9 DIY Projects for the Chicken Coop

Raising chickens on the homestead means using what resources and materials you have available to keep your flock happy, healthy, and safe. These 9 diy projects for the chicken coop are functional items you can make for the coop. Not only do these projects help spruce up the coop, but they also play a helpful role in the health and well-being of your flock. I can’t wait to share with you these simple projects that I made for my homestead chicken coops!

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#1. Chicken Coop Window Drapes

I didn’t realize how functional chicken coop window drapes were until I made some for my Svart Hona breeding coop. Window drapes give you great control over the ventilation and air flow that you can allow into the coop. Proper coop ventilation not only helps the coop smell better, but it also helps prevent frostbite and ammonia fume build up.

With window curtain drapes, you can pull them back and adjust them to optimize or control air flow into the coop. I find this extremely helpful during the winter. I can open the drapes up on sunny, warmer days and then close them at night to trap in some heat. If you make the drapes out of heavy enough material, they are also helpful for insulating the coop during the winter.

You can make drapes for the coop windows as well as for the chicken door. Both can help control ventilation and provide insulation. 

Materials:

• some sort of fabric, canvas or burlap material
• some straight sticks that are long enough to fit across the coop windows
• sewing machine (optional)

Tips:

• When making your drapes, make sure you allow extra space at the top of the fabric so that you can create a hole to put the stick through.
• Once the drape or drapes are on the stick, you can use two nails to hang the stick above the window and allow the drapes to hang over the window.
• You can also use pressurized hangers to hang up the drapes.
• Use sturdy string or twine to fasten the drapes back or up when you want to allow more air flow in.
• Make the drapes so they are easy to take down or remove so you can air them out or wash them.

#2. Nesting Box Curtains

Nesting box curtains are actually a very functional project to make for the chicken coop. Hens like to find dark, secure places to lay their eggs, and nesting box curtains can help make the nesting boxes a more appealing place for egg laying. They add some privacy to the boxes which the hens seem to like. There are several ways that you can make curtains for the nesting boxes, and you can make them as simple or as fancy as you want.

Materials:

• fabric or burlap
• sewing machine (optional)

Tips:

• I used a hand held stapler to staple the curtains above the nesting boxes.
• You can also use a straight stick or pressure rods to hang up the curtains over the nesting boxes.
• Make sure you allow for a split or gap in the material so that the hens can see that they can still enter the boxes.
• Depending on the style of the curtains, you may want to use string or twine to tie back the curtains to allow for entrance.
• Make the curtains so that they can be removed and washed every once in awhile.
• I like using burlap for the curtains since it doesn’t need to be sewn around. It is also easy to work with.

#3. Nesting Boxes

Obviously nesting boxes are a very functional part of the chicken coop, and they actually a very easy DIY coop project. Anything that can have a cozy nest built in it can be turned into a nesting box. Just ensure that nesting box object is safe, easy to get into for the hen, can hold some sort of litter, and is easy for you to access in order to collect eggs.

You may also want to keep in mind the ease of cleaning, whether you can hang curtains over the nesting boxes, and if the hens will want to roost on the nest boxes rather than lay their eggs in them. Nest boxes should encourage laying and should be raised at least somewhat off the ground. Here are some cool DIY nest box material ideas:

• wooden crates
• shallow baskets
• old buckets
• any sturdy kind of box

Tips:

• When creating your DIY nesting boxes, keep in mind what size hens you have and how high off the ground the boxes will be.
• Nest boxes that are more than a foot off the ground should have a bar in front of them so the hens can fly up and investigate without entering a box.
• Make sure the bar isn’t too slippery and have it fairly close to the nesting boxes to discourage roosting on it.

#4. Droppings Board or Slings

Having a way to manage nightly droppings in the chicken coop is an extremely helpful design function to have in the coop. Droppings boards or poop slings are two such devices that can easily be made for any type of coop.

I personally prefer droppings boards that I can scrap the poop off of every morning using a small shovel. However, sand covered droppings boards are also functional as are fabric poop slings or poop trays that can be hosed off.

Droppings boards can easily be mounted under the roosts using a couple screws or simply elevated under the roosts using any material such as bricks, logs, or blocks of wood. Trays can be placed under the roosts or slightly elevated as well. You can also fill the trays with sand to make cleaning up the droppings easier every morning. Slings can be fastened using sturdy rope and hooks, rings, clamps, or staples to secure the rope to the coop walls.

Here are some droppings management material ideas:

• Boards: sheets of wood, screws, screwdriver, sand (optional)
• Boards: sheets of vinyl, screws, screwdriver, sand (optional)
• Trays: plastic boot trays, sand (optional)
• Slings: rip stop fabric, strong rope/twine, clips, rings
• Slings: small tarps, strong rope/twine, clips, rings

Tips:

• Keep the droppings board, slings, or trays slightly lower than the roosts to make clean up easier.
• Don’t place them too low under the roosts though because then the chickens may want to roost on them instead of the actual roosts.
• Droppings boards and trays work well for bar roosts.
• Droppings slings or trays work well for ladder type roosts.
• For ladder type roosts, it’s often helpful to block off the droppings management system to keep the birds from walking under the ladder roosts and through their poop.

#5. Rustic Roosts

Chickens love to roost, and you can never have too many roosting options for them. You can make DIY roosts to go in the coop for nightly roosting or you can make entertainment roosts that give your flock options for roosting during the day in their enclosure or yard. Rustic roosts can be made out of an assortment of materials and can take on many different shapes and sizes.

My favorite type of rustic roost to make is a tree branch ladder roost. Find two tall, fairly straight, sturdy sticks, these will be the side supports. Also find 3-4 shorter sturdy branches to use as the roost bars. Lay everything out in the ground with the two side branches running vertically parallel to each other and the shorter branches running horizontally parallel to each other and reaching to each side stick.

Use strong twine or rope and tie each end of the shorter sticks to the side sticks by wrapping the twine/rope in an X like fashion around the shorter stick end and the side stick. Once everything is tied together, you can prop the ladder roost upright at an angle for your birds to enjoy! 

Materials:

• tree stumps
• branches
• logs
• old boards
• pallet boards
• sturdy twine
• screws and an battery powered screwdriver (optional)

Tips:

• Aside from using twine or rope to tie branches together, you can also use screws to screw boards or large branches to together or to stumps and logs.
• Make sure any twine or rope is securely fastened and any ends are snipped off so that the chickens can not eat them.
• Make sure any sticks you use are sturdy enough to hold your heaviest bird.
• For nightly roosts, you will want to sand down any boards or branches you use to prevent slivers, cuts, and bumblefoot.
• I have found that over time the twine loosens around the branches and needs to be rewound and tightened.

#6. DIY Feeder

If you’ve been a chicken keeper for any length of time, you’ve probably improvised some sort of DIY feeder for your flock. I know I definitely have on numerous occasions! Some DIY feeders work out better than others, and with enough planning, you can build your own functional, low waste, easy to use chicken feeder.

While store-bought feeders are pretty cheap, they may not serve the purpose you want them to. Many times they are not low waste, although I believe that feed waste has more to do with the type of feed rather than the feeder.

DIY feeders can come in many shapes and sizes, the type that I make the most often use PVC tubes and a 1/2 gallon bucket. I cut a portion of a side out of the 1/2 gallon bucket and cut a slight crescent shape off one end of a PVC tube. Then I mount the PVC tube to the bucket using zip ties and a few holes screwed into the bucket. That way I can fill the PVC tube with feed and it will come out into the bucket. 

• PVC Feeder Materials: PVC tubes, 1/2-5 gallon buckets, zip ties, scissors or saw
• Simple PVC Feeder Materials: straight PVC tubes, curved PVC tubes, PVC cement
• Plastic Tub Feeder Materials: plastic storage tote, saw, PVC pipes, PVC cement
• Bowl Feeder Materials: a deep plastic, rubber, or ceramic bowl, something heavy to keep the bowl from tipping over (rocks, pet food bowl holder)

Other materials that you can make chicken feeders out of include 5 gallon buckets, wood, and rubber feed bowls.

Tips:

• When choosing a DIY feeder design, keep in mind how many birds you have and allow enough feeder space for each bird to have access to food.
• Make sure there are no sharp edges on your DIY feeder.
• If you’re using PVC cement, make sure it is completely dry before using the feeder.
• I have found that a deep, heavy bowl is a very effective low-waste feeder.
• Consider whether you want your DIY feeder to set in the ground, be raised up, or be a hanging feeder.

#7. DIY Water

Your DIY coop wouldn’t be complete without a DIY water system! Much like DIY feeders, DIY water systems for chicken coops come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and complexity. The homemade water system that I use the most involves water nipples for poultry. I have made a chick brooder water nipple system using PVC pipes and I have made a bucket water nipple system to hang in my breeding coop.

The PVC pipe nipple water system is basically a straight PVC pipe with the nipples mounted on. It is capped off at one end and the other end has a curved piece of pipe mounted to it with another straight piece of pipe after that to hold extra water. The whole unit is shaped like an L.

For the bucket system, I mounted 4 nipples on the bottom of a 3 gallon bucket. Then I hung the bucket from the ceiling of the coop and placed a bucket lid on top to keep any droppings out. The bucket system is way easier to clean and use than the PVC system, although the PVC system works best in the brooder for baby chicks.

There are also some pretty cool automatic water systems you can rig up for your coop and you can even set up a rain water system to provide water for the coop! 

• PVC Water Systems Materials: straight PVC pipes, curved PVC pipes, PVC cement, PVC end caps, water nipples, drill
• Water Bucket System Materials: 3 gallon bucket, bucket lid, water nipples, drill
• DIY Water Heater Ideas: fish tank heater, heated water base, heat tape, heated pet bowl

Other materials that you can use to make a chicken water system include rubber feed bowls, gallon bottles, rain barrels, and beverage coolers.

Tips:

• If you use water nipples in your DIY water system, make sure your chickens are accustomed to drinking from them.
• When buying water nipples, invest in quality nipples! Cheap ones tend to leak or not work.
• When designing your water system, consider the ease of cleaning and refilling the system. Even closed systems will eventually get a build up of algae and other minerals from the water and need to be cleaned.
• For the rainwater systems, consider the source of the water and what surfaces it has to run over before it is available for the chickens to drink.
• The hardest part about DIY water systems is keeping them unfrozen during the winter, consider this factor when designing your system.
• Keep in mind how many chickens will be using the water system which will determine how much drinking space you need and how much water the system should be able to hold.

#8. Roost Prevention Guards

One DIY project that I have found extremely helpful are roost prevention guards. Roost prevention guards are guards that I have made for various places in the chicken coop to keep my birds from roosting in those spots. Some of these spots include the flat tops of the wooden crate nesting boxes, on top of the raised infirmary pen, the rafters of the coop, and ledges within the coop, including window sills.

I want my chickens to learn that the roosts are where they should sleep so that cleaning the coop and managing droppings is easier. Roost guards can be made out of a variety of materials. For ledges, I simply use a board placed at an angle over the ledge. For bigger spots, like on top of the nesting boxes or infirmary pen, I built chicken wire guards. The guards are basically a frame of wood with chicken wire stapled across them. They can be secured at an angle over the place that you want to protect. For the rafters, you can simply staple old feed bags over the openings to block off the rafters. 

• Ledge Guard Materials: 2×4” boards, saw, screwdriver, screws
• Chicken Wire Guard Materials: chicken wire, sticks or skinny boards, twine or staples, stapler if using staples, wire snips, saw if using skinny boards
• Rafter Guard Materials: old feed bags, scissors, stapler, staples

Tips:

• I have found that guards that are placed at angles work the best for keeping the chickens from wanting roost in the wrong spots.
• The angle must be steep enough that a chicken can’t rest on the roost guard without slipping off.
• Make the roost guards fit as snuggly as they can into their spots so that there aren’t any small ledges for the chickens to roost on.

#9. Supplement Dispensers

The last DIY project that I have found helpful for the homestead coop is a supplement or treat dispenser. Over the years, I have come up with many creative ways for providing my flock their supplements and treats. Of course, there’s always the store bought options like suet cages, dog food bowls, and various other treat cages and dispenser.

However, there are also many DIY options too! While I mostly give my flock supplements in their water or mixed into fermented feed or treats, I still need to have a way to give my flock their treats and free-choice supplements. Here are some of my favorite ideas:

• Veggie Box- make a box out of chicken wire and sticks or thin boards, then you can mount the box to a wall or hang it up and dump any vegetable scraps into it for your chickens to peck at
• Upcycle- look around for old feeders, trays, or bowls that you can use to put treats for free-choice supplements
• Ladle Wrack- mount several old ladles or deep spoons to a flat board for a rustic supplement dispenser that you can mount on the coop wall
• Herb Drying Rack– make an herb drying rack using sticks and twines, much like you would make a ladder roost, then you can hang herbs from the rack for your chickens to peck at

Tips:

• The main free-choice supplement that you will need to create a dispenser for are crushed oyster shells, an essential calcium supplement for hens.
• Having an herb dispenser is helpful for letting herbs dry in the coop and for allowing your flock the choice to eat the herbs.
• Wire is helpful for mounting or hanging DIY dispensers from the wall, just make sure there are no sharp edges that could cause injuries.

These 9 DIY projects for the chicken coop are fun to make and functional for the homestead chicken coop. They may help you save money on your chicken coop and provide helpful little hacks for keeping the coop warm, clean, and comfortable. Whether it’s pretty window drapes, fancy nesting box curtains, or an entertaining supplement dispenser, these DIY projects make for cute coop additions. Your homestead chicken coop can be both fancy and functional!

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By Alexa

Material Guide

Material Links

• Chicken water nipples
• Horizontal chicken water nipples
• PVC mounted water nipples
• Water nipple cups
• DIY feeder kit
• 5 gallon bucket
• 1 gallon bucket
• Rubber feed bowl