Chicken coop designs and ideas help you decide which DIY chicken coop fits you best. A good homesteader knows you need your own chicken coop to house all those fresh eggs and raise those little chicks to grow up big and strong! Whether you are raising chickens for food or for fun, you’ll want to keep them somewhere safe, warm, and protected from the elements and predators.
Now, this list is updated with 14 more chicken coop designs and ideas for you to choose from! These DIY chicken coop plans detail step-by-step instructions on how to make a simple chicken coop or something like an A-frame chicken coop. We’ve rounded up the best ideas on the web, from sustainable to functional, to downright awesome. It’s chicken coop building time!
If you need a little help deciding which of these free chicken coop plans would most likely fit your and your pet chickens’ needs best, head over here for some advice.
Chicken Coop Designs Your Homestead Needs
1. Chicken Coop Cottage
For a little country whimsy, give your chickens a cozy cottage home complete with winding vines and a stone pathway to the doorstep.
2. Beer Can Shingles
Protect your chicken coop from the effects of weather and recycle your cans in a creative way. Drink up for the benefit of your flock. Cheers to chickens!
3. Bright and Cheery Chicken Shed
Add a splash of color to your backyard with a shed-style chicken coop. Use white trim and some plants to create a classic look that will make the structure pop!
4. From Clunker to Clucker
Have a beat-up vehicle taking up space in your backyard or know someone trying to get rid of one? What a great way to repurpose an old clunker, and it’s quite the conversation piece!
5. Cob-Made Chicken Coop
Cob is a traditional English housing material made from clay, straw and sand – it’s as strong as concrete and made from completely sustainable materials. Add on some colorful tiles and custom-sized windows to give your chicken coop a unique look.
6. Chicken Coop on the Shire
Your brood will live like Bilbo Baggins in this fun and functional chicken coop modeled after Hobbit homes.
7. Fully-“Furnished” Chicken Coop
If you have a piece of furniture you no longer have a use for or just find a great deal on a chest of drawers or armoire at a garage sale, upcycle it into a home for your chickens!
8. Living Roof Coop
This is the perfect solution for those with limited yard space who want to have it all! Urban farmers rejoice – you can have your small chicken coop and a miniature garden all in one spot.
9. Fully-Functional Chicken Coop
This chicken coop plan is designed for easy access to your hens and their eggs no matter where they are in the coop.
10. Pottery-Barn Inspired Chicken Coop
This chicken coop was built by the folks at The Art of Doing Stuff, and what a lovely coop indeed! Learn about how they built it, and all the cool ins and outs of this beautiful homemade coop here.
11. Galactic Hen House
Give your chickens an out-of-this-world home in this rocketship-shaped house that fits 9 chickens!
12. Hens on Wheels
Use this portable chicken coop design to save your yard from the damage a stable chicken coop can cause to your lawn. Instead of cleaning out your coop, just move it to the next plot of land and allow the droppings to act as natural fertilizer.
13. Upcycled Water Tank Chicken Coop
To create a completely upcycled coop, convert an old water storage container into a chicken coop with pallet wood and a few branches for perching.
14. Luxurious Lighting
When in doubt, add a chandelier for a touch of luxury – even chickens deserve a little of the good life.
15. Telephone Booth Chicken Coop
Use an old telephone booth or paint your hen house. Add square windows with chicken wire to mimic a booth and attach an open air coop to one of the sides.
16. Underground Coop
Keep your flock better protected from predators in this home that is partially underground. Also, the low-lying roof creates an excellent opportunity to grow a living roof.
17. Build the Perfect Nesting Boxes
Design the perfect nesting boxes for your chickens. Create extra perch space in a small coop by installing a branch in front of the nest boxes. Also note the steep angle of the ‘roof’ on the nesting boxes to prevent the chickens from using this space as their personal restroom and making less mess for you.
18. Chicken Camper
This coop was made with completely recycled pallet wood and a sheet of tin metal for the top. Keeping your coop elevated discourages predators and eliminates the back-ache from cleaning a coop that sits lower on the ground.
19. The Easy A-Frame
Easy to build, easy to clean, easy to maintain – the A-frame wins the convenience award…easily.
20. Book & Cluck Nook
Create a space for you (or your little ones) and your chickens to relax in together. Install a screen door between the sitting space and the nesting space so the chickens don’t make a mess of your area.
21. Chicken Teepee
This may not be the most practical option for a permanent residence for your chickens, but it’s the perfect temporary shelter from the elements while your chickens roam in a large open space.
22. Aquaponic Chicken Coop
This all-in-one chicken coop is a homesteader’s dream come true! The roof is a self-sustaining garden, and the eggs practically lay themselves. This compact unit could sustain an entire family, making it one of the best chicken coop designs.
23. Easy Homemade Chicken Coop
This may be a bit pricey, but I’m sure your chickens will be safe and comfy living in this chicken coop. Get the tutorial here.
24. Cedar Chicken Coop and Run
You can buy this or use this stunning design as inspiration.
25. Geodesic Dome Chicken House
Have you seen the geodesic dome? It’s cool, right? Now build one for your chickens! You can try to adjust the measurements if you need to build a bigger one. Get the instructions here.
26. Dreamy Chicken House
Ever dreamed of having a beautiful house with that white picket fence? If you don’t have the budget for your house, then make one for your chicken instead. Check it out here.
27. The Eggcelsior
Build your flock a hotel inspired by the Old West. I’m sure they’ll all love to check in. Get the steps here.
28. Eco-roof Chicken Coop
Grow not just chickens in your chicken coop, but plants, too. See it here.
29. Classy Chicken Coop
Give your flock a taste of the good life by making this classy chicken coop. Don’t forget the chandelier!
30. $50 Chicken Coop
Want to know how to build a chicken coop on a budget? Get the tutorial here.
31. Chicken Chapel
No blasphemy intended, but I just really find this chicken coop cute–imagine your hens going to church! See it here.
32. Swing Set Chicken Coop
Got an old swing set? Upcycle it into a chicken coop using some chicken wire. Check it out here.
33. Trampoline Chicken House
Don’t have a swing set? How about an old trampoline? See it here.
34. Chicken Nesting Boxes
Here’s a cheap and easy upcycling project for your flock. Turn 5-gallon plastic buckets into nesting boxes for hens. It’s so easy, check it out here.
35. Chicken Cabinet
Change up some glasses into chicken wire and you can have an upcycled chicken coop design. See it here.
36. Personalized Chicken Coop
Really love your chickens to the point that you gave them names? Try this personalized chicken coop then. Check it out here.
Want to build your own chicken coop? Click Here to Download Plans.
Watch this video and build this $50 chicken coop by Off-Grid With Doug and Stacy:
Whatever free chicken coop plans you choose, this list will make building chicken coops easy and fun. Try improvising with materials like plywood sidings or pressure-treated lumber. Raising chickens isn’t a walk in the park but a good coop for them to roost in is a great foundation for their growth.
Which of these chicken coop designs will you choose? Let us know in the comments section below.
Great Find: Build an Attractive and Affordable Backyard Coop!
Read this next: If You Have A Chicken Coop Do Not Do This
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Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on March 26, 2017 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
Joyce says
January 21, 2015 at 8:04 PMFYI, the “phone booth” is actually a T.A.R.D.I.S. From the popular TV show Doctor Who.
Anne Ross says
June 30, 2017 at 2:06 PMFYI the “T.A.R.D.I.S” was a police box. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POLICE BOX by Immanuel …
http://www.policeboxes.com/pboxhist.htm
joy says
March 5, 2015 at 6:19 PMThe “Telephone Booth” is more likely the Tardis, inspired by Dr. Who 😉
Julienne Backstrom says
March 21, 2015 at 1:48 AMPictures of outstanding coop ideas are great however novices such as myself need building specs, i.e. how many pieces and what size wood or etc. Where can I find this information?
forevermelody says
July 13, 2015 at 2:22 PMWhoever wrote this doesn’t watch Dr. Who. That “phone booth” coop is a TARDIS and isn’t an old phonebooth. Someone painstakingly made that based on a prop from a british time-travel show.
Kathy Dill says
January 30, 2016 at 8:11 AMThis article has many nice ideas that I love.thanks
nancypo says
February 18, 2017 at 2:36 PMSome of those are really cute, but they could create maintanence issues. You need to be able to deep clean on a regular basis, and have full easy access. One looked like it had a cedar interior, and that’s advised against in coops. It promotes breathing problems. Look for easy cleaning as well as being attractive. Check out Backyardchickens.com for grea ideas! [email protected]
Isabella Alesi says
February 21, 2017 at 10:38 AMThere are many advantages to owning your own chickens. Farm fresh eggs are healthier, tastier, and readily available from your own back yard. Meat birds are fast growing, take little space to raise and are fairly inexpensive for the resulting outcome in food production. Raising your own chickens means you get to decide what goes into the making of the final product. I personally build a great chicken coop following this easy and step by step guide I found HERE: ( )
Steve Zolotow says
April 8, 2017 at 9:43 PMRecommended: http://diypremium.com/chickencoop
Steve Zolotow says
April 8, 2017 at 9:44 PMMy wife and I decided we would try the chicken thing about 2 years ago, with a little help from her sister. That’s a story within itself. I started doing some research, and came upon that program. I looked through all the plans and found couple that I liked, so I purchased it. The beauty of these plans is, with a little know how and imagination, you can easily build your own, professional looking, coop. You can also use the basic design and tweak it to fit your needs and/or tastes. I built my first coop in 1 weekend.
Bill Smirnoff says
April 10, 2017 at 3:57 PMhttp://WWW.DIYPREMIUM.COM/CHICKENCOOP
Bill Smirnoff says
April 10, 2017 at 3:57 PMIt’s a great program, you can easily build your own, professional looking, coop. You can also use the basic design and tweak it to fit your needs and/or tastes. I built my first coop in 1 weekend.
Bill Smirnoff says
April 10, 2017 at 4:02 PMThat is the program I used when I was building a coop. Its great
Bill Smirnoff says
April 10, 2017 at 4:04 PMThat is the program I used when I was building a coop. Its great.
James Lee says
April 11, 2017 at 1:33 AMHere http://bit.ly/2okGv9c
James Lee says
April 11, 2017 at 1:34 AMIt’s a great program, you can easily build your own, professional looking, coop. You can also use the basic design and tweak it to fit your needs and/or tastes. I built my first coop in 1 weekend.
Raymond Woo says
April 11, 2017 at 8:35 AMThis is a great program https://sites.google.com/site/buildingachickcoopplans. You can easily build your own, professional looking, coop. You can also use the basic design and tweak it to fit your needs and/or tastes. I built my first coop in 1 weekend.
Betty Aucoin says
April 18, 2017 at 10:56 AMThank you, those are great plans
Jack Mrack says
August 27, 2017 at 4:05 AMthanks!