How to build a Modern DIY Chicken Run

This is our DIY Chicken Run that I custom designed and built from scratch with the help of my husband and some friends.

Building plans are here:

I was inspired by some of the other designs I found on Pinterest and chicken forums to build something beautiful. I am not an architect, but I am handy, and I ran this by my architect friend and got his blessing to proceed. It is a 16x6ft build constructed out of pressure treated wood that was custom painted and screwed together, with galvanized metal roofing and two layers of mesh wireing all around to keep animals out. It only took me about a week to construct everything, and a few weeks later to officially film it (hense why it turned to fall at the end of the video).

This was a fun experience that just about anyone could do, and it has been a blessing for our chickens! They are safe from predators, sheltered from storms, and kept dry and contained in a neat little area of our backyard. All in all I'd build it again the same way I did it this time :)

I hope this helped inspire you to build your next chicken run! It can easily be customized to fit a chicken coop inside, on the side of, or built into the design altogether.

Thanks for watching and please let me know if you have any questions!
-Nina Marie

AUTOMATIC COOP DOOR:

SOLAR POWERED STRING LIGHTS:

CLIPS THAT GO INTO THE WOOD TO HANG THE LIGHTS:

SOLAR FLOOD LIGHT (used inside the chicken coop during winter to get more light and more eggs!):

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EUFY OUTDOOR CAMERA (for inside the coop and the run):

SOLAR MOTION SENSOR LIGHT (to see movement at night):

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YOLINK SMART TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY SENSOR:

YOLINK WATER LEVEL DETECTOR:

YOLINK HUB (you need this for any yolink product!):

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HAMMOCK:

HAMMOCK HANGER:

[Turk-tfvp]

Hens are attracted to the color red and they lay more eggs. I know it sounds odd but there is truth in it. I love that enclosure.

[victorm]

Cleaning once a week will get old. The deep litter method works much much much better. ( no stink, no smell at all )The pine shavings should be at least 6 inch When it’s time to clean the coop. I clean my coop once a year. It also help to keep the inside of the coop warm.

[debralev]

Great job on the chicken run and your garden design! I'm picking up my new chickens this week.

[frankpalermo]

I agree with a previous comment. Deep litter method works great. Your design is awesome.

[maddiksmommy]

This is amazing! Thanks for the full walk-through!

[annesiabrewer]

Love it 🥰, your ideal will work great for my daughters farm… thanks for sharing KY

[emoney]

What a great job. The design is amazing

[Frankieeezz]

Great video and just a awesome build. I went straight to your site and just bought it now . Thanks so much

[obiej]

Very cool. About to start a very similar run myself

[mikemacinnes]

Chickens gonna kick mulch all over 😂. Like design I’m looking to build another pen. Might still some of your ideas. Great vid! Thanks guys. Keep vids coming

[smiley]

I love my silkies too! Sometimes they can lay decent sized sized eggs. Sometimes they are kinda small.

[ibekwechidithompson]

Hi Nina, I love your design and am just starting to make a chicken coop and your design sooths me well, please let me have it as a gift. Will show you updates as I complete mine.
Thanks

[dontbanmebrodontbanme]

Concrete in the coop? Wow, I've never seen that before. I have linoleum floor tiles in mine. I LOVE the water detector!!! I will buy one.

[PieterDamsteegt]

Dude y’all’s backyard design is so on point

[jasonbrowncoaching]

I bought these plans. Can you please tell me why the base says 4 8ft 4x4s and I see two tall ones and two shorter ones in the back?

[joyadams]

Beautiful coop and run! But my question is… there are no windows for air ventilation in the warm months of summer?

[sherriberkley]

Good thinking about putting the rafter’s beyond the fence.

[kiiwe]

Love the look of this coop. Quick question tho, where in the heck did you get the hen house. I’m about to build your coop but can’t find a hen house that would fit with it

[foxtalktv]

Hi there amazing! What software did you use to create a model of your plan? Im doing renovations myself to my old country farm here in Australia and this woud save me so much time and paper! ❤

[willsoul]

Hi, Just bought the plans but I stupidly didnt check the files you were going to include - I was expecting the sketchup file... do you have one?