Top 10 Chicken Coop Supplies That Will Make Your Life Easier

Greetings! Whether you’re new or old to the world of raising chickens, I thought you may enjoy hearing about some of our favorite chicken coop and run supplies that we’ve come to rely on over the years – beyond the basics.

Rather than focusing on essentials like food, water, and predator-proof shelter (because y’all know that already, right?) here is a useful list of items that add convenience, make our lives easier, and help keep our backyard chickens as happy, healthy and safe as possible.

RELATED: Don’t miss our beginner’s guide to raising backyard chickens, which goes into more detail about basics like food, water, bedding, roosts, predator-proofing, and more.

1) Automatic Coop Door

I honestly can’t imagine raising chickens without an automatic coop door anymore. It’s a total game changer, for our convenience and our flock’s safety! Using an automatic coop door enables you to safely lock your chickens in the coop at night and let them out into the run in the morning – even if you’re busy, out late, or even out of town.

We’ve had an Omlet auto door for over 4 years and haven’t had a single issue with it. In fact, we haven’t even had to change the batteries yet! (Though I heard they drain a little faster in freezing climates, so just keep an eye on the battery level.) Simply set it to close awhile after your flock naturally puts themselves to bed, open in the morning after dawn, and adjust the time as the daylight changes a few times per year.

2) Natural Nesting Box Pads

Nest box pads are great way to line and cushion nesting boxes, which helps prevent broken eggs while giving hens a clean and comfy place to lay. We tried using straw in the past, but the girls always dug into the center to expose the bare, hard wood below.

I love these 13×13″ natural nesting box pads made of compostable USA-grown aspen. We only change them out if they become grossly soiled (which isn’t often).

3) Droppings Board and Poop Scooper

Truth be told, I’m not into the “deep litter” method. Instead, we have an easily-cleanable “poop board” directly under the roost that catches the majority of the coop droppings. It’s quick and easy for me to scrape it clean each morning (takes less than two minutes) and keeps the coop super fresh and clean! We’ve been using these as long as we’ve had chickens, including in smaller reach-in style coops and our current larger walk-in coop.

To make a droppings board, we cover a thin piece of plywood with smooth sheet vinyl or laminate, wrapped and glued around all sides so it’s reversible. Then I use a long-handled dog poop set to scrape and remove the droppings from the board daily (which I also use to easily pick up poop in the run). In our old reach-in coop, I used a wide paint scraper and dustpan instead. We also take the poop boards out to deep clean once every few months.

4) Wildlife-Safe Poultry Netting

We can’t let our flock fully free-range because of predators, especially birds of prey (we unfortunately learned that the hard way…) Our chickens already have a big predator-proof hardware cloth run, but I wanted to give them more safe space to roam, so we created an even larger chicken “day yard” adjacent to the run.

The day yard is enclosed with basic wire fencing around the perimeter (supported with t-posts) and poultry netting over the top for overhead protection. But not just any netting! Most of the common black plastic-like “bird netting” is hazardous to native birds and other wildlife, easily entangling them.

Instead, we use this high-quality, durable, wildlife-safe poultry netting (we have the one with 2-inch openings). It’s awesome stuff! It’s been up for over a year without issue. We strung it up between the side of the run, perimeter fencing and trees, with one of these tall support poles for extra height in the middle as needed.

After losing my favorite chicken in a traumatic hawk attack, I can’t tell you how much peace of mind this gives us – and the girls love their new playground!

5) Boot Scraper

This one is extra simple, but oh-so-useful.

No matter how much we try to avoid it, chickens and poopy shoes goes hand-in-hand, right? So, we keep one of these basic durable boot scrapers just outside our chicken run, making it easy to clean off our garden boots before traipsing around the rest of the property. One always lasts us many years of use! (I flip it over after the top wears out.)

6) Solar or Battery Light (and Fan)

Having a light inside the coop is really helpful at times, especially if you have a walk-in style coop like us. We recently had electricity run to our chicken coop so we could plug in a fan, light, and camera – but before that, we relied on this handy little battery-operated light and wall switch. (Our coop is under a lot of trees so solar wasn’t the best option, but this solar-powered coop light gets great reviews too.)

In addition to light, a fan can be a serious lifesaver during hot weather. We currently use this outdoor-rated plug-in fan, but this solar-powered waterproof coop fan is an ideal choice for those without electricity. It has fresh air intake plus exhaust fans and an on/off switch!

7) Coop Camera

Though it may seem a little “extra”, I love having a camera inside the coop! Then I can easily check on the flock wherever I am, any time of day (including the comfort of my couch or bed lol) – to do nightly head counts, monitor nest box activity, or make sure the auto door successfully closed (not that it’s ever been an issue). It also helps me monitor any unusual behavior, and even catch potential health issues early.

We have an older Nest camera that is no longer available, though this plug-in Ring outdoor camera is another well-rated camera that also has a solar-powered option.

8) Misters

Did you know that heat is more dangerous to chickens than freezing cold weather? Though it’s not super hot here often, I love having this mister system strung around in between the chicken’s run and “day yard” to turn on during heat waves and keep them comfortable and safe. It’s super easy to set up, connects right to a garden hose, comes in various lengths, and immediately cools the surrounding area by several degrees!

RELATED: Learn 10 ways to keep chickens cool during heat waves and hot summer weather, or visit this guide on how to winterize a chicken coop and keep chickens warm and cozy during cold conditions.

9) First Saturday Lime

I love using First Saturday Lime for natural pest prevention around the coop and run. We sprinkle it under their bedding and nest box pads, in their dust baths, and generally around the cracks and crevices of the coop and roosts. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence or good luck, but we’ve never had a single issue with poultry lice or mites!

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is another popular option used for natural insect and parasite control, yet DE can be harmful when inhaled (both for humans and chickens). On the other hand, lime offers many of the same benefits while minimizing health concerns. You can order it online though our local feed stores and Home Depot also carry it.

RELATED: Did you know dust baths are essential to chicken health? Learn how to make a chicken dust bath here – including our dust bath “recipe”, DIY dust bath container ideas, and more.

10) Enrichment and Boredom Busters

Last but certainly not least, don’t forget to deck out your chicken run (or yard) with as many roosts, boredom busters, or other sources of entertainment as you have space for. Because happy chickens = healthy chickens!

Plus, the more content and healthy your birds are, the less issues they create for you too. For instance, chickens that are offered ample enrichment are less likely to bully one another, develop feather-plucking or egg-eating behaviors.

We try to keep our girls entertained by providing various roosts, log structures, leaf piles, hanging treat nets full of garden greens, DIY flock block, and more. We even made them a chicken grazing box – aka the “chicken salad bar”! Even if you have a smaller run space, simply moving roosts or stumps around once a month or so will shake things up and keep them entertained.

Well friends, that concludes this list of handy chicken coop supplies. I hope you found a few fun new ideas for your coop and flock! I’d also love to hear about any of your favorite items or ideas in the comments below! Thank you for tuning in today.

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