We know, from experience, that hens are well aware of any lack of a caring attitude. We presume, therefore, that you will wish to make the best possible chicken coop to keep them happy. Achieving that, however, needs a plan.

Your breed of hens will guide the design of coop, such as how much heating or cooling will be needed, the space required, and whether they are being kept for eggs or meat. Coop size will depend on the number of birds ' allow between 8 and 10 square feet per hen. Find out what predators are common in your area, since the coop will need to be designed to keep your hens properly secured against these.

You must consider any applicable regulations about breeding and keeping poultry, which you can get from your local government offices or planning department. If your hen run is only for your own use you should not have any significant problems with these.

And it is a good idea to keep your neighbors in the picture, particularly if they live fairly close by. Hens can be noisy and smelly, and not everybody loves them! Perhaps some fresh eggs from time to time might help ease any potential objections.

Once you have decided on the chicken shed layout you will be ready to start to make the best chicken coop you can. This is when it is a good idea to get hold of some chicken coop designs ' it is much easier to use someone else's working model than try to design one from scratch, particularly if that someone is a chicken expert who already knows what goes to make the best chicken coop.

Plans for chicken coops are many and varied. Some can be downloaded for nothing, and some of these are pretty good. But the best chicken coop plans usually need a small investment.

As a minimum, wherever you get them, ensure that the plans include clear cutting dimensions for every part, the material specification and quantities, and detailed drawings showing the complete assembly so that you can get everything ready before starting to build.

Step-by-step assembly instructions are also very useful, to save waste of time and materials by having to do things twice. Hen houses are often very basic structures but it is still remarkably easy to miss critical items, put things together in the wrong order and have to do it all over, finally getting completely dejected.

Much better to get it right the first time around.

The best chicken coop plans will offer you a huge range of designs as well as having clear and accurate drawings, full materials lists and simple assembly instructions.

Building the best is not difficult or expensive but good plans for chicken coops are a basic requirement and a really sensible investment in your hens' future.