How to Build a Chicken Coop Near a Vegetable Garden

Chickens roosting next to your vegetable garden can help eliminate pests.

Some home or property owners with a "green thumb" reap the mutual benefit of home-raising chickens. The animals get food and shelter in exchange for a supply of fresh eggs. The benefit can be further expanded if the farmer builds the chickens' coop next to the vegetable garden, where the chickens can eat harmful, plant-damaging insects. With a little know-how, building a chicken coop next to your own garden can allow you to enjoy these benefits.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Posthole diggers
• 4 wooden 4-by-4 boards, 6 feet long
• Quick drying cement
• Hammer
• Box of nails
• 2 sets of barrel hinges
• Handsaw
• 2 wooden 2-by-4 boards, 6 feet long
• 2 wooden 2-by-4 boards, 4 feet long
• 12 wooden 2-by-4 boards, 4 feet long
• 2 plywood sheets, 6 feet by 5 feet
• 2 plywood sheets, 5 feet by 4 feet
• 1 plywood sheet, 6 feet by 4 feet
• Screwdriver

Instructions

The Basis

1. Select an area next to your garden to begin the coop, but remember to not plan them flush to one another as you'll need ample room to move between them for maintenance purposes. About 6 feet is recommended, so use a tape measure to ensure the proper distance.

2. Measure the recommended distance from the border of your garden and dig the first hole for the 4-by-4 post about 12 inches deep. Mix the quick drying cement according to the package directions and place the 4-by-4 in the hole. Fill the space with quick drying cement.

3. Measure 6 feet from this post to create the length of the coop and dig the second hole to the same depth as the first. Fill the hole with the cement and the post; measure 4 feet perpendicularly from this point to make the coop's width. Dig the third hole and anchor the post using the quick drying cement. Measure 6 feet from this point to mark the location for the last post of the coop. Dig the hole, place the post and fill in the hole with cement.

Building the Coop

1. Measure about 6 inches up from the ground and hammer one of the 6-foot two-by-fours along the length of the coop on the outside of the posts, with the thinner 2-inch side facing upward. Do the same for the opposing side to finish the length supports. Attach each 4-foot length of 4-by-4 to the outside of the posts along the width of the coop to complete the support.

2. Add the floor by nailing the 4-foot-long two-by-fours widthwise to the 6-foot-long boards. Generally speaking, it will take about 12 two-by-fours to complete the flooring. Hammer one of the 6-by-5 plywood pieces to the 4-by-4s along the length to make a wall; repeat for the opposing wall. Cut a small 2-foot-by-2-foot doorway into one of the 4-by-5 plywood pieces to give you access to the eggs. Hammer the panel onto the rear of the coop that faces the back of your property and screw on a set of barrel hinges to the door.

3. Use the handsaw to cut a rectangular entryway into the final plywood piece. Drill on barrel hinges to the outside of the entryway and screw on the cut away wood to make a door that can be closed when the chickens roost in the evenings. Lay the final piece of 6-by-4 plywood over the posts and hammer it into place to make the roof.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a fenced-in lot or yard, you'll have to build fencing to protect the chickens from outside predators.

• You may need to obtain a permit to build the coop if you live within city limits.

References

• "How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches & Barns"; Carol Ekarius; 2004