Our own plan set · Free PDF
Eighty CAD-drawn pages, a complete material list, every cut length called out, and sixteen assembly steps from the four base posts to the last staple of hardware cloth. Houses 12–16 hens. We drew it ourselves — it is not a roundup of somebody else's links.
PDF · 80 pages · ~7 MB · No email required
| Coop footprint | 8 ft × 8 ft (96" × 96") |
|---|---|
| Run footprint | 8 ft × 8 ft, fully screened |
| Overall length | 209-7/8" (17 ft 6 in) coop + run |
| Overall width | 96" (8 ft) |
| Overall height | 141-3/8" (11 ft 9 in) at the ridge |
| Run height | 87" at the eave |
| Floor height | 24" off grade — the birds get the space underneath |
| Capacity | 12–16 standard hens |
| Nest bank | 92-1/2" long × 17-1/16" deep, exterior access |
| Windows | 4 × (18" × 23") |
| Roof | Gable, corrugated metal over 3/4" plywood deck |
| Build time | 5–6 days for two people |
Not sure this is the right size? Run your flock through the chicken coop size calculator first — it is cheaper to change your mind now than after you have bought 104 studs.
Every elevation is dimensioned in the plan set. These are the actual drawing pages, not renderings made for the website.
This is the full bill of materials from page 6 of the plan set. Take it to the lumber yard as-is. Quantities assume no waste allowance — buy one or two extra 2×4s if you are new to framing.
| Material | Size | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 2×4 lumber | 8 feet | 104 pcs |
| 4×4 post | 8 feet | 8 pcs |
| 3/4" plywood | 4' × 8' | 10 pcs |
| Wall siding | 9 feet | 104 pcs |
| 2-1/4" wood screw | 180 pcs (2 lbs) | 3 packs |
| 1-1/2" wood screw | 100 pcs | 3 packs |
| 4" wood screw | — | 16 pcs |
| Chicken coop windows | 18" × 23" | 4 |
| Hinges | — | 10 |
| Latches | — | 4 |
| Wireframe (hardware cloth) | — | As required |
| Metal roofing sheets | 4' × 8' | 10 pcs |
A note on lumber dimensions
The material list uses nominal sizes (2×4, 4×4). The drawings use actual finished sizes — a 2×4 really measures 1-1/2" × 3-1/2". Check your stock against the drawings before you cut; mills vary slightly and a sixteenth compounds fast across an 8-foot wall.
For current pricing on each line item, see the 2026 chicken coop cost breakdown and the coop materials guide.
The plan set walks the build in order, and each step has its own cut table and drawing. The cut lists reproduced below are transcribed straight from the plan — the PDF has the rest.
Four 4×4 posts cut to 96 inches carry the whole structure. They run from grade to the top plate, which is what lets the floor sit 24 inches up and turns the space underneath into shaded run.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post A | 4 | 96" | 4×4 |
The base 4×4s tie the four posts into a rigid square at grade. Use the 4-inch screws here — this joint takes the racking load for the life of the coop.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base support A | 4 | 89" | 4×4 |
| Base support B | 8 | 20-1/2" | 2×4 |
Floor joists sit 24 inches above the base frame. Joist A is doubled on all four sides to make a stiff perimeter, and the interior joists land on 15-3/4 inch centres with 14-1/4 inches at each end.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joist stud A | 9 | 89" | 2×4 |
| Joist stud B | 5 | 90" | 2×4 |
A single 96 × 96 inch sheet of 3/4-inch plywood, notched 3-1/2 inches square at each corner so it drops cleanly around the posts. Fasten with 1-1/2 inch screws.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor panel A | 1 | 96" × 96" | 3/4" plywood |
The longest section of the plan — 25 pages covering front, back, left, right and the gable ends. The front wall carries the 52-inch door opening. Every stud is called out centre-to-centre on its own drawing.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front frame stud A | 4 | 64-3/4" | 2×4 |
| Front frame stud B | 2 | 89" | 2×4 |
| Front frame stud C | 2 | 11-1/4" | 2×4 |
| Front frame stud D | 1 | 52-13/16" | 2×4 |
Lap siding goes on in 9-foot courses — 104 pieces across the whole structure. Eight pages of elevation drawings show the coursing and where each wall starts.
Trim boards close out the gable ends and the eaves, covering the siding end-grain and giving the roof its finished edge.
An exterior nest bank 92-1/2 inches long and 17-1/16 inches deep, standing 18-3/4 inches tall, hung off the right wall. The lid is hinged with a latch so you collect eggs from outside without opening the coop or disturbing the flock.
The pop door — a 11-15/16 × 9-15/16 inch panel of 3/4-inch plywood on a hinge with a latch, opening onto the ramp down into the run.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken door panel A | 1 | 11-15/16" × 9-15/16" | 3/4" plywood |
Nine pages framing the 8×8 screened run off the coop. The front wall alone is seven studs at 82-1/2 inches plus two 96-inch posts, with the run door opening framed by the 16-1/2 and 33 inch pieces.
| Part | Qty | Length | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run front frame stud A | 7 | 82-1/2" | 2×4 |
| Run front frame stud B | 2 | 96" | 2×4 |
| Run front frame stud C | 1 | 16-1/2" | 2×4 |
| Run front frame stud D | 1 | 33" | 2×4 |
The full-height human door into the coop, built as a framed and braced panel to keep it from sagging on its hinges.
A separate door into the screened run, so you can get to the birds without going through the coop.
Framing and trim for the 18 × 23 inch windows. Four go into the build — two per gable-end wall — which is where most of the daylight and cross-ventilation comes from.
3/4-inch plywood decking over the rafters, forming the substrate the metal roofing screws down to.
Ten 4 × 8 foot corrugated metal sheets over the deck. Metal was specified over shingles because it sheds snow, lasts decades, and never needs a tear-off.
Hardware cloth over every opening in the run and the under-coop space. This is the step that decides whether you still have a flock in two years — use hardware cloth, never chicken wire.
Step 16 is the one that decides whether you still have a flock in two years. Chicken wire keeps chickens in; it does not keep anything out. A raccoon tears it, and a weasel simply walks through the mesh — a raccoon does not need to get inside to kill a bird roosting against the wire, which is the failure mode University of Kentucky Extension documents directly (ID-245).
Use quarter-inch hardware cloth, screwed through fender washers rather than only stapled. Half-inch is the commonly quoted figure and it genuinely stops raccoons — but a least weasel squeezes through anything a quarter-inch or larger, so half-inch mesh does not deliver the weasel, mink and snake exclusion most plans imply it does. Extend it as a 12-inch apron buried down and out around the run perimeter so nothing digs under; that 12-inch figure is confirmed independently by Kentucky, Maryland and Florida extension services. Full detail in the predator-proofing guide.
Setting the floor 24 inches up on 4×4 posts is not a styling decision. It keeps the floor structure out of ground moisture, removes the dead cavity that rats and snakes colonise under a grade-level floor, and gives the birds another 64 square feet of dry, shaded space that costs nothing extra to build. In hot climates that shade is the coolest ground on the property by mid-afternoon.
The four 18 × 23 inch windows plus the gable ends carry the ventilation load for 64 square feet of floor. The rule is roughly 1 square foot of permanent vent per 10 square feet of floor, and the openings need to sit above roosting height so moisture leaves without blowing a draft across the birds. If you are building in a cold climate, do not reduce the vent area for winter — see the ventilation guide and the insulation guide.
At 17 feet 6 inches of overall length this is a substantial accessory structure. Most jurisdictions require a setback from property lines, and many require a permit past roughly 100–120 square feet of footprint. Both are far cheaper to satisfy before the build than after a neighbour complains. The coop permit guide covers how the rules generally work.
The framing section runs 25 pages and there are 104 studs in the material list, which tempts everyone into batch-cutting on day one. Don't. Cut one of each part, dry-fit it in place, confirm it against the drawing, and only then cut the remaining eight. A sixteenth of an inch of drift is invisible on one stud and impossible to hide across a wall.
Yes. The full 80-page PDF is a free download — no payment, no trial. We drew these plans ourselves rather than linking you to someone else's, and the complete material list, dimensions and cut lengths are also published on this page so you can price the build before you download anything.
Twelve to sixteen standard hens. At 64 square feet of coop floor the 4-sq-ft-per-bird rule allows sixteen, and the attached 8x8 run adds another 64 square feet of covered outdoor space plus the shaded area under the raised floor. If your birds free-range during the day you can run the higher number comfortably.
At 2026 big-box lumber prices, expect roughly $1,400–$2,200 depending on your region and what you choose for siding and roofing. The heavy line items are 104 pieces of 2x4, 10 sheets of 3/4-inch plywood, 104 pieces of lap siding and 10 sheets of metal roofing. See our cost breakdown guide for a line-by-line build budget.
Five to six full days for two people with basic carpentry experience — realistically three weekends. The framing section is the longest stretch of the plan at 25 pages. A single builder working alone should plan on eight to ten days.
Often yes. At 64 square feet of coop plus a 64-square-foot run you are past the "no permit needed" threshold in many jurisdictions, which commonly sits between 100 and 120 square feet of total footprint. Check with your local zoning office before you buy lumber — our coop permit guide covers how the rules typically work.
A circular saw, a drill/driver, a tape measure, a level, a square and a ladder cover the whole build. Nothing in the plan requires a table saw, a compound miter saw or pocket-hole joinery, though a miter saw makes the repetitive stud cuts far faster.
Three reasons. It keeps the floor structure off wet ground so it does not rot, it denies rats and snakes a nesting cavity under a slab-level floor, and it hands the birds an extra 64 square feet of shaded, dry space beneath the coop that costs you nothing to build.
Yes. The coop and the run are framed as separate assemblies — steps 1 through 9 build the coop, step 10 onward adds the run. If you free-range your flock or already have a fenced yard, stop after the chicken door and you have a complete standalone 8x8 coop.
All 80 pages — every elevation, every cut table, all sixteen assembly steps.
Download the free PDFBuilding something smaller? Browse all our chicken coop plans or start with the beginner plans.