When you’re building a chicken coop, there are few things you need to make sure you add. The first is an area for them to lay eggs. The second is an area for them to roost at night. When we first got our chickens, we had no idea what we were doing. We started with a small area that was flat and fenced it in with chicken wire. We put bricks around the bottom so they couldn’t get out. We had no clue that what they needed.

That small area next to the actual coop is what we started with. Like I said, we had no clue  what we were doing. As we started learning, the hubby decided they needed something more. So what we did was just add on to the existing cage that we had. He built the coop using plywood, 2×4’s, and chicken wire.

He put in a door so that we could get the eggs. He put an area in the coop for laying (which they never really did use). We put a small door in the bottom so the chickens could get out side and the goats couldn’t get in.

Once we fenced in the goats, he put a small door outside Huckleberry’s pen so that I could check eggs without having to go into Huckleberry’s pen. In the picture above, the doors on the outside are for the laying box. He built a ramp from the ground to laying box. We ended up having to put another box in the bottom that they actually use for laying (sometimes, more often they lay on the ground behind it). As we learned what they needed, we continue to add to this coop.

This was the very first thing we built on the property as the chickens were how our adventure started. So, this one cost the most for us to build because we bought all the supplies for it rather than using what we already had. The idea with homesteading, that I have, is to use what you have around your place rather than always buying the supplies you need. We learned with this that this can be very expensive. I believe we spent about 300 dollars to build this coop. We have learned so much since then though so we don’t spend anywhere near that amount on our pens now.

Have a great day!

Renee