1
Set the posts
Lay the run out 120" by 240", outside face to outside face, and check the diagonals against each other before a single hole is dug.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post | 18 | 96" | 4x4 | ground contact; 24" buried, 72" above grade |
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10x20 Chicken Run Plans for 25-40 Hens (Free PDF)
10x20 Standalone Chicken Run: 200 sq ft of screened, walk-in outdoor space for 25-40 hens. Dimensioned drawings, a complete material list, and every cut length across 11 assembly steps. Intermediate build, four to five days (30-40 hrs).
Every dimension, spec table and cut list below is free on this page. Complete 30-page book: Full plans on Etsy.
Specifications
| Run footprint | 10 ft × 20 ft (200 sq ft), screened |
|---|---|
| Interior height | 72" — full walk-in headroom |
| Peak height | 72" |
| Capacity | outdoor space for 25-40 hens |
| Build time | Four to five days (30-40 hrs) |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Materials cost | $1,900–$2,450 at 2026 prices |
What's Inside the Plans
Sample sheets from the complete 30-page plan book — dimensioned drawings, cut tables and build references drawn at print quality. The previews below are watermarked; the book is not. Everything published on this page stays free.
Material List
The complete bill of materials. Quantities carry no waste allowance — add two or three extra boards if you are new to framing.
| Material | Size | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 2x4 lumber | 12 feet | 6 pcs |
| 2x4 lumber | 8 feet | 34 pcs |
| 2x6 lumber | 8 feet | 6 pcs |
| 4x4 post (GROUND CONTACT rated — these are buried) | 10 feet | 18 pcs |
| 4x4 post (GROUND CONTACT rated — these are buried) | 8 feet | 2 pcs |
| 1/4" hardware cloth, 19 ga | 36" roll | 100 ft + 100 ft + 50 ft + 25 ft (258 ft needed) |
| Fender washers + screws for cloth | 1" washer | 1032 pcs |
| Heavy-duty staples | 1/2" | 1 box (1000) |
| Hog rings + pliers (lapping cloth to cloth) | — | 1 bag (100) |
| Gravel for the post holes | 3/4" clean | 35 cu ft |
| Coarse sand or 3/8in drain rock (run floor) | 3-4in deep | 3 cu yd |
| Shade cloth, 70-80% block | ~67 sq ft | 1 panel + zip ties |
| 3/4" plywood (beam gussets) | 4' x 8' | 1 pc |
| 2-1/2" exterior screws | 5 lb box | 2 boxes |
| 1-1/2" exterior screws | 5 lb box | 2 boxes |
| 3" structural screws (rails to posts) | — | 216 pcs |
| Exterior primer + paint | 1 gal each | 1 + 1 |
| Hinges, heavy strap or T | — | 3 (one gate) |
| Two-action latch | — | 1 |
| Barrel bolt, gate bottom to threshold | — | 1 |
Nominal vs actual: the list uses nominal sizes (2×4), the drawings use finished sizes (1-1/2" × 3-1/2"). Check your own stock before cutting.
The 11 Assembly Steps
Every step, with the cut list it needs. The summaries here are the short version — the complete 30-page book carries the full written instruction for each one, plus the stop-and-measure checkpoints.
Every cut length below is computed from the same geometry that draws the PDF, so the numbers on this page and the numbers in the plan set cannot disagree.
2
Bottom rail and the gate threshold
The bottom rail closes the gap between the cloth and the ground and gives the buried apron something to screw to.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom rail | 7 | 43-13/16" | 2x4 | GROUND CONTACT — this course lies on soil |
| Bottom rail | 2 | 43-3/4" | 2x4 | GROUND CONTACT — this course lies on soil |
| Bottom rail | 8 | 25-5/8" | 2x4 | GROUND CONTACT — this course lies on soil |
| Gate threshold | 1 | 43-13/16" | 2x4 | GROUND CONTACT, laid FLAT, bedded into the soil |
3
Mid rails and top rails
3 more courses of rail, at 32", 64", 72" above grade.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rail | 22 | 43-13/16" | 2x4 | |
| Rail | 6 | 43-3/4" | 2x4 | |
| Rail | 24 | 25-5/8" | 2x4 |
4
Centre beam
At 120" wide, a purlin would have to clear 113" between the side posts. That is past what a purlin at this spacing carries, so a beam goes down the centre line and halves it to 55".
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre post | 2 | 90-1/2" | 4x4 | ground contact; 24" buried |
| Beam ply | 2 | 78-7/8" | 2x6 | two plies, joints over a post |
| Beam ply | 4 | 78-13/16" | 2x6 | two plies, joints over a post |
| Beam gusset | 4 | 12" x 11" | 3/4" plywood | one each side of every joint |
5
Purlins
6 purlins across the width, one over every post row, 120" long — full width, flush with the outside faces.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purlin | 6 | 120" | 2x4 | ON EDGE — clear span 55" |
6
Gate
The gate fills a whole bay — 42-13/16" of clear opening. Most run plans hang a 30" door in a jamb inside a bay, which needs an infill panel and gives you an opening you cannot get a wheelbarrow through.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate stile | 2 | 68-1/2" | 2x4 | |
| Gate rail | 3 | 35-13/16" | 2x4 | top, middle, bottom |
| Gate brace | 2 | 46-1/16" | 2x4 | ends cut at 39 deg; BOTH rise from the hinge side |
7
Hardware cloth — walls
The step that decides whether you still have a flock in two years.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run walls, all four sides | 1 | 135 lin ft | 1/4" hardware cloth | |
| Gate leaf | 1 | 8 lin ft | 1/4" hardware cloth |
8
Hardware cloth — roof
A run without a roof is a bird feeder. Hawks and owls take hens out of open runs in daylight, and a raccoon climbs 72" of post in about two seconds.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run roof | 1 | 75 lin ft | 1/4" hardware cloth |
9
Buried apron
Everything that wants your birds digs. An apron is what stops it, and it works by being in the way rather than by being deep: a fox or a dog digs where it meets resistance, which is right at the wall, and an apron turned OUTWARD puts wire under the exact spot it starts.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buried apron, 12" down and 12" out | 1 | 40 lin ft | 1/4" hardware cloth |
10
Grade, drain and surface
A run that ponds turns into mud, mud turns into the coccidiosis and bumblefoot problems that cost people their flock, and no amount of hardware cloth fixes it.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coarse sand or 3/8in drain rock | 1 | 3 cu yd | Coarse sand | 3-4in deep over the whole floor, raked level then crowned |
11
Shade
This run has a mesh roof, which casts no shade at all. That is the honest statement and it is why this is a step rather than a footnote.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shade cloth panel | 1 | ~67 sq ft | Shade cloth | 70-80% block, zip-tied to the purlins on the afternoon-sun side |
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these 10x20 chicken run plans really free?
The 5-page preview PDF is a free download with no email required, and everything published on this page stays free — every dimension, the spec table, the complete material list and all 11 assembly steps with their cut tables. The complete 30-page plan book — every wall on its own sheet with its own cut table, a board-by-board cut plan and a material buy list — is $4.99 in our Etsy shop.
How many chickens does a 10x20 run give enough space for?
Outdoor space for 25-40 hens — 200 sq ft works out to about 8 sq ft per bird at 25 hens and 5 sq ft at 40. Commonly cited minimums run 8-10 sq ft of outdoor space per bird, so the top of the range suits flocks that also free-range part of the day.
What's in the full 30-page plan book?
Everything on this page — dimensioned plan and elevation drawings, the complete bill of materials (20 line items) and all 11 assembly steps with per-step cut tables — plus what a web page can't carry: the full written instruction for every step rather than the summary shown here, every wall framed on its own sheet, a board-by-board cut plan, a buy list you can hand to the lumber yard, and stop-and-measure checkpoints at each stage. The free 5-page preview PDF shows the design overview and main dimensions. On-page specs are computed from the same geometry that draws the PDFs, so the numbers can never disagree.
Related Plans
Complete 30-page book: Full plans on Etsy.
Different size? See all chicken coop plans, or check the size calculator first.