Title: How to Build Chicken Coops: Everything You Need to Know
Author: Samantha Johnson, Daniel Johnson
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
Pages: 192
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Date Started: February 6, 2019
Date Finished: March 29, 2019
Format: Adobe Digital
Genre: Instructional, Construction

*I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Chickens are a farmyard staple and are increasingly common within city limits as a backyard hobby and a source of fresh eggs. But when adding any animal or livestock to the family, there are bound to be a bounty of questions and decisions leading up to the acquisition of the new arrivals.

How to Build Chicken Coops provides a fantastic starting point for preparing to add chickens to your yard. The first part of the book touches on all of the smaller details that a novice chicken raiser might overlook, such as location and orientation of the coop, materials used in and out of the coop, water and food, and much more. The book then provides a basic blueprint and step-by-step instructions for building a general-use coop and run for about 3 chickens. While this may not be the “grand palace” of coops, it is extremely customizable and information on how to expand or alter the plan are included, so that you can make the structure work for your needs.

I really enjoyed this book. While I wish there had been a couple of additional plans for building coops, the provided plan seemed like a fantastic starting point for building beginners, such as myself. If you have experience woodworking or in construction, this book may not be very useful for you. However, if you are encouraging younger children to assist in the building process, the pictures and simple safety reminders made this book a great opportunity to work through the construction process with younger chicken-eers.

Having never built a chicken coop myself, this was a great starting read and gave me a greater confidence in my ability to build one someday soon. The plan included was a sturdy, all-purpose coop, one which I wouldn’t mind making myself.

Overall, 3/5 moose