Chicken Coops: 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock,   ISBN:9781580176279

Customer Rating: 

I have read a number of reviews about this book, many of which complained this book didn't have x, y, or z to show the how to, the materials used, the measurements or whatever on the plans that were contained in this book. This is simply nonsense!

All that is required for a person to use this book is to look at the pictures, select the plan or plans you want to use, figure out whatever materials you choose to use, look at the measurements supplied or make your own calculations, based on the number of chckens you plan to have and the variety (either Bantams or full sized), together with your particular yard space.

I found this book to be full of terrific ideas, specific information about raising chickens and chicks, watering, feeding, drawings and measurements of a large variety of all manner of chicken coops, the materials used to build them, as well as those for turkeys and brooders for raising baby chicks with the hen. There are even photos in color of the various finished chicken houses, suppliers for coops and supplies, with addresses and website addresses, regular addresses, phone numbers, plus a list of helpful government sources, chicken related websites and related books for readings. Anyone who couldn't use this book to build a chicken coop either has no creativity, no building skills or just doesn't know how to read. They also aren't ready to raise chickens!

Over all, it is a terrific book. I live within the city limits of Raleigh, NC and I will be using plans from this book to build my coop! Basic common sense, a few skills in measuring and cutting, use of simple tools, both regular and power, are all that is required, and of course using your common sense to select a choice of materials. I will even make some changes to the plans and combine the best parts of several different plans to make my own particular design....no big deal! You see, I'm an artist so I'm accustomed to being creative.

Anyway, the book is great and the author has done a real service to the growing number of people who are going back to basics. You can do this!

Pay no attention to those nay sayers. If you can read and comprehend directions, read simple basic plans, use a tape measure, a pencil, a saw, a drill, screw driver, screws, nails, hammer, plyers, etc, you can do this. It's that simple. Thanks for the great help! City Chick Arts in Raleigh, NC Chicken Coops: 45 Building Plans for Housing Your Flock

Customer Rating: 

This book about chicken coops provides everything you need to create your own style of coop for your own needs. It has city coops, urban coops, coops for 2 - 5 chickens and coops for a thousand. I enjoyed the focus on using recycled materials to create the coops and the well written summary for each design. We live on a farm and I found it just as useful if not more useful than the traditional coop building books . . .

Customer Rating: 

This book does not contain good construction drawings with dimensions. They are badly drawn hand sketches and some pictures. This book is OK in regard to information about perches, nest boxes, relative capacities, etc. There is good information about raising chickens in this book, but to include "building plans" in the title is misleading.

Customer Rating: 

It's been years since the author said she was going to change the misleading title of this book. Yet she has not. She was however able to leave herself a 5 star review!! Thank goodness I did not buy the book but borrowed it. I'm also thankful I learned a long time ago to read reviews before purchasing. You do occasionally get an author that is tacky enough to review their own book. You also will see reviews from readers that use the rating system to rate the service from Amazon. As is the case here as well.
I would leave 0 stars if it were an option. Simply because the book title was terribly misleading. You would think you were getting plans on how to build 45 chicken coops yet that is not the case. Had the title been more appropriate I might have rated it differently.
Read the reviews before buying.
For the most part they are helpful.

Customer Rating: 

Shame on me I didn't read the reviews. I feel the title is misleading...45 building plans etc. There are no building plans. There are a couple of drawings but little to no "building information" nor materials list. This is a total misrepresentation of what the book is. Both the publisher and the author ought to be ashamed of themselves. Do not buy this book unless you want some nice coop photos and have money you want to throw away.