Samantha Johnson - How to Build Chicken Coops: Everything You Need to Know, Updated & Revised

Whether your coop is small and charming or large and elaborate, the basic needs of your flock must be met. From choosing the right wire for the runs to making sure theres enough ventilation, there are many decisions to make when constructing your own coop.

CHICKEN TRIVIA

How many eggs can one hen lay? While the figure varies among breeds, the average hen can lay approximately three hundred eggs per year.

How many chickens are there in the world? There are more chickens in the world than peoplesome sources say about 19 billion chickens worldwide.

Are chickens carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores? Chickens are omnivores.

Is egg color related to the color of the hens earlobes? Generally speaking, yes; but exceptions do occur. (Did you know chickens have earlobes?)

Why did the chicken cross the road? Sorry, we dont know, but we think she was in a hurry to get home to read this book!

Why do roosters dance? Because they dont know how to sing. Seriously, they perform a little dance for their hens called tidbitting.

If a rooster lays an egg on the roof of the chicken coop, which direction will it fall? Down. Ha! (Yes, we know roosters cant lay eggs.)

Why do chickens like to roll around in the dirt? Chickens take dust baths to clean themselves; the dust helps to eliminate external parasites.

CHICKEN LINGO

Bantam: a smaller variety of chicken

Broody: the term for a hen that is interested in hatching a clutch of eggs

Chick: a baby chicken

Cockerel: a young male chicken

Coop: the structure in which chickens are housed (but you already knew that, right?)

Egg: what baby chicks hatch from (and a great breakfast food)

Flock: a group of chickens

Free-range: the act of allowing chickens to roam and forage at will outside of a coop or fenced-in run

Hen: an adult female chicken

Nest box: the portion of the coop in which the hens lay eggs

Pullet: a young female chicken that hasnt started laying eggs

Roost: wooden poles on which chickens can rest (also known as a perch)

Rooster: an adult male chicken (also known as a cock)

Run: a large enclosed area where chickens can exercise

But if you want to keep chickens, theyre going to need a place to live, and thats why youre holding this book in your hands. Providing your chickens with a safe, comfortable habitat is your first priority as a chicken owner. Ideally, youd like to outfit your birds with a home that will meet all of their needs as well as prove to be an attractive element to your yard or farm. But maybe youre on a budget and want to keep your costs down. Maybe you like the idea of customizing your coop, or maybe you have materials and supplies on hand and would like to be able to incorporate those into your coop. Or maybe you have an existing structuresuch as a playhousethat youd like to convert into a chicken coop. As with so many farming endeavors, there are as many answers as there are questions when it comes to raising chickens. People have different experiences and varying ideas about the best ways to raise and house chickens, so well present you with a lot of questions and hopefully as many answers.

Chickens are a great family project, and building a coop together can be very satisfying.

A good coop is a safe and happy place for your chickens. Theyll willingly enter their coop to roost at the end of the day, keeping them safe from predators.

SAFETY FIRST!

Always exercise caution when beginning a construction project. Safety must be your number one priority when working on your coop. It is vital to be aware of your tasks and surroundings and pay attention to tool and construction safety. Learn to use your tools in the safest and most effective ways, and avoid placing yourself in any situation that could prove dangerous. Remember, many of the activities described in this book can be dangerous. Failure to follow safety procedures may result in serious injury or death. The authors cannot assume responsibility for any damage to property or injury to persons as a result of the use or misuse of the information provided.

There are a lot of possibilities to think over when deciding the size and type of coop youd like to have for your own flock, and thats why we wrote this book: to help you navigate the waters of coop building in an effective and straightforward way. Whether you have extensive carpentry experience or are a newbie with a hammer and nails, well take you step-by-step through the process of creating a coop that will be your flocks very own coop sweet coop.