The Best Chicken Coop Plans of 2018

So you want to build your own chicken coop & are looking for some easy chicken coop plans and instructions? There are sooooo many plans available on the internet, it’s hard to know where to start. In this guide, we’ll break down the basics & let you know where to find all the best stuff.

Plus we compare the top chicken coop design plans, review the major features and price of each and layout the design photos for the different coops available, so you don’t have to do all that research yourself. We even have a few great free chicken coop blueprints for you!

How Much Does a Chicken Coop Building Plan Cost?

Most of the chicken coop guides cost between $25 and $50.  Our favorite is just $29.95, so the cost is pretty low for what you get. And this is so much better than paying the inflated prices of an all-inclusive kit.  Unfortunately, most kits do not use the best materials to save on their own costs (and increase their profits).  Plus you still need to assemble them, so kits don’t really save you from the build part of the project.  The really just save you shopping for the materials & having them cut to size.

We’ve included a few free chicken coop plans too, so you have a few options in case your budget is super tight.

Comparison Chart of the Top Selling Chicken Coop Building Plans and Guides

Here is an easy comparison chart so you can see the top 3 best sellers & decide which are the best chicken coop plans for you & your family.  Be sure to scroll to the bottom to view our recommendations as well. You may be surprised at our choice.

Our Recommended Chicken House Design Plans

After reviewing the options available, our recommendation is the Building a Chicken Coop program by Bill Keene.  And guess what – it’s also one of the least expensive of the three we reviewed.  That is always a bonus!

3 factors which make this plan our recommended choice.

1. The instructions are easy to follow. Although this program had fewer designs than the other two programs, the designs themselves are the easiest to understand out of the three choices. This was really the deciding factor.

Plus – how many coops do you really plan to build? Unless you are planning to start your own chicken coop business, 100 is probably more than you need.

2. The program by Bill Keene is a one-time investment.  The other two have options for recurring charges, and that always adds up in the long run.  The chicken coop guide has it’s own forum which is kind of nice.  But there are also many free forums you can find like Backyard Chickens which are very active.

3. The program had more overall information and advice for building your coop.  The bonus guides are very helpful to make sure you build the absolute best coop for your flock AND how to do it on a budget.

Here is the complete list of bonus guides.

• How To Best Position Your Chicken Coop
• How To Build Nesting Boxes Using Common Materials
• The Best Materials For The Ground
• The Cheapest Materials To Build Your Coop Out Of
• Organic Gardening eBook Library

Learn More Here

 

Coming in at a very close second was the Chicken Coop Guides program. I like the variety included in the 19 plans they provide; the plans were very well outlined & easy to follow. See below for a few examples of the included plans.

They also have a great collection of customer photos that is super helpful. It’s great to see how other people have modified or decorated their coops. The real-life examples make it easier to envision the final product and are a great source of inspiration.

Learn More Here

So… What makes a Good Chicken Coop Plan?

We’ve reviewed the best-selling coop plans & compared the available options that make a good design package. Here are the features you should look for when buying a chicken coop building guide from the internet.

• Several design choices are included. When you are building your chicken coop, you will likely want to see the full design before building it. It’s hard to make a decision based on just 1 or 2 cover photos. For this reason, it’s best to have a few options included so that you can get the full story.
• Plus you may want to have 2 coops for your chickens. Many owners have both a stationary and a mobile coop for their chickens.
• Instructions on how to modify the design. No design is likely to fit everybody’s specific needs. There should be instructions on how to modify the design if you want to make it larger or extend the dimensions of the coop or chicken runs.
• Step by Step Illustrations so you can see exactly what your coop should look like at each stage. Color plans are also better since it’s easier to see the detail of each element
• The instructions for the building plans should be easy to follow. Not everybody is a master carpenter, so it’s good to make sure the instructions are clearly written in plain English.
• Information on how to include accessories for your coop. A good set of plans for building a chicken coop will include information about how to incorporate the necessary accessories such as a waterier, nesting boxes and feeders. These are all key design elements that must be looked at when you plan out the style of your chicken coop.
• A full list of all the materials required to build the coop
• Details and recommendations on the types of building materials you should use should also be included as part of the design plans, so your coop will last a long time. After all, you don’t want to build it just to have it fall apart or rot a year or two later.
• A money back guarantee. Make sure the guarantee is long enough that you will have had time to try out the designs before the guarantee runs out. We recommend at least a 60 day period

More about the Popular Chicken Coop Plans for Sale

1. Building a Chicken Coop by Bill Keene

The Building a Chicken Coop program is a collection of 7 chicken house designs and several guides that help you in the design, material selection, build and maintenance of your coop.  Plus there are additional guides with advice for taking care of your flock.

Here is what is included:

• Seven blueprints to build a chicken coop that includes material lists, detailed drawings, and step by step instructions. Here are just a few of the designs:
  • A large premium chicken house plan that can house up to 50 chickens. This option offers an easy to clean design with pull out trays and automatic egg collection.
  • An economical all in one enclosed coop for up to 4 chickens
  • A portable chicken tractor which is easy to clean & mobile which is excellent for both the chickens & your property.  Don’t miss our guide to going mobile.
  • A large double story coop with a nesting area up top & run on the bottom.
• The program also includes several guides on building your coop, sourcing material, how to modify the designs and caring for chickens.
• Currently on sale, the package cost is a one-time charge of $29.95

2. Chicken Coop Guides

The Chicken Coop Guides program offers a wide variety of chicken building designs and blueprints, plus a forum to chat with other chicken owners about raising your chickens. Also included is a video library which is a nice feature.

Here is a summary of what is included.

• 19 different chicken coop plans to choose from
• Detailed Instructions and printable material lists for each plan
• Access to a chicken raising discussion forum
• A collection of chicken raising videos
• Several guides on raising and caring for your chickens
• The program cost is $29.00 with an option to also receive bonus plans + DVDs of the course for $49.00

This is a really good program – I like the variety of chicken coops available and the plans are very well laid out.

3. Easy DIY Chicken Coop Plans

The Easy DIY Chicken Coop Plans program is a chicken coop blueprint plan and video guide which offers the most plans for the cost at $39.97.

The program includes:

• 100+ chicken coop building plans
• A Video Guide with step by step instructions
• Several guides on caring for chickens, chicken diets and diagnosing chicken diseases
• You can also access the full program for a trial period of 21-30 days for just $4.97

The video guides here are a nice touch & serve as a good overview of what is involved in the build.

4. The Garden Coop

TheGardenCoop.com is a website that has individual chicken coop plans for sale that start at $24.95 each. They sell the plans for the chicken runs separately which start at 14.95 each. They offer 3 coop designs and a collection of chicken run plans that include:

• The Garden Coop. A walk-in coop & run. Dimensions are 10 x 6 x 8 feet and will fit about 8 hens.
• The Garden Ark. A mobile chicken coop that will keep up to 3 hens. Dimensions are 3 x 6x 4 feet.
• The Basic Coop. A stand-alone chicken house that will fit up to 4 hens. Measurements are 3x3x4 feet.
• The Garden Run Series. This is a collection of 3 plans to build chicken runs and expand your existing coop. It includes design features like a raised garden bed on top of your chicken house. This series is a compliment to one of the other 3 coop designs.

The Garden Coop also offers chicken coop hardware quick kits that include all the hardware to build one of their chicken coops.

Are there any Free Chicken Coop Blueprints available?

Yes, there are plenty of free chicken coop plans on various websites you can view, print or download. Many chicken enthusiasts and blog owners will post their own designs with completed photos. These are another excellent resource to find some DIY chicken coop ideas.

Here are just a few of the free plans available.

A frame Coop: A quick and easy A-Frame Coop by Ana White.
This coop cost under $100 to build and was set up in the space of a weekend.

Small Footprint Chicken Coop: The Chicken Condo by Tractor Supply.
This small two-story chicken condo includes an attached run below the main coop and a sloped roof. A chicken ladder connects the run to the living quarters, so the chickens can go inside and out when they choose.

Chicken Tractor: The Chicken Coop Tractor Plans by Home Garden Design Plan. This site has several which are free – actually, all of the design concepts are free, which includes multiple pictures. Or you can buy a full set of plans from the same site. These plans do seem a little hard to follow, so best if you have a bit of experience before attempting to build one of these coops.

One thing to be cautious of is that most chicken owners are not also builders. And they are under no obligation to test out their printed instructions. So you can’t know 100% if the plans are accurate or if the person publishing the plans made any changes that aren’t included in their instructions.

The instructions may also be a bit vague, so you might need a little more experience when using a free chicken coop plan instead of the one you purchase.

But long as you are creative and can figure out how to fix any omissions you should be fine. And hey – they are free after all, so at least deserve a look-see for inspiration if nothing else.  For even more inspiration, be sure to check out our latest post on the coolest chicken coops we found on some of these blogs.

Still not sure?

Watch this video & get more information on building your own coop.

Click here to watch the Video