Solid sides with vents vs. all hardware mesh?

[Birdpants]

I live in San Francisco, with mostly moderate temps but some wet weeks in winter and sadly now occasionally shockingly hot spells in the summer, but it never gets truly cold. I’m looking at coop plans and see some that are basically nearly entirely hardware mesh on a frame. Assuming there’s a roof to keep rain out, and that it’s truly totally predator proof, and all other necessities are in there (perches and boxes properly placed)...is it nuts to have just hardware mesh sides (with a solid floor and shavings) instead of solid walls with windows/vents? Do the birds get stressed from exposure to elements or to lurking predators? What if some side panels are solid and some mesh?
Thanks for any feedback!

 

[rosemarythyme]

That's usually referred to as an open air design and it may have all open walls, or 3 open/1 solid, or about half and half (where half the "box" is solid and open to the other half that's wire mesh). Appropriate for hot weather set ups and as long as you're smart about how you set it up, i.e. big roof overhangs to stop rain and solid wall(s) facing primary wind/storm direction, it should work well in a moderate climate. If needed you can partially cover some walls for winter.

 

[ScratchNbawk]

I’m in Southern California (high desert) and have an open air coop. I’m new to chicken keeping so I don’t have a ton of experience, but so far, my chickens have adjusted well to the coop.
They have a thick layer of down feathers, and I haven’t had issues with them being afraid at night.
Day time is a different story - I have 2 chickens who alert to the same squirrel every day . . . It’s the same squirrel, and the other chickens just stop and look at the squawking chickens dumbfounded.
There’s a cat that roams the neighborhood who really scared the chickens initially, now they just don’t care.

 

[3KillerBs]

Open air coops are great in warm climates.

I'm planning on using that design for the coop we'll be building this winter.

My intent is to have partial walls around the roost area to give them a sense of security when roosted but to have it open at the top to maintain optimum airflow.

 

[0die]

you want an open air coop with a sheltered/enclosed area that they can go if they desire.

 

[Alaskan]

If a bunch of "scary things" patrol about the coop then some lattice or such can help give some visual protection.

But, in a hot climate air at perch height is a GREAT thing.

My relatives in Texas had/have mostly open coops with breeze at perch height. And no, nothing was/is closed for winter. That area would have rare and brief ice and snow.

My grandmother's coop did have shutters to close for huge storms... but they were not closed in winter.

 

[Birdpants]

Thank you all! Super helpful info. I love this community.

 

[Windrider]

I am in coastal Southern California. I have an open air coop and run combo that has one sold wall (which is actually a cinder block privacy fence) and a roof over the whole thing. At first the fence side was the only solid wall. I found that because the enclosure was small, even though it was raccoon-proof, the chickens were still getting the bejesus scared out of them at night. So the roost area now has three sides with the open side facing into the run. Solved the problem.

 

[David61]

my roofed enclosure is covered 100% with 1/2 HW cloth. I put tin on the outside over the HW cloth for a wind break making a roost box on one end. It's also where i put the net boxes. here is the build with pictures,
10x6 roofed with a 8x20 run | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens