Chicken Coop Essentials
Everything you need for a happy, healthy flock.
Click here to download our FREE printable PDF: Chicken Essentials Checklist
Every aspiring backyard chicken tender or chicken lady starts with the same dream: fresh eggs, happy hens, and a charming little flock pecking around the yard like a perfect storybook scene.
Then reality hits.
One hen lays eggs in the compost pile. Another decides to start cracking them. Someone poops in the waterer. And somehow you're spending more time cleaning than collecting.
After over a decade of trial, error, and being outsmarted by birds with brains the size of walnuts, I've put together my Chicken Lady Starter Pack: all the items that actually make life easier, healthier, and happier for both you and your flock, with none of the gimmicky stuff you don't need.
Click this link for our Complete Shoppable List of Chicken Coop Essentials
CLEANLINESS
1. START WITH A LAYER OF PLAY SAND
A layer of inexpensive play sand underneath your coop floor cover and bedding acts like a secret weapon.
It improves drainage, helps dry out droppings, and makes coop clean-outs easier because waste separates more readily from the flooring.
Why it works: Keeps the coop drier, cuts down on odors, makes cleaning easy.
Get it for your flock: Play Sand, Sandbox Sand
2. WOOD SHAVINGS INSTEAD OF STRAW
Everyone imagines golden straw in a picturesque coop. The chickens imagine a giant mess.
Wood shavings absorb moisture better, stay cleaner and drier longer, compost beautifully, and don't mat down as quickly as straw. They're less likely to harbor mold and generally make coop maintenance much easier.
Why it works: Less smell, less moisture, less work.
Get it for your flock: Premium Pine Wood Bedding, Country Heritage Pine Wood Shavings
3. DIATOMACEOUS EARTH DUST BATH
Chickens love a good spa day.
Fill a small tub, old tire, or shallow container with dry dirt and food-grade diatomaceous earth or chicken-safe ash. Your hens will happily roll around and dust themselves like tiny feathery maniacs.
Why it works: Helps reduce external parasites while giving chickens a natural behavior outlet.
Get it for your flock: Fresh Coop Dust Bath, Ultra Soft Wood Ash, Chicken Blend Dust Bath
4. CAT LITTER BOXES AS NESTING BOXES
This may be the greatest chicken hack ever invented.
Slide small plastic cat litter pans into nesting boxes. When things get messy—and they will—you can simply pull out the pan, dump it, rinse it, and replace it. When you're simply rinsing a litter box out instead trying to scrape broken-yolk-cement from the crevices, you'll thank me.
Why it works: Faster cleaning, less scrubbing, and fewer mystery substances stuck in corners.
Options we like: Basic Open Litter Pan, Open Cat Litter Tray, 3 Pack Trays with Scoops, 6 Small Cat Litter Trays with Scoops
5. GOOD GLOVES
Listen, even the sweetest chicken occasionally transforms into a velociraptor. Or a rooster hits puberty.
A sturdy pair of gloves protects your hands during health checks, cleaning, introducing new birds, handling less-than-cooperative hens, and dealing with those never-ending "They pooped on that one thing I need to touch" moments.
Why it works: Fewer scratches, less contact with potentially dangerous bacteria, and increased confidence when handling birds.
Get it for your flock: HandLandy Breathable Gloves, Water Resistant Work Gloves, Hybrid Work & Garden Gloves, Long Arm Protective Gloves
6. A POOP SCOOP
It's inevitable. Even if your flock is free range, poop is going to end up on something you don't want it to. And if in these moments you're unprepared, you'll end up using a glove or boot or random stick to try sweeping (probably smearing) it off.
You don't need anything fancy here. A simple poop scoop—think cat litter style—makes these moments a nonissue instead of a "Now I need to go scrape my boots and wash my hands" annoyance.
Why it works: Not touching, wiping, smearing feces.
Get it for your flock: Sanddipper Scoop, Stainless Steel Scooper 2-Pack, The Coop Scoop 2-in-1
7. NESTING HERBS
Lavender, chamomile, mint, lemon balm, and other herbs make nesting boxes smell wonderful and help discourage some pests.
Plus, they make you feel like the kind of chicken keeper who has her life together.
Why it works: Pleasant scent, potential pest deterrence, and a cozy nesting environment.
Get it for your flock: MagJo Chicken Nesting Herbs, Pasture Premium Nest Herbs, Pampered Chicken's Nest
8. MULTIPLE HIGH PERCHING OPTIONS
If you've ever watched chickens argue about sleeping arrangements, you know the pecking order is serious business. Their lineup is harsher than the military in hierarchical precision.
Provide several roosting bars at differing heights so dominant birds can monopolize what they think are the best spots without kicking their peons to the coop floor.
Why it works: Reduces bullying and helps lower-ranking hens find comfortable places to sleep.
Get it for your flock: Wood Indoor-Outdoor Roosting Perch, Ladder Roosting Perch, Mobile Ladder Frame Perch
9. PLENTY OF BEDDING OR NEST PADS
The general rule says one nesting box for every 3–4 hens.
The chickens say everyone will fight for use of the same box at the exact same time.
The broodiest hen will squat in that box until you broom-handle her out.
Extra nesting boxes and cushioned nest pads help prevent cracked eggs and encourage hens to lay where they're supposed to. Note: if you're already using wood shavings for floor cover, they make excellent bedding too, and nest padding just becomes extra.
Why it works: Cleaner eggs, fewer broken eggs, fewer surprises hidden around your property for other animals to find first.
Get it for your flock: Nesting Queen Pads, Aspen Nesting Pads, Nest Pads 12-Pack
10. DUMMY EGGS
Fake eggs sound ridiculous, until they save your sanity.
Place them in nesting boxes to teach young hens where eggs belong and encourage reluctant layers to use the boxes.
Why it works: Chickens learn by example—even when the example is wood.
Get it for your flock: Wooden Dummy Eggs, Tri-Color Fake Eggs, Little Giant Nest Eggs
FEEDING & WATERING
11. AIRTIGHT FEED CONTAINERS
Feed attracts moisture, rodents, bugs, and every opportunistic creature within a three-mile radius. While it's easier to leave your feed in those giant bags, you'll regret it when they become a skitter-critter or even potential predator hotspot.
Store feed in airtight food-grade containers, and consider keeping several on hand so you can buy in bulk when possible.
Why it works: Fresher feed, fewer critters, and lower feed costs.
Get it for your flock: Vault Pest Proof Feed Container, Wheeled Airtight Food Container, Stainless Steel Airtight Container, 5 Gallon BPA Free Food Grade Container
12. CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS
Strong eggs start with strong shells. If you've ever plucked a weird, mushy or misshapen egg from a nest, this one's for you.
Offer crushed oyster shell or another free-choice calcium source separate from regular feed so laying hens can take what they need.
Why it works: Stronger shells, fewer malformed, soft, or cracked eggs.
Get it for your flock: Oyster Shells, Calcium Feed, Oyster Supplement
13. PECKING BLOCKS
Bored chickens invent trouble. Bored and hungry chickens? Let's just not.
A pecking block gives them something productive to investigate, peck, scratch, and nibble.
Why it works: Reduces boredom, offers a food source alternative, and may help discourage feather pecking.
Get it for your flock: Henhouse Reserve Pecking Block, Lavender Pecking Block
14. MEALWORM TREATS
If chickens could write poetry, most of it would be about mealworms. Yes, they feel disgusting to handle at first (these are moments you'll be glad of the gloves).
Use them sparingly as treats, rewards, or bribery during training and handling to enforce your flock's positive associations with you.
Why it works: High-value motivation for chickens, endless entertainment for you.
Get it for your flock: Dried Organic Mealworms, Mealworm Sprinkles Bucket, High Protein Soldier Fly Larvae
15. HOUSEHOLD VEGETABLE SCRAPS
Many kitchen scraps become chicken treasures. Vegetable trimmings, lettuce leaves, cucumber ends, squash peels, and other safe scraps help reduce waste while adding variety to their diet. Tip: when it's hot out, chop up scraps and place in a muffin tin. Pour water over each and place in the freezer. Voila! Frozen chicken treats.
Just remember, not all foods are appropriate. For example, apples are okay, but seeds should be removed first. Dried beans, avocado pits and skins, potato peels, onions, chocolate, or anything with caffeine are also a no.
Why it works: Less food waste and happier hens.
Get it for your Flock: Countertop Compost Bin with Lid, Old Country Compost Countertop Bin
16. STABLE OFF-THE-GROUND WATERING SOLUTION
If you've tried to use a ground or hanging waterer, you know.
If it hangs, within less than a minute they'll have roosted on it, pooped in it, and probably unbalanced and spilled it. If it's on the ground they'll have roosted on it, pooped in it, and then kicked whatever floor covering you're using in for good measure.
Luckily, there's a perfect middle-of-the road option: the standing or wall waterer. Based on a set of legs or designed to be attached to the wall, these ones are too low to be tempting as a random roost, but too high to kick things into. Many also come with an easy-release that prevents freezing in the winter: if you've ever trudged out to crack ice at 5am, you get it.
Why it works: No poop water, less spillage, less cleaning.
Get it for your flock: Top-Fill Waterer & Feeder Set, Anti-Roost 5 Gallon Watering Stand, Omlet Insulated 3 Gallon Chicken Waterer, CoopWorx Wall Mount Poutry Waterer
17. OUTDOOR ACCESS TO SHADE AND BUGS
I admit to free range bias here, but truly, the healthiest chickens are the ones who get to scratch, forage, hunt insects, and escape the summer heat. Trees, shrubs, shade cloths, and natural cover all help.
Shady areas are also naturally places where bugs tend to buzz and crawl. The chickens get the benefits, you get some pest control. Win-win for you and your flock. If your landscape doesn't afford much tree cover, a simple tarp will do!
Why it works: More exercise, natural enrichment, pest control, and happier birds.
Options we like: Simple Sun Resistant Shade Tarp for Back Yard
18. A GOOD WIRE BASKET
Wicker baskets look adorable.
Until they're full of eggy mess.
Or get poop smeared on.
And are impossible to sanitize.
Wire baskets are durable, washable, and let mess fall through before it reaches your kitchen counter. And while you may think a softer option sounds like fewer cracked eggs, you'd be wrong. If your flock is healthy, the shells will hold the same, regardless of wire vs. wicker.
Why it works: Easier cleaning, fewer dirty eggs.
Options we like: Vintage Wire Mesh Egg Basket, Farmhouse Wire Egg Basket, Flexizon 24-Egg Capacity Hen Basket
STRUCTURE & SPACE
19. A COOP
Probably the piece you’ve spent the most time imagining and the most specific item to you, your space, and the size of your planned flock, is your chicken coop. Whether you plan to truly free range (giving your birds unrestricted run of your property) or have outdoor area limitations to consider, available coop options and designs are luckily abundant and cover a wide range of size and price spectrums.
Yes, the cute factor is real, but the main thing to consider here, is safety.
While predators will exhibit extreme-to-almost-unbelieveable lengths of craftiness and determination to reach your precious birds, the birds themselves will often perform equally astounding feats of escape-artism: waddling off, right into danger. Unless you’re willing to lose a few of your feathered friends a safe, secure place to lock for the night—or at least until predators can be caught and relocated—is a necessity. Coops also provide a home base for resting, nesting, and laying.
While the temptation to succumb to elaborate-coop dreams is strong, really any enclosed structure will do. An existing playhouse, shed, or even doghouse can be retrofitted and made suitable. Or if you have handy skills at your disposal there are plenty of readymade designs available both for free and a small price online. Of course, if you don’t want the hassle there are also a plethora of adorable premade up-in-a-day with questionable instructions and a screwdriver options as well.
Note: Just make sure if you go with any kind of enclose option that you measure correctly for the size of your flock: providing enough square-footage (2-4sqft) per bird.
Why it works: Safety, familiarity, nesting, and laying… also less likelihood of stumbling into an unfortunate feathered murder scene.
Options we like: Backyard Red Barn Coop with Run on Wheels, Large Chicken Coop & Run with Wheels, Cute Coop for 4-6 with Nesting Boxes, Wooden Hen House with Run
20. NEST BOXES
While many coops come conveniently pre-equipped with nest boxes, and they basically speak for themselves, they’re worth mentioning all the same. The small, enclosed space of a nest box provides your birds with enough snugness to satisfy the natural need for safety and security while in a vulnerable state (i.e. egg-laying and brooding) and train them to lay in a designated place.
If filled with enough bedding, they also provide a soft, clean space for eggs to rest before you come to collect them.
Why it works: Comfort and safety, designated egg-laying spot, brooding space
Options we like: Traditional Wood Wall Mount Nest Box for 6, 8-Nest Metal Wall Mount Nest Box for Easy Egg Collection, 6-Compartment Wall Mount with Egg Roll-out, Standing Next Box for 10
21. A CHICKEN RUN
While for many free range is the ideal state they imagine for their flock, the reality is that between predators, escape artists, traffic, neighbors, and other homestead pets (and plants), it’s not always best. Luckily, there’s a happy medium. A chicken run is an excellent solution to provide your flock with the perfect balance of safety and freedom.
As with coops, chicken runs come in nearly every shape and size now, and many pre-designed options can be assembled in an hour or two. Many “tractor” versions are mobile, and designed to move your birds to new, greener pastures so they can poop and peck their way across your property to their little hearts’ content.
Note: If you plan to keep your run in any place for an extended period, be aware you may be giving burrowing animals enough time to dig their way in. Check edges for signs of dirt displacement and move your run regularly to prevent giving predators a trapped snack.
Why it works: Access to grass and forage, mobility, safety
Options we like: Large Walk-in Metal Chicken Run, Large Metal Chicken Run with Cover
EGGSTRAS
22. AN EGG APRON WITH POCKETS
For serious egg collectors, apron-lovers, and Little House on the Prairie romanticizers, nothing beats walking out with empty pockets and returning with a dozen eggs.
Egg aprons keep your hands free while preventing the classic "I can carry one more" disaster.
Why it works: Efficient, practical, and surprisingly satisfying.
Options we like: Egg Collecting Apron Basket, Egg Collecting Half-Apron, Deep Pockets Chicken Apron, Crochet Apron with Chicken Pockets
23. A CHICKEN LADY MUG
Okay this one is totally unnecessary, and that's why I'm listing it last. But if you know, you know...
Wandering out to the coop first thing in the morning, muck boots on and cup of something warm in hand to greet your flock and pick a few eggs for breakfast? Perfection.
Why it works: Fanciful, whimsical, and wonderful in the extreme. A total indulgence.
Options we like: Multiple breeds mug, Stop Clucking Around Mug, Chicken Travel Tumbler, Rise and Shine Rooster Mug
FINAL THOUGHTS: FROM ONE CHICKEN LADY TO ANOTHER
The secret to successful chicken keeping isn't having the fanciest coop, the one-use gear, the coolest breeds, or the prettiest social media photos. It's setting up systems that make daily chores easier so you can spend more time enjoying your flock and less time cleaning up after them.
Your chickens probably won't appreciate your organizational genius. They'll still fight over the same nesting box, ignore the expensive toy you bought them, and sprint across the yard when you're trying to catch them.
But they'll also give you fresh eggs, endless entertainment, and with that special totally-not-playing-favorites one, even a little love.
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Disclaimer: This post is based on personal experience and preference, for information and entertainment purposes only. It is not meant to replace advice by a trained veterinary professional, and contains affiliate links. Please visit our Disclosures page for additional information.
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