Keeping chickens is becoming more popular than ever. It's a great hobby, with chickens providing all the free eggs you can eat, and great fertilizer for the garden. A good coop is essential to your chickens wellbeing, but commercial coops are very expensive.Fortunately, building your own chicken coop isn't difficult. Indeed anyone with a the ability to hammer a nail into a piece of wood is pretty well equipped to build a coop, given the right plans.
There's no shortage of plans available, so we decided to round up five of the most popular, and put them through their paces. For our reviews, we examined each product carefully and looked at the number of plans included, how easy to build they were, what extras they came with, and the total build cost. Our ratings then give you an at-a-glance view of our results.
Reviews Last Updated: 06/02/2010
| ChickenKit.com | |
The plans in ChickenKit.com are simply stunning. Beautiful 3D drawings of each coop, combined with 2 dimensional plans, make it a breeze for even the most diy-challenged person to knock together a great looking coop. As you would expect with over 100 plans, there is a coop for any combination of the number of chickens you have, and the location you're in. This variety plus the simple/fully detailed guidance make ChickenKit.com our top Choice! Verdict: A huge collection of plans means you'll find the perfect coop for you and your chickens. Absolutely exceptional 3D Drawings. Undoubtedly the top value/money overall!.  |
| Building A Chicken Coop | |
The plans themselves are clear and detailed, and easy to build. Any one of them costs considerably less to build than purchasing a commercial coop. In addition to the plans, there are some good general hints and tips on chicken care. The author also provides a number of bonus reports which cover topics such as choice of materials, positioning your coop, and so on. Really these are topics that could just as easily be covered inside the main book, but by providing them as bonuses makes the overall package look bigger and better value for money! For 70% of people, the plans here are all you'll ever need, and the sections on choosing materials will help you keep the final cost of your coop very low. Of course most of you will appreciate the much greater variety of ChickenKit.com. Verdict: Great value for money overall indeed, with a satisfactory set of plans and clear and detailed instructions. |
| Build A Chicken Coop In 3 Days | |
Build A Chicken Coop In 3 Days offers a comprehensive 50 different plans, with coops varying in size to cater from 1 to 25 chickens. The plans themselves are clearly laid out and easy enough to follow. The instructions take you step by step through the build, starting right from sourcing the materials. The unique thing about this guide though, is the members area. Here, new coop plans are added every month. At first glance that might seem like a nice idea, but are you really going to want to build a new coop every time there's a new plan available? We think this is a bit of a gimmick. However, leaving aside the questionable value of the monthly plans, the membership area does have an active community. So if you want to chat with other chicken lovers, this could be the place. Ultimately though, we think the membership aspect is not worth the extra money that the author wants you to pay for access. Verdict: A good set of comprehensive easy to follow plans, and a members area (at an extra cost) if you want commuity support while building your coop. But do you need 50 different plans? |
