I’ve been around chickens at least 95% of my life, and I can tell you poorly designed chicken coops can lead to several problems. They may be a sore sight to the eyes. They may have a hidden entrance for cats and weasels to sneak through. The chicken coop may also be rotting away, or the birds may be getting frostbite during the winter. The most dangerous problem a chicken coop can have is a grotesque build up of bird droppings. Not only does this make the chicken coop smell terrible, but breathing in dust from chicken's feces can lead to some serious health problems.

The first half of this guide will cover each of the five major coop design problems with an optimistic outlook in fixing them. Not every chicken coop and pen can be rescued, but at least this guide will give you the information to prevent these problems from rising again. The second half will concentrate more on the little things, and being creative with items you might already have.

Five Major Coop Design Problems

Problem 1: Unattractive Chicken Coops

Causes-

There are two common causes to ugly chicken coops. The first one is using ugly junk to create it. The second cause is the chicken coop does not fit with the central theme of the yard or ho use. For example, a barn shaped chicken coop does not match a modern designed house.

Solution-

This problem is easy to avoid or fix, but it takes money. If the chicken coop does not match the house, then paint it the same color or buy the same siding to put over the chicken coop. For brick houses, you can paint the coop an earth hue and add bricks to the bottom to the coop or somewhere else around the pen.

If you built your own house and have some siding left over then use it for the chicken coop.

If the design of the chicken coop does not match the central theme of your property, then look for little things that make your house different from the usual. If you have a Victorian house with lots of fancy trim, add some of the trim to the coop. If your house has lots of wind chimes, add some to the coop too. If you have a modern house, use plywood to make the coop look more blocky. This idea can also be applied to the poles of the pen’s fence. The best advice I can give you is be creative.

If you need to drastically change the coop, do some sketches first to get a concept on a the new design.

If the chicken coop is made of junk, then try to remove the unsightly junk from the pen if possible and replace it with something more attractive. For example, I saw a coop on top of large, rusty iron wheels like a wagon. It may sound cute, but it looked awkward. To solve the problem, all that would need to be done is remove the wheels and set the coop on bricks or cement blocks. If the junk is actually part of the infrastructure itself, still see if you can take it out and replace it with wood. You might also be able to cover up the junk with siding or plywood.

If you feel making the chicken coop beautiful is beyond your grasp, then hide it. Plant some hedges, bushes, or thick pine trees around it so it is out of site. Do not plant vines around it though. Vines can weaken the structure of a chicken coop. My mother once planted a vine by her wooden porch and it loosened up its posts and boards.

Making a beautiful chicken coop here would be impossible with the trailer, so the best thing to do would be trying to hide it with bushes.

Problem 2: Death Traps

Causes-

The main cause of death traps for chickens is not covering up all the holes in the pen or coop. Sometimes this problem is not solvable if the secret entrance the creature uses cannot be found. A chicken is never safe, even in the city. Hawks, raccoons, weasels, foxes, coyotes, cats, and dogs are all common predators.

Solution-

Look for any holes in the fencing and cover it up. A cat is a very agile creature that can easily jump up into a hole several feet above ground. If you made a chicken pen from an old structure like a shed with many holes, finding all of the entrances to the chicken coop may be impossible. It may be best to build a new chicken coop. If you do not want to do this, then make sure to cover all the holes in the walls, ceiling, and floor with chicken wire.

Making this old shed safe from predators is more difficult then it seems.

A nice safety precaution is to line the bottom edge of the pen’s fencing with boards or bricks. I’ve lost a couple of baby chicks once because they poked their heads through the fence at the wrong time. Also, chickens like to dig holes. Having a completely closed chicken pen including the top is best not for only protection from hawks and other predators, but also from catching diseases from other birds.

Problem 3: Giving Way to the Mother Nature

Causes-

Several things can cause a coop to fall apart- severe weather, termites, bacteria, etc. For severe weather, there is only so much you can do to prepare a coop for a tornado or flood. This is also true for termites.

Solutions-

There are no perfect solutions to keep the coop completely weatherproof or bug proof, but there are some things that can help prevent some of the problems. First of all, use weather treated wood for the coop. Normal wood will rot much sooner than the treated wood even if it is painted. Another tip is to make the roof slanted. Water standing on a coop’s rooftop will make it rot quicker if it is made out of wood. If you are going to build a large chicken coop, 8’ or more in all dimensions, then you should also consider putting it on a foundation.

Problem 4: Bad Weather

Causes-

The most dangerous thing to chicken besides the predators is the weather. Chickens can get frostbite on their cones in the wintertime. They may also freeze to death if they don’t have a thick coat.

Solution-

There are two things you can do to help chickens have a decent winter. First, close off the chicken coop with plastic to protect them from the wind and snow. Second, put a heat lamp in the coop. If you want to allow your chickens to walk outside in the pen during winter then put plastic around the fence and over the top if it has no roof. This may be expensive to do to an entire pen if it’s large, but you can always do a small section of it.

Another thing you can do is buy poultry made for cold weather. If you live up north, buy breeds with no or little cones. Also buy breeds with feathery legs. Sultans, Silkies, Cochins (excluding Frizzles), and Mille Fleurs are all great breeds that can handle cold weather well. If you buy chickens with feathered legs (especially cochins) then the pen’s floor must not ever be muddy or large balls of dirt will collect on their legs. Silkies do not have this problem with dirt that much though.

Silkies and Cochins are great breeds for places with cold winters.

Problem 5: Manure Build Up

Causes-

Two things can cause manure to build up. The coop is closed and not regularly cleaned, or there are too many chickens in the place provided. No one wants to clean up chicken droppings, but it is a must.

Solutions-

The best way to solve this problem is to make the chicken coop easy to clean or lowering the amount of chickens you have. A coop with an wired bottom in which the droppings fall to the ground rather than build up inside the structure is a good design if you live in an area with mild winters. Another good design is a coop that does not have any small crooks or ridges for manure to build up in. To make manure easy to clean up in the coop, roll out a piece of carpet on the floor and then put in the animal bedding or hay. With the rug, the bedding can be picked up all at once. Also, no droppings can sneak their way down to the floor. Another plus is the rug is easy to clean.

If your entire pen is smelly with bird droppings, then you either have too many chickens for the size of the pen or feeding the birds too much grain. You can try putting a roof over the whole pen to prevent the rain from reaching the ground- rain often intensifies the smell of manure.

In-Depth Design

Hen Nests:

Hens prefer secure, covered places to lay their eggs. These places, though, may be difficult to reach and very dirty. Thankfully, hens will usually take advantage of any nest you provide them if they can’t find a better place to lay. The most attractive nest to hens are near or on the ground, have a low roof, are protected from the wind, rain and sunlight, and have lots of bedding on the floor.

Traditionally, nests are small cubicles made out of wood or metal, but I like to bring some creativity to the design. Below, I took advantage of a bucket and some worthless bricks to create a quaint hen nest. Hens usually don’t care about the outside of their nest- it may look like a miniature barn, be covered with sticks, marbles, and nuts, or have Japanese writing all over it. Just be aware that chickens are not colorblind. Some hens might not use your nests if it is bright red like blood or some other wacky color.

Many things can be used to make hen nests such as this bucket.

Perches:

Chickens prefer to have a perch to sit on, especially in the coop at night. Poles, wood boards, and branches all make nice perches for the inside of the coop. Chickens also like to perch outside in the pen too when they are not foraging. Here, old rusty junk (not sharp) could be used for a rustic styled coop. You could also make your own styled perch. At first, the birds might be frightened of the new perch brought into the pen, but they are curious little creatures. These perches outside can also serve the purpose as ornament hangers, maybe not Christmas orbs but cowbells, seashells, or kites might fit.

Food and Water Dishes:

Metal pans are often used for food and water dishes. Large feeders and waterer are also used for chickens, but plastic Tupperware can be use instead. Just like the hen nests, the dishes can be have things glued to them or be painted. Hot glue is a good adhesive for metal pans. If you do plan to paint the outside of the pans, remember to use nontoxic paint and varnish. You might be able to find a nontoxic spray to keep the light from fading the colors on the pans. If you want to spend big bucks, a fishpond can also be put in the pen as a giant water dish. I wouldn’t bother doing something that big though.

The Fence:

All fences need chicken wire unless the you only have large chickens. If you are using something besides chicken wire, then over lap it if the holes are too large. For large chickens, you can be more lenient about the gap in the holes but remember that predators are everywhere. Fences should be at least four feet high to prevent chickens from flying out. If you have any chickens that can fly well, then you’ll probably need to close the top of the pen with wire or a roof. Many bantam chickens can fly nine feet straight up into the air at least. I usually don’t do much with the fence polls except paint them. I once painted them like giant bamboo stalks. Painting the polls like Greek columns and placing ornamental tops of them like an ancient temple of Athens would be an elegant thing to do with a pen. Don’t forget to decorate the gate too!

Light chickens such as the Mille Fleur will need a completely closed pen since they can fly great for a chicken.

Foliage:

Pretty much no plant is safe in a chicken pen. They eat pretty much anything green. Full grown plants and trees (not saplings) might survive in a the pen. A very large pen can support some plants, but in a little pen the grass will get eaten up quick. Plants that like acidic soil work best since chicken droppings are very acidic. Make sure to plant nothing toxic or anything you might eat. Chickens can catch nasty diseases from wild birds that come by. Even the common pigeon can carry a serious disease that can infect humans.

Breeds:

Not every breed is for every type of chicken coop. For example, a regular agricultural chicken does not belong in a tropical chicken pen. Jungle Fowl or Sumatras would work best for that sort of pen. Before building or fixing up your chicken coop, you should consider what breeds of chickens you want or already have. This might take a little research if you do not have a broad knowledge about chickens. The best thing to do is buy breeds that have come from the area that your theme is derived from. Phoenixes and Yokohamas come from Asia and would fit an oriental theme. Mille Fleurs and White Faced Black Spanish come from Europe and would fit any European theme. Even some states have their own special chicken breeds like the Delawares and Iowa Blues. There are many nice web sites containing information on tons of chicken breeds and their origins and personality.

Though there are already many breeds of chickens for sale, more and more are coming to the market such as true Araucanas.

I hate to set you loose right now since there is so much that can be done to a chicken coop. I have at least given you the most important information, the information I’ve learned from my own mistakes. Unfortunately, I have been a victim of four of the five major problems mentioned above with the coop design. Have fun with your chickens and you chicken pen. Be safe too. Thanks for reading my guide. I’m sure your chickens will appreciate it too.