I'm sure the Department of Defense has an indestructible, bomb-proof chicken house, somewhere, that they're developing.

You know ... Something made out of chicken coop supplies like ... titanium, kevlar, nylon, or some other space-age material. Unfortunately, I've never seen it. And yes, I have been watching for something like that. Whenever I'm out scouting chicken coops, I watch for amazing, predator-proof chicken coops.

Of course, I could never afford a coop like that.

But I would LOVE to see what they would build. And, I know we all want to make our coops bomb-proof, so our chickens will survive a long, long time. But, instead of relying on the military, and their bomb-proof chicken coop supplies, you and I have to piece together our coops with the most reliable, strongest, and lowest-cost supplies we can get our hands on.

So, today I want to discuss some of the most common supplies or materials used in building coops. I have actually heard people talk about lots of different building materials and re-purposed structures...

Things like:

• Wood
• Brick
• Stone
• Plastic
• Cars
• Metal
• Boats
• Playhouses
• Shelving units
• Wire cages

Pretty much … If someone can find an empty space, or stack something up, they've probably used it to build a chicken coop before.

And, in the United States wood is usually pretty cheap. You can even find it for free in some places. I used wood to build my little mobile coops. Most folks, you’ll talk to for advice, would most likely suggest using wood as the basic starting point for your coop as well.

Your coop's exterior shell can be built with low cost, or even freely scavenged lumber, fiberglass, metal, or plywood. One of these should be enough to ward off most elements and temperature changes.

Finally, you'll definitely want some chicken fencing wire, also known as chicken mesh, for a run. Personally, I wouldn't go for anything larger than 1" mesh. Smaller is better - but more expensive.