8 hens chicken coop plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Miter saw, or circular saw in two passes, for 4×4 posts
• Jigsaw or handsaw for opening corners
• Staple gun
• Tin snips for hardware cloth
• Socket wrench for the carriage bolts
• Clamps, two 12″ or longer
• Stepladder
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Pick the boards and the screws

   Cedar for the coop: look for boards with mostly reddish-brown heartwood. Pale yellow-white streaks are sapwood, which rots years sooner; keep those streaks on the inside or skip the board.

   Pressure-treated pine: read the end tag. Parts that touch soil, sit in wet mulch or go in the ground must say "ground contact"; "above ground" lumber is fine for everything else. New treated boards are often wet and heavy: stack them flat with scrap sticks between them for a week or two in the shade so they dry and stop twisting.

   Sight down each board at the store like a rifle barrel. Skip boards that twist, bow more than about 1/4″ over 8′, or have big loose knots near where you will cut or screw.

   Use exterior screws only: coated deck screws (labelled for treated lumber, "ACQ compatible") or stainless steel. The copper in treated wood eats plain and zinc-plated steel within a few years. Indoor wood screws and drywall screws rust and snap outdoors.

   Animals chew and lick wood. Keep pressure-treated lumber to the legs and frame outside the living space, and use cedar or exterior plywood for anything they touch inside.

   Walls are T1-11 siding: grooved exterior plywood that is the wall and the weather skin in one sheet. Floor and nest boxes are exterior plywood. Legs, rims, joists and the roof frame are pressure-treated; the wall studs and roost are plain lumber, kept dry inside.

   Wire: buy 1/2″ hardware cloth (welded, galvanized). Never use chicken wire to keep animals out: a raccoon tears it open or reaches through it and grabs a hen.

   • Tip Buy one extra board of the most-used size. A split or a mis-cut then costs you nothing but a few dollars.
   • Tip Cedar splits easily: predrill every screw within 2″ of the end of a board with a bit about the size of the screw's inner shank.

   ✓ Every board is reasonably straight, and the screw box says exterior, coated for treated lumber, or stainless.

4. 4Check the rules and pick the spot

   Call or check the website of your town's zoning office first. Ask how many hens you may keep, whether roosters are banned, whether you need a permit, and how far a coop must be from property lines and houses. If you have an HOA, check its rules too.

   Pick level, well-drained ground: not a low spot where puddles sit. Morning sun and afternoon shade are ideal; hens handle cold far better than heat.

   Leave room around it: 421 3/16″ long and about 82 1/2″ deep, plus space to stand at the nest boxes (left end) and the clean-out door (front).

   The run gets a wire apron pinned an inch or two into the soil. If you will dig even that deep near a buried line, call 811 first; it is free.

   • Tip Neighbours are much friendlier about hens when the coop is tidy and they get the occasional dozen eggs.

   ✓ You have the town's answer in writing (an email is fine), and a level is within about 1″ over the length of the site.

5. 5Build the floor frame on its legs

   Lay the front and back rims (B) on edge, 46 1/2″ apart outside to outside. Fit the 7 floor joists (C) between them: the end ones flush with the rim ends, the rest no more than 15 3/4″ apart on center. Two 3″ screws through the rim into each joist end.

   Cut the four legs (A) to 23 1/4″. With the frame upside down on a flat floor, stand a leg in each inside corner, tight against the rim and the end joist, flush with the top edge (now facing down).

   Clamp each leg, drill two 3/8″ holes through the rim into the leg and two through the end joist, staggered so they don't meet. Tap in the carriage bolts and tighten the nuts until the heads pull flush. Bolts, not screws, because the whole coop hangs on these joints.

   Flip the frame onto its legs.

   • Tip Set each leg on a concrete paver so it can't sink into soft ground.

   ✓ The frame stands without rocking, its diagonals match within 1/8″, and a level on top reads level both ways. Shim under a leg with a flat stone or paver if needed.

   STOP. Get a helper to flip the frame. It is heavy and awkward, and the legs make good levers against your shins.

6. 6Lay the floor

   Lay the floor (D) on the frame, edges flush all round. Drive 2″ screws into every joist and rim every 8″.

   Optional but worth it: lay a scrap of vinyl flooring or sheet linoleum on top. It makes scraping out the bedding far easier and keeps the plywood dry.

   ✓ The floor edges are flush with the frame on all four sides.

7. 7Frame the walls

   Stand a back stud (E, 34 1/2″) in each back corner, flat against the back edge, and a front stud (F, 46 1/2″) in each front corner. Toe-screw each into the floor and joists with four 3″ screws.

   Add one more of each, centred 48″ from the left end, front and back: the siding halves meet on them.

   Add a front stud with its left face 33 1/2″ from the left end: the latch side of the clean-out door.

   Lay a top plate (G) flat across the back studs and one across the front studs, flush with the outside, and screw down into each stud with two 3″ screws.

   • Tip Brace each wall with a scrap board screwed diagonally from a stud to the floor edge until the siding goes on.

   ✓ Each stud is plumb on two faces, and the front plate is 12″ higher than the back one: that is the roof slope.

8. 8Cut the openings and hang the siding

   Front siding (J): mark the clean-out door 30″ wide × 30″ tall, 3 1/2″ from the left edge with its bottom 6 11/16″ up from the bottom edge. Set the circular saw blade just deeper than the siding, plunge-cut along the lines, and finish the corners with a handsaw. Keep the cut-out piece: it is the door.

   Right side siding (L): cut the pop door the same way, 12″ wide × 14″ tall, centred front to back, its bottom 6 11/16″ up. Left side siding: cut the nest opening 24 1/2″ wide × 11″ tall, its front end 4 1/16″ from the front edge, its bottom 4 11/16″ up (level with the floor).

   Cut the sloped top of each side piece: 57″ tall at the front edge, 43 5/8″ at the back.

   Hang the back and front siding (K, J) first, bottoms 1/2″ below the rims, grooves vertical. Their tops stop 7″ below the plates: that gap is the vent. Then the sides, overlapping the front and back edges. 1 5/8″ screws every 8″ into studs, rims and rafters.

   • Tip Do the plunge cuts with the siding flat on sawhorses before it goes on the coop. Cutting overhead or sideways is much harder.

   ✓ The openings line up with the floor and the frame, and the siding bottoms cover the rims with a 1/2″ drip edge below.

   STOP. A plunge cut can kick back. Rest the front of the saw base on the panel, start the saw, and lower the blade slowly with both hands on the saw. Wear safety glasses.

9. 9Build the roof

   Set the 5 rafters (H) on edge across the plates, front to back, 23 5/8″ or less apart, the outside ones flush with the ends of the coop. Each rafter overhangs 8″ at the front and 4″ at the back.

   Toe-screw each rafter to both plates with two 3″ screws and add a hurricane tie at each end. Wind tries to lift a roof, and the ties hold it down.

   Screw 4 purlins (I) flat across the rafters, the first and last flush with the rafter ends, the rest evenly between. They overhang the side siding by 4″.

   Screw the corrugated roof panels to the purlins with the sealing-washer screws through the ridges, overlapping each panel one ridge over the last. Start at the end away from the usual wind.

   ✓ Water poured on the high front edge runs off the back without dripping inside.

   STOP. Work from a stepladder on firm ground, not from the coop roof.

10. 10Add the nest boxes

    Screw one nest box cleat (P) to the outside of the left wall, its top 1/2″ below the floor, through the siding into the end joist.

    Set the nest box floor (M) on it, flush with the bottom of the nest opening. Stand the 3 ends and dividers (N) on it, 12″ apart, tall end against the wall. Screw the front (M) across their outer ends.

    Screw the second cleat to the wall just above the dividers and hinge the lid (O) to it with two 3″ hinges. Add a latch: raccoons open loose lids.

    Put 2–3″ of pine shavings or straw in each box.

    • Tip A golf ball or ceramic egg in each nest shows young hens where to lay.

    ✓ Each box is 12″ square inside, the lid closes flat, and the box floor is level with the coop floor.

11. 11Fit the roost bar

    Stand a roost leg (R) against each side wall, 12″ from the back wall, and one in the middle. Screw each to the floor and through the siding from outside.

    Lay the roost bar (Q) flat (wide face up) across the legs, 20″ above the floor, and screw down into each leg with two 3″ screws.

    Flat matters: in winter hens sit on their toes and cover them with feathers. Higher than the nest boxes matters too: hens sleep on the highest perch, and sleeping hens soil whatever they sit in.

    ✓ The bar sits 20″ up, higher than the nest boxes, and at least 12″ from the back wall.

12. 12Hang the doors and cover the vents

    Clean-out door: screw two strap hinges across the left edge of the cut-out panel and into the siding over the corner stud. Fit a two-step latch on the right edge plus a hook-and-eye. Raccoons have clever hands; one simple latch is not enough.

    Pop door: hinge the cut-out piece at its top edge with two 3″ hinges so it swings out and up. A hook-and-eye holds it open by day; the latch holds it shut at night.

    Vents: cut hardware cloth strips to cover each 7″ vent gap under the plates, 2″ larger all round. Staple them on to hold them, then drive washer screws every 4″ into the studs, plate and siding.

    ✓ Push on every door and every piece of wire: nothing gaps more than 1/2″, and each latch needs two separate moves to open.

    STOP. Wear gloves: cut hardware cloth edges are sharp as needles.

13. 13Make the ramp

    Screw 9 ramp cleats (T) across the ramp (S), evenly spaced about 4″ apart. Hens grip them like rungs.

    Lean the ramp from the pop-door sill to the ground, about 31 3/16″ out from the wall, and screw its top end to the sill.

    ✓ The ramp doesn't wobble when you press its middle, and the cleats are all on the top face.

14. 14Build the run panels

    Build 19 wall panels: two stiles (U, 56″) with two rails (V) between them at the top and bottom, 36″ wide outside. Two 3″ screws through the stiles into each rail end.

    Build 9 roof panels the same way from the roof sides (W) and rails, 36″ × 39″, and one low end panel from the short stiles (X) and two rails.

    Lay each panel flat, roll hardware cloth over it, staple it tight, then drive washer screws every 4″ all round. Trim the edges flush.

    Stand the wall panels in two rows 39″ apart outside to outside, from the right wall of the coop outward, and screw neighbouring stiles together with four 3″ screws. Put the low panel under the coop's right siding, the last panel at the far end on strap hinges as the door, and screw the roof panels on top.

    • Tip Run a diagonal 2×4 brace across the door panel if it sags; the wire alone won't keep it square.

    ✓ Every panel is square (equal diagonals) before the wire goes on, and the finished run has no gap bigger than 1/2″ anywhere, including under the coop and around the door.

    STOP. Wear gloves and safety glasses when cutting and stretching hardware cloth.

15. 15Lay the predator apron

    Cut 14″ wide strips of hardware cloth, 726″ in all. Bend 2″ of each strip up and screw it to the bottom rails of the panels all the way round, including under the coop.

    Lay the other 12″ flat on the ground pointing outward, pin it every foot with landscape staples, and cover it with an inch or two of soil or mulch.

    Foxes, dogs and raccoons dig right at the wall. They hit the buried wire, don't think to back up a foot, and give up.

    ✓ You can't lift the apron edge anywhere with your fingers, and grass can grow through it.

16. 16Protect it from the weather

    Decide how you want the coop to look in five years. Bare cedar and bare pressure-treated wood both weather to silver-grey and still last many years; doing nothing is a real option.

    To keep the colour, use an exterior oil or semi-transparent stain: brush it on, let it soak in 15 minutes, then wipe off whatever is still shiny. Renew it every one or two years. Avoid clear varnish or polyurethane outdoors: sun cracks the film, water gets under it, and it peels.

    For a solid colour, prime with an exterior primer and use two coats of exterior latex paint. Paint end grain twice: it soaks up water like a straw.

    Pressure-treated wood must dry before any stain or paint. Sprinkle a few drops of water on it: if they bead up, wait; if they soak in within ten minutes, it is ready. This can take a few weeks to a few months.

    Finish only the outside. Leave inside faces bare, and let any finish dry and air out for at least a week before an animal moves in: fresh fumes are hard on small lungs.

    • Tip Finish on a dry day above 50°F with no rain forecast for 24 hours.
    • Tip Oil-soaked rags can catch fire on their own as they dry. Lay them flat outside to dry or keep them in a sealed metal can of water.

    ✓ The finish is dry to the touch everywhere, with no wet or shiny puddles in corners.

17. 17Move the hens in

    Spread 3–4″ of pine shavings on the floor (not cedar shavings: the oils irritate chicken lungs). Add fresh shavings on top as needed and clean it all out twice a year: the deep litter method.

    Hang a feeder and a waterer in the run or under the coop, off the ground on a block so the hens don't kick bedding into them.

    Shut the pop door every evening once all the hens are on the roost, and open it in the morning.

    In high-wind areas, screw ground anchors (auger-type) into the soil next to two legs and strap the legs to them.

    ✓ The first night, look in after dark: every hen is on the roost bar, not in a nest box or on the floor.

18. 18Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Outdoors, use an exterior finish: a penetrating deck oil or exterior stain, or primer and exterior paint. Leave cedar bare to weather silver if you like. If it holds soil for food plants, leave the inside unfinished.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.