1Lisa Steele’s Dreamy Purchased Coop… and Her DIY Plans for Beginners
Lisa Steele 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, pictured below, 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.
Free & Beginner Friendly
New England Cape Coop Plans
Free & Beginner Friendly
New England Cape Coop Plans
Credit: Lisa SteeleLisa’s Predator-Proofing Tips
“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.”
- DO NOT use chicken wire.
- DO use 1/2- or 1/4-inch welded wire to secure open windows and vents.
- DO use super-secure bolts, not just staples, in your build.
- DO NOT use a simple sliding deadbolt or latch.
- DO use carabiners, padlocks, or spring latches to secure doors and hinged exterior nesting box lids.
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A Fave from the Country Living Archives
Pretty & Simple Chicken Coop Plans
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A Fave from the Country Living Archives
Pretty & Simple Chicken Coop Plans
Credit: Annie SchlechterAntiques 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.
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Cottage Style
Nestled in the Landscape Coop Plans
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Cottage Style
Nestled in the Landscape Coop Plans
Credit: Reed BrownThis 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. A lush landscape border, including ferns and oakleaf hydrangeas, nestles the structure seamlessly into the property—a reminder to think outside the coop.
*These plans are free but only include the master and front elevation plans.
Reed Brown 4
Free & Premium Options Available
Large Chicken Coop & Run Plans
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Free & Premium Options Available
Large Chicken Coop & Run Plans
Credit: Easy CoopsSpacious 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.
Tip: Easy Coops Offers Free Versions of All Its Plans
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.
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Make It Your Own
Large Walk-In Coop & Run Plans
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Make It Your Own
Large Walk-In Coop & Run Plans
Credit: Bee Jeweled CoopPlanning 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).
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Tried and True
Small Chicken Coop & Run with Window Box Plans
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Tried and True
Small Chicken Coop & Run with Window Box Plans
Credit: My Pet ChickenA 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.
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Cape Cod Inspired
Chez Poulet Coop Plans
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Cape Cod Inspired
Chez Poulet Coop Plans
Credit: Ray KachatorianThis 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
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Elevated Coop = No Bending to Clean
Daisy Coop Building Plans
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Elevated Coop = No Bending to Clean
Daisy Coop Building Plans
Credit: Meyer HatcheryThis 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).
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Mobile Option
Chicken Tractor Plans
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Mobile Option
Chicken Tractor Plans
Credit: Easy CoopsThis 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.
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Includes a Video Tutorial
Quaint Coop & Run Plans
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Includes a Video Tutorial
Quaint Coop & Run Plans
Credit: Third Coast CraftsmanWe 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!
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Two-for-One
Garden Chicken Coop & Moble Ark Plans
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Two-for-One
Garden Chicken Coop & Moble Ark Plans
Credit: TheGardenCoopThis 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.
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Carte Blanche for Free-Range Creativity
White Barn-Style Chicken Coop Plans
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Carte Blanche for Free-Range Creativity
White Barn-Style Chicken Coop Plans
Credit: CoopExpertTwo 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.
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Role Model Included
Little Giant Coop Plans
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Role Model Included
Little Giant Coop Plans
Credit: B. Home DesignsIf 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.
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The Very Best Plan (We're Not Biased at All)
Country Living's 40th Anniversary Coop Plan
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The Very Best Plan (We're Not Biased at All)
Country Living's 40th Anniversary Coop Plan
Credit: Our Town PlansThe 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.
Now for Dreamy DIY Chicken Coops to Inspire You…
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.”
15Childhood Playhouse Turned Chicken Coop
Courtesy of Mel Ridley/@countryfirsts Built by her grandpa in 1964, Mel Ridley’s childhood playhouse is now the happy home to her feathered friends.
See more at @countryfirsts.
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16English Garden Coop
Annie Schlecter 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.
17City-Worthy Chicken Coop
Courtesy of Lee Kleinhelter 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.
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