What Makes the Best Chicken Coop?

What Chickens Don’t Need

What Do Chickens Need? 

First of all, we need to talk about what chickens need when it comes to shelter: 

• Weather and Draft Protection
• Predator protection 
• Roosts
• Space 
• Ventilation
• Nest Boxes
• Bedding

Chickens are creatures of habit. And when the sun starts to go down, they will return to their ‘home’ to roost for the night. If they don’t have a good place to go, they may end up sleeping on your car, in a tree, or even on a fence post or under your deck. These places aren’t ideal because it leaves them susceptible to predators and bad weather. 

Predator Protection 

Predator protection is one of the most important aspects of a coop. Your chickens need to be able to go into a shelter that keeps out predators of all sizes, from rats and rodents to fisher cats to foxes and even coyotes. Even if you live in a suburban neighborhood, hungry foxes, raccoons, and coyotes could be looking for an easy meal! 

Make sure your coop can be completely locked up at night. You might not need to padlock your coop, but you do need to make sure that a raccoon can’t open a door or window in the coop, so you may need to latch it shut with a carabiner clip or raccoon-proof latch. To keep rats out, you’ll want to make sure there aren’t any holes bigger than the size of a quarter! 

Any ventilation holes (which we’ll discuss later) need to be covered with ¼ inch hardware cloth. (Hardware cloth wire is much more effective at protection than chicken wire!) If you have a dirt floor in your coop, you’ll need to put some kind of protection around the coop to keep foxes from digging their way in. You might choose to bury a fence about 18 inches deep or even lay it on the ground flat all the way around the coop. You could also put a cement sidewalk around the coop or give it a solid floor. 

Weather Protection

Your chickens also need to be protected from the weather. They need a good roof over their heads, with walls on all sides to keep out rain, wind, snow, and any other weather. You’ll want to go inside the coop on a windy day to make sure they can stay out of the drafts. 

It doesn’t matter what kind of flooring is on the bottom of the coop as long as rainwater and snow stay out. Keep an eye on your coop for leaks, as chickens are more susceptible to illness if they get wet. Cold drafts in the coop can also cause illness. 

Chickens are very good at keeping themselves warm as long as they can stay dry and out of the wind. 

Space 

As a rule of thumb, an average-sized chicken needs about 3 to 5 square feet of space per chicken in your chicken coop. Bantams and silkies need less, but giant breeds (like Jersey Giants) need a little more. This gives them room to move around and extra space if they aren’t getting along. Just like siblings, chickens can have bad moods, get in fights, and occasionally not get along, so giving them plenty of space in the coop will help. 

When planning your flock and deciding on the coop, try to picture the biggest size your flock will be and calculate how many square feet of coop you’ll need. Then remember that Chicken Math is real and add buffer to your calculation (if possible). 

I have, at times, broken this rule by adding extra nest boxes and roosts. However, you’ll need to make sure you really stay on top of keeping the coop clean because ammonia build-up can cause illness. As such, always err on the side of having extra space, if possible. If your chickens refuse to go in the coop at night, it could be a sign that it just isn’t big enough for the number of hens or the size of their personalities! 

Roosts 

Most chickens roost on bars at night. Typical breeds prefer to be up off the ground to protect themselves from predators. The exception here is silkies. These little fluffballs will often sleep together in a big pile on the floor. 

But as a general rule, you’ll want at least 8 inches of roost space per bird. I like to make sure there are extra roosts just in case a few hens aren’t getting along. It can be hilariously funny when the chickens go into the coop to roost at night because they’ll squabble and squawk to be able to sleep in their favorite spot! It’s important to have enough roosts so they don’t try to sleep in their nest boxes. 

Roosts should be 18 inches off the floor and higher than nesting boxes. If you have them in a ladder-style, you can place them higher up so they can hop from roost to roost. 

Ventilation 

Yes, it is essential to have a draft-free coop. But you also need ventilation to let those ammonia fumes out. Ideally, your coop will have some ventilation holes below the roof. If it doesn’t already have them, you can add them yourself by cutting small holes in the walls. Just make sure that it doesn’t mess with the coop’s structural integrity, and cover any holes with hardware cloth. 

If possible, you'll want to arrange the holes in a way that can create air flow. Just make sure the ventilation holes are far enough above the roosts that the wind can’t blow on the chickens. 

Next Boxes 

Your coop also needs nest boxes. At least one nest box per four hens is needed, and if you have room for more, that’s even better! Nest boxes should be 12 inches by 12 inches by 12 inches, giving them plenty of room to get comfortable! 

Nest boxes should have bedding, such as clean straw or a nesting pad, to help keep the eggs clean and safe. 

Don’t panic if your hens all want to use the same box. As long as you have enough boxes, it isn’t an issue if they squabble and try to use the same box at the same time! 

Bedding 

You need to have some kind of bedding on the floor of the coop. I like to use pine shavings, but you could also use chopped straw, mulch, or dried leaves. Bedding will help absorb and dry the poop and keep down odors. 

Food and Water 

I generally only keep food and water inside my coop if we have a lot of snow or I need to go away overnight. This helps prevent rodents from wanting to be inside the coop. However, you can keep your chicken’s food and water in the coop if you desire. 

Run Space 

My full-size chickens free-range, so they don’t really have a run. However, they often choose to hang out in the pen with the goats! If you do have a chicken run, it should have about ten square feet of space per chicken, with food and water available at all times. To keep out predators, you’ll want to cover the top with bird netting and surround the bottom with hardware cloth. 

So, What kind of a Coop Do I Need? 

Your chicken coop can be anything that meets all of those requirements. For my full-size hens, I have an old 12 x 12 shed. I added roosts and nest boxes to fit my flock. For my bantams, I have a small, commercially made coop. (You don’t need to keep bantams separate from full-size hens, but I prefer it). 

You could be creative and use an old RV or school bus, build a coop from pallets, or purchase one online. The coop can be as plain or as fancy as you like, as long as it meets your chickens’ basic needs.