6 Chicken Coop Mistakes I Made (And How To Avoid Them)

Raising chickens for egg production (or meat) is easy. Even so, take a little advice and avoid some of the chicken coop mistakes I made when I first started!

Originally published in November 2014; this post has been updated.

Raising Chickens 

Urban chickens seem to be taking cities by storm — at least in the cities with reasonable codes that allow raising small livestock.

Even folks who have never raised farm animals are coming to realize that a handful of hens can easily be accommodated on a city lot and they provide both eggs and manure (for those urban gardens!). Why wouldn’t you want to jump on this bandwagon?

If you’re building a DIY chicken coop for your birds, there are some things to consider. 

Common Chicken Coop Mistakes

Of course, there is a learning curve to chicken keeping. In nearly 25 years of raising chickens for eggs, I’ve learned a thing or two — mostly by doing it wrong at first!

Know Your Predators

My hens live in a very simple enclosure that protects them from wandering dogs. We’re lucky that wandering dogs are really the biggest threat to my hens in my current location.

When a mongoose takes up residence nearby, he or she is primarily after eggs or small chicks. We try to keep the foliage cut back near the coop to discourage them from moving in, but when they do, we use a trap.

When we were raising poultry for eggs in another location, we battled skunks, raccoons, bobcats, and hawks, and we lost a fair number of chickens. Even though the girls were caged, some predators were wily enough to burrow under the fence.

Concrete blocks and wire are one way to really secure a coop. Or you might try installing one of these solar predator control lights. If you’ve got flying predators, you’ll want to be sure to add an upper barrier to keep them from flying in.

Keep Their Food Dry

Don’t be like me and make do by simply tucking chicken feed bags inside the coop. I’ve lost so much chicken food over the years this way, both from moisture that causes the feed to mold and rodents.

I finally got smart and added a garbage can with a lid to my chicken coop. When I open a new bag of feed it goes directly into the can where it’s protected from the weather. Keeping it contained like this also helps as preventative pest control to keep mice and rats from hanging around.

Raising chickens for eggs can get expensive if you’re wasting a lot of food. And that makes for expensive homegrown eggs!

Discourage Mosquitos

Open water troughs—especially in my tropical climate—breed mosquitos. I kick myself every time I have to dump the chicken’s water to eliminate mosquito larvae. It’s a waste of water, plus it’s one more thing that I really don’t need to be doing.

I just need to make one of these. It’s on my list of things to do.

Make it Easy

If you’re building a backyard chicken coop and nesting boxes, take the time to add an access door that will allow you to gather eggs without actually entering the hen house.

Trust me. When you’re in the midst of making a cake and realize you need a couple of eggs, you don’t want to have to fight through a flock of hens who think you might have a tasty tidbit or risk stepping in poop.

You will thank me later.

Don’t Overdo It

My first hen house had space for a half dozen hens and had, accordingly, a half dozen laying boxes. Overkill, big time.

Even though we eventually added more hens, we could easily have gotten away with just a couple of boxes. Sometimes the girls even like to share a nesting box. 

Make it a Slippery Slope

Any level or flat surface in the hen house will be seen as a potential roosting place. Flat topped nesting box? They’ll roost on it and poop all over. Chicken feeder in the coop? Ditto.

After we built our six laying boxes (see above — overkill) we discovered very quickly that they needed a sloped top to prevent one big chicken-poopy mess. Raising chickens shouldn’t require you to constantly clean up after them.

Provide a Dust Bath

Chickens like to have a dry patch of dirt in which they can bathe. They roll around in the dirt, flapping their wings to get the dust into their feathers and against their skin. It’s one way for them to help prevent mites. 

Just making sure there is a dry outdoor space for the chickens to scratch is sufficient; they will scratch themselves an area to roll around in. 

You can also create a designated dust bath in a covered area that will stay dry. You can dig a hole or create a frame to contain the dry dirt. Some chicken keepers like to add sand and wood ash.

I’ve found that given the choice, my chickens prefer to make their own dust bathing area. 

Give them Fresh Air

While chicken coops are a great place for your girls to stay warm and dry overnight or during the cold winter months, if you can provide them an outdoor area in which they can scratch and peck, they will be happier.

Trying to decide between chickens and ducks? Read about how chicken eggs and duck eggs compare.

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