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This is the coop for people done with crouching: a real 8x4-footprint stick-framed shed you walk into upright, with a human door, two shuttered windows, and the flock-keeper's favorite feature — an external nesting box hung on the wall, with its own hinged lid, so morning eggs happen without entering the coop at all.
It's genuine small-building construction and a better first shed than a shed, because chickens don't complain about learning curves. Floor system on pier blocks with treated 4x4s (foundation practice varies by region — the source says ask locally, and that's the right answer), 2x4 walls framed flat and tipped up, a 15° single-slope roof built into the back wall's angled studs, T1-11 siding, three sheets of 1/2" ply and roofing on top.
The details that make it a COOP rather than a shed: hardware cloth or chicken wire stapled inside the window openings (shutters close over them in weather — ventilation with predator security), the nesting box built from a 1x12 with a sloped lid so hens don't roost on it, and linoleum over the plywood floor, which turns the worst job in chicken-keeping into a scrape-and-hose job.
The cut list covers the framing; trim is measure-to-fit because T1-11 thickness varies (the source declines to fake those numbers, and so does this plan). One framing subtlety in step 4: the back wall's top plate must NOT overhang its studs — the T1-11 sheathes flush all the way up the back face.
Predator note, because it's the difference between a coop and a buffet: staple hardware cloth, not just chicken wire, anywhere raccoons can reach. Chicken wire keeps chickens in; it does not keep clever hands out.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| T1-11 siding, 4x8 sheet | 6 each |
| Plywood, 3/4", 4x8 sheet, flooring gradeThe floor. Cover with linoleum — future-you, on cleaning day, insists. | 1 each |
| 2x4, 8 ft or stud lengthOnly 5 must be true 8-footers; the rest can be studs. | 40 each |
| 1x4, 8 ftTrim and shutters. | 17 each |
| 1x3, 8 ftWindow trim and nesting box. | 8 each |
| Plywood, 1/2", 4x8 sheetRoof deck. | 3 each |
| 1x12, 10 ftThe nesting box. | 1 each |
| Hinges, assortedDoor, four shutters, nesting box lid. | 8 each |
| Framing nails, 16d, or 3" construction screws | 300 each |
| Galvanized nails, 2", ring shankSiding, roof deck, trim. | 300 each |
| Pocket hole screws, 1-1/2" and 1-1/4"Rafters (with 2-1/2" screws), doors, and nesting box. | 100 each |
| Roofing, ~50 sq ftMetal panels or shingles, your call and your climate's. | 1 each |
| Hardware cloth and staplesWindows. Hardware cloth stops raccoons; chicken wire only stops chickens. | 1 each |
Overall cost: $$$$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Floor joists2x4 | 5 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 45" |
| Floor rims2x4 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 96" |
| Floor sheathing3/4" plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 48" × 96" |
| Front wall top plate2x4 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 96" |
| Front wall studs2x4 | 6 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 72 3/4" |
| Door jack studs2x4 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 69 1/4" |
| Door header / bottom plates2x4 | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 33" |
| Side wall studs2x4Four per wall — build two walls. | 8 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 72 3/4" |
| Window headers and sills2x4 | 6 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 21 1/2" |
| Side wall plates2x4 | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 41" |
| Back wall plates2x4 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 96" |
| Back wall studs2x4Top end cut at 15° — the roof slope lives in these studs. | 5 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 84 1/2" |
| Rafters2x4Both ends 15°, parallel, then the bottom point trimmed square 2-5/8" down — see the step; it gives a flush face for the front wall. | 5 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 49 7/8" |
| Nesting box sides1x12One end at 30° — the sloped lid line. Hens don't roost on a slope, which is the point. | 2 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 23 3/4" |
| Nesting box bottom1x12 | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 36 1/4" |
| Nesting box door/lid1x12 | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 36" |
| Nesting box trim1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 36 1/4" |
| Nesting box back supports2x4 | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 36 1/4" |
| Shutter boards1x4For four shutters. | 12 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 24" |
| Shutter battens1x2 rip or 1x3 | 8 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 10 1/2" |
Some parts are longer than a 8 ft board, so there is no honest board count to show here. Open the board plan to pick a longer stock length — it names every part that does not fit.
31 boards
Sort the foundation first — pier blocks with treated 4x4s on top is the simple default, but frost depth and drainage vary, so ask locally (the source's advice, and correct).
Frame the floor 24" on center with 16d nails or 3" screws, square it by diagonals, and sheath with 3/4" ply glued with subfloor adhesive and ring-shank nailed. Cold climate? Slip rigid foam between the joists now. Set the floor on the foundation and shim dead level — every wall inherits this surface. Then lay linoleum over the plywood; it converts cleaning day from scraping to hosing.
On a big flat area, frame the front wall: plates, studs, and the door opening with its jack studs and header. Nail or screw, then square by diagonals before it leaves the ground.
Two side walls, each with a framed window (headers and sills from the 21-1/2" pieces). The windows can move or resize freely — they're ventilation, and the shutters will be built to whatever you frame. Use scrap to frame the nesting-box opening in one side wall, with a lip to help hens step in.
The back studs are cut at 15° on top (84-1/2" long point) so the roof slope is built into the wall. Fasten the top plate WITHOUT letting it overhang the studs — the T1-11 runs flush all the way up the back face, and a proud plate would hold the siding off the framing.
Stand and brace the walls, screwing down into the floor joists and to each other, checking plumb as you go. Then the rafters: 2x4s cut 15° both ends (parallel), with the bottom point trimmed off square 2-5/8" down — that flat lets each rafter land flush on the front wall. Hang them with 1-1/2" pocket holes and 2-1/2" screws, or toenail, or use brackets; all three work, the pocket holes are just the least cursing.
Hang the T1-11 in full sheets, trimming only length. Trim front and back first with full 8-foot 1x4s top and bottom, then the sides — all trim cut to fit, because T1-11 thickness varies and the source rightly refuses to pretend otherwise. 2" galvanized nails throughout.
Roof: three sheets of 1/2" ply (center piece gets one lengthwise cut — the 24" o.c. studs make the math work), nailed off, then your roofing over it.
Build the box from the 1x12: 30°-sloped sides, bottom, front trim, 2x4 back supports. Screw it to the side wall THROUGH the studs at the framed opening, and hinge the sloped lid.
The slope isn't style — a flat nesting box top becomes a roost, and a roost above the nest means fouled eggs. The outside lid means eggs without entering: the feature you'll use 365 mornings a year.
Trim the window openings in 1x3, staple HARDWARE CLOTH over them from inside (raccoons open chicken wire like a lunchbox), and build the four shutters — three 1x4 boards battened with 1x2s each — hung on hinges so they close over the wire in rain or cold.
Frame the door in 1x4s with 1-1/4" pocket holes, back it with leftover ply or 1x6s, and build it to YOUR opening with 1/8" gaps all around. Hang it, add 1x2 door-stop moulding inside the jamb (stop and weather seal in one), and latch it — with the string-through-the-wall trick if the latch is chicken-height.
Move the flock in. You'll stand upright in there tomorrow morning and wonder why anyone builds the crouching kind.
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Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →