While there certainly are a large number of free chicken coop plans available, the reality is that the number of free chicken coop plans that specifically fit your needs or are appealing to you from a design point of view may be closer to zero. That's not to say that you should give up looking; quite the contrary. Keep looking! You'll find many different ideas on what makes a great chicken house. And from these, you're almost guaranteed to find things that you find appealing in each of them. The key is to adopt these good points and use them to fulfill the design requirements and constraints that you have. If you can do this, you'll easily be able to arrive at your perfect design.
A good example is if you've got a certain look or style to your house. You may want a set of plans that mimics or complements the look of your house, and in turn adds to the overall aesthetics of your property.
It's not unreasonable to be against erecting something that looks like it may have been built without any regard for style or function. It doesn't matter what color you paint something, you can't hide ugly.Often these free designs use salvage materials or materials that they have on hand during the build. While it's a great idea to be thrifty and resourceful, it's not smart to use materials that are not suited for the task. Particleboard or MDF are two common culprits that come to mind. If there's any need for structural strength, or resistance to water or moisture, these two materials should be avoided when building your chicken coop.
So as you can see, there are a few pitfalls that you need to look out for, especially when building something from a free plan. Chances are that you only want to build your chicken coop once, not every few years when it fails. I'm not against using free plans, there are several very good ones. What I'm against is using something just because it's free, even if it's not right for your needs. Take your time to research them thoroughly. And if you can't find one that you're happy with, don't be afraid to spend a little money on commercially available plans. You may just end up saving a lot more money, time, and frustration in the end than you probably thought possible.
Free Chicken Coop Plans - If You're Not Careful, You Just May Get What You Paid For