Building Chicken Coops For Dummies
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The tools you need to construct a chicken coop depend on the kind of coop you choose to build and the materials you decide to utilize, but you’ll almost certainly need these building basics:

  • Personal safety gear: Don’t forget work gloves, protective goggles, and hearing protection. They’re the most important items in your toolkit.

  • Tape measure: Use a tape measure that’s at least 10 feet long and shows an incremental measurement at least every eighth of an inch.

  • Circular saw: This portable power tool is essential to coop construction. You may choose to also use a miter saw, a table saw, a jigsaw, and a handsaw for various steps, but a circular saw is almost a must-have.

  • Hammer: Select a hammer that you can swing comfortably. Even if you plan on predominantly using screws, you’ll need a hammer for knocking boards into position. For large jobs, consider a pneumatic nailer.

  • Drill: You’ll use a drill most often as a screw gun. If your drill is cordless, have a spare battery charged and ready to go to keep the job moving.

  • Level: You’ll likely find it handy to have more than one level: a pocket-sized torpedo level; a medium, 2-foot model; and a long, 4-foot carpenter’s level.

  • Speed square: You’ll find a speed square indispensable for marking straight lines, laying out and checking angles, and using as a cutting straightedge.

  • Tin snips: Just about every chicken coop on the planet uses some sort of wire mesh somewhere in its design. Tin snips are the best way to cut it.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Todd Brock is a television writer and producer whose work includes PBS's Growing a Greener World, DIY Network's Fresh From the Garden, and HGTV's Ground Breakers. He is the coauthor of Building Chicken Coops For Dummies.

Todd Brock is a television writer and producer whose work includes PBS's Growing a Greener World, DIY Network's Fresh From the Garden, and HGTV's Ground Breakers. He is the coauthor of Building Chicken Coops For Dummies.

Kimberley Willis has raised numerous breeds of chickens and other poultry for eggs, meat, and showing for more than 40 years.

Robert T. Ludlow owns and manages BackYardChickens.com, the largest and fastest-growing community of chicken enthusiasts in the world.

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