My husband and I recently built a small “dug-out” chicken house for three hens and a rooster and I thought I would share how we built it.  It is a quick and easy way to make some shelter for your chickens.

You will need two 4×8 sheets of plywood ( $12 each), six 2×4’s ($2 each),  screws, drill, saw, saw horses and something to make a hole for the perching poles.  My husband has this circular saw looking thing that attaches to his drill that is probably and inch and a half in diameter.

The two sheets of plywood need to be cut into, making  four 4×4 sheets.  Two of the pieces will be the sides and one for the roof and one for the back of the house.  You will need to put two of the boards together and make at least one hole to go thru both boards in exactly the same place to be able to put a perching rod up.  If you have smaller chickens like Silkies,  I would put the holes in the bottom at the back of the house about 2 feet off the ground, about half way up the board and only a foot from the back wall.

This picture shows the 4×4 with the holes cut thru both sheets.  To attach the 2x4s, we line the two  2x4s (approximately 48 inches) up on the left and right and then I sit on the board to keep it from moving while my husband adds the screws.  Then we add the other two 2×4 (approximately 40 inches) which are shorter to frame out the interior of the board.   Do this to both side pieces.

Then I painted the exterior of all four 4x4s.  If you want to make the house blend in with the surroundings, I would suggest a forest green or a brown.  I already had some antique white paint so that’s what I used.

We have moved the four panels of 4x4s into the chicken yard now.  Our fence was already up and it was going to be difficult to move the whole house so we did the majority of the work (cutting and attaching the 2x4s)  in the shade near our house.   As you can see, we put the back panel up to the side and then screwed the back panel on to the 2×4 on the side.  Then we added the other side panel and again attached the back panel to it also.  Definitely need two people for this part.This is how it looks with the sides and back together.  It stands alone.  Yay.  You will need to add a 2×4 at the top and bottom of the back board.

Match up the back corners first and attach screws along the back.  Then straighten the sides to line up with the roof and attach with screws. Then add a 2×4 along the top front so you will have something to screw the top to and you might want to add one on the bottom front.  I did not because I want to be able to rake the chicken poo and straw out easier.  Instead, I took the last 2×4 and attached it to the (inside)  middle of the top of the roof to keep it from warping.

We already had a pole for perching.  We added a crate with hay in it for the laying hens and a feeder and water.  The yard is just 8×10 foot, I would guess.  I also have some netting over the top which I purchases at Lowes for about 8 bucks.  We don’t have a lot of predators that are four-footed around her but the chicken hawks and owls will sweep down and take your small chickens.

If you need to close your chickens in at night, it is easy to close in the front with boards or fencing.  I will probably add a 2×4 foot piece of plywood at the front top to help keep the rain out.  You can also make your roof slanted to make the water run off.

My husband keeps saying he wants to build the houses at least 6 feet tall so we don’t have to bend down to get into the houses but when you are only reaching in a couple feet to retrieve the eggs, it doesn’t bother me.  You might want to get the crate off the ground and attach it to the back wall.  I don’t really see a lot of benefit in doing that though because I like everything moveable.  You don’t really have to have a nest for them because they will lay back in the corner of the house without a nest, unfortunately.

My husband and I are not carpenters by any means and there might be a lot better way to make a small house but this is really cheap and is almost instant protection from the weather.  You can also lean a piece of wood to the side of the house and lay a brick on the ground at the base of the wood to keep the board from moving.  This gives you a place to put the food and water and it is not in the house.  The corn gets wet and it smells really bad.  lol

I hope you can figure out my system to build the house.  It is my first attempt at trying to explain how to build something step-by-step.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your chickens as much as I enjoy mine.