Chicken coop designer

Start from your flock. The coop, the run, the checks and the materials list update as you change it, free.

Step 1 of 2

Your flock

Start with the birds. We size the coop and the run from them, then you can change everything.

How many hens

What kind

Most laying hens: Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Sussex.

A run

They need

Coop floor: 24 sq ft
Run: 60 sq ft
Nest boxes: 2
Roost: 4 ft

We suggest

4' x 8' raised hutch, with a 8' x 8' run

Flock checks: 21 of 23 green, 2 rule of thumb

How the designer works

Flock first

Tell it how many hens, what size of bird and whether they get a run. It proposes the smallest of our sizes that passes every check, then you change what you like.

Checked against sources

Every flock check names the rule it uses and where that rule comes from. Where the sources give a range or say nothing, the value is marked as our default.

Run included

The run is framed, meshed and listed like the coop: posts, rails, mesh bands, apron, door and roof, packed into the rolls stores sell.

One list to buy

Boards, sheets, rolls and hardware for the coop and the run come in one list, with the cut list behind it.

The run rules

The run checks join the coop checks in the panel. These come from extension guidance; the build details under them are our defaults.

Rule	Check	What passes	Sources
DEF-22	Run walls	1/2 in hardware cloth the full height; cheaper option: hardware cloth to 36 in, 1 x 2 in welded wire above (amber)	Utah State, UC Davis, UNH
DEF-23	Anti-dig apron	12 in on the ground, pinned; or buried 12 in and turned 6 in out	NC State, Penn State, Virginia Tech
DEF-24	Run roof	Roof panels by default, mesh as an option; open is amber	Penn State, NC State, Oregon State
ED-22	Run roof under snow	Purlins sized for your snow load; mesh roof amber up to 30 psf, red above	Our default
ED-14	Run headroom	72 in so you can step in; lower is amber	Our default, after NC State
RUN-03	Run length	At least 6 ft out from the coop	NC State

ED-13 Our default: the run sits against the wall with the pop door, the left wall on a gable coop and the right wall on a lean-to (its left wall carries the nest boxes), as long as that wall at most. The mesh goes on the outside of the posts (NC State, RUN-03).
ED-14 Our default: a run you can walk into, 72 in tall with its own roof, because NC State asks for a run you can enter standing upright and gives no number. Where the coop wall top is 72 in or more (a walk-in coop) the run tucks under the eave instead. Never taller than 8 ft. A lower run tucked under the eave stays as an option, amber.
ED-21 Our default: a run with its own roof stands clear of the coop, 1 in past the eave overhang. Its coop end is a full mesh wall with a framed pass-through at the pop door, and a short hardware cloth chute closes the gap around the ramp on all four sides.
ED-15 Our default: 4x4 pressure-treated posts at most 6 ft apart, set 24 in in the ground (deeper where your frost line asks); 2x4 rails at the ground (pressure-treated), at the top and at every joint between mesh bands; roof joists 2x4 up to an 8 ft span, 2x6 to 12 ft, 2x8 beyond.
ED-16 Our default: the mesh rolls run along each run wall in bands stacked up the wall, each band edge landing on the middle of a 2x4 rail set on edge. The cheaper walls put 1/2 in hardware cloth up to 36 in and 1 x 2 in welded wire above it (Oregon State uses 1 x 2 in for the run, RUN-04).
ED-17 Our default: the apron is a 24 in strip of hardware cloth screwed to the bottom rail. On the surface it runs 12 in up and 12 in out, pinned with a landscape staple every 12 in; buried it runs 6 in up, 12 in down and 6 in out (Penn State, Virginia Tech).
ED-18 Our default: a 30 in door in the middle of the far end, as tall as that wall frames, a 2x4 frame with a diagonal brace in the same mesh, two hinges and two two-step latches, opening out.
ED-19 Covered run: corrugated polycarbonate panels 26 in wide in the Greca 76 profile, 8, 10 or 12 ft long (Palram's Suntuf guide), side laps of one corrugation so each panel covers about 23 in (our calculation from the 76 mm profile pitch), end laps 6 in (the maker asks for 4 to 8 in), falling 1-1/2 in per foot away from the coop (the maker's minimum recommended slope, PANEL-01), on purlins 24 in apart up to 40 psf and 16 in apart up to 50 psf (the maker's load table, PANEL-02), fixed with 2 in EPDM-washered screws on the crown of every other rib, pre-drilled 1/4 in (PANEL-03), with foam closure strips at both ends.
ED-22 Our default: roof purlins are sized with the same Spruce-Pine-Fir No. 2 span math as the coop rafters, for the snow load you pick plus 5 psf dead load and L/180 deflection. A mesh roof carries no snow: amber at 30 psf or less (brush it off after each storm), red above 30 psf, where the covered roof or a removable winter cover is the fix. The panels themselves are checked against the maker's load table (PANEL-02).
ED-20 Our default: 1 x 2 in galvanized welded wire, 16 gauge. The one store-brand roll we found on Oct 8, 2026 is 3 ft x 25 ft (YARDGARD at Tractor Supply), so 3 ft bands are bought in 25 ft rolls; the other widths are in the sizes stores usually list, not priced.

The builder's plan for your coop

Every wall framed, every cut listed, the run panels and the mesh cutting plan, for the coop you design here, run included. $29 once, from the Builder's plan box in the designer. If our plan has an error, we fix it or refund you.

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