Chickens not only make interesting pets -- they also provide you and your family with organic eggs and fresh fertilizer. Building your own chicken coop is easy -- it just takes careful consideration and patience. Read the tips below to learn how to build a chicken coop in your backyard.
- Decide where to build the coop. Pick a place situated on high ground so the chickens won't be sitting in puddles when it rains.
- Place four wood or metal posts in the ground. These will be the corners of the chicken coop. Make sure the staked-off area is large enough to accommodate all of your chickens -- at least 2 square feet (1,858 square centimeters) per chicken. Not providing chickens with adequate space can lead to disease, cannibalism and death [source: Duvauchelle].
- String chicken wire between the four posts. The wire will be the walls of the chicken coop.
- Nail four 2-by-4-inch wooden beams across the top of the posts. The roof will rest on these beams.
- Make a peaked roof. Nail two rectangular sheets of tin roofing to each other. Place them across the top of the structure, and bend them into an upside-down V. The two pieces of tin should be attached at the roof's peak. Secure the bottom edges of the tin roof to the wooden beams. The roof will protect the chickens from rain.
- Attach watering bins and feeders to the chicken wire. The bins should be the same height as the chickens' backs so that they can easily access the water and feed [source: Higgins].
- Adapt your chicken coop to your climate. Chickens require lots of sunlight and air. However, if you live in a colder climate, you'll need to build walls to protect the chickens in the winter [source: Eric].
- Check the chicken-wire walls. If there are any holes in the wiring, replace it. Chicken wire not only keeps your chickens from running away, it also protects them from predators [source: Eric].
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