To build a coop in Stardew Valley, order one from Robin at the Carpenter’s Shop for 4,000g, 300 Wood and 100 Stone; it takes three days to finish. Then buy chickens from Marnie’s Ranch for 800g each, and keep them happy by petting them every day, making sure they eat (grass outside or hay inside), and getting them indoors by nightfall.
Below we cover the build step by step, why a Silo comes first, the daily routine, what raises and lowers a chicken’s mood, winter prep, and the coop upgrades.
Which Version This Covers
This guide covers Stardew Valley 1.6, the current version on PC, consoles and mobile. Numbers come from the community wiki’s 1.6 data. Per the official 1.6 changelog, 1.6 added the Meadowlands Farm, where “you also start with a coop and 2 chickens”, a new Animals tab that shows all your animals, and a small happiness bonus: “Farm animals now gain a little happiness if you close the animal door behind them at night.”
Build a Silo First
A coop is useless without food, and the Silo is what stores Hay. With a Silo on the farm, cutting grass with the Scythe has a chance to drop Hay straight into storage; without one, cut grass gives you nothing. Robin sells the Silo for 100g, 100 Stone, 10 Clay and 5 Copper Bars, and each one holds 240 Hay. Our Clay guide covers the quickest way to the 10 Clay.
How to Build a Coop
- Gather 300 Wood and 100 Stone, and save 4,000g. Our make money fast guide gets you there quickly.
- Visit Robin’s Carpenter’s Shop north of town. The shop is open 9 AM to 5 PM, closes at 4 PM on Fridays, and is closed on Tuesdays unless it rains.
- Choose Construct Farm Buildings, then the Coop, and pick a spot on your farm. It is 6 by 3 tiles; leave open grass in front of the door.
- Wait three days for Robin to finish.
Every coop comes with a Hay Hopper and a feeding bench inside.
How to Buy Chickens
Marnie’s Ranch sells Chickens for 800g each. Her shop counter is open 9 AM to 4 PM and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Choose Chicken, pick which coop it lives in, and name it. A basic coop holds four animals.
The color (white, brown or, after Shane’s 8-heart event, blue) is random, and per the wiki you can cancel at the coop selection screen and try again for the color you want. White chickens lay white eggs and brown ones lay brown eggs, which matters for some Community Center bundles.
Baby chicks do not lay. Per the wiki, a chick that eats every day becomes an adult after three nights and then lays an egg every day it is fed.
The Daily Chicken Routine
- Pet every chicken. Walk up and use the action button: right-click on PC, A on Xbox, Cross on PlayStation, A on Switch. Petting is the single biggest mood and friendship boost.
- Collect the eggs from the floor. Each pet and each egg also pays 5 Farming XP, which our Farming leveling guide explains.
- Fill the feeding bench. Use the Hay Hopper to pull Hay from your Silo, then place one piece on the bench per chicken.
- Open the small animal door on a sunny day in spring, summer or fall so they can graze. Coop animals need 2 tufts of grass each, and fresh grass puts them in the best possible mood.
- Close the door at night once every chicken is back inside, around 6 PM. An animal left outside overnight gets grumpy, and with the door shut it can be attacked by a wild animal.
You can check each chicken’s hearts and mood by interacting with it again after petting, or on the Animals tab.
What Makes Chickens Happy (and Unhappy)
Per the community wiki, a chicken’s mood decides whether it lays and whether the egg can be Large or high quality. Friendship (out of 5 hearts) raises the odds of Large Eggs and better quality over time.
| Raises mood | Lowers mood |
|---|---|
| Eating fresh grass outside (sets mood to maximum) | Not being fed (a large drop) |
| Being petted | Not being petted |
| Being fed hay or grass | Being outside in rain or winter |
| Door closed behind them at night | Being outside after 7 PM |
| A Heater in the coop on winter evenings | Sleeping outside (halves mood) |
A chicken with very low mood may skip laying entirely, and only chickens with at least one heart of friendship can lay Large Eggs. Large Eggs sell for almost double a regular egg and turn into gold-quality Mayonnaise.
Rainy Days and Winter
Chickens will not go outside in rain, snow or any part of winter, so they eat Hay those days. Plan for 28 days of winter feeding: cut as much grass as you can in fall, and build extra Silos if you have a big flock. Marnie also sells Hay for 50g as a backup.
Buy a Heater from Marnie for 2,000g, or earn one from the Fodder Bundle in the Community Center. One Heater per coop keeps mood up on winter evenings.
Coop Upgrades
| Coop | Cost | Holds | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coop | 4,000g, 300 Wood, 100 Stone | 4 | Chickens |
| Big Coop | 10,000g, 400 Wood, 150 Stone | 8 | Incubator; Ducks, Dinosaurs, Void and Golden Chickens |
| Deluxe Coop | 20,000g, 500 Wood, 200 Stone | 12 | Automatic hay feeder; Rabbits |
Upgrades take two days and the coop keeps working while Robin builds. The Big Coop’s Incubator hatches a new chick from an Egg, so you only need to buy a few chickens. Craft a Mayonnaise Machine (unlocked at Farming level 2) to turn eggs into Mayonnaise worth far more. Later, an Auto-Grabber from Marnie (25,000g, Farming level 10) collects eggs for you, though it pays no Farming XP.
For more, see the Stardew Valley hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a coop cost in Stardew Valley? 4,000g, 300 Wood and 100 Stone from Robin, and it takes three days to build.
Why are my chickens not laying eggs? They may still be chicks, may not have eaten, or may be in a very bad mood. Check that the feeding bench has Hay and pet them every day.
Do chickens die if you don’t feed them? No. Per the wiki, unfed animals do not die, but they get unhappy and stop producing until you feed them again.
Do I need a Silo before a coop? Not strictly, but without a Silo cut grass gives no Hay, so you would have to buy all your Hay from Marnie.
How do you get Large Eggs? Keep mood and friendship high by petting daily, feeding every day and letting chickens graze fresh grass whenever the weather allows.