A chicken coop is a building where chickens are kept. Interiors usually have nest boxes for egg laying, and also perches for the birds to sleep on. Coops for meat birds often have neither of these features.

There may also be an attached outdoor run, and both the interior and exterior floor of the chicken coop is often covered with a material, such as straw or wood chips, to contain the chicken waste and to allow easier cleanup of the chicken coop. Most have some kind of ventilation to help air out any odors that may occur.

Why Chicken Coops?

There is a seemingly permanent controversy over the basic purpose of the chicken coop.

One school of thought is that chickens are generally hardy creatures, but can be brought low by confinement, poor air quality, and darkness, and need a highly ventilated coop to provide conditions more like the outdoors, even in winter. This is the "fresh-air school."

The other school of thought is that chickens cannot tolerate outdoor conditions and are prone to illness from drafts and poor weather, and need a controlled-environment coop.

The two schools of thought lead to radically different housing designs, with fresh-air houses featuring large, permanent openings with only wire mesh between the chickens and the weather, even in Northern winters, and the closed houses featuring doors, windows, and hatches that can be shut to eliminate most ventilation. The open-sided house is the dominant form in commercial poultry operation.