The history buff in me has a fascination with how life was livedΒ in times gone by.Β  We’ve constructed three coops since moving here, one large permanent coop, and two portables.Β  We designed and constructed all three ourselves, for cost effectiveness, quality and durability of construction, andΒ because it gave us the ability to customize our coops to our needs.

The most challenging part was coop design, and finding the right inspiration to help us set pen to paper (or mouse to pixel as was often the case).Β  It takes some thought when planning and designing a coop, to ensure you don’t end up with something that looks like this…

 

Source: Poultry Architecture By H. H. Stoddard, 1879

Poultry rearing became explosively popular in 19th Century America, and browsing through the oldΒ poultry journals of the day, there is a wealth of inspiration and design ideas locked away in their pages, ranging from fanciful poultry palaces, to practical portables, so we thought we’d share a few of our favorites.

Fanciful Poultry Palaces

These hen houses fall squarely in to the ‘money is no object’ category of coop design and construction…

 

Source: Poultry Architecture By H. H. Stoddard 1879

Cupolas, replete with rooster weather-vanes,Β were clearly popular in the mid-1800s, as shown on the following two coops.

 

Source: Poultry architecture By H. H. Stoddard 1879

This coop could house a small village!

 

Source: The Poultry Monthly July 1886

Well Appointed Abodes

A coop design with divided yardΒ for rearing multiple breeds.

Source: Poultry Architecture By H. H. Stoddard, 1879

These smaller, but still commodious coops are somewhat more practical for the cottage farmer.

 

Source: The People's Practical Poultry Book By William M. Lewis, 1871

A number of octagonal hen house designs were found amidst the pages of these old journals.

 

Source: The Illustrated Annual Register of Rural Affairs By John Jacob Thomas, 1855

Although these simpler shed-style poultry houses were no doubt simpler to construct.

 

Source: The Poultry Monthly, July 1886

 

 

Source: Poultry Architecture By H. H. Stoddard, 1879

 

Humble Henneries

Even more practical and affordable designs of the day, better suited to smaller flocks, this model was constructed of iron, making it a hefty humble hennery!

 

 

Source: The Horticulturist, and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste, 1869

This wooden model however would be simpler to construct today.

 

Source: Poultry Architecture By H. H. Stoddard, 1879

A-Frame model suited to areas with heavy snowfalls in winter.

 

Source: Success with Poultry by Grant M. Curtis, Reliable Incubator and Brooder Co., 1896

ThisΒ practical and economical garden coop could be simply constructed from reclaimed materials today.

 

Source: Poultry Architecture By H. H. Stoddard, 1879

Two small classic design ideasΒ suitable for today’s garden flocks.

 

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

 

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

Practical Portables

For poultry that’s perpetually on the move, some creative portable designs included theΒ Potter Brother’sΒ Vermin ProofΒ Folding CoopΒ and Trap, designed with a rat trap built into the base of the rear wall.Β  Ingenious.

 

Source: Poultry World, 1872

TheΒ side walls simply unlatch and fold inwards, and the entire coop can then be folded, and relocated to another part of the farm or garden.

 

Source: Poultry World, 1872

These more simply constructed coopsΒ are a little closer in style to some of the popular ark-like coops we still see used today.

 

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

 

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

My personal favorite though has to be this coop…and with the horse to help move it, there’s no heavy lifting!

 

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

Or perhaps this quaint French country design?

 

Source: The Book of the Farm by Henry Stephens, 1889

A corrugated metal option, with wheels.

 

Source: The Book of the Farm by Henry Stephens, 1889

This wheeled model is very spacious, but still portable.

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

Coops on the Cheap

A small wooden shelter with folding doors.

Source: The Book of the Farm by Henry Stephens, 1889

 

Of course, on the 19th Century small-holding, the farmer would often find materials around the barnyard that could be adapted for poultry housing.

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

19th Century farms often had spare empty flour barrels lying around, which inspired a number of small coop designs, although closing this model up at night seems tricky…

 

Source: Poultry Houses and Fixtures By Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing Company, 1898

No doubt these single-door models were much more practical.

 

Source: The Poultry Monthly, January 1880

Source: Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers By Edward Brown, 1891

As the variety in these designs illustrate, if you’re considering constructing your own coop, providing the structure is predator and vermin proof, you’re really only limited by your imagination.Β  We hope we’ve given you a little inspiration for building your own!