Thinking about starting or expanding your chicken-raising efforts? Maybe the neighbors like your free-range eggs so much that a small market for your eggs is developing. There are lots of simple, inexpensive coops you can make, such as the Portable Chicken Mini-coop. Free plans for coops of all sizes are available from North Dakota State University.
And you can find dozens of plans for sale on the Internet. If you're planning to purchase plans, take a look at BuildingAChickenCoop.com. I've had an opportunity to review these plans, and they show details well. There are options for small (4-foot-by-12-foot, including run), mid-size (3-foot-by-8-foot, plus nest box) and large (7-foot-by-8-foot, roughly) coops. In addition to the step-by-step diagrams included with the plans, the package of e-books includes information on positioning coops, building nest boxes and tips for materials.
