DIY hanging bird house

This hanging bird house is a traditional take to your yard decor. Learn how to build this bird house and get the plans!

I've been working on a series of bird houses and this is the first one that I have done that hangs FROM something, instead of ON something.

This bird house hangs on a chain, so it can be hung from a branch, hook or whatever you want!

I actually really love the look of this house the most and I think it's my most traditional style bird house. It's easy to make and can be replicated in an hour!

How to build a hanging bird house

I've got full woodworking plans to make this hanging bird house, so make sure you grab those. Then, follow along with my tutorial below to see how it's done!

Check out the other bird houses I've made in this series!

• A-frame bird house
• Modern angled bird house

Materials needed to build

Here's the materials and tools you'll need to build this hanging bird house.

• (1) 1x6 cedar board
• Outdoor sealant
• Saw
• Brad nailer and nails
• 1 ¼" spade bit
• Wood glue
• Keyhole hangers
• Eye hooks
• Chain

Step one: Make cuts and sand

Using a single board, you can rip down all the cuts you need from the cut list in my woodworking plans.

A lot of these cuts can be made on a miter saw, but this bird house would definitely benefit from having a table saw on hand.

After making the cuts, drill a hole in the front piece for the entrance, then sand all the pieces down.

Step two: assemble body

With everything ready, use wood glue and nails to attach all the body parts together.

There's a front and back, which are pretty easy to distinguish once you've drilled the hole, and then two side pieces. One fits perfectly edge to edge and the other needs to be cut down slightly.

Step three: add top

After the body is done, add the top pieces. I started by attaching one of the slats to the top peak of the house and working my way down that side.

Then, I used a slightly wider top piece and met it at the peak for the first side and worked down the second side.

Step four: attach hangers

Once the house is built, screw in two eye hooks on each end of the peak for the top. Pre-drill the holes because it will be difficult to screw these in straight otherwise.

Then, attach a chain between the two hooks. Make sure that there is some slack so it isn't too tight and can move in the wind.

Step five: hang

Finally, find a place to hang the bird house. You can add a hook into a tree, loop it over a branch, or hang it down from somewhere else. It's really up to you and where you can see it best!

Hanging bird house woodworking plans

If you like this project, I've got woodworking plans for you to help you build it! My woodworking plans include the full material list, cut list and step-by-step instructions with computer model images.

My woodworking plans are a lot more in depth than this post, with the dimensions and everything you need. They make it a lot easier to build!

Hope you enjoy building your own hanging bird house!