No matter what kind of chickens you have, no matter how many, and why you’re keeping them, they’ve got one thing in common with every other flock: they’ve got to have a home! And the home your chickens need is a chicken coop, of course!
No problem, just mosey on down to your local farm store or big box hardware store and pick one out.
And make sure you get a second mortgage while you are at it because – good night! – are these things expensive. Way too expensive if you ask me. But the homesteader way, of course, is to do it yourself…
So grab your tools and a few big boxes of fasteners because it’s time to build your own using these solid – and free – chicken coop plans. With a weekend and a little bit of sweat equity, your chickens will have a gorgeous and functional coop to call their own.
Classic Walk in Coop
This walk-in coop is indeed a classic…
With a space-efficient area for roosting and resting, flip-up access for nesting boxes, and a tall, caged run, also with its own access door, your chickens will have plenty of room and you’ll enjoy plenty of room to maneuver when taking care of chores or interacting with your birds.
It can be handsomely finished in any number of ways to suit your property or your preferences.
Easy Urban Coop
It is indeed possible to keep chickens in an urban environment as long as you have at least a little bit of space. But maximizing that space is often challenging and that’s where you need a specially adapted coop for the job.
This one uses an innovative double-decker design along with a wraparound fenced run that is perfect for a small flock. It also has a nice, compact square profile which means you can fit it even in a small yard.
The clever layout also makes it much easier to clean compared to other small coops thanks to a swing-open, waist-height door.
Extra Large Coop with Closed Run
Sometimes you just need a ton of extra room for your birds. Or maybe you have a whole bunch of them!
This is a modestly sized coop that features an extra-long covered and fenced run so your birds will never want for room to explore, scratch, or forage.
It’s great for easing the pressures sometimes associated with pecking order struggles that take place in bigger flocks, and also gives your feathered friends more opportunities to find tasty morsels in the grass or dirt.
Your lawn will also last a lot longer considering that the chickens have more room to spread out their attention.
Loft Style Chicken Coop
This nifty loft-style coop uses a tapering roof over a fenced run; it will save you a little bit on materials, help better deal with rain and snow, and also remain easy to access and clean. The coop itself is raised off the ground and uses a fairly steep ramp for access.
You’ll still be able to get inside easily enough using the elevated door and the lift-open cover over the nesting boxes.
This is a great all-around design for a smaller flock of 6 to 9 chickens but can accommodate more if you’re willing to let them out every now and then.
Compact Backyard Coop
Another awesome option for space-limited chicken keepers, this stacked design uses a compact and cozy coop plan for 4 to 6 chickens, and has a floor access port for the birds to climb up into. Not the easiest thing for large breeds to deal with, but it is serviceable.
And instead of wasting the open space over the small caged run, you can put some plants since it is basically a planter box built-in! This is a great opportunity to grow nesting herbs if you use them with your hens.
Coop with Clean Out Door, Electricity, and Egg Access
If you want a fully featured outbuilding, you need this plan. One of the most detailed, intricate, and well-thought-out designs I’ve ever seen, this raised coop is secure and sturdy, and even features windows, motion lighting, electrical receptacles, and more.
All of the electrical is protected by steel conduit to make it completely chicken-proof and excellent waterproofing is used throughout.
The designer, DownEast Thunder Farm, thought of everything and spared no expense, so if you want a coop that will last and help you take care of your precious flock, this is one of the very best…
Cute Raised Coop with Short Run
This cute, tiny raised coop is another great design for small properties, backyard flocks, and other applications where space is at a distinct premium. It has a flip-open port on one side that gives you plenty of room for mucking out the interior or collecting eggs.
This is one you can easily put together in an afternoon if you’re already crafty and handy with tools, and it’s fit for finishing any which way to match your existing home or other buildings on your property. The perfect starter coop for a starter flock!
Sturdy Raised Coop
A compact raised coop, and one with a cute, cottage-like design, and that classic treaded ramp that just belongs on a chicken coop!
Unlike the previous model, this one has a flip-up top on the side where the nesting boxes are installed that will make checking on and collecting eggs super simple. It also has a little bit more internal space that’s ideal for a slightly larger starting flock of five to seven birds.
If you live in an area that is prone to standing water on the ground, or muddy conditions, the raised layout is a smart choice.
Simple Chicken Coop
There’s nothing wrong with getting back to basics, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with this modest but efficient and fully featured 4×6 coop.
It has a narrow door for accessing the run, a flip-open hatch for getting at the eggs inside, a clean-out door, and, my favorite feature, a pull-out tray that can help you get rid of overnight poop quickly in the morning while your birds are out and about.
That’s a super smart feature because chickens do about 70% of their pooping while they’re asleep! It’s best to get it all in one shot…
Deluxe Large Walk-in Coop with Run
This coop is a thing of beauty with a nice metal roof, working shutters, rustic design features, trim, and even a cheery light by the door to help you see what you’re doing when working inside.
The nesting boxes are built into the wall on the far side right next to the door going into the run, and have the expected flip-open top so your morning egg collection routine won’t take any time at all.
This is a beautiful coop that your bids will love, and you’ll love how easy it is to work on and move around inside.
Shed Style Coop
If it wasn’t for the attached run, you might think this coop was nothing more than an attractive Craftsman-style shed, complete with a full-size window and even a hanging planter box by it. But it is a coop, and one that anybody would be proud to own.
Easy to access, easy to clean, and sure to please your significant other and your neighbors thanks to its tidy appearance, it proves that you can indeed keep chickens without making your property look like a war zone.
Coop with Nest Boxes
This coop design isn’t anything fancy, as it’s just the basic gable roof type that we’ve seen a hundred times before, one with a full-size door and a smaller walk-out door for the chickens, along with nesting boxes.
But it’s remarkable and earned a spot on our list because of the amazingly intricate plans, blueprints, and materials info featured therein.
If you’re a detail-oriented person like I am, this one’s a joy to build because it answers every single question you might have throughout with absolutely no ambiguity, and the 3D architectural models included make visualizing each step a breeze.
Portable A-Frame Coop
Sometimes you’re limited in time, materials, budget, space, or all of the above. If you can pick at least two off of that list, don’t think twice and go with this interesting and easily achievable A-frame design.
It’s small, relatively easy to move, and perfect if you need some extra space for new additions or just somewhere to keep your birds until you can get them into something nicer.
It has very little in the way of amenities, but that’s okay because it provides your birds somewhere that is reasonably safe and sheltered for them to sleep.
If it has one shortcoming, it is that it’s pretty easily for some predators, like snakes, to slip under the frame and anything that is capable of digging will get in there in no time – so you might want to reinforce the bottom on your own.
Simple Chicken Coop
A simple, compact design that looks a little bit like a playhouse, it is nonetheless a great first choice for beginning keepers.
Slightly raised and featuring spacious extended nesting boxes, it’s easy for chickens to access and has only one disadvantage in that it is a little cramped for you to get into for cleaning and mucking out.
You’ll have to get the birds out and then lean in there at the waist to scrape out the poop and old bedding.
Raised Coop with Run
This classy coop is sizable, extremely efficient, and attractively designed with a classic barnyard look. It boasts space for up to 18 adult birds, double doors at the end of the run for easy access, a smaller clean-out door on the coop itself, and a hinged top covering the nesting boxes.
The steeply pitched roof provides plenty of protection against both rain and snow, making this a dependable choice if you live in an area with lots of precipitation.
This is another set of plans that is noteworthy for its extreme detail when it comes to materials, building, nominal lumber sizes, and more. You won’t be guessing at how to do anything with this one!
Six Chicken Coop with Walk-in Run
This basic, cute coop is versatile, and adaptable, and can house six adult chickens with room for two nesting hens.
A large window lets in lots of light, and it has charm to spare thanks to the adorable built-in planting box.
The roof is steeply sloped and not as tall as some other designs on our list, so you can’t stand up straight except just inside the door, but it’s still easy to get in there and do what work is required.
This one doesn’t take nearly as many materials as it looks like, meaning it’s another great choice if you’re on a budget.
Chicken Mansion
Talk about impressive! This design, humorously called a mansion, lives up to its name. It has an actual covered front porch and everything!
Looking a little bit more like a shed or Grandma’s cottage, if you want plenty of space to work inside and out, this is the design for you and looks absolutely adorable on any property.
You can save a little bit on materials, and save time, by going with a half-height run on the back. It’s more than spacious enough for even the largest chickens.
As long as you can bend over a little bit to get in there and clean up or catch any of your birds, you don’t need to build any taller.
Rustic Swing-Open Coop
This space-saving design is easy and cheap to make and wonderfully easy to clean out; one whole side swings open with a pair of Big Barn doors, including the nesting boxes!
The designer also boasts that this coop can easily fit in an 8-foot pickup truck bed, meaning that with a little bit of extra muscle, you can reposition it, deliver it, move with it, or do anything else you need to.
It’s on the small side, for sure, as it only has a footprint of 3×7 feet but that is sufficient for 6 adult chickens on a full-time basis, or you can cram in up to 12, says the designer, as long as they have ranging access during the day.
At worst, this could be a great supplementary coop if you need a backup or are quickly expanding your flock.
8×8 Fenced Coop
This cute, peaked coop measures 8 feet by 8 feet and is bottom accessed from the inside, meaning your birds will enjoy a nearly 360° view through the fenced run beneath.
It’s small enough to be a viable choice for a backyard flock or those of us keeping chickens in smaller urban settings, but if you have just a few chickens in any case, it works even if you have a large property and will save you room for other projects and buildings.
I love the style on this one!
Tom has lived and worked on farms and homesteads from the Carolinas to Kentucky and beyond. He is passionate about helping people prepare for tough times by embracing lifestyles of self-sufficiency.