How to Build a Hen House and Chicken Coop

Building a backyard chicken coop houses your hens and provides a new hobby and fresh eggs too.

Chickens are a farm staple and also fairly common backyard animals even in somewhat urban areas. Chickens have very basic needs, and if you have space and a few basic building materials you can build them a combination hen house and chicken coop. Fresh eggs and fertilizer for your garden or flower beds are great bonuses.

Things You'll Need

• 4 boards, 2-by-4-by-10
• Measuring tape
• 60 boards, 2-by-4-by-8
• Wood screws
• Drill and drill bits
• Table saw or hand saw
• Plywood sheets, 14 1/2-by-4-by-8
• String chalk line
• 7 concrete blocks
• Metal sheeting or shingles
• 1 or 2 sets metal hinges
• Shovel or post hole diggers
• 4 treated posts, 4-by-4-by-10
• Leather gloves
• Chicken wire
• Wire cutters
• Heavy duty stapler

Instructions

1. Plan out the dimensions of your chicken coop. This will mostly be based on the size of the flock you want to raise. A chicken needs 2 square feet of indoor space and about 8 to 10 square feet of outdoor run space per chicken. The lumber you need will be based on these dimensions. You can make an 8-by-10 chicken house, with a portion for the nesting boxes, and an enclosed outdoor run that is 10-by-10.

2. Lay out two of the 10-foot 2-by-4s on the ground. Find the center of the top board and mark it. Measure out 16 inches on center, meaning exactly 8 inches on each side, and mark these points. Place an 8-foot 2-by-4 between the 10-foot boards at these points and screw in place. Screw from the outside of the 10-foot board into the ends of the 8-foot boards at both the top and bottom. All boards should be standing on edge, not laying flat. Measure 16 inches out from each board you screwed in place and add another board on each side in the same way. When you reach the last space it will be shorter than 16 inches but this is fine. Screw two last boards in place so the edges line up with the edges on the top and bottom frame boards. You have just built a wall frame.

3. Build one more wall frame exactly the same as the first one. Build two side wall frames using the same process, but the measurements will be 8 feet by 8 feet, so the top and bottom boards will be 8-foot, rather than 10-foot, 2-by-4s. For this panel, the width needs to be reduced to accommodate attaching it to another panel, so cut 4 inches off each top and bottom 2-by-4, making each 7 feet 8 inches long. Build the panel as before, measuring 16 inches on center and screwing the 2-by-4s in place at these measurements.

4. Form a front panel by laying out the additional 10 foot 2-by-4 boards as top and bottom frame boards. This time the center measurement should be 24 inches, to create a door. Measure 24 inches on center and add an 8-foot 2-by-4 on that mark. This time, measure 4 inches from each of those boards and add another 2-by-4, to reinforce the door frame. Now measure the standard 16 inches for the remaining distances on both sides and finish out the panel as before.

5. Screw sheets of plywood to one of the 8-by-10 frames. This is the floor of the structure. You can use two full 4-by-8 sheets then half of a sheet to cover the remaining space. It is a good idea to put the smaller piece in the center of the two larger sheets to keep it from separating over time. Measure your half sheet by marking the center point at the top and bottom then snap a line with your string chalk line and cut using that as a guide. Set the floor frame up on concrete blocks so that it does not rest directly on the ground. Place one at each corner, one in the center of each 10 foot side, and one directly in the middle beneath the center of the floor for support.

6. Get assistance to stand the other 8-by-10 frame without the door on one side of the floor, where you want to place the back wall of the hen house. Screw it down into place and brace it by leaning sections of 2-by-4 into the frame panel to keep it standing upright. Set an 8-by-8 side wall in place and screw down into the floor and also screw the end 2-by-4s of the panels where the walls come together. Attach the remaining two panel walls the same way, anchoring them together at the corners and securing them down to the floor.

7. Screw in the 8-foot 2-by-4 boards at the top of the structure, with the same 16-inches-on-center measurement you used for framing the walls. This will have to be done in place and is the roof support as well as a means of tying the walls together. Screw two and a half sheets of plywood in place to cover the roof. You can add a roofing material such as metal sheeting or shingles to make it more weatherproof.

8. Cover the outside back and side walls of the structure with plywood. The sides will take two full sheets, the back two full sheets and a half sheet like the floor. This uses the other half of the sheet left from that panel. Place two full sheets on the outer sides of the front of the coop. These should fit and leave the center door space open. For this, cut a half sheet of plywood in half, so you have two pieces that are 24 inches wide by 4 feet long. Attach these two sections like a door, one piece at the top with one set of hinges, one at the bottom with another set of hinges. This way, you can open both for human access, but leave just the bottom open for chicken access.

9. Build a nesting box rack by running an 8-foot 2-by-4 across the side of one end of the hen house, 24 inches out from the wall and 4 feet up from the floor. Secure it by screwing it in place at either end. Cut a piece of plywood to fit along the entire length of this shelf. Add another 8-foot 2-by-4 24 inches above this one, secure it and add plywood to it as well. Now cut eight pieces of plywood that measure 24 inches by 24 inches. Slide these into place approximately every 18 inches across the top and bottom shelves, so you create five boxes above and five below. Space them evenly by sight; the 18 inches is a rough estimate and there will be excess space in the overall measurement. Screw these in place. These are the nesting boxes. If you don't create nesting boxes the chickens will lay eggs anywhere.

10. Measure 5 feet out from the front of the hen house on either side and dig a hole for the 4-by-4 post. Set it 2 feet into the ground. Measure another 5 feet out from these, for a total of 10 feet, and place your second set of posts.

11. Dig a trench 6 inches deep, running between the hen house and each post, until you have the entire perimeter around the run trenched 6 inches deep. Wearing the leather gloves, begin unrolling the chicken wire. Starting at the hen house, staple it securely to the structure from the top to the bottom, making sure the wire is in the ground to the bottom of the trench. Run it to the first post and secure it with staples to the post every 6 inches. Repeat this the entire way around the run. Using a ladder and assistance, secure chicken wire across the top of the enclosure. Use the loose ends of the wire to twist it together at open spaces. This enclosure is more to keep predators out than to keep the chickens in.

Tips & Warnings

• Supply perches and nesting material for your chickens, and clean the coop regularly to avoid infestations of pests or insects. Collect eggs daily

References

• Back Yard Chickens: Raising Backyard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds