Have you been thinking about raising chickens? If so, you will definitely need some sort of chicken pen to provide shelter for your chickens. There are so many different styles of pens so how do you choose which chicken pen plans will work best for you? Here are a few tips to help you decide.

1. How many chickens will you raise? This is probably the most important factor to consider. If you do not have room to keep more than about four or five chickens (or do not want a lot of chickens), then you may want to look at the chicken tractor style.

A chicken tractor is a portable pen that has no floor and is moved around the yard. The chickens can scratch the ground and eat the bugs and weeds. If you are looking at keeping more than five chickens, you will probably want to build a larger chicken pen. Make sure each chicken has about one to two square meters each inside the chicken pen so they are not too crowded. Crowding results in fewer eggs and unhappy chickens.

2. Where do you live? The land you intend to keep chickens on will also determine which kind of chicken pen plans you should be looking at. In many communities, you can keep chickens in your backyard. If this is your plan, a small coop or tractor is definitely the way to go to keep your neighbors happy. You probably will not be able to keep a large number of chickens anyway within the city limits. You will need to check with your local laws. If you live out in a rural area, you can build a large pen as elaborate as you want it to be.

3. How much do you want to spend? It is true that the smaller pens will cost less to build than the larger and more elaborate styles. A simple pen built with recycled materials is one option for those looking to build a pen on a budget.

Fortunately, with backyard chickens becoming so popular, there are several chicken pen plans available online so that you don’t have to buy a pre-made pen. You will save a lot of money if you build your own chicken pen.

I decided to build a chicken tractor for my backyard. My family has been enjoying caring for the chickens and eating fresh eggs almost every day. Visit my chicken pen site to find out which easy-to-follow chicken pen plans I used to build my chicken coop. Good luck with your chicken raising adventure!