I think sometimes we get carried away with details. Wild birds stay warm in winter no matter where they are. They instinctively seek out a spot with some ground cover for their feet and some brush or tall grass to block the wind. They naturally free range. So all we have to do is provide the same things they would have in the wild. A building of some kind to stay out of the wind, some bedding to keep teir feet warm and a place to lay eggs large enough to move around to get comfy and a food and water source that they cant get dirty no matter how hard they try. They naturally roost somewhere at night but they can find all kinds of things to roost on, even chicken wire or a board edgè stickin out from the wall (bantams) i know because ive seen them do it when being bullied.
Now its just a matter of how extravagant we want to get with those basic needs ive picked up a few useful tips here such as wood rather than pipe for perches, avoid chicken wire surround where predators can get to it, 2 sqft per bird in the coop IF.... they have a run or free range. All good info but after all they are just animals and their needs are simple. I do hàve one question though, i see many coops set up on stilts with fencing around the bottom and access through the floor. Just curious what that does for them?
eggcellent post. But there are a couple of other factors to consider. Wild birds VS Domesticated. When we mess around with their original design we get chickens that dont go broody or are this color or that color Size vs being able to fly... yata yata....
We remove Some of thier wild instincts doing this.
Now I have completely open coops and I am like you KISS is my mantra. Yet there are some that require special attention Silkies for one because for the most part they cant fly. But encouraging them to get off the ground is a good idea.
To be honest most coops are built for the coop Keeper. What they need for convenience whether collecting eggs, Feeding and watering, and Keeping the coop clean... OR all of the previous. So the IDEAL coop fills both... My needs and my chickens needs.
The IDEAL coop for someone else may be wayyy different.
deb