A simple chicken coop will provide your chickens with a safe, warm place to not only lay their eggs, but to eat, sleep and be safe from predators.

Click Here for Some Great, Easy to Follow Complete Hen House Plans Suitable for Any Backyard

I don’t recommend buying a ready-made chicken coop.  Going this way can make for a very expensive chicken coop!  Not only will you end up paying hundreds of dollars (and sometimes more) for the completed coop, you will also have to pay expensive delivery charges as well.

Building a chicken coop yourself is really the best way to go. But before you start building, you should consider the following four factors to make sure the plans you select are the best ones for you:

Step 1: The Chickens

How many chickens do you feel you need to supply your family with eggs? What size of chickens are you thinking you’ll buy? Do you want large standard size ones? Or do you want cute little bantams?

What kind of feed (along with table scraps) are you thinking of buying for your chickens? How many nests, feeders and water machines do you feel they will need? These are all very important questions you need to decide on during the planning process.

Step 2: The Terrain

The size of your chicken coop and the terrain it will be place on is important to consider as well. If you want a large flock of chickens, you will need to have plenty of land, but less if your flock will be small.
However, there are some solutions for those with little land. Chicken coops are like houses in that they can come in single story or double story. A double story can be very handy if you are trying to conserve your land!

You will want to decide on the size of run you also need. Or maybe you want a portable chicken coop and run that you can move around! You will also want to build your chicken coop where it can be safe (as much as possible) from snakes, rodents and raccoons. So avoid building it near trees or bushes where these animals can hide and wait.

Also, try to build your chicken coops where your chickens can receive as much sunlight as possible. Your chickens need need and love sunlight. The more sunlight they receive, the more eggs you will get, and the safer they will be as well.

Step 3: Sketch Out Your Design

By sketching  out your design on paper you will visually be able to see how your plans are coming. And you don’t have to be an artist to do this! But be willing to work outside the box. In other words, be creative!

And don’t forget to include the windows in the coop!  Show which way is north, south, east and west. And make sure you draw a top view — not just a side.  And make a sketch of the inside of the coop, with the nests.

Since I am assuming you are building a chicken coop for the first time, I recommend that you start out with a simple chicken coop first.
You can always build a larger chicken coop later, if you want.

Step 4: Gather Your Materials

Try to gather all the materials you will need. This will save a lot of extra trips to the lumber store. You will need:

a.  Lumber

b.  Concrete Cinder Blocks

c.  Chicken Wire or Fencing Wire

d.  Installation Strips’

e.  Nails

f.  Paint

g.  Tools (Hammer & Saw)

It is so important to plan correctly. In fact, it is the only smart way to build — and the best way to keep your expenses down!

For safety’s sake you will want to put wire over the windows, and dig a foot down where the wire goes.  This will make sure that dogs and predators don’t get in your coop to feast on your wonderful chickens!

My daughters and I had a neighbor’s dog do this to our first chicken coop. We were broken hearted! However, when I went over to the neighbor he reported it to his insurance company, and they paid to replace our chickens.

If you follow my four steps, you will be ready to build. I highly recommend Bill Keene’s book. It is the best I have seen on various chicken coops. And he will offer all sorts of tidbits, like what diseases you can prevent in your chickens. He provides some wonderful simple chicken coop plans you can use at a very reasonable cost. So do yourself a favor, and buy his book!

This remarkable (and instantly down loadable) book has step-by-step instructions for building multiple types of hen houses, including portable hen houses, double story chicken coops, and a wide variety of both big and small chicken house plans. Along with the ebook you will get other valuable tips and advice about how to best build a chicken coop and how to care for your chickens.

Click Here Now to Learn More about This Affordable and VALUABLE eBook!

Small chicken house plans are important if you do not have a lot of space to build a large chicken coop. And if you only have a few chickens you can still have a lot of eggs! Just think … each week only half a dozen chickens laying an average of six eggs each equals 36 eggs a week!

Of course, this is likely way more than what your family can eat. You could feed all your aunts, uncles and cousins too! And you could probably sell some or give some to friends as well.

There is nothing quite like teaching your child or grandchild where eggs come from! They will love helping you collect the eggs each day. And watch them grow eating those delicious eggs! My girls loved helping me collect them, and I did too. But it is important to build your chicken house correctly. If you want to be “country gentleman or woman” with just a few chickens, small chicken house plans are definitely the way to go. But make sure you check with your city’s rules on owning chickens.

Here are a couple other advantages of small chicken house plans:

1.  Cheaper Building Costs

You will need fewer building supplies with a small chicken house. You can expect to spend much less for your supplies. In fact, you will spend about half as much. So whatever your budget is, you will be able to save a lot right off the top! This money can be used to buy healthy chickens and nutritious feed for them. And that’s not just any chicken feed. Remember, nutritious chicken feed equals healthy eggs. And a small chicken house means a lot of money saved.

2. Perfect for Almost Any Yard

Most people only have a small yard.  A small chicken pen is your solution if you only have one. Or maybe you live in a mobile home. Then you definitely need a small chicken pen. But even if you have a big yard you may only want a few chickens, so you can still build a small chicken pen.

As you can see, starting with a small chicken house can really be the ideal solution for most home owners. Not only is it cheaper and well suited to most properties, but it will also keep you from becoming overwhelmed as well!

For the best hen house plans currently available on the internet, you should definitely get yourself a copy of “Building a Chicken Coop” by Bill Keene. This remarkable (and instantly downloadable) ebook has step-by-step instructions for building multiple types of hen houses, including portable hen houses, double story chicken coops, and a wide variety of both big and small chicken house plans. Along with the ebook you will get other valuable tips and advice about how to best build a chicken coop and how to care for your chickens.

Click Here Now to Learn More about This Affordable and VALUABLE eBook!

Believe it or not, but chickens have their own personalities. I once had a hen named “Happy” who laid a double yoke egg each week.  And she was very, very proud about it as well.

Not only do chickens  have their own personalities, they each will lay a different amount of eggs each week. However, once you know the pattern, you will know to expect a certain amount of eggs from your chickens. However, a healthy hen can easily produce 5-7 eggs a week.  Just think how many eggs you could have from your chickens.  Not only will you have enough for your family each week, but you could have enough to sell!

And it is so much fun to hear your chickens announce their eggs.  Once a chicken has laid an egg, she will start clucking very loudly.  To hear several chickens announcing their eggs at the same time is something to behold!

But every thing starts with planning a great chicken coop.  For the most productive hens, you need a properly designed chicken pen to keep them safe, their eggs safe, and to promote laying.  Large or small, your chicken pen should be safe, attractive, and economical.  Building a chicken pen for your chickens is definitely a learning experience, but it can be a lot of fun too – especially if you have some great chicken pen plans.

For the best hen house plans currently available on the internet, you should definitely get yourself a copy of “Building a Chicken Coop” by Bill Keene. This remarkable (and instantly down loadable) e book has step-by-step instructions for building multiple types of hen houses, including portable hen houses, double story chicken coops, and a wide variety of both big and small chicken house plans. Along with the ebook you will get other valuable tips and advice about how to best build a chicken coop and how to care for your chickens.

Click Here Now to Learn More about This Affordable and VALUABLE eBook!

One of the most prolific brown egg laying chicken breeds is the Rhode Island Red. Rhode Island Red hens can often lay between 250 and 300 eggs a year. If you are interested in white eggs, Leghorns are one of the best egg layers.

Most egg laying breeds start laying their eggs around five or six months of age. When they first start laying, egg production will be sporadic, but once they get into a regular cycle you should expect one egg every 24 to 36 hours. However, during winter months egg production will decline, and egg production will also drop off when they are in their molting phase.

If you are interested in eggs that come in different shades, such as blue or green, the Araucana breed will be a good choice for you.

Rhode Island Reds are particularly well suited to small hen houses and chicken tractor set ups. So if you do not have a lot of space, as long as you have a well constructed simple chicken coop furnished with adequate feed and water supplies, you should get some wonderful eggs nearly every day from these hens!

For some easy to build hen house plans, you should also consider checking out these excellent hen house plans. With the right plans, you will be able to keep your layers happy and productive!