Best Free Chicken Run Plans: 6 Designs With Different Sizes and Layouts
A chicken run gives your flock protected outdoor space, but "chicken run plan" can describe two different projects. Some plans build a mesh enclosure to use alongside an existing hen house. Others include both the run and a solid enclosed house.
The first four free plans below are walk-in outdoor runs without a separate enclosed hen house. The last two include a house as part of the structure. Compare what you can enter, what the roof covers, and how much of the stated footprint belongs to the run before choosing a PDF.
These are Easy Coops plans. Capacities and material costs are Easy Coops' current catalog figures, not guarantees for your flock or a quote for your local build. Its material estimates use August 2026 prices for buying new materials and include a contingency. Older PDFs and catalog descriptions occasionally disagree; those differences are called out below. Start with our 20+ free chicken coop plans if you are still deciding what type of structure to build.
All six PDFs linked below are free. Affiliate disclosure: Easy Coops also offers optional premium plan editions. That is an affiliate link; BYCP may earn a commission if you purchase through it at no extra cost to you. Check each edition's contents before buying. A premium purchase is not required to open any of the free PDFs in this article.
Compare the six free chicken run plans
| Plan | Footprint | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 10×10 Small Chicken Run | 10×10 ft run | Square, roofed walk-in mesh run; no enclosed house |
| 8×16 Chicken Run | 8×16 ft run | Longer walk-in mesh run with a gable roof; no enclosed house |
| 10×20 Chicken Run | 10×20 ft run | Large walk-in mesh run with a gable roof; no enclosed house |
| 20×20 Chicken Run | 20×20 ft run | Wide, roofed walk-in mesh run; no enclosed house |
| 4×12 Backyard Chicken Coop | 4×12 ft total | Narrow walk-in run plus a small raised, enclosed house |
| 8×20 Chicken Run | 8×20 ft total | Long run plus a solid enclosed house at one end |
House access matters: You can walk into the run in each design. The 4×12 house is a raised hutch accessed through its cleaning doors; its run is the walk-in space. The 8×20 includes a human door on its solid house. If entering the enclosed hen house is your main goal, compare our free walk-in chicken coop plans instead.
10×10 Small Chicken Run
A square footprint is handy when a long, narrow run would be awkward beside your existing coop. This design has mesh walls, a human entry door, and a sloped metal-panel roof. The PDF also shows roosting and nesting features inside the enclosure. You can step in to tend the space instead of trying to reach its far side through a small access panel.
Easy Coops lists the run for 10 chickens and estimates $1,425 in materials. Treat the 10×10 measurement as run space, not indoor hen-house floor. Although the drawing shows roosts and nesting spots, it does not show a separate solid, enclosed sleeping house. Plan how your birds will reach suitable nighttime housing, and check the door, mesh, roof, and ground-edge details against the conditions in your yard.
- Human access: Walk into the run.
- Current catalog: 10 chickens; 10×10 ft run; Medium difficulty; estimated $1,425 in materials.
- Roof and layout: Sloped metal-panel roof over a square mesh enclosure.
- Trade-off: Compact shape, but an enclosed hen house is a separate need.
Download the free 10×10 Small Chicken Run PDF
8×16 Chicken Run
Choose this shape if you have room for a run that extends farther along a fence line or beside a coop. Its full-height mesh walls and human door provide access along the 16-foot length. The distinguishing feature is its gable roof: this is a different layout from Easy Coops' other 8×16 run with a single-slope roof. The PDF calls for metal roof panels, giving the run overhead cover as well as mesh sides.
The current catalog lists 12 chickens, Medium difficulty, and about $1,850 in materials. Its description mentions elevated sleeping quarters, but the PDF illustration shows an open mesh enclosure with roosting space, not a separate solid hen house. Count the 8×16 feet as run area. If you need a combined house and run, check the two integrated designs farther down this page or BYCP's free plans for 13-20 chickens.
- Human access: Walk into the run.
- Current catalog: 12 chickens; 8×16 ft run; Medium difficulty; estimated $1,850 in materials.
- Roof and layout: Gable roof with metal panels over a long mesh enclosure.
- Trade-off: Provides covered outdoor space, but no solid enclosed hen house.
Download the free 8×16 Chicken Run PDF
10×20 Chicken Run
The 10×20 gives you a larger walk-in enclosure without building a house into the same footprint. Its mesh sides, human door, interior roosts, and gable-roof frame make it visibly different from the 10×20 single-slope run included in BYCP's 13-20 chicken coop-plan guide. The roof shape matters here: two plans with the same stated dimensions call for different framing and should not be treated as the same PDF.
Easy Coops lists this one for 20 chickens, with Medium difficulty and an estimated $2,400 material cost. The catalog describes a slanted roof, while the COOP67 PDF depicts a gable roof. The PDF provides roof-framing drawings, but its steps do not clearly specify the finished weatherproof covering; check what roofing, mesh, fasteners, and door hardware you must buy before relying on the budget. The 10×20 measurement describes the run, and the plan does not add a solid enclosed house.
- Human access: Walk into the run.
- Current catalog: 20 chickens; 10×20 ft run; Medium difficulty; estimated $2,400 in materials.
- Roof and layout: Gable-roof frame over a full-height mesh enclosure.
- Trade-off: Large open run; verify the finished roofing and supply list before pricing the build.
Download the free 10×20 Chicken Run PDF
20×20 Chicken Run
This is the widest run-only choice in the group. The roughly square enclosure has mesh walls, a human entry, and a sloped metal-panel roof. Its width gives you more choices for where to position equipment and shade within the run, but it also takes a 20×20-foot patch of yard. Look at the full drawing before assuming that a clear 20×20 rectangle alone is enough room for roof edges, door swing, drainage, and access around the outside.
Check the capacity conflict before using this plan to size a flock. Easy Coops' catalog capacity field says 40 chickens, and the PDF cover also says up to 40. The catalog description, however, says up to 20. We cannot resolve that contradiction from the listing. Measure the usable area, consider your bird's time in the run and the space available inside their separate house, and choose on those needs rather than the largest advertised number. The current catalog estimates $5,525 in materials.
- Human access: Walk into the run.
- Current catalog capacity field: 40 chickens; catalog description says 20.
- Current catalog: 20×20 ft run; Medium difficulty; estimated $5,525 in materials.
- Roof and layout: Broad mesh enclosure with a sloped metal-panel roof.
- Trade-off: Substantial yard and build commitment; no solid enclosed hen house.
Download the free 20×20 Chicken Run PDF
4×12 Backyard Chicken Coop With Run
This is a different proposition from the four open runs above. A raised, solid-sided hutch occupies one end of the structure, with an exterior nest box and an attached mesh run beneath the shared sloping roof. Its narrow shape could suit a strip of yard where a 10-foot-wide enclosure would not fit. You can enter the run through its human door; you access the raised house through its cleaning doors rather than walking inside it.
The catalog calls the design "Backyard Chicken Coop Plans" and lists a 4×12-foot total footprint, 10 chickens, Intermediate difficulty, and about $2,875 in materials. The exact free PDF's older cover says up to 8 chickens. The catalog also describes coming inside to tend the birds, but the drawing's human-sized working space is the run, not the raised enclosed hutch. Check how much of the 4×12 footprint is usable run area and how much protected interior space the house provides before choosing it for your flock.
- Human access: Walk into the run; open the raised house's cleaning doors.
- Current catalog: 10 chickens; 4×12 ft whole structure; Intermediate; estimated $2,875 in materials.
- House included? Yes: a small, solid-sided raised hutch.
- Trade-off: Fits a narrow space, but the PDF cover says 8 chickens and the house is not walk-in.
Download the free 4×12 Backyard Chicken Coop and Run PDF
8×20 Chicken Run With Enclosed House
Although the catalog names this an "8x20 Chicken Run," its PDF shows a solid enclosed house at one end and a long, mesh-sided run alongside it. The house has a human door; the run has its own entry. In the PDF's dimension drawing, the 20-foot length is divided into roughly 4 feet for the house and 16 feet for the run. That makes this a choice for someone who wants both parts in one build, rather than someone who needs 160 square feet of outdoor run.
Easy Coops lists 12 chickens, Medium difficulty, and an estimated $5,775 in materials for the whole 8×20 structure. Its enclosed gable-front house is also what distinguishes COOP69 from the 8×20 COOP60 mesh run previously covered in BYCP's 13-20 chickens coop plans. The two PDFs share a stated overall size and a catalog name, but their house, roof, and run layouts are different. Check the house's usable interior dimensions separately from the run before settling on flock size.
- Human access: Human door into the enclosed house; separate entry into the run.
- Current catalog: 12 chickens; 8×20 ft whole structure; Medium difficulty; estimated $5,775 in materials.
- House included? Yes: a solid enclosed house at one end.
- Trade-off: More complete setup and higher estimated cost; the entire 8×20 footprint is not run space.
Download the free 8×20 Chicken Run and House PDF
Tools and Materials You May Need
The exact shopping list depends on the PDF you choose, but these builds commonly involve lumber, plywood, roofing, exterior screws, hinges, door hardware, and wire mesh or hardware cloth. Useful tools include a tape measure, speed square, drill/driver, circular saw, and a way to cut and fasten the hardware cloth. Check your selected plan's measurements and materials before buying anything.
Before you choose a run
Start with the part your chickens can actually use outdoors. For the first four plans, the stated dimensions describe a run. For the 4×12 and 8×20, they describe the whole structure, so examine the PDF drawings to separate house area from run area. Then check whether you can comfortably enter for cleaning, how the roof sheds water, and whether the layout gives birds shade and places to get out of bad weather.
A roof and mesh walls alone do not tell you how secure a finished run will be. University of Maryland Extension's coop-construction guidance recommends covering runs and protecting their borders against digging predators; it also emphasizes a dry, ventilated house. Use our predator-proof chicken coop guide as a practical checklist when choosing mesh, closing gaps, and planning latches for your site. Check local requirements and price the entire materials list, including anything the free PDF leaves unclear.
The best plan is the one that fits your yard and gives your chickens the space and shelter they need. Open the free PDF for your favorite design, check what's included, and price the materials before you start building.
