Wow, Ana!!! You guys are so incredible about just picking a direction and running with it! I'm so impressed, once again! We have a coop on wheels that's been done for about a year, but still can't move the chickens out of the stationary one because we haven't gone to the trouble to put together the wired 'run' area that will slip over the front of our little chicken ark. :) Thanks for the inspiration to get them outside fertilizing our yard and get us done scooping poop!

Great design! I need to make one this weekend.

If anyone building this has raccoons in their area, be aware that raccoons can tear right through chicken wire. Not all will, but they can. For a bit more predator proof coop you might want to consider using welded wire, it is more expensive, but worth it in the long run. Oh, and the small square welded wire is better than the large so the raccoons can't reach in a try and pull the chickens through. Once again, ask me how I know. Hopefully you can learn from my experience.

Great job! Just an FYI, we don't heat our chickens (Were on the Kenai Pen.) and they tend to do better when kept at a consistent temp. We don't heat our girls at all. Not even in the winter. Granted our temps are more mild than yours but they don't need blankets or heaters in the summer. They will grow a thicker layer of feathers and they will huddle for warmth. We love having fresh eggs and will never go back to store-bought!

My husband and son made this yesterday for our chicken Penny. It turned out great. Thanks for the plans!

My husband and I built most of this yesterday evening. It took about 4 hours, and we still have to put in the roost floor, make an egg door, and trim out and put on the side doors. So far materials have cost just under $200, but I did buy some extra hardware cloth (not chicken wire). I've made a few modifications; I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done! This week we'll add the feeder and waterer (planning to DIY using PVC), make the ladder, and add a door at the bottom of the coop to let the chickens out to free range. We don't have chickens yet but I have begun the search. If anyone in northwest Atlanta has some who need a loving home, let me know!

What is the capacity of your henhouse? Could you have a couple more chickens in it?

You might freerange if you sewed those jackets for them that they fall out of when a hawk picks them up by it! The collar extends up over their necks like Elvis with his collar up, and when they get picked up by the quilted jacket, they sag down under it and their wings fall out of the armholes. The hawk is left with nothing but a quilted jacket...unless he comes back, I guess. Then the chicken wouldn't be wearing her jacket. Hawks might figure this out!

Aloha Ana!
I'm really digging this A-fram coop design of yours, but am wondering if you have any ideas on how to easily convert it into a tractor with wheels and a handle? I have a few ideas, but wondering what the logistics look like in your mind.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Mahalo,
Eri

This is very cool! Nicely done.

Two weeks ago we lost 4 of our chickens to a hawk or fox. I've been crawling the internet looking for something we can use as a tractor and it seems that adding two wheels to the back of this coop should accomplish this. We're going to try to build the coop this weekend. Will update on cost and time once done. Thanks for posting!

I am planning to build this coop this weekend with a couple modifications already in mind:

-I will be using 1x3s for the side support boards and bottom base supports.
-2x3s for the rafters and floor braces
-Finish out the upstairs before dealing with doors.
-Adding handles, which used to be wooden curtain rods, to be installed underneath the upstairs support beams
-I will be using two pieces of a shipping crate for the doors, so they will jut like eaves over the middle support board.
-And lastly, I plan to make a door on the wheeled end so the chickens can come and go if they ever have a chance to free range.

Made this chicken coop. We did ours in hardwood and used marine ply for the roof. We also split the doors (so 2 each side) and did the triangular door to the egg section. We also put a door at the bottom to make it easier to let them out and free range. It turned out more expensive and it very heavy but we managed to pull it along with the ride on lawn mower!! The 3 bantam hens are in there and have already made themselves at home. Thanks for the plans!

It turned out really nice; thank you! But...

This chicken coop took forever to build.. my boyfriend and I did it in a couple days maybe 6 hours each day. I'm impaired when it comes to building anything and scared of power tools. It did turn out really nice, but it was not an easy project. I'm really surprised that we didn't kill each other with the saw or drill. I know a few times I thought about hitting him with a 2 x 4 for making fun of me because I couldn't figure out how a support board fit into the frame or because I was putting the hinges on backwards. He cut one of the boards short though, ha! But I can't use a t-square and wanted to pitch it over the fence.

He'll read this and laugh I'm sure.

It was a really good project though, and maybe after he was done saying the B word a million times our relationship is actually better than before. :)

Great design, like many others I made a few modifications ... doors for upstairs and downstairs, and a fixed corrugated metal roof. curtain rod for roosting.

I have a question about egg laying. We have three young chickens all different breeds, they are now right about at the age where they should start laying, horrible timing too as it is now getting really cold! The upstairs has a nice straw layer for them, and they sleep up there. They do use the roost occasionally but not at night as far as I can tell. Did anyone add any kind of nest box? I assumed that the whole upstairs would be the nest/egg area (this is our first time having chickens). It fills up with poop pretty fast so we clean it out regularly and replace the straw. Also threw in a few golf balls to send them a message that they should start laying up there. Thinking about putting a heat lamp in too.

Trying to be patient. Am I doing it right??

Great design, like many others I made a few modifications ... doors for upstairs and downstairs, and a fixed corrugated metal roof. curtain rod for roosting.

I have a question about egg laying. We have three young chickens all different breeds, they are now right about at the age where they should start laying, horrible timing too as it is now getting really cold! The upstairs has a nice straw layer for them, and they sleep up there. They do use the roost occasionally but not at night as far as I can tell. Did anyone add any kind of nest box? I assumed that the whole upstairs would be the nest/egg area (this is our first time having chickens). It fills up with poop pretty fast so we clean it out regularly and replace the straw. Also threw in a few golf balls to send them a message that they should start laying up there. Thinking about putting a heat lamp in too.

Trying to be patient. Am I doing it right??

It wasn't until I found this site that I finally completed my chicken coop project. Learn how to build your own chicken coop and start raising chickens in your own backyard. Details here http://bit.ly/UpVkyz

This looks great! Would you be willing to share the sketchup model?

We need this so badly. We bought a coop from the store, but it was damaged when we moved to our new house. While I've patched it to the best of my ability, so a new coop is third on my To Do list.

Hello! Can someone tell me if I need to lay some kind of floor down in the top part of the A frame? Or is it supposed to just be the blanks for roosting??? I’m a first timer! Any advice would Ben most appreciated! 

I am in the process of building this a-frame coop and am wondering how to keep the rain from coming into the coop at the top of the doors? HELP PLEASE!

I made this coop about 2 years ago. At the time, I was grateful for Ana providing a free, step-by-step template to build it. I am still grateful to this website for that service; I've built my son's loft bed with a plan from this site. After using this coop design to house a flock of 4 chickens for 2 years, I highly recommend NOT building this coop. Here's my reasons:

1) Though advertised as a "chicken tractor," this design with its numerous 2x4s and thick plywood is far too heavy (> 150 lbs) to mount wheels on a pivot on the bottom. Rolling out the wheels splintered the bottom of the frame when trying this, due to the weight.  Yes, there are "handles" at either end of the coop that two humans can use to lift and shift the coop, but my wife and I found this quite awkward due to the weight.

If you are dedicated to moving the coop, your yard must be especially flat and even to deter predators from sneaking in under gaps between the ground and frame. Your birds will dig from the inside, even as predators dig from the outside After losing 3 birds to predators, I fortified it inside and out with a trench filled with hardware cloth.

2) The A-frame design is compact, which is why I picked it. However, its design makes it difficult to feed and water the chickens, as well as provide grit and shell for their health and digestion. One has to awkwardly lean over and lower in a 30-40 lb water jug, setting it in inside on the floor, on a cinder box (or similar), or suspend it on a heavy-duty chain. I tried several different ways to hang or put in food, water, and nutrients to keep the birds from knocking them over or defecating in them, while still making them easy to swap out. This was particularly challenging in the winter when the water would freeze. Ultimately, I added an exterior run and provide food etc. that way.

3) Chicken use the entire upper compartment as a nesting box. This means that one can't easily reach all the eggs through the egg door, and one has to lower/raise the side door to access the eggs. The A-frame design means one has to awkwardly lean forward into the coop. A rectangular design perpendicular to the ground with smaller compartmentalized nesting boxes would make this process a *lot* easier.

4) The A-frame design makes it difficult to clean up scat, making our chickens vulnerable to worms.

5) The design lacks a roosting bar. There's just not enough room for roosting, ladder, and scat-free food and water and nutrients, plus cleaning.

6) The heavy side doors put too much strain on the small hinges. I've had to move the hinges twice to keep the door from falling off.

7) There's huge leaks on the top of the side doors. I added a metal, W-shaped roofing edge (called a 'valley' at Menards) along the top seam to channel the water off and shield the door seams.

In sum:  You get what you pay for. I'm in the process of building out a new coop and proper run with easier access for feeding, gathering eggs, and cleaning. Ms. White's plan ended up costing ~$200 in 2017 for lumber and hardware. I'm prepared to spend more than double that this time to build it right and keep my investment safe and easier to maintain.

Thank you for these helpful instructions! I made a few modifications like my door opens up and I also included another door on the bottom to allow chicks in and out!