Fun Chicken Coop Ideas you'll love

unique chicken coop ideaHere are a just a few fun chicken coop ideas. If you talk to people who own chickens, you will find that most enjoy customizing their backyard coops to look and feel unique.

In some cases, one-of-a-kind designs are out of necessity. For example, smaller backyards call for smaller coops, or narrow ones with two stories. Many backyard flock owners use what they already have or recycle materials, turning small sheds or doghouses into chicken coops or using wooden doors and old window frames covered in mesh chicken wire to make a new shed. 

Chicken coop ideasIn other cases, the unique elements are simply a reflection of a person’s creativity as they trim and paint their chicken houses to look like miniature barns or people houses. Assuming you are allowed to do whatever you like in your own backyard, you can feel free to be creative. those with homeowners associations or local ordinances may have to conform to certain regulations.

Some elements of  chicken coop construction & plans are essential. Chickens need a roosting pole. They need a place to lay their eggs. They need some space to run around and they need protection from wind, rain and attackers.

Your chicken’s need for protection might be different from others. Those in rural areas may have snakes, foxes, raccoons and cats to be concerned about.

They also have to watch out for hawks and other raptors, especially when their flock includes small birds. Until they get full size, using a covered run allows chickens to get some grass in perfect safety. In a more suburban area, domestic dogs and cats may be the only potentially harmful animals to threaten backyard flocks.

The weather in your area might make it necessary to modify some of the available designs. You may need to add insulation or reduce the amount of screen in favor of solid walls. For two or three chickens, a small laying and roosting room is sufficient. With a little extra insulation, it will keep them warm during the winter months.

We came up with lots of different chicken coop ideas for gathering eggs. We started with a side opening in the roost area, but ended up adding an additional box with a hinged lid. The box is similar to what you see in Amish chicken coops. It gives the hens a little more room, too. If you do add an extra laying box, you will need some extra supports to hold it up.

We have made use of some chicken coop ideas that allow for recycling of materials and the use of natural elements. For instance, we used a natural wood branch for the roosting pole. It would have been just as easy (maybe even easier) to use a wooden dowel rod from the local hardware store, but we liked the natural look and the fact that it was free.

Re-purposed building supplies can often save you a good deal of money, especially if you use items already on hand or get things from friends and neighbors, such as old wood=framed screens and doors and windows.

Once you get started, you will almost certainly come up with your own chicken coop ideas. You see or think of something you want and you add it to the plan. It’s that simple.

You can buy a ready- made coop or build one from plans available for download. Just be careful to buy or use only lumber and building materials approved for outdoor use, such as salt-treated wood or other long-lasting materials that will not rot after some time in the rain and elements.

Go back to Chicken Coop Plans or home to Egg Laying Chickens, or check out more chicken-related resources:

Best Coop Plans:A medium sized chicken coop built from these plans

How to Build a Chicken Coop - detailed plans and construction guide for making backyard coops, including small coops. 

These chicken coop plans and building guide are the best I've found, and purchased them myself to build our first coops. There are five different chicken coops included, beginning with the most basic double-story ark and culminating with the largest design, the Chicken Barn with attached screened-in chicken yard. I want to use their plans again for their largest chicken coop, the chicken barn, when we are ready to upsize our chicken flock's habitat.  The coop pictured here is a medium-sized all-in-one design. 

Book about keeping chickens

Recommended Chicken Books:

Favorite Chicken Quotes

“ A chicken you eat only once — eggs a hundred times." ~ Tajikistani Proverb

“ You cannot cook one half of the chicken and leave the other to lay eggs." ~ Sanskrit Proverb

“ You don’t have to kill the chicken to get eggs." ~ French Proverb