Chicken coop plans or dim's

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Fraxinus

Settler
Oct 26, 2008
935
31
Canterbury
My google fu is letting me down, loads of dead ends or dead links.
Do any of you good souls have links to or book suggestions on making chicken coops or even what dimensions are preferable to homing six to eight chooks happily.
Thanks for any input.
Rob.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,981
7,757
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
My google fu is letting me down, loads of dead ends or dead links.
Do any of you good souls have links to or book suggestions on making chicken coops or even what dimensions are preferable to homing six to eight chooks happily.
Thanks for any input.
Rob.

A quick Google search under ' chicken coop design' brought up loads of images and even some 'free' plans.

Personally, I would just look at the photos of ones described as a suitable size (a few say they are for 8 chickens) then draw up my own plans from the photos.

My parents always had chickens and I know that there were good diagrams of various coops in many of Dad's books (sadly, I no longer have them).
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Some of these plans are overly complicated, imo.

I had chicken in Sweden and UK, and they do not need much space. But you need to get inside and clean, so you need standing doace.
I noticed that they like to sit bunched up together and sleep, as high as possible. But they need to be able to get there!
In Sweden I built one from scratch, insulated and with heating element.
In UK I converted one of those DIY sheds you buy and assemble yourself, and made it simple.

I assume you plan to give them a large, meshed in run?

Chicken are fun. And the eggs are the best you will ever taste!

I want chicken here too, but our strata rules forbid that.
 
Last edited:

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Some people here build a "chicken tractor." It's a big, open bottom cage with bicycle wheels and even nest boxes.
Every few days, you pull it over fresh grass & weeds. Food & water dishes, of course.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Chicken tractors give the birds good access to fresh forage, both plants and bugs.
Of those I've looked at, maybe 6 birds is all they could hold without being gigantic in size.
If we could keep chickens in town, I'd build one for certain.
Need to ask about predator protection, we have all kinds here.

Chicken or partridge mesh is hardly what I need for an ice fishing shack.
I have visited both of the weed pools (aka lakes) in my district.
Poor post-glacial geology. My vertical rock scenery doesn't hold much water for very long.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Mesh?
The coops I had had no mesh. Think a small house with sleeping pins and spaces for them to sit and lay eggs.
Also shelter from rain and predators night time.

The run had mesh all around, dug down about 40cm to prevent burrowing badgers and foxes.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Chicken Tractor cages have no bottoms and they are mobile, on wheels.
Built in shelter and nest boxes and a mesh-covered wooden frame.
Usually for the nights, the ranch people turn out the llamas in the same yard.
Seems nothing wants to mess with a llama. Maybe they smell as bad as they taste.
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
1,980
933
Devon
My google fu is letting me down, loads of dead ends or dead links.
Do any of you good souls have links to or book suggestions on making chicken coops or even what dimensions are preferable to homing six to eight chooks happily.
Thanks for any input.
Rob.

I've recently done the same thing, built a hen house and tried to find some decent plans. In the end I looked at commercial hen houses for the number of birds I wanted and used them to base my own plan on. I ensured they had the recommended space inside the house and in the run for the size of bird we had and designed the rest.

I also worked around what timber I had. I had 3.6m lengths so the house ended up being 1.2 x 1.2 square. That also meant I got a roof and floor out of a 2.4 x 1.2 sheet of ply.
 
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Fraxinus

Settler
Oct 26, 2008
935
31
Canterbury
Thanks guys for your feedback and links that actually work :D I was having a bad day.... the kind where launching the computer out of the window seems like a great option.
I had chooks years ago in Greece but had inherited the coop with the house and never took dims. Not that it was a good example as the chooks preferred to lay in obscure parts of the olive grove!
Just want to get it right from the get go this time.
Rob.
 

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