Tips for choosing materials for building a Wooden Chicken Coop - By: Mike Klassen

Your Choice of chicken coop materials are pretty much limited to the imagination. I find that making them from wood tends to be a better value. Discounted Wood can be found at a variety of places. It can then be painted or overlayed with siding for a longer lasting coop. Wood is is easy to work with and does not require special skills required when working with plastic or metals, so most people with a basic skill set can build a coop themselves. As a side note, treated wood should not be used to build a coop as the arsenic in the wood will poison them if they peck at it.
Chickens require a dry place to roost, so the shelter should be water sealed with siding to repel the water. A damp living space will spread sickness among your chickens

natural light is another requirement for them to lay eggs and to stay healthy. There should be enough directed into the coop so that it is a well lite up space. Two to three windows should do the trick.The Windows can be from old glass windows or anything that light is able to pass through. Plexiglass is always a good choice as it is nearly impossible to break. The other benefit to using Plexiglass is that it is one less way that predators won't be able to get into the coop. The obvious downside is that the windows won't be able to be opened, so ventilation is a must.

If the chickens are to live in a cold climate the coop will need to be winterized. The walls will need to be insulated with regular pink insulation or Styrofoam sheets. This material will have to be covered over with plywood otherwise the chickens will peck at it. The heat and humidity is another consideration. this will need to be vented year-round, no matter the climate. This can be accomplished by a roof vent or wall vents.

The roof of the chicken coop can be made from anything that repels water. Asphalt shingles or metal are the most popular choices. As long as it keeps the structure dry it really doesn't matter which is used. Metal sheeting requires little or no maintenance, unlike a shingle roof that may need to be replaced. If the coop is going to be something like a chicken tractor and is meant to be portable there is a weight factor involved, so metal will also reduce the weight factor.One downside to metal is that it is a little more expensive but in the long run well worth it.

For the outdoor run, basic materials are needed - mainly fence poles and poultry wire. For the ground of the run some sort of course sand works best, chickens need to give themselves "dust baths" – it helps keep parasites at bay, allows them to keep clean. This also had the added benefit of natural grit for their diet. A run should also ideally be shaded and out of the wind so chickens have refuge from the heat of the day and wind storms.

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