How to Build a Chicken Coop for Dollplay

This is a tall hen house for play time with 18 inch dolls.

       This variation of a chicken coop or hen house does not open for play. It does have very realistic detail and also open nesting boxes for toy chickens to roost in and supply your dolls with an abundance of eggs if you wish.

 Supply List:

• two cardboard boxes
• a box of Popsicle sticks ( I used large ones but you can use whatever size you've got!)
• additional scrap corrugated cardboard
• white school glue
• acrylic paints
• Mod Podge
• sawdust 
• paper mache pulp
• both brown and white papers for decoupage steps
• faux wood print papers (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Acquire a box or two that are of the size you would like for a doll chicken coop. 
2. glue these together and mask all of the surfaces with masking tape. 
3. Apply glue and corrugated cardboard to the roof areas.
4. Glue on Popsicle sticks to give the coop added texture and realistic details
5. divide the opening on the side of the coop into nesting beds. 
6. Glue on an additional cardboard scrap to imply a door opening. Covering this with faux wood printed papers.
7. Cut openings in the bottom of the coop to insert Popsicle stick legs. Tape in position to allow the glue to dry overnight. Our coop stilt-like legs are made using three sticks each forming triangular shaped legs.
8. Remove the tape once the legs are glued in place and dry.
9. Craft a platform using cardboard and masking tape.
10. Cut 'slots' for the legs to be inserted and glue in place.
11. Cut a simple ramp for the hens to access the coop from beneath from cardboard. Attach the ramp to both the coop and the platform using glue and masking tape.
12. Craft the poultry feeders and glue these in place.
13. Use paper pulp and sawdust to decorate the 'yard' beneath the coop. Let it dry.
14. Paint all of the surfaces that are not decoupaged with wood print papers. I painted this version of a coop roof to look like aluminum metal and the walls red. I reserved the trim, door and ramp for decoupage. But you may wish to stain these brown or paint them white instead.
15. I also painted the paper pulp ground cover in green and left the sawdust a natural color. The rest of the yard was covered with white glue and brown paper bag.

See the chicken coop from all sides before I have painted it and added details.

See the ramp for the hens and rooster to ascend inside of the coop at night. 

The four sides of the chicken coop have been painted and decoupaged.
The coop's platform is finished with paper pulp grass and sawdust. 

Left, See the details of the ramp for the hens to get inside the coop below and the
directions to craft the hen feeders are here. Right, directions to craft the hens
shown in this post are here. For simpler hens made from factory pom-poms go here.
See also size comparison of an American Girl Doll next to the chicken coop.

To make hen's eggs for your own chicken coop read instructions here. Right, see the
downy 'feathers' and nesting straw inside the nesting beds.

Left, chickens/hens in their nesting boxes. Center, some chickens escape to sit on the
roof! Right, domestic pet hens are well fed and secured for
the night in their Popsicle paradise.

This alternative design for a coop comes with a door large enough for
the doll to enter the coop. It also has a giant window.

More Doll Sized Coops:

• Read and explore all about doll camp for farming. Here there is much information about chickens and roosters. Plus so much more crafting for other animals on the farm.