Description
With just a couple sheets of plywood siding, a few boards, a roofing panel, some hardware, and paint you can create an attractive, ultra-affordable chicken coop for your backyard flock. The Basic Coop chicken coop plans guide you every step of the way.
Key features of The Basic Coop stand-alone chicken coop design:
- Sized for up to 4 hens
- Can be built for around $200
- Measures roughly 3’w x 3’d x 4’h (915 x 915 x 1220 mm)
- Translucent roof for daylight
- Open-ceiling design for ample ventilation
- Efficient interior layout with two roosts, a nest box, and space for waterer and feeder
- Fully secure with wire mesh ceiling and lockable latches on every door
- Carefully designed to optimize materials, reducing cost and waste
- Use within a fenced-in area or free-range yard, or attach an enclosed run
- Works as a brooder too, making it the perfect starter coop — or one to grow with
- Hardware Quick Kit available (U.S. only)
- Built with pride. . . by you!
About The Basic Coop chicken coop plans:
- Instant download
- 45+ pages of illustrations, photos, and step-by-step instructions
- Written for beginners, with simple cuts and techniques
- Includes full tool and material lists
- Plan includes both U.S. (feet/inches) and metric units (millimeters)
- Compatible with iPad and other PDF-friendly mobile devices
- Satisfaction guaranteed
- Click here for a free plan preview
Keep it practical. Make it beautiful.
We developed this design over the course of a few years to get everything just right, with no compromises. The design draws on our family’s experience keeping chickens in a variety of coop styles as well as years of feedback gathered from customers and friends.
The spacious henhouse has everything four hens need to be comfortable. The broad front door gives you bump-free access to every corner of the coop for cleaning and care of your flock.
The side pop door opens for your hens to come and go. And the egg door (on the other side) is in just the right spot for you or your kids to collect those fresh eggs every day.
Waste less. Get more coop.
Foremost on our minds in designing The Basic Coop was finding a way to use affordable, easy-to-find materials — and then making the most of each and every one.
As one example, the plans show you how to cut the walls, doors, floor, and nest box from just two standard sheets of half-inch (13 mm) plywood siding or plywood. By not having to buy a third sheet, you save good money right from the start.
At the same time, you get more than you’d expect from a coop of this price. More space, more light, more ventilation, and — since you select the materials and build it yourself — more quality, for a stand-alone coop that will last.
When it comes to expressing your style, The Basic Coop chicken coop design is anything but basic.
The walls are your canvas! Trace or freehand a design — or use a stencil to apply just what you want, right where you want it. You can make The Basic Coop stand out or blend in to your backyard garden.
Everything securely in its place. With space to spare.
There are two roosts inside The Basic Coop, which also serve to support the raised nesting box. This stacked design lets you tuck a feeder and waterer where your chickens won’t be tempted to perch on them, so they’ll stay cleaner.
Looking up, you can see the open-ceiling design which provides plenty of ventilation, very important for your hens’ health. The ceiling is secured with durable hardware cloth, the gold standard for protecting your chickens from predators. And it’s covered with a translucent roof (not clear) that lets in light while providing shade and shelter. You can partially cover the ceiling in the winter.
The secure egg door opens right into the nest box, so you can gather the day’s fresh eggs or just say hi to a friend. Place a two-by-four in the doorway to hold in the bedding. When it’s time to clean it out, simply lift out the board and brush the litter down to the ground or into a shallow box or pan. There’s no lip or ledge to get in the way of a simple sweep.
The chicken coop and run plans that were made for each other
We designed The Basic Coop and The Garden Run enclosures to work perfectly together, so it’s easy to add on a simple day run or a more elaborate secure enclosure. Add a pop door to the run (instructions included in The Garden Run plans), and you can let your hens roam even wider from there.