You’ve had the cool idea to keep hens and are looking at the different hutch plans for them. There are just so many available even the name of the coop that you are looking at can be confusing – just what is an ‘ark’?. All you need is a plan that will house a couple of birds safely so which chicken coop designs do you decide on?

Here’s a quick break down on the features of each;

This may seem plain but a chicken coop, hen house, chook house are all the same thing. A small house that is designed to keep chickens in – and predators out. But there are a few terms that you may have come across and thought “what the hang is that?”

Chicken Hutch; You’ve heard of a rabbit hutch? Same thing, only for chickens. A lightweight, portable – usually rectangle – cube that has a covered end and a run end. These are ideal for people that only want to keep one or two chooks.

The Ark or Tractor; These are portable coops which have the distinction of being floor less. This allows your birds to be free-ranging while also being protected from predators. They do come in all shapes, but the most common one is an A-Frame.

An Ark is excellent because the chickens can eat the bugs and worms in the soil so they will need less feeding by you. Their poop is also brilliant as a fertiliser.

How Big Does Your Coop Need To Be?
The size of your enclosure directly corresponds to the number of birds that you want to rear.

0-5 Chickens?
You want a a small chicken coop design. Look at an ark or tractor design. These are painless to put up, supply plenty of light and security, take up less space and the chickens also tidy up your lawn for you!

Raising 5-10 Chooks?
A medium sized chicken coop design will suit you. These are a more permanent structure and will include a nesting area. They are much larger (around 30-40 square feet) so take this into account when deciding on your plans and site. Don’t forget to make room available for feeders, water troughs and access.

Over 10?
Whoa, you are getting into the full-size stuff now! This chicken house design is going to be rather large, will need more of all of the above and will include a run. All of which makes the large hutch more dear so be sure that the plans that you are going to work from are suitable for your site and condition. This size coop is best if you wanted to sell the eggs.

For a great selection of chicken coop designs that are cheap and easy to build no matter how many chooks you want to farm head to www.HenHousePlansOnline.com