After doing some research, I found some second hand stores where I could get used lumber, which was a fraction of what it would cost new. These types of stores basically get donated wood from people who are tearing down old houses, buildings etc. and are sprouting up across the U.S. These materials may be older, have a few nails or cracks etc., but are still very functional. I live in the Portland, Oregon area and the store I went to is called “The Rebuilding Center.” After talking to some of the staff there, I was told that many people have purchased supplies for chicken coops there. There are even used appliances, old tubs and sinks, light fixtures, hardware, and everything you’ll need for building a great coop. Just be prepared to pull out some nails and be creative in how you construct it since most of the wood will simply not come in the standard sizes you’ll find in the store. However, I was able to grab a few full sheets of plywood and some longer 2×4 to get by nicely. I even found some great used siding and some leftover new shingles! I would recommend checking online or in the phone book for used or recycled lumber in your area.

Once you’ve got an idea of where to get your supplies, it’s time to determine what type of plan to use for your coop. There are an endless number of chicken coop designs available. You can find a plethora of coop designs online, and either pay for the building plans or design your own creation. There are many things to consider when planning for your coop design. Some of these factors include geographical location, the number of chickens you’re planning to get, whether you live in an urban or rural setting etc. If you want just a few chickens, perhaps a small, portable “chicken tractor,” will suit your needs. If you’ve got more acreage, perhaps you’ll want a larger coop. Regardless of the size, I would strongly recommend making it a bit bigger than you need since, if you’re like me, you’ll want to buy more chickens each year.

For more comprehensive information about coop building, coop design, other coop supplies (i.e. chicken feeders, water containers, nest boxes, roosts etc.), and links to a multitude of free chicken coop plans – visit my blog below.

Tom Zondman has a M.A. in counseling and also has an variety of other online interests. He also has 13 chickens! To see a picture of his coop and for more comprehensive information related to chicken coops, and links to FREE coop plans, see his blog at http://freechickencoopplans.blogspot.com

Chicken Coop Book Information is a post from: Chicken Coop Designs

A Chicken Coop Must Keep Out The Rain

The first thing you want to do is make sure that your chicken coop is rain proof. There are materials you can use that will pull this off nicely that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Contrary to what you might believe, chickens do NOT like the rain and the last thing that they want is for their home to be all damp and wet. If you do NOTHING else, this one tip is a must or you’re going to have some very unhappy chickens on your hand.

Make Sure It Is Big Enough

Next thing you want to do is make sure you build this thing for the long haul. What am I talking about? You might only have one or two chickens now and feel that you don’t need anything that’s too big. But then what happens when you’re suddenly surrounded by a dozen of these fine feathered friends? What then? You don’t want them to be all cramped in their home. So build for the future and not just for what’s staring you in the face this very moment.

Build a chicken Coop That Is Secure

Finally, and this may be the most important thing of all now that I’m thinking of it, you want to build this thing bullet proof. Okay, not literally but you know what I mean. You want to keep your chickens safe from evil predators, right? Well, if that’s the case, the last thing you want to do is build something that the big bad wolf can blow down with a puff. Look what happened to poor little Elmer. Okay, build this thing strong and build it to last. Some barbed wire might be a good idea as well.

Your chickens are important to you, right? So they deserve a home that they can feel safe, dry and comfortable in. The above tips will make it so that they’ll do just that.

For some great info on building chicken coops, and find out about some plans and advice on exactly how you build a chicken coop go to the building chicken coup site.

3 Top Tips For Building Chicken Coops is a post from: Chicken Coop Designs

• Always wanted to have an easy to follow guide to build a chicken coop?
• You want to have a chicken coop that delivers more delicious eggs?
• Are you looking for a way to maintain your chicken’s health?
• Always wanted to protect your chickens from predators?

If your answer is YES, keep reading.

Many people, especially but not limited to the ones who are living in rural areas, keep a small flock of chickens to provide themselves with fresh eggs and meat. In order to protect their chickens from predators, maintains their health and have more delicious eggs people need to have coops where they can keep their chickens.

If you are also one the people who have decided to have your own chicken coop in the backyard, that’s one of the best investments you’ve ever make. This brings you a self sustained miniature-farm that produces fresh organic eggs everyday and also helps recycling your food scraps and provides high quality fertilizer. There are some reasons that make “Building Your Own Chicken Coop” a very wise decision. As mentioned earlier if you raise your own chickens in the chicken coop you’ve built, you will have free organic eggs! YAY!

Well, organic eggs taste better, and the yolks are more nutrient rich than the yolks of the eggs you buy at the store. These eggs are healthier and have 1/4 less saturated fat and 1/3 less cholesterol. Apart from fresh organic eggs if you decide to eat the chicken meat it tastes better and is chemicals free in case you eat your own raised chicken. You may be worried about how much room you need to build the chicken coop?! That will not be a problem at all. You can build a chicken coop almost anywhere; you don’t have to live on a farm. Building chicken coops is a lot easier than you may imagine.

Also at the same time building a chicken coop is not expensive at all which makes sense if you want to produce the eggs you are using in everyday life. Keeping chickens and raising them in a chicken coop is a low maintenance project that makes it easy and do-able for many families. If you have a garden this is useful for it too. Chickens eat bugs in your garden that could destroy your plants. Also, they help improve soil health. There are many other reasons that make this profitable if you want to have your own chicken coop.

Building your own chicken coop may not be as easy as hammering some wood and wire mesh together if you don’t have a proper guide. You need to take into account materials, insulation, ventilation, lighting, positioning, nesting, perches, litter collection and protection from the elements and other animals when you are building a coop. Fortunately for you, there is an easy to follow guide created based on many years of experience of in poultry farming to build your own perfect chicken coop.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a master carpenter or a total beginner, If you require a big or small chicken coop, or if you have a small or big budget. Building your own chicken coop just makes economical sense too. Considering what you can build by only using an easy to follow guide and the fact that most pre-built chicken coop you buy need to be assembled anyway, an economical decision would be making the coop yourself. You still have the option to purchase a pre-built chicken coop, but remember that if you build a chicken coop using the guide that will be at just a fraction of the cost of buying a pre-built one.

Tow major features of an easy to follow guide to build a chicken coop are: “No Fancy Tools Required” and anyone with basic tools like a handsaw, hammer, drill etc can build the coops using the plans in the guide. “Easy To Build Plans” that enables everyone to do the task with easy to follow cross-sectional diagrams that include exact dimensions and required materials.

Why are you still waiting?! go and start building your own chicken coop.

Thank you,

Mike Handerson

How To Build A Chicken Coop

I’m an entrepreneur who likes to challenge new ideas to create something new.

Building Chicken Coops is a post from: Chicken Coop Designs

Here are the things you need to think about when building a chicken coop.

The most important thing to consider as you look for chicken coop plans is how many chickens you are planning to keep.

Moving on, the next step to consider in with your chicken coop plans is ventilation. If you live in an area that does tend to get quite warm, you are going to want to be sure you have good ventilation in all areas of the chicken coop otherwise it’s going to start smelling and the chickens will become uncomfortably warm.

Having the ventilation source will make the chicken coop that much more enjoyable for you to be around and clean as well as that much more enjoyable for your chickens to stay in.

Lighting Source

Thirdly, make sure you have a good light source for your chickens. really this would be natural sunlight and you’d choose a chicken coop plan that includes this into the building plans and builds it In the right angle of the sun.

Feeding System

Feeding your chickens can become quite a time intensive venture if you do not consider your feeding system correctly.

So, keep all of these thoughts in mind. Search for chicken coop plans that are at your price range and meet all your needs. This is what will ensure that at the end of the day you’re happy with the chicken coop you make.

Below is more information on how you can build the right chicken coop for you on a budget.

Chicken Coop

Reginald Reilly writes regularly about self help related topics. I hope you enjoy this article.

Plans For Your Chicken Hen House is a post from: Chicken Coop Designs

Check out more information on how to make a chicken coop

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