The best chicken coops for your backyard

This coop from PawHut is a great starter solution that makes ample use of a relatively small footprint.

The PawHut 63-Inch Wooden Backyard Chicken Coop was the very first chicken coop we purchased when we first got our flock, and it was a great beginner coop at a relatively low cost. We did have to build a run, as the included run isn't large enough to house our three chickens on days when we can't let them run around the yard. However, having any run included is nice a feature, and the fact that the run sits underneath the coop itself makes smart use of yards with limited space.

The quaint red barn styling of the PawHut should sit well in any yard, and the little windows in the nesting area give you a chance to check in on your birds at night without waking them. You should still let your birds out, but they'll be happy in the small built-in run until you do.

There's a double nesting box (but you'll find your chickens all like to share one side) that is easily accessed by lifting the roof. You can also pull out the wooden floor of the whole top floor, which makes cleaning the PawHut much easier than a traditional coop with a fixed floor. A nice little touch is the planter, but in practice, the shallow depth limits what you can grow in it. Our chickens did enjoy chowing down on our several attempts at planting seeds.

This is a pretty small coop, and I wouldn't recommend more than a pair of larger birds in here, or three to four smaller chickens or bantams. The roof of the coop is sturdy, but if you plan to leave it in full sunlight be aware that the felting will need some attention every year or so.

As one Amazon reviewer noted, the affordable price means there is some compromise on materials, and you might find yourself reinforcing the coop after a year or two. However, if you are just getting into poultry raising, this is a great starter coop and one you can easily sell on (or apparently use for cats) if your flock and poultry ambitions grow.

Pros: Affordable, easy to clean, cheap

Cons: Not super durable, small

The SnapLock Formex is a serious coop, but it is built to house a large flock for a long time. If you're serious about raising chickens, this is the prosumer poultry palace for you.

If you've been well and truly pecked by the poultry passion, you're probably looking for a replacement for your first coop. You may have become really interested in those larger traditional breeds, but don't have the space for any more birds. Don't worry, I feel your pain, and so do the people at SnapLock. The solution to your chicken conundrum is the SnapLock Formex Large, a coop that can hang with even the most avid of poultry parents.

What makes this coop a good choice for larger flocks? Well, first off, it's huge. There are four nesting spots with removable dividers and three 36-inch roosts. It's also easy to clean thanks to the removable roof and floor and the use of high-quality plastic parts. Adjustable ventilation keeps your chickens cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and the coop itself just snaps together in very little time with no tools required.

Satisfied buyers on Amazon said that the coop is easily assembled, durable, and functional and that it is easy to access nests, roosts, and litter trays. As one reviewer noted, the real alternative is a custom-made coop: "Yes, I could have saved a lot of money building from plans or buying one of the flimsier wood kits. But I doubt I could have ended up with something as good. It took me about 30 minutes to assemble and another 30 minutes to build a stand out of 2x4's and a ramp up to the door."

Most buyers did build a stand, a ramp up to the door, and of course an enclosed run, but this should take a few hours at most, and the snaplock construction of the coop will save you that much time compared to building a coop from the ground up. Unlike a custom wooden coop, even with 8 to 10 chickens the SnapLock shouldn't start to smell as the flock's waste won't soak into plastic in the way it does into wood.

As an out-of-the-box solution for a large flock, the SnapLock coop offers pretty good value (at under $100 per chicken, it work out cheaper per bird than our value beginner coop). Sure, you will need more space for this than the other coops here, but if you are serious about owning a larger flock, this coop makes the upgrade easy.

Pros: Durable, easy to construct

Cons: Hard to move around

If you are looking for a movable coop that you won't need to let your chickens out of, you won't find better value than the Santa Fe Mobile Coop.

Chickens need space to run around, peck the ground, and generally enjoy their little chicken lives. Many coops are designed to be used with an auxiliary run which gives them a safe space to play when you can't be there to supervise them in the yard. However, if you work a 9-to-5 job or don't have much in the way of woodworking skills, you might find it easier to buy a coop with an attached run that your chickens can simply stroll out into every morning.

Although I always advocate for letting your chickens range around your garden (pro tip: put cages around your plants not your pets), there will always be days when you can't be there to let your chickens out. If that is the case, you need a run. The Santa Fe Mobile Coop from Rugged Ranch includes a small run and a set of wheels, which means you can move the coop around your yard to prevent overgrazing on one spot.

Unlike our top pick, this coop doesn't come with an anti-tunneling skirt, and I would advise building one out of construction netting (conventional chicken wire has holes that are too large to prevent some predators from getting through). There is an easy-lift roof for cleaning and egg collection, a removable floor, and plenty of space for two to three birds.

As with other cheaper wooden coops, the Santa Fe isn't a forever home for your chickens, but it is also not horribly expensive and should be a great start to your poultry parent career.

Pros: Everything you need to start

Cons: No anti-tunnel guard

If you already have a weatherproof space, you just need a safe and contained area for your birds, and the Petsfit Weatherproof Outdoor Chicken Coop is a great value starter.

If you are fortunate enough to own a shed, garage, barn, or stable, you don't need quite as much in the way of aviary architecture. But just throwing a nesting box in an open space isn't the best option as your chickens will still appreciate a safe place to lay and roost. Also, by providing a nesting box you will avoid the fun game of "find the egg," which is the result of letting your birds roost and nest freely.

Although the Petsfit is billed as an outdoor coop, it seems like a bit of a false economy to buy this over one of the run-included coops above. The money you save will be more than offset by the cost of building a run. However, if you have an indoor space for your birds and plan on letting them range freely around your yard, then this is a great solution. There is a nicely contained nesting box with a roof for easy access.

The flooring of the coop technically comes out, but in practice, this isn't easy. If you plan to keep this coop long term, you should do what one Amazon tester did and add a hinge to the roof of the main section rather than nailing it closed — this will allow reasonably easy cleaning access.

This is also a great coop for ducks. If you have a fenced-in pond, they'll just need a place to retreat to at night, and this coop has ample space for up to three waterfowl. As with all of these wooden coops, do expect weather to take a toll if you leave it out in all conditions, but at $169, it isn't a huge investment. Simply adding weatherproof paint will help it last through several wet winters. I also recommend replacing the door closures if you plan on leaving this coop outside where it is accessible to predators — the peace of mind is worth the $10 it will cost you.

Pros: Small footprint, cheap

Cons: Only works with a run or other space for chickens to run around