There are hundreds of unique chicken coop plans available for your backyard project.
How you draw out the blueprints for your coop will, of course, depend on your needs. If you are planning to have a small flock and want to build a smaller coop, you may want to consider a portable chicken coop. These are also called "chicken tractors." They often do not have floors and can be moved every few days or weeks from one part of your lawn to another so the grass does not get trampled down. This is perfect for raising chickens in cities where there may be limited space for them to wander around. It's also helpful for both your roosters and your lawn. The chicken droppings provide great fertilizer for your lawn and, by moving the coop frequently, the chickens get a chance to eat new grub and fresh greens. Plus, you don't have to worry about cleaning up the droppings!
You can use any design you want, or create your own - the chickens won't mind. But do keep in mind your skill level at constructing it when picking out a design. I used a chicken coop design of my own creation - now this worked just great in the end, and I had fun building it. But I didn't have a lot of experience in wood construction or carpentry so it took me a lot longer to come up with a blueprint, to figure out how much wood it would take etc. I also encountered problems while constructing it since my blueprint wasn't perfectly polished and ready to go - so the construction process didn't always go smoothly either.
Looking back, I should have simply used one of the many available chicken coop designs and plans that I found online since it would have saved me a ton of time and energy. But like I said - I do take great pride in my little 4'x8' creation and the chickens seem perfectly happy in it! You'll figure out what will work best for you.
