3D Printing a Backyard Chicken Coop: an Alternative to Factory Farming

This project addresses factory farming by presenting backyard chicken coops as a sustainable alternative. My 3D printed chicken coop model offers a practical solution, reduces reliance on factory farming, and avoids common issues with residential coops.

Background

Factory farming is a method of raising large numbers of animals in confined spaces in order to meet demands for meat and animal products. While it is a cost-effective farming method, it can create serious issues in terms of animal welfare, human health risks and environmental damage. This project began as a part of a design class I took a few months ago, where I researched the harms of factory farming, specifically on chickens. I then explored potential solutions to the issue, such as people having chicken coops in their own backyards. Since then, I have expanded on my initial work by conducting further research and refining my design ideas. My goal is to create a backyard chicken coop design that can be used to reduce the issue of factory farming for chickens. My design will be unique because of its combination of having a modern aesthetic, being made out of sustainable materials and having practical features that address common issues with backyard coops, including having limited access for cleaning or poor ventilation.

Project Plan

The above table includes a 10 step plan to guide my project, including the resources/tools that will be used to complete each step.

To learn about the negative impacts of factory farming and ultimately be able to share this information with others, I have done some online research and created the infographic above. Making this infographic has allowed me to understand the issue of factory farming in more depth so that I can then come up with a better solution.

In my design class a few months ago, I learned that backyard chicken coops are an effective solution for factory farming concerns. I have done more research about residential chicken coops and believe that they are a beneficial way to mitigate the issue. I want to ultimately create my own backyard chicken coop design. So, I have done more research to create another infographic that highlights the benefits of residential chicken coops.

I have evaluated an existing backyard chicken coop design I found using the acronym ACCESS FM. In addition to this analysis, I got feedback from family friends who built their own residential chicken coop. They said that their main concerns with their chicken coop design was that the coop lacked proper ventilation and was challenging to clean since humans couldn’t easily enter the coop. This research will help me refine my own design so that it addresses these common concerns.

I have created five of my own specifications for my backyard chicken coop design (see image above), and have researched specifications for residential coops created by the Alberta government. I will try to make sure that my design meets all of these specifications. Based on my research, I have determined that having good ventilation and offering easy access for humans to enter the coop are some of the most essential aspects of having a functional chicken coop.

These are backyard chicken coop design specifications created by the Alberta government:

1. The chicken coop must be a maximum of 10 square meters.
2. Each hen in the chicken coop should have a minimum of 0.37 square meters of space.
3. The chicken coop should be able to fit 5-10 hens.
4. The chicken coop should have a roof.
5. The chicken coop should have windows.
6. The chicken coop should have venting, preferably on 2 sides of the coop.
7. The chicken coop should have a waterer and feeder.
8. The chicken coop should have roosting platforms or bars.
9. The chicken coop should have nest boxes.
10. The chicken coop should have an outdoor run attached to the coop that provides a minimum of 0.92 meters of enclosed outdoor space for each hen.
11. The outdoor run must be fully enclosed with mesh, including the roof and sides.

Using the design specifications I created, I have created a plan for my backyard chicken coop design. I drew sketches of my design on paper, making sure the sketches were labelled with the correct dimensions and materials. These sketches include four different views of my chicken coop design, so that I have a clear idea of what I want to 3D print as my final product. This may not be exactly what my end product looks like, but it is similar to the type of backyard chicken coop I am aiming to produce.

After lots of planning, I began assembling the final digital model of my chicken coop using Fusion 360. I started by designing the base of the coop, which was essentially a rectangular box. Using Fusion 360’s parametric tools, I was able to make the design symmetrical while creating the support beams and vertical posts. I then moved on to creating the outdoor run. To make the mesh, I followed YouTube tutorials to learn how to pattern a grid structure using sketch tools, then extruded the design to create depth. Next, I added small details, including doors, hinges, windows, and lights. I imported some elements from Tinkercad, like the lamps hanging on the door, the initial box structure, and the feeder and waterer. I exported these elements as .STL files and imported them into Fusion 360, where I scaled and adjusted them to fit my model. Inside the coop, I created evenly spaced roosting bars and nesting boxes. I also added a sloped entry ramp from the run to the coop. Once the structure was complete, I added realistic material appearances (wood for the frame, metal for the hinges, etc.). To showcase the final model, I imported the images into Canva and placed them on realistic outdoor backgrounds to simulate how the coop would look in a real environment. The entire design process took about 20 hours and required multiple iterations.

Once the final model was completed in Fusion 360, my next goal was to 3D print the design to bring the concept into the physical world. I initially planned to use the 3D printers available at my school, but I quickly realized that the complexity and size of my model exceeded the printers capabilities. Rather than scaling down or simplifying the design, I decided to explore other options. I began researching local 3D printing services and online manufacturers that could handle high-resolution prints of more advanced Fusion 360 files. Once I found someone to 3D print the design, the final product was printed in multiple parts that had to be assembled post-print. The company I used helped me glue all the parts together. The attached file contains daily updates of what I did to complete this step.

I evaluated whether the design specifications I created for my backyard chicken coop innovation were unmet, partially met or fully met.

My 3D printed chicken coop design could be sold on platforms like Etsy, Thingiverse or eBay, or through specific farming suppliers. These platforms would allow individuals and small farm owners to easily use my design.

To create a commercial-grade version of the coop, I would need to use stronger materials and 3D printing filaments. This would include using PETG, ASA, or carbon-fiber-reinforced filaments, which are more durable than standard PLA filaments (which have been used in the current model), and cost around 50 to 150 dollars per kilogram. A larger coop capable of housing 10 or more chickens would require between 20 and 50 kilograms of filament, leading to material costs of around 1000 dollars per unit. Additional reinforcements, such as metal framing, UV-resistant coatings and industrial fasteners, could add another 500 dollars to the cost. Based on these factors, a commercial-grade 3D printed chicken coop could be priced at around $1500.

Other ways to monetize the design include selling STL files for farm-scale coops, offering a subscription model where customers could receive custom blueprints of chicken coop designs like mine, or creating partnerships with poultry equipment companies to integrate my design into their products. These strategies would help make my chicken coop design practical, scalable and widely accessible, and are future steps that I could take. As a part of this, it would be important to have simple assembly instructions for the coop so that people with limited construction experience could use the product.

In order to sell the product, further testing would be required to ensure that the design is safe and functional for chickens. This would include testing the coop’s airflow and ventilation, drainage efficiency, temperature regulation across different seasons, waste management, structural integrity, and protection against predators. Conducting these tests would require printing a larger model so that the design's safety and practicality could be verified before making it available for sale.

I have created a few reflection questions to help me share my final thoughts about the project.

1. What parts of my sustainable coop design am I especially proud of?

First, I am proud of the overall appearance and aesthetic of my chicken coop design. It looks professional and has a simple design that is visually appealing. By using a slanted roof and a minimalistic style to make the coop, more people would be encouraged to purchase my design since it can easily blend into its environment. I made my chicken coop look aesthetically pleasing by including many small details to enhance the design, such as adding door handles/hinges, lights, venting, mesh and sleek windows. Second, I am proud of the outdoor run that I have created beside the coop. It took me a lot of time to learn how to create a mesh pattern, but eventually, by using the pattern tool on Fusion 360, I was able to create a realistic mesh design. This part of the coop has made the entire design much more realistic, and would be helpful for the chickens living inside the coop by providing them with a large outdoor space to roam free. Third, I am proud of the inside of the chicken coop. I have included roosting bars and nest boxes to make the design as functional as possible, providing chickens the tools they need to produce lots of eggs. I think that spending time adding detail to the inside of the coop was very beneficial. Finally, I am proud that my chicken coop has met all of the required design specifications, including the ones I created and those from the Alberta government. I made sure that all specifications were met so that my design completely aligns with the government’s requirements and would be completely safe for chickens.

2. What was challenging?

The most challenging concept for me was to learn how to use Fusion 360 since I had limited experience with using it prior to this project. However, I overcame this challenge by simplifying what was initially a very complex design and doing research to help me learn. I watched many different tutorial videos to figure out how to use the design software. While this factor made the project more challenging, I think that the time I spent learning how to use Fusion 360 was completely worth it as I am pleased with my final design. I also incorporated elements that other Fusion 360 users had made into my own design by importing the door handles/hinges and waterer/feeder from other sources instead of making them myself. There were many times when I felt confused and even frustrated with Fusion 360, but I was able to ultimately overcome these challenges by getting help and working hard to complete the design.

3. What required creativity and what was awesome about this project?

This entire project required creativity. From brainstorming a list of ideas at the start, to making sketches, and then coming up with a final design idea, creativity was used at every step of the way. I enjoyed having the ability to be creative since I had the freedom to design a chicken coop however I wanted. There were few restrictions and I could create something that reflected my own unique ideas. Specifically, I enjoyed using my creativity to come up with ideas at the start of the design cycle and then to make sketches when solidifying these ideas. It was fun to combine many different ideas into a final design.

I think that this project was awesome because it was informative and practical. Before I even started designing my chicken coop, I learned about why people should have backyard chicken coops in the first place by researching the consequences of factory farming. Then, I created a design that was actually printed and people could use in real life. In fact, my parents have been thinking of having a backyard chicken coop for many years, and showing them my design has given them ideas on how to build their coop in the future. Furthermore, this project has allowed me to learn about the design cycle and gain important skills from this that I can use in the future. It has given me an avenue to be able to come up with a creative solution to a real problem in the world.

4. What could be improved about my project and how?

There were a few elements of my design that I included in my plan for the coop that I didn’t implement in my design on Fusion 360 because I didn’t know how to make them. For example, in my original plan, I wanted to add more details to the coop such as placing wooden embellishments on the outside of the coop and a flower bed on top of the outdoor run to make the coop more visually appealing. I didn’t get to actually include these parts of my plan on Fusion 360 as I realized that designing these details required using tools that I didn’t know how to use. These elements were not very necessary, and I already spent lots of time on other aspects of the design, so I decided to eliminate these details from my final design. If I had more time and were more adept at using Fusion 360, I could have made the design better, but I am still very content with my design as it is right now. Also, if I had more time, I would improve my design further by designing an automated feeding system to dispense food for the chickens in intervals throughout the day. This would make having a backyard coop much more convenient.

Additionally, I faced some difficulties with actually 3D printing my chicken coop design since I had hoped for it to be done at school at a lower cost, but this wasn’t possible in the end. My design teacher at school tried to help me print the coop, but he didn’t have access to the right colors I needed, was unable to print it with all of the details included, and it was very small when a test version was printed. So, I had to reach out to a 3D printing company to print a model of my design. This ended up being beneficial as my final design was printed almost exactly as I had intended it to be. However, even though I used a professional 3D printing company, my design was so complex and intricate that certain details couldn’t be printed and assembled, such as the lights on the chicken coop, the feeder and waterer being inside of the outdoor run or there being hinges on the gate to the run. This could be solved by using an even larger scale company that focuses on 3D printing small details. This would be more expensive but would result in a more accurate 3D print.

The biggest flaw with my project for consumers would be its price. If it were sold at a bigger scale, it would cost around 1500 dollars, which may not be affordable for everyone. However, while the design is somewhat expensive, the benefit of my design is that it comes with everything needed to set up a chicken coop and would require little hassle to assemble. It would be up to consumers to decide whether they want to pay less but spend more time setting up the coop which may not be as professional as this design is, or pay more to have a professional, easy-to-assemble backyard chicken coop. However, I could explore using more cost-effective materials such as bamboo or corrugated metal sheets to reduce expenses while maintaining the durability of the product.

I showed my final backyard chicken coop design to some family friends who have chickens and built their own residential chicken coop, and they thought that my design would be very functional. Also, I was unable to test my design for things like its airflow or drainage because I only printed a small prototype of the model. If I had access to a larger prototype, I could have conducted practical tests to confirm the effectiveness of these features.