A simple chicken coop construction method

This is how I build basic chicken tractors. There are two versions in the pictures but I don't recommend the larger one if you want to move it by hand. The large one is 14x5 ft and is much too heavy to move easily even with two people. It was the first one I built and since then I make them 8x4 ft which only takes three 2x6's or even 2x4's if your ground is level. I use pressure treated lumber for the bottom rails and regular lumber and exterior grade plywood for everything else.

1. The process is simple using a Kreg Pocket hole jig.
2. Cut one 2x6 in half and make 4 pocket holes on the outside and 2 on the inside edges of each end of the shorter boards. You can use fewer pocket holes with 2x4's
3. Screw the short boards inside the two longer sides using the 2 1/2 or 2 5/8 inch pocket hole screws in a weather resistant blue coat or McFeelys coating.
4. Glue and screw 3 to 4 ft long 2x2 uprights into each corner and in the middle of the long sides. I used polyurethane Gorilla glue since it is completely waterproof but Tightbond III would also work.
5. Attach 3" wide strips of plywood or 1x3 pine around the top edge reinforcing the corners.
6. Make roof trusses from strips of plywood or 1x3 pine with a butt block over the center joint and screw them to the 2x2 uprights. Do not use a flat roof as you see in the larger coop since it does not work well. Rain collects and breaks things. I found it almost impossible to create effective drainage from a flat roof system. The peaked roof with wire under it is much better and more predator proof.
7. Chicken wire comes in several heights so make the sides a height that leaves a short skirt along the bottom edge. If predator become a problems you can weight the edge of the wire down to keep them out. Most of the time the skirt is enough by itself. If predator pressure is high it is possible to cover the bottom of the coop with fence with garden fence wire with a 2x4 mesh to keep them out while still allowing the birds to scratch.
8. This coop design is flexible and should allow space for three hens easily. This is enough to keep a family of 2-4 people in eggs for the week. I average about 2 eggs per hen every three days. for about a dozen eggs a week.
9. The coop with the pitched roof has nest boxes above the door the birds come in and out of and is accessible from the outside for food and retrieving of eggs. I use a flat-back bucket with nipples for watering and it works well. Just put a screw hook into the 2x2 on the long side near the door. It can be filled from outside and removed through the door for cleaning.

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This is the most recent incarnation of the basic concept. With wheels at one end and rope on the other it is easy to pick up the front and move it forward 8 or 9 feet at a time. Doing this once or twice a week keeps the birds from destroying the grass and gives them access to fresh food. If you move them along spent garden beds they will remove most of the bad soil bug larva and till in any waste plant material and their poops will add fertility. As they move off of a section plant it in green manure cover crops. After a month or two bring them back over the bed to till in the cover crop. This coop took about three hours to build by myself. Cost was less than $50. It is roofed with the corrugated plastic roofing but I will use econo metal roofing in the future since it is cheaper and last much longer.

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