Frist off decide how many chickens you want, then build a coup for twice that many! No....really....I am serious about this. Second look over the coups on the coup page decide on a style you like. Remember 4 sq feet of floor space per chicken. Don't worry about them being cold in the winter, I say that even though I think everyone does worry anyway. Chickens handle the cold better than the heat. My coup is not insulated or heated in the winter and I am in Michigan where winters are pretty cold. Plan out your coup so it is easy to clean, I can walk right in mine and shovel it out with a snow shovel and have the whole thing cleaned out in 20 minutes. In a raised coup that might be a little difficult. I like an external nest box so I don't have to go inside to collect eggs (and get poop on my shoes!). Think about placement of water and food. You don't want them to be able to poop here or even worse roost and poop! I have a current feeder that one chicken likes to perch on and poop all over it! Will you try to keep your water liquid in the winter or will you haul it out. I have tried both. My chickens never really took to the nipple waterers so we haul water out for them in the winter time. Multiple water founts make this easy by always having one ready to go in the mud room sink. Will you have electricity out there? If not then you are hauling water. Coups can get expensive and fast! Plan it out first. If you are on a budget then start trying to find free materials. I built my 6' x 8' coup for $650. It has 3 windows that all open, chicken door, people door, linoleum flooring, 30 year vented shingled roof. Ltos of free stuff to get the price down. Add in the run and I've got a grand into one setup that holds 12 chickens. I sure wish I had planned for twice that number! I have a secondary coup, that was actually the first one I built. I didn't do my research and stupidly thought a 4' x 4' coup would house 6 chickens. That setup cost me about $300. If I had planned ahead I would have had an extra $300 to spend on the big coup.
Last bit of advice.....read as much as you can here and don't get overwelmed trying to incorporate every little idea into your coup. Instead take the ideas you like best and use them.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, it will take you twice as long as you think! A well built coup has all the complexities of a garage.
