There are not many, but there are definitely a few requirements that all chicken coops should have if you are intending on keeping your chickens happy and healthy. I am very happy that you are thinking about building your own chicken coop, it is an extremely fun project and when you are done you have a wonderful place to keep your new pets and friends. So pay attention to these requirements or you will have some unhappy and probably unhealthy chickens!
A proper roost is very important feature that some people seem to forget about. You don't want your chickens sleeping in their nesting boxes because they will go to the bathroom and your fresh eggs will be covered in droppings, which needless to say, is not nice. So, to make sure they do not sleep in the nesting boxes, you need to build them a roost. The roost needs to be the highest place in the coop, because this is where they like to sleep. Chickens like to sleep up high, because they feel safe. Your roost can just be a large branch running through the coop or a one by one rod. It doesn't need to be fancy, just somewhere for them to sleep. Also, don't have it above the nesting boxes for the same reason you don't want them sleeping in the nesting box.
The next crucial feature for your chicken coop is fencing around your coop. You need to keep your chickens safe from any predators in your area. Make sure that you have the entire area that your chickens will roam in fenced off. Also, if you don't have a floor in your chicken coop you need to remember to dig down about 6 inches and put fencing under the dirt, this will prevent any animals from digging into the coop. There's nothing worse than having an animal come in and kill your chickens.
Another very important feature to your chicken coop is proper spacing. Your chicken coop needs to have at least three square feet for every chicken you have. I think you should have at least four, but I know some people do not have that kind of space, so just make sure you have three. The more the better.
You need to purchase a water heater and also a water tank that is big enough to hold enough water for you to go away for a little while and not have to fill it. This depends on how many chickens you have, but you do not want to have to fill it every day. The water heater is important because if your water freezes in cold weather your chickens will not be able to drink it, this is obviously a bad thing. Also, your feeder should be off the ground a little bit so your chickens don't scratch it and don't get stuff in it that you don't want them eating.
Make sure that your coop has good air ventilation. You need to have a couple windows or vents to keep fresh air flowing through your coop, this will make sure your chickens don't get sick from bad air. As I have said before, your chickens will go to the bathroom a lot, so if there isn't a nice air flow it will get unhealthy in your coop. Also, if you can't walk into your chicken coop to clean it out, which is the case for many people, you need to make sure you can reach in to clean it out, either have the roof open or a wall.
Hopefully there was something in my article that you learned and can make you current chicken coop better or can add to your designs of your new coop. If you are still debating whether you should have chickens or not, stop thinking and get some! They are a lot of fun and easy to take care of.
