Having a modern chicken coop in your backyard won’t draw attention to the fact that you have chickens, but rather give your yard the style it needs to raise the best chickens!
Raising chickens can be exciting and frustrating at the same time. The chickens aren’t the frustrating part (most of the time). Finding the right chicken coop for them to feel comfortable and safe in is the thing that gets most people.
Searching for chicken coop plans can yield some pretty scary results. In fact, you may find some ideas that look easy enough online but require a whole lot more elbow grease in real life.
DIY Plans
Not to worry! We’ve gathered a couple of free plans that we know will make putting a modern chicken coop in your yard easier than you probably ever imagined.
Before we get down to business about chicken coop design, there are a few things you should consider/know about when building a chicken coop in your backyard that uses new materials and has a modern design. After all, creating a space that promotes happiness and comfort for your chickens will lead to happy chickens for many years.
Step 1: Figure Out Size
A lot of the modern chicken coop sizing will depend on your location. If your backyard is on the smaller side, a larger plan might not work. You do want to leave some space to enjoy your yard and still have space to keep your chickens safe and comfortable.
When planning out your new chicken coop, keep in mind that a chicken needs at least 3-4 square feet of open space in the chicken coop itself. Some people prefer letting their chickens roam and also be cooped. If this is the case and you have three chickens, you’d need at least 12 sq. ft of space inside the chicken coop.
Mind the Numbers
However, if you plan on keeping your chickens cooped all of the time (most likely due to safety concerns), you’d need at least 10 ft each. Trust us when we say that a modern chicken coop (or any coop for that matter) that is too small will only make for unhappy chickens. Stress, sickness, diseases, and even death can be brought on because of living conditions that aren’t conducive for the chickens.
So, decide how many chickens you want to house and where you’re going to put the chicken coop building first to get an idea of what you need to build your dream coop.
Step 2: Location, Location, Location
Much like picking your own home’s location, a chicken coop should be in an ideal place. Here are a few lays of the land you want to look for when picking the perfect location for your modern chicken coop:
- Space. Putting a chicken coop close to your home (or your neighbor’s home/yard) can be a terrible idea for most people. Chickens are smelly and noisy most of the time, which means you don’t want them close to your house (or anyone else’s).
- Combination of Sun and Shade. Just like people, chickens don’t want to be faced with direct sunlight all day, every day. They also don’t want to be unable to reach the sun’s rays during any given day. That’s why finding a location for your novel poultry coop that has a nice mix of sun and shade will give your chickens the happiest place they could be.
- Access. You want to be able to readily access the coop at least two times per day (but probably more). If you don’t allow for it to be human accessible, you’ll find that cleaning, feeding, and getting your eggs out might be an impossibly difficult task you didn’t sign up for.
- Breeze. Chickens need breezes and air flow, too. Without fans, they rely heavily on the wind in the air to give them to the coolness and freshness throughout the day. However, avoid places that are extremely windy as chickens aren’t necessarily the strongest birds out there.
Plan Ahead
If you want to be really up on your game, avoid choosing a location for your coop right off the bat, for various reasons. Give it some time and look at the space you’re considering for a week or two before building a chicken coop. If you don’t see any issues such as too much sunlight or not enough wind/breeze, you can always start over! If there are no problems that you can see, start building your coop!
Step 3: Pick the Right Plan
Having an idea in your mind of what you want your modern chicken coop to look like is great, but you need to focus on practicality first. Any vision helps you get started, but now it’s time to really start planning.
Think of your new chicken coop as more than just a place for your chickens to sleep. They are their sanctuaries and provide them with shelter and comfort throughout all of their days and nights. That’s why it is so important that you include a few staple parts of the coop in your design as well as a few fun features to keep your chickens happy.
Non-negotiables
- Feeder
- Waterer
- Air Flow (windows or ventilation work well)
- Nesting Box (so your hen can lay all of her eggs – 1 box per 2 hens)
Fun Additions
- Extra Lighting (warm lights can help boost egg production during the winter months)
- Poop Boards (to collect the poop from your sweet chickens)
- Perch Area
- A Run
- Dust Bath Box
A Modern Chicken Coop Plan That Will Wow Your Chickens
Now that you’re ready to start building the perfect modern chicken coop for your new chicks let’s take a look at a couple of plans that might work for your space!
Design #1 – Large Areas
If you have a larger backyard and you are looking for a place to keep your chickens happy and safe, this modern chicken coop made from recycled pallets will do the job.
This 16′ x 8′ pallet chicken coop can house up to 32 chickens at one time! That’s a lot of chickens. It’s easy to build and requires nails and pallets. If you know a place that can give you pallets for free, this project could potentially cost you nothing! And if you are anything like us, you like when things are FREE! To build this coop, here are the free chicken coop plans you’ll need!
Design #2 – Medium Areas
Your yard might not be the largest on the block or the smallest, either, and that’s great. Medium sized yards work just as well for modern chicken coops as larger ones do. In fact, here’s a funky modern chicken coop that will leave your neighbors wishing they had one of their own!
The great thing about this 6′ x 3′ coop is that it is raised off of the ground. It’s really great for a smaller number of chickens (no more than 5) and will give them plenty of space to roam around and do whatever it is chickens need to do. Check out this website for more detailed instructions on how to build this type of chicken coop!
Design #3 – Small Areas
Living in the city, a tighter community, or any space that doesn’t lend itself to a large modern chicken coop doesn’t have to miss out on having a chicken coop altogether. Luckily, this small coop works just as well for your needs if you need something petite.
We can’t get over how cute this modern chicken coop is! This 4′ x 4′ coop holds four chickens and gives your backyard an attractive upgrade it never knew it needed. Building this coop is easy, and you can find the exact plans here to get started!