Raising chickens starts with building them a safe and comfortable home. One of the most common questions new chicken keepers ask is “how high should my chicken coop be off the ground?” While there’s no single right answer elevating your coop offers important benefits. In this article, we’ll explore the ideal height for a raised chicken coop and why it matters.
Why Raise Your Chicken Coop Off The Ground?
Elevating your chicken coop above ground level provides some key advantages:
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Predator Protection: Getting your coop off the ground makes it harder for predators like foxes, raccoons, and coyotes to dig underneath and access your flock. It also helps deter snakes and rodents from sneaking in.
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Ventilation: An elevated coop allows air to circulate underneath, keeping the interior drier and better ventilated. This promotes healthy chickens.
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Access Building your coop on stilts or blocks means the entry point won’t get flooded or snowed in You and your flock can get in and out easily
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Lifespan: Increased airflow helps wood coop floors last longer before rotting. An elevated run also stays drier and cleaner.
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Space: Chickens enjoy roaming in the shaded, protected area under a raised coop. This effectively expands their living space.
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Comfort: Chickens can stay cool in summer thanks to shade and ventilation under an elevated coop. The space also shelters them from wind, rain, and snow.
How High Should You Raise Your Chicken Coop?
Most chicken experts recommend elevating your coop at least 12-18 inches off the ground. Here are some factors to consider when deciding on height:
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Predators: In an area with burrowing foxes or coyotes, raise your coop 24 inches or more to deter digging. In a snake-prone area, go as high as 3 feet.
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Flood Risk: In a wet climate or flood zone, elevate your coop above the highest potential water level.
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Snow Depth: In regions with deep winter snow, allow at least 12 inches of clearance to keep the coop entry accessible.
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Chicken Breed: For lightweight birds like bantams, keep ramps and perches low. For larger breeds, go higher to accommodate them comfortably.
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Accessibility: If you need wheelchair access, build a wider ramp at a gentle incline. Limit the height to what you can easily reach.
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Work Flow: Position your coop at a height for convenient cleaning, feeding, egg collection, and other chores. Typically 2-3 feet off the ground.
Floor Height And Roosting Bars
In addition to overall coop height, also consider:
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Coop Floor: This should match the height of your elevated run or hardware cloth skirt. Typically 12-24 inches high works well.
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Roosting Bars: These wooden perches allow chickens to roost comfortably at night. Place them 6-12 inches above the floor, depending on your breed.
Building A Raised Chicken Coop
You can easily elevate a store-bought or custom chicken coop using:
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Wood pallets: Stack two sturdy pallets to create a frame. Be sure to stabilize them and create a skirt around the perimeter.
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Concrete blocks: Arrange blocks in rows to serve as a solid foundation. Check that they are level.
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Wood platform: Build a wooden frame to act as a stand for your coop. Using treated 4×4 posts and 2×4 framing is inexpensive and durable.
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Metal legs: Attaching galvanized metal legs with brackets or bolts creates a strong base for lightweight coops.
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Stilts: For a large coop, use tall 4×4 posts sunk deep into the ground and cross-braced.
No matter which approach you choose, be sure to level and reinforce your coop’s base so it stays put. And don’t forget an easy entrance ramp or stairs!
The Right Height Makes For Happy Chickens
Figuring out the perfect coop height may take some planning, but it’s worth it. Elevating your coop off the ground provides big benefits when it comes to safety, health, and ease of care. Help your flock thrive by choosing a height tailored to your climate, predators, breeds, and needs.
Where to find a tall enough chicken coop for 5-6 Chickens
If you want a chicken coop similar to the one that I’ve featured in this article, you will probably not be able to find a new one for sale easily. The chicken coops sold on Amazon or at Walmart are too small and poorly made. Most of the coops sold at farm supply stores aren’t great either.
For example, the little wooden chicken coop in the photo below (pictured to the right of the red coop) is one you can buy from Amazon, supposedly large enough for several chickens. The person I bought it from used it for 7 hens—poor ladies!
Think about it for a minute—the red coop above (the same one as in my earlier photos) is only big enough for 5-6 chickens. How many hens could you humanely put in the little cheap coop? Not 7. Not 5. Maybe 1. I’d argue 0.
There is no place to roost in these cheap coops, ventilation is inadequate, and the coops aren’t weather- or predator-proof. For more about these coops, see my article Why you should NEVER buy a chicken coop from Amazon or Walmart.
The one place I’ve found that makes super high-quality chicken coops delivered to your door (and placed in your yard, if you opt for it) is Rita Marie’s Chicken Coops. I purchased my newest coop from this company and I love it—you can see my review here.
Otherwise, you may need to build your own. You could also try to buy a high-quality used coop that somebody else built themselves—check out your local Craigslist. I’ve found coops this way before with mixed results.
Why a chicken coop must be at least 5 tall
My first chicken coops were all walk-in chicken coops. They were so spacey, I never really thought about how much vertical area chickens needed in a coop.
But later on, I needed a chicken coop to house only 5-6 chickens. I wanted the coop to be as small as possible, while still being large enough that all of my chickens’ physical and psychological needs were met.
You can see the coop my husband and I ended up building in the photo below. And you can see the interior of the coop in the annotated photo up above.
You can see this coop has a sloping roof. The actual coop itself (not including the legs) is about ~3.5 feet tall on its shortest end.
In the sections below, I break down exactly how I’ve determined 3.5 feet as a minimum height.
And please, do keep in mind, this is a minimum height. I cover this more below, but my chickens are free range and they only use the coop for roosting and laying eggs. They don’t need as much space in their coop as chickens who live in an enclosed run.
If your chickens will be spending a lot of time in your coop or if they have a very small run, you’ll want to increase the size of your coop. Your chickens will always appreciate more space. For more information on chicken coop size, check out my article, How big should your chicken coop be?
You want your roosting bars to be high enough that chickens can walk underneath them. In the coop above, the roosting bars are 20 inches high. This is the bare minimum height I would suggest for roosting bars.
If your roosting bars are any shorter than this, your chickens won’t be able to use the floor space, and you will need to build a larger coop.
You will want about 4 square feet of space per chicken, assuming your chickens have a nice-sized run. If your chickens don’t have a nice-sized run, they will need more floor space, at least 5 square feet/chicken, but the more, the better. If your roosting bars are too low, then you’ve lost that floor space.
If your nesting boxes are higher than your roosting bars, your chickens will sleep on them or even inside of them. They like to roost on the highest spot they can access.
In the coop I’ve shown above, the nesting boxes are at floor level. They are built off the side of the coop – you can see them better in the photo at the bottom of this article.
This is crucial, especially if you live in a place that gets cold winters or any inclement weather. You need your coop to be tall enough that chickens are not exposed to drafts when they’re up on their roosting bars at night. In the coop pictured above, the ventilation was installed on the lowest and highest sides of the coop, just under the roof.
On the lowest side of the coop, the ventilation begins at 18” above the roosting bars. Again, this is the bare minimum amount of height you want to consider for your chickens. If your ventilation is any lower, your chickens will likely be exposed to drafts.
If your chickens do get exposed to drafts, they will, at the very best, be living a very miserable, low-quality life. At worst, they may get frostbite and even die. Your smartest chickens will learn to sleep in the nesting boxes, and then you’re going to have a lot of poop in your nesting boxes.
You’ll notice that over the left roosting bar in the photo above, I have hung an overhead heater. This helps warm the chickens during the cold months, and prevents their combs from getting frostbite. This type of overhead heater, made for chicken coops, is a Sweeter Heater—I ordered mine from Amazon and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
These heaters come in many different sizes, so they work in small and large coops. I use them in all of my coops, and I highly recommend them.
You want to make sure your coop is tall enough that you can add enough ventilation near the ceiling for your chickens. In the coop pictured above, I have 5-inch high ventilation running all the way across the top of the shortest and tallest walls in the coop.
Chicken coop ventilation is a very difficult topic for the first-time chicken owner. I had such a hard time trying to figure out how much ventilation my first coop needed. I really couldn’t find a trustworthy source to give me straight numbers.
There’s a reason for this. The amount of ventilation you need will be specific to your management style, the number of chickens you have, how large your coop is, and the area where you live. There is no easy number.
If you live in a humid place, you may need more ventilation. If you have a lot of chickens in your coop, you’ll need more ventilation. If you have a very spacious coop with very high ceilings, you can get away with less ventilation than if the ceilings were low.
Even the type of bedding you use can make a huge difference in how much ventilation you need. If you use sand bedding, and especially if you scoop the droppings out weekly (or better yet, daily), you can get away with less ventilation.
Because sand is inorganic, a lot less ammonia and other odorous gases are produced in the coop. For more on using sand, see my article, Using sand for chicken coop bedding.
If you’re using organic bedding and you replace it weekly, you can get away with less ventilation than somebody who replaces it monthly. If you’re using the deep litter method, you’re going to need a whole lot of ventilation.
Many websites give the number of at least 1 square foot of ventilation per chicken. In most of my coops, I have less than that. The only time I ever had a problem with not enough ventilation was when I tried the deep bedding method with pine shavings in my large, walk-in coop.
Other sites say you should have at least 1 square foot of ventilation per 10 square feet of floor area. This tends to be considerably less ventilation than the 1 square foot per chicken estimate.
My best suggestion is that if you have a smaller coop, like the one I’ve shown you here, try to have a 4-6 inch strip of ventilation across a couple of the walls, like I’ve done. And remember, if you think you’re going to need more than that, make sure to build a coop with higher walls so that the ventilation doesn’t get too close to your chickens’ heads when they’re roosting.
How High Should I Put my Chicken Nest in the Coop?
FAQ
How tall should a chicken coop be off the ground?
A chicken coop needs to be at least ~3.5 feet tall on the lowest side of the coop. This height allows for 20-inch high roosting bars, 4 inches of bedding, 1.5 feet between the top of the roosting bars and the bottom of the ventilation, and 5 inches of ventilation on the shortest side of the coop.
Should chicken coops be raised off the ground?
The coop’s location on your property is critical to maintaining coop hygiene and providing protection for the birds. Build your chicken coop on high ground to avoid flooding, mud problems, or water and moisture buildup. If you can not find high ground, you must build an elevated coop to keep your birds dry.
How high should chicken boxes be off the ground?
The best height for chicken nesting boxes is typically between 18 to 24 inches off the ground. This height allows hens to easily access the boxes while providing a comfortable and safe space for them to lay eggs. It’s also a good idea to ensure that the boxes are placed in a quiet, low-traffic area to encourage laying.
How high to elevate a chicken coop?
While it’s hard to give an exact figure, we’d recommend that your chicken coop offer your chickens at least 30-46 cm (12”-18”) of headroom in their roosts.
How far off the ground should a chicken coop be?
Most sources suggest 1 foot off the ground as the ideal, but 8-10 inches is probably enough. I know of a chicken keeper who had his coop only 4 inches off the ground. He had rats nesting underneath that then chewed through the floor. But what about 5 inches or 6 inches off the ground? Honestly, I’m not sure what the cut-off is.
Should a chicken coop be off the ground?
Because the floor of an elevated chicken coop stays much drier, your chicken coop floor will last longer. One of the biggest advantages to having a chicken coop off the ground is that the chickens can occupy the space underneath the coop, thereby extending the size of your run. Your chickens will thank you for this.
How high should a chicken coop be?
Most coops are designed at a set height with a ramp leading up to the coop entrance. However, if you’re building your own coop or you have the ability to set your own height, it’s up to you how high you build your coop off of the ground. I’d recommend at least 16 inches if you want to be able to easily get underneath the coop for any reason.
Should a chicken coop be on the ground or elevated?
Elevate your coop. As discussed above, chicken coops should be raised off the ground at least 8 to 12 inches to prevent predators, keep the wood from rotting, and allow space for the chickens to fit beneath.
Can you build a chicken coop on the ground?
It is generally not recommended to build a chicken coop directly on the ground. Raising it a few inches above the ground helps prevent dampness, pests, and predators from reaching the flock. 2. Can I go higher than 18 inches? Yes, you can.
How do you keep chickens in a chicken coop?
Ground cover within the coop can be anything from wood chips, straw and grass to bare ground. Organic materials tend to break down quickly and plain sand is a popular choice for its durability. Whatever you choose, make sure the chickens may easily scratch and dig. Will I get rats if I keep chickens?