There are many ways to build chicken coops, but the frame is usually the best way to begin – and one of the most popular DIY models is the A-frame design, although there are many others.
We’ve been scouring the internet to see what other people have been trying – and for anyone who would like to build a chicken coop for themselves, here are 23 frame chicken coop plans you might like to attempt at home.
1. Updated A Frame Chicken Coop Plans – Ana White
One of the most famous A-frame chicken coop plans on the internet is the one built by Ana White – and here’s her updated version of the original design. This coop is large enough for around three to five chickens, and has several advantages, including being easy and inexpensive to build, providing plenty of shelter for chickens in rainy weather and allowing easy access for free-ranging chickens. Check it out and see if it’s a design that will work for you!
2. How to Build an A-Frame Chicken Coop Under $40 – Part 1
If you want to build yourself a chicken coop while spending the least amount of money possible, this A-frame design made from scavenged fence boards and pallet wood should be high on your list of options. Cheap it might be, but it’s still a solid design – and one we’re sure plenty of people will be keen on trying at home.
3. Custom A-Frame Chicken Tractor For (Almost) Free – fromscratchfarmstead.com
Like the design above in #2, this A-frame chicken tractor is also extremely inexpensive since it’s based on nothing more than wood salvaged from an old kids’ playset. This coop is actually a chicken tractor, which, for those who don’t know, is a portable version that allows you to move your chickens around and vary their pasture. And with a plan like this one, you can build your own for (almost) nothing.
4. How to Build an A-Frame Chicken Coop – MyOutdoorPlans
Here’s a video showing you the basics of how to build an A-frame chicken coop, complete with an “upstairs” nesting area. The full, detailed plans for building it are available – for a small fee – on this channel’s website, but for enterprising DIYers, just watching the video may be enough to show what you need to do to make something just like it.
5. A-Frame Chicken Coop Plan – Free Plan & DIY Instructions
As this post mentions at the beginning, this plan should be easy enough for just about anybody to make, even those with limited woodworking skills. It’s big enough for three or four chickens and includes a roof that opens, making maintenance easy. We like the way the plan includes complete details, making it easy for just about anyone to copy.
6. Chicken Coop DIY – Jamin O Keefe
Here’s an innovative idea for a chicken coop build! It’s another mobile “tractor” style coop, and we love the way it incorporates a pair of large wheels that are designed to make it as easy as possible for just one person to move it. As this YouTuber explains in the written introduction to the video, his design combines various elements from several other coops he saw – and we love the result!
7. A-Frame Chicken Coop: Redux: 8 Steps – Instructables
We always enjoy plans from the Instructables website since they’re invariably of excellent quality – and this one is no exception. It includes clear instructions along with plenty of photos and illustrations to help you understand what you need to do. The finished coop looks great, and with these detailed plans, it’s the kind of thing just about anyone will be able to manage – so why not give it a go and see how it turns out for you?
8. Chicken Coop Time Lapse – Nick Kwok
We mentioned that Ana White’s design in #1 is one of the most famous on the internet – and just to prove it, here’s a video by a YouTuber who decided to have a go at building one just like hers. It’s fun to watch this time-lapse video as the coop takes shape, and we’re sure that this video will be a useful watch for anyone also thinking of building an Ana White-style coop.
9. Build an A-frame Chicken Coop – Reader’s Digest Australia
The A-frame coop this tutorial teaches you how to make is a classic design, and the plan gives you very matter-of-fact instructions. However, that’s all you need to build a reliable home for your chickens that will help protect them from the heat or the cold and will provide them with somewhere safe and comfortable to lay their eggs. It also includes detailed illustrations and a cutting list, making the plan as easy as possible to copy.
10. Chicken Coop Frame Build – Will Dexter
This video is Part 1 in a series this YouTuber uploaded to his channel documenting his chicken coop build. In this first part, we get to watch a time-lapse shot as he works on the frame, gradually putting everything together. He’s a talented DIYer, and his design looks highly impressive. Check out the other videos to see what he does to finish the job.
11. $400 A-Frame Chicken Coop – White Shack Hatchery & Farm
In this final part of a coop-build series, this YouTuber shows us the $400 A-frame model that he created. We’ve seen a lot of other versions of similar coops that cost a lot less, so if you’re looking to save money, this might not be the plan for you. However, he has lots of good ideas and is a skilled workman, so even if you don’t try to copy his ideas, you can still pick up a few tips from what he does.
12. Chicken Tractor – BackYard Chickens
Here’s a plan for a cute A-frame chicken tractor with a pair of wheels at the back that are designed to make it easier to move. It’s a bit taller than some other A-frames, so it will be slightly more convenient to get inside to clean. We like the way the nesting boxes can be accessed from outside too, making it easy to remove the eggs without having to open up the coop to reach them.
13. DIY Chicken Coop from Old Trampoline Frame! – Rose City Reptiles TX
This is a unique idea for a portable chicken coop because it’s been constructed on an old trampoline frame! This YouTuber has added wheels underneath to make it mobile, and the chickens live above. It’s designed so their poop simply drops down onto the ground, minimizing the amount of maintenance it requires while also fertilizing your garden at the same time. A great example of what you can achieve by thinking outside the box!
14. How To Build an A-Frame DIY Chicken Tractor – Green Willow Homestead
In this blog post, you’ll learn about how to make an A-frame chicken tractor that’s built to last. As this blogger writes, she initially wanted to allow her hens to free-range – but after losing two to a hawk, she had to think of a solution that would give them access to natural pasture while also keeping them safe from predators. This mobile coop was her solution, and since then, she’s never looked back.
15. I Built a Predator Proof Chicken Coop – Haxman
Like in the post above in #14, this video is about making an A-frame mobile coop that’s designed to keep out predators. He has another reason for building this coop too – ticks. His lawn is infested with ticks, and his plan is to recruit a team of chickens to help deal with the problem. This involves building a coop that will allow the chickens to de-tick his property and hopefully allow him to enjoy his yard again. Check it out to see if it worked!
16. A-Frame Coop Design: 9 Steps – Instructables
We already mentioned above how the Instructables website is an excellent resource full of well-written plans, and here’s one more for an A-frame coop from the same site. This time, it teaches you how to build a coop in nine simple steps. As ever, the tutorial is up to the usual high standard we’ve come to expect from Instructables, making this another plan that’s well worth a look.
17. Minimalist DIY A-Frame Chicken Coop Build Start to Finish – Slowsteading
For people who don’t like to make things more complicated than necessary, this plan for an A-frame chicken coop should be of interest. In his video, this YouTuber shows us how he made a simple coop for a new batch of meat chickens he plans to raise, and it looks like a sturdy and reliable design that will keep them safe until the chicks are big enough to eat. Some interesting plants they have on their homestead, too…
18. How to Build an A-Frame Chicken Coop “Chicken Sled” – Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Although this chicken keeper has made many chicken coops over the years, she claims this is by far the best one. She’s named it “The Chicken Sled” since it’s a moveable model, although it does need to be pulled by a tractor because it’s too big and heavy to be pulled by muscle power alone. Importantly, it’s a self-cleaning coop, which means it will also save you a lot of time and effort once built.
19. Building a DIY A-Frame Chicken Tractor – Wholemade Homestead
In her video, this YouTuber talks about the kind of problem many chicken keepers eventually face – that is, she ran out of space as her flock size naturally increased. Her solution was to build the A-frame chicken tractor she shows us here, and as you can see, building one or more of these is a quick and easy way to solve this issue.
20. Chicken Coop Plan – The RE-Store
For people who like a detailed plan to follow when they tackle a new DIY project, this is ideal – because it teaches you how to build an A-frame chicken coop in 30 well-explained steps. The steps are all accompanied by useful photos, leaving you in no doubt about what you’re supposed to do – so even if you’re not confident in your DIY abilities, it’s still a design you should be able to replicate at home.
21. How To Build a Beautiful A-Frame Chicken Coop – FlatCity Farms
There are rough-and-ready DIY chicken frames and then there are beautiful creations like the one you learn to build in this blog post. Of course, it’s functional too, but if you want something for your yard that will make an attractive focal point rather than an eyesore, this is just the kind of thing you’ll want to consider. So why not have a go at making one and see how it turns out?
22. Building the Ultimate Mobile Chicken Coop A-Frame-Style – That 1870s Homestead
The story behind this coop was that these homesteaders already have a flock of broiler chickens that they keep in a basic chicken tractor, but they now want to move into keeping hens for eggs too, which means they’ll need somewhere safe for them to lay. The “Ultimate Chicken Coop” this DIYer constructs is designed to address this issue, and we love the design he’s come up with. The finished coop looks fantastic, and now he just needs to add chickens.
23. Chicken Coop Made From 3 Recycled Pallets – 1001 Pallets
Building stuff from pallet wood has become an established sub-genre of DIY, and in this post, we learn how to construct an A-frame coop using three scavenged pallets and a few other upcycled items this chicken keeper found lying around. The result? An extremely inexpensive chicken coop that looks very “DIY” – but that also looks like it will do the job of housing chickens perfectly. Great job, we’re impressed!
Lots of exceptional plans to help you get inspired
As we’ve seen, there’s no shortage of plans online for you to copy if you want to build a chicken coop of your own, whether you prefer a mobile one or a fixed design.
We’ve enjoyed collecting these plans for you, so we hope you’ve enjoyed watching and reading them all too. And above all, we hope we’ve helped you find the ideas and inspiration you need to start work on a chicken coop of your own.
