Now that raising chickens has become the thing to do, you may be looking for chicken coops to build. While you might think it’s easier to just buy a coop; and you might be right, building a chicken coop isn’t near as difficult as some make it out to be.

One of the best things about making your own coop it you have the ability to improvise and use some materials that might not be obvious in the blueprints but can be adapted to work on your behalf. One of those things is to use an already existing out building you may have on your property. You can partition it off and just use a portion of the structure if you’re not ready to make the entire shed into a coop.

By doing this one thing you can save yourself money and time. If this is an option for you, make sure you choose a set of blueprints or plans that can be adapted to a standing structure. In other words, the coop will need to be stationary and not a tractor that is moved around from time to time.

Another idea is to use an old dog house, wood or plastic, that can be used for a small flock. This type can be used in conjunction with a pen that can be moved. With a little bit of ingenuity you can modify plans for a chicken tractor and use materials you may have lying around your yard.

Another idea that I would have never thought of, but someone else did, was to use a playhouse that the kids had grown out of and modify that structure and turn it into a backyard coop. Of course the size coop somewhat depend on the size of the playhouse as well as whether it would be a stationary or movable.

One thing that is a must before deciding on what chicken coops to build is to make a real world assessment of what you have available to you as well as your skill set for building things and tools required for the job. Do you have room for a chicken tractor that can be moved around where your chickens can feed off the land; free ranging? If not, then you know you will need to look at plans to build or buy a free standing coop.

Also access the amount of room you have to build a run for your flock to move about outside the coop. This will give you a good idea of what type of run you will need to build in order to accommodate all the chickens you would like to raise. Once that is completed the rest is just looking at what you have available as far as materials; wood, shed, outhouse, igloo or wooden doghouse, old tires, etc that you can turn into a coop or a part of the coop. A good example of this is using old tires for nesting boxes.

The bottom line is; if you have the necessary skills and a little bit of imagination, you should be able to find plenty of blueprints or plans for chicken coops to build that you can turn into a one of a kind coop in your backyard. You can make it as big or as small as you need so get going and start making progress toward your flock today!