Go Ahead, Put Wallpaper in Your Chicken Coop (Yes, It's Functional)
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So, you built your own chicken coop, or perhaps you converted a cute garden shed that's a ringer for a tiny home. Now it's time to outfit the inside with all the essentials your flock needs to make them feel at home. While there are a few non-negotiables (ventilation, roosting bars, nesting boxes), many of the aesthetic choices are up to you. It's okay to keep it simple, but don't be afraid to have fun with it either.
"The nicer you make your coop look, the more time you're going to want to spend there, and it's just going to be a more pleasant experience with your chickens," says Lisa Steele, a fifth-generation chicken-keeper, host of APT’s CreateTV series Welcome to My Farm, creator of the FreshEggsDaily blog, and author of Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens...Naturally"
What's more, many chicken coop interior ideas you might think are strictly for looks—wallpaper, curtains, mirrors, shiplap walls—do indeed have practical purposes that will surprise you. So scroll through these inspirational ideas and photos shared by real-life chicken keepers. You'll even find out what's the best floor for your coop.
Pro tip: Don't miss Steele's helpful tips at the end this post. She addresses everything from minimalism vs. maximalism coop interior styles, to keeping your coop a comfortable temp without electricity, to nesting box and roosting bar basics. (Do you know what choosing the right roosting bar has to do with keeping your chickens' feet from getting cold? If not, this section is essential reading.)
For more chicken-keeping ideas, also check out:
Keep It Simple
This Cape Cod-style coop belongs to photo stylist Heather Bullard (@heatherbullard), who painted the coop interior white and otherwise, kept it simple. But look closely, and you'll see it has all the necessities for small flock: an entrance to the nesting boxes on the left, an elevated roosting bar, and portholes for ventilation that are screened with welded wire to keep out predators. On the right, a door opens onto a ramp that leads to the attached run.
Or, Go Completely Over the Top
Texas chicken lady Lauren Allen (@trying_to_homestead) took a maximalist approach to her coop design, complete with a chandelier, artwork, floral peel-and-stick wallpaper, and two shades of pink paint—darker for the wainscoting and lighter for the ceiling. "I wanted a space on the farm that made me smile everyday, Allen says."
Personalize It with a Stencil
Of course, between minimalism and maximalism, there is an in between. Country Living contributor and journalist Tove Danovich prettied up her nesting boxes with a simple stencil purchased online along with other folk art stencils that she used throughout the interior of her chicken coop.
For more from Danovich, check out her book: Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them
Add a Mirror
A mirror in your coop or run also falls in the decorative and functional category—it provides a bit entertainment for your flock! "I swear they look at themselves in the mirror. They enjoy it," Steele reports.
Warm It Up with Shiplap
A peek inside Steele's own cozy coop shows how she balances practicality and aesthetics. Years ago when she decided to shiplap the interior walls of her coop (a converted shed from Horizon Structures), she was inspired by Joanna Gaines, but it turns out the shiplap is functional too, providing a little extra protection against Maine's cold winters. "It made a nice double wall with an air pocket in between that helps to insulate the coop a little bit," Steele says.
See more of Lisa Steele's coop.
Add Wallpaper Behind the Roost (Yes, It's Functional)
This coop wallpaper shared on Instagram by @cook_ranch_tx does more than serve as a pretty botanical accent wall. Today's generation of peel-and-stick wallpapers (as well as its older cousin, peel-and-stick shelf liner), creates an easy-to-clean surface behind the roost.
Steele, who has been putting up vinyl shelf liner behind her roost for well over 10 years, is pleased to see the trend taking off. Though it's decorative, she considers it a must-have. "Honestly, that's where most of the poop lands," she says, "and it's super easy to wipe or hose off. When I first put it up, people would comment, 'oh, what a waste and blobbity blobbity.' But it's vinyl—try scraping stuff off of wood."
Choose Bedding for Your Nesting Boxes
Australia-based chicken keeper Carlie Livingstone (@our.backyard.life), has a game-changing tip for your nesting box bedding: cut-to-fit squares of artificial grass. Each day she shakes out the turf and hoses it off when necessary, which is about once a week. It’s a one-time investment that you can reuse indefinitely, and she reports that it’s far easier than using straw or pine shavings and that her hens adjusted to the switch easily. (It adds a cheerful pop of green, too, but that’s just a bonus.)
Cozy It Up with Curtains
Check out this darling valance shared by chicken mama @sylvia0223 on Instagram.
Easy to toss in the wash, curtains can be functional in a chicken coop, too. Steele says that during the winter, she finds that curtains help keep out drafts from windows as well as the chicken door that leads out to the run. In the summer, when the windows remain open, curtains pulled close over predator-proof screens help keep out the heat of the sun. Even better, Steele offers a no-sew option: simply cut fabric panels and attach them to a rod using clip-on rings.
Go for an Easy-Clean Floor
Head to your local home improvement and purchase a sheet of budget-friendly, cut-to fit vinyl or linoleum sheet flooring to cover a plywood coop floor. We like this retro-inspired geometric pattern in steel gray by TrafficMaster ($11.97 /square yard at Home Depot), but don't fuss too much about the pattern because you'll rarely see it.
"It's super easy to clean," Steele says. "If you want to hose it down, it's not going to rot. It just makes cleanup a lot easier. And you don't care what it looks like, obviously, because you're putting something over it. I use straw in the winter and hemp shavings in the summer."
Use a Sliding Barn Door Between Sleeping and Storage Areas
It's not just about aesthetics. In a coop with straw on the floor, an interior swinging door is not practical. Steele added a sliding barn door inside her own coop between the sleeping and storage areas to keep dust away from stored supplies. Along with chicken supplements, treats, and other other chicken-keeping items, she also keeps a nursery, or brooding cabinet, in the storage area to keep chicks safely separated from the rest of the brood.
Upcycle an Old Piece of Furniture in a Charming Brooding Cabinet.
Have an old cabinet lying around? Now you have a reason to repurpose it.
Get the tutorial at Ana White.
Extend your style into the run.
The Texas chicken keeper behind the Instagram @cook_ranch_tx painted the ceiling of her coop's attached run a pretty sky blue—a classic choice for a porch ceiling that also works perfectly for this coop built from a Bee Jeweled Coop plan.
Add Your Chicken's Favorite Things to the Run
Steele says she likes to encourage her chickens (and ducks) to stay out in the run as much as possible for fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. What items keep her flock entertained in their outdoor living space? The winners are mirrors, perches, stumps, and a hanging bench swing she made out of half of a wooden pallet. "Two or three of them will line up on it and sit," she says. Versus a swing made from a single board or log, the pallet bench swing is easier for the chickens to balance on, she says. She also likes to bring in cut saplings and trimmed branches (shown here tied to the run's support posts), which maintenance of their property provides in abundance. When the temporary chicken forest loses its green, it can go out to compost.
Minimalist vs. Maximalist Coop Interiors: An Expert Take
Ventilation, nesting boxes, and roosting bars—those are essential interior elements of a chicken coop. "Everything else is extra," Steele says. While she prefers to skip a chandelier to avoid having to clean it, she supports chicken keepers adding whatever interior touches they like, as long as it does no harm to the flock.
So, how do you clean a chicken coop chandelier?
We point you to the very helpful Instagram video tutorial shared by glam-coop expert Alysha Whitfield of Bee Jeweled Coop (@bee.jeweled.coop). She also has a clever solution for the power source: a rechargeable battery-operated bulb.
Keeping a Coop Not Too Cold (and Not Hot) Without Electricity
Steele lives in Maine where winters are very cold, but she does not heat or light her coop ("electricity and light bulbs and all that is just super dangerous," she says.) However, with insulation, smart interior choices, sunshine, and the chickens' own body heat, "my coop usually stays about 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature, she reports.
Roof Insulation
It helps regulate the temperature of a coop just like it does for your home.
Shiplap
This interior design touch creates a double wall with an air pocket between the inside and outside wall, serving as a bit of extra insulation.
Windows and Vents
The vents stay open year-round. The windows, which Steele has customized with predator-proof 1/2-inch welded wire screens, stay open in the summer for extra ventilation and closed in the winter to keep in the sun's heat.
Curtains
They not just decorative. Panels on the window and run entrance keep out drafts in the winter. In the summer, curtains pulled closed over the screens keep out some of the sun's heat.
Straw
In the winter, Steele covers her coop floor with 8 to 12 inches of straw. "It's a great insulator, and it just makes everything warmer, so they're not getting cold from the cold ground." Then, in the summer: "I use hemp bedding, which is fairly new but it's less dusty than pine shavings. It's really soft and absorbent, and it stays clean for a long time."
A proper roosting bar setup plays a factor in temperature control, too. Read on…
Roosting Bar Basics
Width
"I use 2x4 board with the wide side up. Chickens don't sleep with their toes curled like wild birds, so they don't necessarily want to grip onto something. The 2x4 is wide enough that they can sleep flat-footed. Then their bodies cover their feet and if it's cold, their feet don't get cold."
Length
"You want about 8 inches minimum per chicken so they can spread out when it gets warmer or clump together when it’s colder."
Height
"Roosting bars should be higher than nesting boxes. Chickens naturally go to high ground to sleep, and you don't want them sleeping in the boxes because then they poop and then eggs get dirty," Steele says. "The lowest roosting bar should be 15 to 18 inches or so off the ground, and usually they’re staggered. Some chickens sleep a little higher, some a little lower."
Nesting Boxes Basics
If you build your own chicken coop from plans created for the purpose, nesting boxes should already incorporated. However, Steele says, if you are converting an existing structure, such as a a shed, into a coop, you will need to add this component, whether you build them yourself, buy them, or repurpose something for the job.
How big is a nesting box?
"Nesting boxes should be about 12-inch square cubes and open in the front. Then put some soft nesting material in them, straw or shavings or something," Steele says. (She's a fan of aspen nesting pads.)
How many nesting boxes are needed?
"The rule of thumb is one box for every three to four chickens. So you don't need one devoted box for each chicken. They'll share them. In fact, they like to share them," Steel says.
How should nesting boxes be arranged?
Steele says nesting boxes are usually arranged in two rows stacked on top of each other, such as one row of three boxes on the floor, and then another three boxes stacked on top. "Some chickens like to lay their eggs at ground level and some a little higher," she says.
What can you used to make nesting boxes?
You can build your own nesting boxes out of wood or repurpose something that's the right size and shape. "Some people use milk crates," Steele says. "I've even seen people use those plastic containers kitty litter comes in." (You'll need to cut an opening, of course.)
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