Building a Chicken Coop – Designing For Comfort to Get More Eggs

It’s a well know fact that well rested and comfortable chickens lay the most eggs. This means that a chicken coop is essential if you plan on getting any chickens. The only problem is that chicken coops can cost a lot of money, but you can save over 50% by building your own. Let’s take a look at what you need to think about before beginning to build your chicken coop.

The first thing to think about is how big should your coop be? As a rule of thumb each chicken takes up about 4 square feet. It’s imperative that the chickens have enough space because overcrowding can cause some serious problems such as cannibalism as well as cause your chickens to get sick.

To calculate how big your chicken house should be simply figure out how many chickens you plan on getting and multiply it by 5. It’s always better to have more space for your chickens than have to little space. For example, I have 10 chickens so my chicken coop needed to be at least 50 square feet. The dimensions I came up with are 7′ x 8′ (which is actually 56 square feet, but it’s close enough).

You’re also going to want to look at building perches for your coop. A perch is where your chickens will sleep at night plus it’s where most of the chicken droppings are going to end up. To make cleaning easier I always place some plastic trays underneath the perch. This collects most of the droppings and cuts my cleaning time by a lot.

The perches can be made from anything really, but I recommend 2′ x 2′ pressure treated spruce or pine. Spruce and Pine have pretty soft wood so the chickens can get a good grip at night. I have seen people use metal rod, but I don’t like to because they can sometimes fall off.

If the purpose of your chickens is to lay eggs you are also going to need nests.

One thing you need to make sure is to not have your nests underneath the roosts! Your eggs will be dirty and your coop can quickly become unhealthy.

The nests should be made from lumber and be 8″ square and 4 inches deep. Hens feel safer with a large nest and will lay more eggs. Make sure to line the nests with some fresh hay or straw every week. This makes it more comfortable for the hens, but it also prevents the eggs from hitting the wood which can damage the eggs.

Another important factor is ventilation. Your chickens need fresh air so you’ll need to install some windows that you can open during the day. I’ve also installed some vents near the top of the coop so that the hot air can escape.

By building a chicken coop that is comfortable and safe for the chickens you’ll have hens that lay more eggs. After all, that’s why we got them isn’t it?