Chicken Coops: 45 Building Ideas for Housing Your Flock

by Judy Pangman

Build the Perfect Housing to Fit Your Flock Raising your own chickens? This thrifty book will show you how to build a shelter for your flock, including hoop houses, A-frames, converted sheds, mobile units and pastured poultry models. Plus, find ideas for converting trailer frames, greenhouses, and backyard sheds; low-budget alternatives for working with found and recycled materials; and simple ways to make waters, feeders, and nestboxes. Includes 45 coop ideas for housing both laying hens and meat birds (chickens or turkeys). Paperback. Written by Judy Pangman. 10-3/4" x 8-3/4". 166 pp.. CONTENTS Preface Part 1 - Providing The Basics Chicken Brooders Chicken Coops Things to Consider When Designing Your Coop Part 2 - Coops for the City Part 3 - Coops for Small Farms Part 4- Cool Coops Selected Coops Inspiring Coops Suppliers Helpful Sources Index

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Gardening

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are indeed 45 pictures and floor plan (sans dimensions) sketches of chicken coops in this volume. Without dimensions, one could argue that the use of "building plans" in the title is generous at best and misleading at worst.

I think I really only got one good idea from the whole lot, and am glad it was free from the library.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I love that this was written by a woman.

Many of the coops seem to be directed toward meat chickens. Maybe that makes a difference. But most of them are shown with chicken wire, which will not keep predators out. I would think that meat chicken keepers would be very cautious of this. Easy fix is to replace that with hardware cloth. Not sure why that was ignored in the building plans.

Other than that, it seems to be a pretty good book and I do like the reuse of building shells, and other items to build and outfit the coop/housing.

Storey is a good publisher for this area but this book needs updated, if that hasn't already been done.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe this would be a helpful starting place for someone who has not looked at coops at all, but it’s important to note that these are ideas and “conceptual plans,” not building plans. They do provide the info for purchasing the individual plans, but I would have been upset if I had paid for this book instead of grabbing it from the library. I also thought they could have varied the flock size a little more; I think there was only one coop suitable for more than 4 and less than 20 birds.

[Story · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say this book is a little technical for me. I'm not actually ready for chickens just yet so I mainly just skimmed through and looked at the illustrations and read a little of the stories that go along with each coop. If you are actually ready to build a coop then go ahead and get this book or if you just need some inspiration like myself. A very nice book altogether.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically some sketches of a wide variety of housing ideas for a chicken coop - some of these are laughable at best, just derelict structures repurposed as a coop. I did not find this to be at all useful, but some of these designs should function.

[Rich Thorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Not alot depth but aome basic plans. Did give me few ideas for my upcoming coop project

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Conceptual plans” are not plans. This book was not very helpful. It’s basically pictures of chicken coops with no tangible instructions on how to build them.

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fits such a specific niche, it is difficult to rate it compared to other chicken coop inspiration books that include plans ranging from small urban spaces for three chickens to small farm flocks with many chickens. There's virtually no comparison. So this book exists, and for the sake of all the chickens finding homes through the new hipness of chicken keeping, I'm glad some people will get ideas about what chickens need from this book.

The name is something of a misnomer - there are not actually building plans in this book. There are some photographs, a handful of diagrams, but you will be sorely disappointed if you expect to roll up to Home Depot with this book on a Saturday morning and be able to finish your weekend with a chicken coop. I would say this book is better used as an inspiration tool - you can see a diverse array of chicken coops, compare and contrast different features, designs, styles, and ideas, and generate your own coop plans based on that. A lot of the featured coops are from Seattle - where Seattle Tilth hosts an incredible chicken coop tour every year. I've seen some of those coops on the tour, so I was thrilled to revisit them in this book. Unfortunately I can't replicate them based on this book. Several of the coops are made from reclaimed materials, especially specific doors and windows that might be challenging to source on your own. This is a great starting point for drawing up your own design, filled with lots of great pics and inspiration, but really just the first stop on your journey to a chicken coop.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Chicken Coops: 45 Building Ideas for Housing Your Flock" was a book that I found to be somewhat lacking, especially for those living in cold climates and looking for practical coop plans. While it does provide a variety of ideas for chicken coops, it doesn't offer a well-rounded selection of options, and the ones presented are often on the extreme ends of the spectrum.

One of the notable issues I found with this book is the lack of chicken coop plans suitable for cold climates. Chickens have specific needs when it comes to surviving in colder regions, such as insulation, draft protection, and heating options, and the book fails to adequately address these concerns. It would have been beneficial to include a more balanced selection of coop plans that cater to a wider range of climates and conditions.

Furthermore, the coop plans presented seem to be designed for either a small number of chickens or a large commercial-scale operation. This leaves a noticeable gap for individuals who want to keep a moderate-sized flock. The lack of in-between coop plans may make it challenging for readers to find a design that best suits their specific needs.

In essence, "Chicken Coops: 45 Building Ideas for Housing Your Flock" falls short of providing a well-rounded resource for chicken coop building. It may be more beneficial for individuals in warm climates or those seeking more basic coop designs, but for those living in cold climates or looking for a coop that accommodates a moderate-sized flock, this book may not have the comprehensive information they're seeking.

[Lori Levise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with lots of different types of coops from the smallest,most basic to coops for farmers raising hundreds of birds. You can use this book to follow the plans exactly or to use for ideas for your own plans. He ook points out a lot of things that I would not have thougjt of adding to my own plans that are invaluable to me now. I recommend his book to anyone raising or thinking of raising any type of fowl for ideas for your future coop or to add to your existing set up.

I owned this book a few years back but was never able to really use it. I moved and lost it somewhere, but it was the book I went back to when I needed to build a coop again.

[Deatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doesn't just have floor plans, it tells you the how-to's for raising chicks if it is your first time, things that newbies wouldn't know. Then the coops also range for the needs of people across the country, so you could plan according to the weather in your neck of the woods. They also range in prices and tell you how to recycle materials so you can build a coop for very little cost.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plans aren't complete enough to actually build from unless you're already a pretty savvy builder (which I'm not). Really fun reading though and lots of cool ideas. Good reference section at the end.

[Cnjbillhimer]

I typed in country and farm houses home plans lowes and this is what came up! ;- ) Actually I think I've read this before. I want to check this out a second time now that I can finally have chickens again. Yay!

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this book delivered what the title promises: over 40 different chicken coops with their instructions and many illustrations. I found great satisfaction while perusing over this book. However, it just lacked that certain something to make it an outstanding book.

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good place to start but still didn't have the movable chicken tractor plans I needed. This book was more for permanent or movable but within an enclosed pasture type setting. We need a fully enclosed movable tractor for our chickens. Back to the book drawing board.

[aksnowbunny Proden · Rating 3 out of 5]

great chicken coop book for ideas and plans on building your coop. some are practical, some are luxury but still fun to look at.

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of pictures and plenty of plans to choose from.

[Meryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

No real plans, no shots of the interiors (which was the part I'm really interested in), and nothing all that creative. Blah.

[Joolie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i did use this book to help me design my chicken coop -it has really nice pictures. But i felt like looking online was better and easier to find plans. its a nice start though.

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ask me how the book was after I get the coop finished. They did have some great coop plans.

[Smpaetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to look at all the designs. Not a how to build. It doesn't include blueprints but the ideas and photos might help someone design their own.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good reference with lots of great ideas and plans for coops.

[Amy R · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy to read book of plans with a variety of options.

[Candy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I prefer the plans in Keeping Chickens. These include a lot of LARGER options which I don't think is necessarily what the average reader is going to be after.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I knew what I was buying, still expected more inspiration and pictures. A little boring.

[Becky Baumeister · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good for general ideas, but unless you're an experienced carpenter, the plans are useless.

[Danielle Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

Building plans aren't very detailed, none of the plans fit my needs.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

General ideas, drawings, and explanations for a variety of coops, from small to extremely large.

[Jd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh not a helpful, varied or practical as I would have thought

[bryan boyer]

The coop I built for my mom is included in this book!