DIY A-frame chicken coops: Fast, cheap, and easy to build
An A-frame chicken coop is a coop or coop/run combo in an “A” shape.
Chances are, if you’re interested in an A-frame coop for your chickens, then you’re probably looking for a coop with one or more of the following functions:
Easy to build
Cheap to build
Quick to build
Easy to clean
Lightweight and easy to move (if you’re going for the chicken tractor style)
Sound about right?
How do you DIY an A-frame chicken coop? To design and build an A-frame chicken coop, you need to figure out how big to make it, how to incorporate enough ventilation, if you want roosting bars and how many, if you want nesting boxes, and if you want a stationary or tractor model. From there, you can choose from a number of free or paid step-by-step plans to build your ideal A-frame coop.
In this article, you’ll learn the benefits and drawbacks of A-frame coops and if they’re right for your needs. You’ll see a variety of A-frame coops, including chicken tractors, stationary coops, walk-in coops, and coops made from a variety of materials including plywood and two-by-fours, pallets, and PVC pipes. You’ll learn where to find plans for many A-frame coops and will see several step-by-step YouTube videos showing DIY A-frame coop construction.
This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products, including links for Rita Marie’s Coops and Amazon.com. As an associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Pros of A-frame chicken coops
A-frame chicken coops come with both a number of benefits and drawbacks, and they aren’t right for everybody. You’ll need to carefully evaluate the pros and cons to determine if this structure is right for you and your ladies (and gents, for some of you).
Pro #1: Fresh grass for your chickens every day
Most people who are buying or building A-frame chicken coops are interested in the chicken tractor variety. The biggest pro of this type of coop is that your chickens can be moved to fresh grass every day. In fact, for me, this is the only reason I would even consider an A-frame coop.
If your chickens can’t free range, an A-frame coop and run allow them access to fresh greens, seeds, and insects every day. Your chickens will love this!
And, of course, this system can save your lawn as your chickens never stay on the same spot for more than a day at a time.
Pro #2: Easy to clean
Another pro is that you don’t have to worry about bedding in the run, and you will rarely, if ever, have to clean up chicken poop. If you move the A-frame tractor every day, you can pretty much ignore their poop. You’ll be living the dream.
Pro #3: Easy, cheap, and fast to build
Need I say more? A-frame coops may be the easiest and cheapest coops to DIY.
Cons of A-frame chicken coops
Con #1: Difficult to ventilate
A-frame tractors do, however, come with a number of cons. Properly ventilating a small A-frame coop can be difficult. The coop structure either needs to be raised with a wire floor for ventilation (not very comfortable for your chickens), or you can cut a ventilation hole (and cover it with wire to protect the birds from predators) in one wall.
However, this basically means your A-frame coop is only usable in the summer. Your chickens will be uncomfortably cold if they have a wire floor in the colder months, and you definitely don’t want them sleeping on grass because it contains moisture. Your chickens will be wet and cold, and if the temperature gets low enough, they can freeze to death. I actually don’t recommend this setup for chickens ever unless the weather is hot and dry.
The problem with having ventilation in the wall of a small A-frame coop is that the coop is too drafty. If ventilation is level with roosting chickens, rather than high above them, they are exposed to the elements.
See the video below to see an example of this. This is a beautiful coop but any cold draft will be extremely uncomfortable for roosting chickens. Additionally, chickens living with this coop setup won’t be able to get away from rain and snow. Not a good way for a chicken to live.
Con #2: Difficult to keep out predators
If you have burrowing predators in your yard, think twice before using an A-frame tractor. If you have predators like skunks or weasels, your chickens probably will not be safe in a tractor. Additionally, if you have larger predators in your area, like dogs, foxes, or coyotes, most cheaply built tractors can be easily tipped up or over by these predators.
Some people have successfully used portable electric poultry fences to help keep predators out. This type of poultry fence from Amazon is the most highly recommended, but using a poultry fence does add additional work and cost.
Con #3: Many DIY A-frame coops lack roosting bars and nesting boxes
Many DIY A-frames, particularly those that are the cheapest and fastest to build, lack roosting bars. If the plans you choose to use lack roosting bars, you will definitely need to modify them.
Chickens get very stressed out if they can’t roost at night – exceptions to this are some meat birds, who are too large and in too much pain to roost, and also chicks who have not learned how to roost yet and huddle under their mothers in nests or on warm bedding with their siblings.
And as stated in the section above, you do not want your birds sleeping on grass if there is any moisture at all where you live. Morning dew will cause your chickens to be wet and extremely uncomfortable. Sadly, there are many cases where people have raised adolescent chickens on grass, and these chickens froze to death because they were not able to warm up after getting wet from dew.
A lot of A-Frame coops also lack nesting boxes, but you can just include any type of box with bedding for them to nest in. My chickens love cat litter boxes, and one of my coops has a cheap plastic commercial box with bedding, but whatever you use, make sure it’s a material that will stay dry. Remember, chickens like their nests to feel safe and private, so enclosed boxes often work best.
Con #4: Potential to maim or kill chickens when moving the coop
This is usually something that happens with large and heavy tractors, but even small tractors can cause injury. You just need to be very, very slow and careful when dragging your tractor to another spot. If a chicken gets a leg or body under the back of the tractor while you’re dragging it, she could be seriously injured or killed.
Types of A-Frame coops and DIY plans and videos
Cheap, simple, and easy DIY A-frame tractor
Below is a video showing step-by-step instructions for a super simple and easy to build chicken coop. This coop cost around $30 to build, but the guy did use some recycled materials, so building it from scratch may cost a bit more.
This coop is incredibly simple and easy to build, and it’s small and light enough that you could easily pick it up and drag it. The coop, however, is not predator-proof, does not have roosting bars and nesting boxes, and is fairly small.
DIY A-Frame pallet coop
Below is a video showing how to build a small A-frame coop out of mostly pallets. If you have a bunch of pallets around, this may be the most economical coop for you to build.
The coop above is slightly more sophisticated than the video in the previous section. This coop has roosting bars and raised nesting boxes, which your chickens prefer. This coop is also easily moved by pulling the coop with the shoulder bars.
DIY A-frame PVC pipe coop
If you don’t have pallets laying around, but you’ve got a bunch of PVC pipe, check out the video below. This coop is made mainly of PVC pipe and wire.
This particular coop is not predator-proof and does not have roosting bars, but it does contain dry and private nesting boxes for the chickens. The coop is easy to drag by a rope.
DIY A-frame coops with runs underneath
Some A-frame coops have a housing (coop) structure above and a run below. Below is a video of a beautiful coop with this setup.
This coop has removable nesting boxes, a chicken ladder, a handy DIY PVC pipe feeder and nipple waterer. The ventilation, however, is terrible for drafts. The main ventilation window is parallel with the roosting bars, so drafts will hit the roosting chickens.
Additionally, if it rains or snows, the chickens will get soaked with this setup. While this may not be an issue during the hot, dry summer, this is a terrible setup for chickens in the winter.
If you’re interested in building a simpler version of this coop, check out these free plans from DIY builder, Ana White. This coop doesn’t contain egg boxes, but it does provide a place for chickens to get shelter. Like many A-frames, the coop doesn’t provide very good predator protection, but it is low-cost and easy to build.
DIY A-Frame coop tractor for free range chickens
A-frame coops are wonderful for providing fresh grass for your chickens, but the video below shows another purpose for them. This coop is used for cleanliness purposes.
It appears the woman’s chickens are free range and that they are just using the A-frame coop to sleep in at night. The floor of the coop is made of wire. The chickens can’t eat the grass through it, but they don’t need to since they are free-range.
The benefit is that the poop falls through the wire onto the ground and the woman, therefore, rarely has to clean the coop. She can move the coop everyday so the poop doesn’t build up and kill the grass!
Want to build this coop? Great! The woman has provided detailed step-by-step plans for free! Check out the plans here.
Stationary DIY walk-in A-frame coop
DIY A-frame coops don’t always have to be chicken tractors. You can quickly and cheaply build a walk-in A-frame coop as well. Check out these step-by-step photos and plans for a simple, straightforward DIY coop.
High-quality stationary DIY A-frame coop
Many A-frame chicken coops are stationary and of high quality. High-quality A-frame coops are ideal because they provide the safety, quality, and amenities your chickens need.
The more basic A-frame coops shown in all the sections above may work well in the short term during the hot, dry summer months, but a better quality coop will be needed long term.
There are several DIY plans available online for decent A-frame coops at a reasonable price. For example, check out these coop plans on Etsy for under $20.
Additionally, you can order high-quality Amish A-frame coops online and have them delivered and placed in your yard for you. Below are a few examples from Rita Marie’s chicken coops.
And if you want to see photos of my Rita Marie’s Chicken Coop, check out my review article, The BEST luxury coop you’ll ever buy: Spoil your chickens with Rita Marie’s.
