Designs for Chicken Coops

You can find designs for chicken coops in several different places on the internet. Some web sites will even offer you the blueprints for a chicken coop at no charge. This is due in a large part to people discovering that free range chickens have fewer occurrences of salmonella. So a lot of people are getting started looking for chicken hutch designs, and plans for chicken cages.

The designs for chicken coops come in a wide variety of sizes, and materials used in their construction. Looking on the internet is a good place to get your ideas from, but you can also visit folks that already have coops constructed, and check out the designs yourself.

You may not know anyone who has chickens, and a chicken yard for you to view, so in that case you can ask around, and one of your friends or neighbors will be able to point you in the right direction. A friend of mine wanted to see up close how the “old timers” built their pens and runs, but he did not know anyone who had an old fashioned coop still on their property.

He inquired around about where there might be an old fashioned chicken coop still functioning, and a gentleman at the feed store gave him directions to a home place that would have one still in use. My friend was ecstatic, because he really loves antiques, and attempting to do things like our ancestors did as often as he can. He was picturing in his mind a beautifully weathered poultry house, built from rough hewn lumber that the land owner had gotten from having trees off the property milled into boards. He could see in his mind’s eye a large fig tree standing at one corner of the chicken yard, with a blue enamel wash pan sitting in the shade of that tree, providing the birds with cool water. He raced home to grab his camera, so he could document the trip back in time.

He had no knowledge that the elderly gentleman at the feed store had quite a sense of humor about him. He was indeed sending my friend to view an old fashioned chicken coop where he would be able to get chicken “coupe” plans. That is right, this old prankster happened to know of a place where an old scavenger lived, and he had a chicken house built from an old two door, hard topped coup. My friend was in for the surprise of his life.

He went that very day to view the poultry house in his mind. He traveled the twenty miles out into the country side, and turned off the paved road onto a dirt road that was a mere trail suggested in the grass. This location thrilled him, for he was certain at the end of the trail would stand a log cabin, probably with a water well that still drew water with a bucket. My friend is after all a romantic idealist at heart.

When he drove up he did find an old wooden cabin that had not ever seen the modern conveniences of indoor plumbing, or of electricity. When he approached the cabin the sight of an old lazy blue tick hound lounging on the porch made him sure he had found the perfect place to get the design ideas he wanted.

After stepping over the hound, he knocked at the door, and to his delight was greeted by an elderly man in coveralls. He explained to the gentleman that the man from the feed store had sent him, and why. He politely asked for permission to view the man’s poultry cage. The gentleman was proud to take the younger man out back. He never thought anyone would want to get his chicken coup plans. He rather thought people made fun of the house he had made for his birds.

When my friend stepped around the side of that cabin and saw an antique” Cadillac coup deville” surrounded by chicken wire, with birds perched on the hood, and others lazily walking around pecking at the ground, he almost dropped. At that moment he knew he had been had by the jokester from the feed store. He had expected chicken” coop” plans, and he was getting actual chicken” coupe” plans.

My friend was too polite to not take a look at how the man had removed the seats, and installed a roost pole. He even made notes, and took pictures, as proof of what he had seen. When you ask around make sure the person guiding you is not a prankster.