| Before you actually sit down and construct a home | | | | your chickens accidentally inhale chemicals from |
| for your chickens, it's a very good idea to have a set | | | | finished woods. Painting the outside is okay. |
| of chicken coop building plans that you've either | | | | After you have a good workable set of chicken |
| made yourself or received from a reputable source. | | | | coop building plans, you'll want to go about procuring |
| Here is a list of commonly used materials: | | | | the materials to use when actually building it. |
| * 2" x 4" planks. These make great planks for | | | | Hardware stores like Lowes or Home Improvement |
| making sturdy walls for your coop to keep predators | | | | are obviously a great place to start looking. Make |
| out, and can also serve as roosts for your birds to | | | | sure you know exactly how much you need of each |
| sleep on. 2" x 2" planks or thick wooden dowels are | | | | material before you go shopping around, as this will |
| also good materials to use for roosting. | | | | save you time and keep your expenses low. If |
| * Large sheets of plywood or some other similarly | | | | you're not sure how to figure out what you'll need, |
| weighted wood. These sheets makes excellent | | | | make an educated estimate. |
| floors, ceilings, and can serve as the basic layer for | | | | But don't feel that you absolutely have to go to a |
| the walls of your coop. However, it is not a good | | | | commercial store to get your materials. In many |
| idea to have them as the only thing in your walls, | | | | cases, it's possible to build a coop entirely for free. |
| because they are not particularly sturdy and may not | | | | That's right, free! How you do this is by looking |
| be predator-proof. | | | | around at garbage dumps, furniture stores, or on the |
| * Chicken wire or a similar commercial-grade wire. | | | | sides of the street after people have put out their |
| You will need a lot of this, as it will keep your chicken | | | | garbage. People will often throw out perfectly good |
| run enclosed and safe from any wild animals that | | | | construction materials that you can use to complete |
| might wish to harm your birds. However, make sure | | | | your chicken coop building plans. |
| that the holes are not large enough for your chickens | | | | In addition, you can often make parts of your |
| to escape from! Chicken wire does not make a good | | | | chicken coops out of discarded furniture or other |
| wall for the coop itself, as birds like to have | | | | items. Old lockers can make great nesting boxes, |
| something to hide in and feel safe. | | | | since they are already the right size. Just make sure, |
| Of course, you will also need nails, and other common | | | | again, to remove any paint from their insides, or to |
| construction materials to actually put your chicken | | | | cover the metal up with wood inside in addition to |
| coop building plans into action, as well as any paint | | | | bedding material. Other great "second-hand coop" |
| that you want for cosmetic purposes. Make sure you | | | | materials include chests of drawers for nesting |
| don't paint the inside of your coop though, nor finish | | | | boxes, wooden clothes hangers for roosts, and cat |
| it with anything that will be harmful to your birds. A | | | | doors for easy entry flaps. You're limited only by |
| natural (unfinished) surface is better to avoid having | | | | your imagination and the sturdiness of the materials. |