies. Country Living magazine celebrated its 40th in 2018 with brand-new chicken coop plans (hey, the Rhode Island Reds among our flock are our rubies). Measuring 29 sq. ft., our charming 4'4"-by-7' Country Living Anniversary Chicken Coop features louvered gable vents, two roosting dowels, and a hinged roof on the nesting boxes.
You can use salvaged materials for your build or repurpose a structure, such as a sturdy shed, a playhouse, a large doghouse, or even an old grain silo! The sky’s the limit, but to reiterate: Fort Knox! Refer back to the predator-proofing tips mentioned in slide 1.
“I have read that if a 2-year-old can get into something, that means a raccoon can,” says expert chicken-keeper Lisa Steele. “Raccoons are pretty smart, and they will come back every night and try to get into that coop.”
Built by her grandpa in 1964, Mel Ridley’s childhood playhouse is now the happy home to her feathered friends.
During Bunny Williams’s first trip to Kent’s Sissinghurst Castle Garden, the designer became smitten with the design of English gardens. With each subsequent trip came new inspiration, including the design of her chicken pavilion’s octagonal cage, situated between two clapboard henhouses on her country property in Connecticut.
Designer Lee Kleinhelter (@pieces.inc) made sure her Atlanta coop was in keeping with her home’s exterior by sticking to a chic black-and-white palette.
Terri Robertson is the Senior Editor, Digital, at Country Living, where she shares her lifelong love of homes, gardens, down-home cooking, and antiques.
Jennifer Kopf is the Executive Editor of Country Living. She also covers antiques and collecting.
We Tested Solo Stove's New Safety Screen
Charming Fall Porch Decor for Any Home
25 Garden Edging Ideas for Gorgeous Landscaping
Here’s Why You Should Put a Bathtub Outside
These Backyard Pergola Ideas Are So Dreamy
21 DIY Fountains to Spruce Up Your Garden
Upgrade Your Summer With These Outdoor Showers
Easy Backyard Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank
Beautiful and Simple DIY Summer Wreath Ideas
A Part of Hearst Digital Media
We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.
Feeding Equipment For Chicken ©2024 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.