Excellent response from Ol Grey Mare, as usual. There is a lot of information out there. If keeping chickens just within a fence was adequate or safe for them, believe me most of us would be doing that rather than building coops and runs. And remember, as far as just putting up a fence and letting them live there is concerned - chickens are birds. Birds can fly. If they want to get out they'll find a way.
I am probably going to get blasted for this, but if you want "easy" then goldfish make nice pets. I don't mean that as disrespectfully as I'm sure it comes across, but that was the advice I got when I got started with this chicken stuff, and as irritated as I got it over it that was the piece of advice that ended up making the most sense. Keeping chickens healthy and as productive as they can be does take work, and until you get a setup you can work with then no, it isn't easy. On the other hand it isn't rocket science either. Chickens are kept in all kinds of situations around the world and do just fine. My setup was built with my 8 and 9 year old grandkids in mind, because they are my chicken sitters when I have obligations out of town, which I do frequently. Mine is so easy to care for that I can safely and comfortably leave them in charge and they have no difficulty whatsoever. Clean the poop board, top off the food and water if those things need it, gather the eggs, and make sure to lock up when they are done. That's it. But that's after we did the initial work to make it work that well. If it was complicated to care for the chickens, I'd be staying home rather than trusting two little kids with everything. It's the initial work in getting your needs, wants and budget balanced against what the chickens need that takes the time and work in the beginning. After that it's just caring for the birds, maintenance and housekeeping - oh, and enjoying the fruits of your labor. You don't have to get as elaborate as some of the coops I'm sure you've seen, but shelter for chickens should meet the following:
Secure - nothing can devastate a flock faster than a weak spot in the coop, run or range allowing a predator access to your birds or allowing them to escape, never to be seen again. My run is extremely secure so I leave my pop door open all night. I ain't an early riser, and they are, so by leaving it open they can go out for a drink and a nibble while I'm still sawing logs. Some leave it open, some don't.
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Clean - chickens kept in dirty surroundings are more prone to illnesses and parasites, and the eggs and meat aren't real appetizing either.
Dry and ventilated - this is critical. Warm, moist air must be able to escape out of upper ventilation gaps or vents. Moist air in the winter is what causes frostbite and respiratory infections, and that moist air comes from the chickens' breathing, pooping, rain or snow seeping in, and waterers in a closed up coop. Those respiratory infections can spread like wildfire. Also the ammonia from chicken droppings needs to be ventilated out. Many of us use "poop boards" under the roosts. Chickens poop a lot when they are sleeping, and by using a poop board with either sand or Sweet PDZ it's almost sinfully easy to use a cat litter type scoop in the morning and clean that board exactly like a cat's litter box. The less poop in the coop, the less fume in the room! (I made a funny!) Cold isn't as detrimental to their safety as the moisture and ammonia fumes. It's even more critical in the summer because heat kills more birds than cold does. I don't insulate, nor do I provide artificial heat and I live near Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, where we KNOW winter well.
Draft free - sounds counterproductive to advise as much ventilation as possible but advise against drafts, but they are two different things. Drafts allow cold winds to come right down onto the birds as they roost, and that ruffles their feathers, which allows all of that warm air they have trapped in their insulation to escape. Think of wearing a warm down coat in a howling blizzard, then suddenly having the zipper break - that cold wind sucks out all the warmth that the coat kept trapped next to your body - instant iceberg. And speaking of trapped warmth, flat roosts like a 2x4 with the flat side up lets them sit on their toes instead of having them exposed while they try to cling to a round perch all night.
Nest boxes - these mean cleaner eggs, less breakage and less egg eating, always. (That said, if you do have an egg eater, where the egg is laid won't matter, but if they learn young where to lay and use those areas exclusively then at least they aren't following their natural instincts to peck at anything on the ground.) You don't need one per bird - I think the recommendation is 1 box for every 4 birds, although most of them will end up using only one or two favorite ones. These don't have to be sticking out of the outside of the coop. Folks have very successfully provided their birds with everything from 5 gallon pails laid on their sides to milk crates, Rubbermaid totes, cardboard boxes, big flower pots....you name it, it can be a nest, and it can sit right on the floor if you want. You can lay them side by side, scatter them around, or attach them one on top of the other, depending on your space in the coop.
All kinds of coops meet these 5 basic requirements,whether they are small and simple or huge and elaborate. I do like being able to stand up in my coop so I can clean effectively, check on the birds, and not walk around in there hunched over, but then I'm old and not as flexible as I once was. You can accomplish all of this with a small coop geared to the size and number of your chickens. A small, A-frame structure has worked very well for lots of people. Play houses have been converted. All you are after is just what Ol Grey Mare pointed out....shelter. Period. And shelter provides a clean, dry, ventilated place for them to sleep and lay eggs, free from the threat of predators.
You are going to do just fine, Jason! I didn't intend to make it sound like I was discouraging you one bit, because this chicken keeping stuff is a lot of fun, always interesting, and very, very rewarding. But it is work to get it started at first, and I wish my eyes would have been opened before I started so I could have avoided some unpleasant surprises. If you have a family, get them involved from the beginning and it becomes less like work and more like a new family adventure. And relax! You have thousands of good people out here who have your back. We want you to succeed and enjoy the ride. There isn't a question that hasn't been asked and answered. The beauty is being able to take the bits and pieces that work for you and your situation - and then blowing off the extra stuff.
