Hi, my name is Luke and last summer my wife decided she wanted to raise some chickens. There were a few reasons for this, but primarily we wanted to have fresh eggs every day for the family.
We live on a small lifestyle block with some grass, so we didn’t have to worry about council permits or having to check in with the neighbours!
The first thing my son, Matt and I had to do was decide whether to buy a chicken coop or build a chicken coop. We looked online at eBay and also at the local pet shop, but found most chicken coops were too expensive or hard to move.
So we decided to build our own chicken coop and that was our project last summer! The last thing my wife said to me was she wanted a simple chicken coop and a cheap chicken coop. In other words don’t get carried away! Keep it simple and cheap!
We wanted to use the grass area we had as much as possible to give the chickens freedom to run around but also to protect them from predators. My son and I looked at chicken coop pictures, mobile chicken coops, portable chicken coops, small all in ones and other much larger hen houses.
By this time we had a good feel for the type of chicken coop we wanted and my wife and I had agreed on the number of chickens we wanted to keep.
My son and I explored what was necessary to include in a cheap chicken coop and then we were ready to get some plans and start building our chicken coop!
We looked at several different types of chicken coop designs but found these DIY plans the best. They explained every step of the way in simple language which my son and I were able to follow very easily. My wife liked them too because it meant we were able to keep the project cheap!
We looked at other resources and I have included them on this page as they also provide great information.
Anyway, we now have a great looking cheap chicken coop, happy and productive chickens and eggs every day.
I am now planning for my project this summer!
Hi, your site is very simple and easy to follow! Well done. I’m looking forward to your project next summer!
Thanks Simon, I believe my wife has my next project already planned! Luke
My recommendation would be to build a bigger coop than you initially think you will need as you are very likely to grow the number of chickens you have!
Hi Luke, can you let us know what your next project will be?!
lol…my wife has me building an outside bar! The weather is a bit cold at the moment, but I’ll post pictures when I can.
Great! Look forward to it -:)
Hi, Just found your site. I also built my own coop from plans I bought off the internet and was very pleased with the result! dave the builder
G’day Luke. How’s the bar building coming along?! We’ve just had to extend our chicken coop as well to accomodate another dozen chickens.
I agree on the make it nice and big. For some reason chickens are addictive and you may find your wife wanting more of them so make a big henhouse!