In addition to needing a dry, draft-free house, or a chicken coop to sleep in, chickens require a certain amount of outdoor shelter from the prevailing rain and wind. Birds that get drenched may be at risk of hypothermia as their body temperature drops soon, especially if there is an additional windchill factor involved. So yes, chickens can stay inside their chicken coop all day long as they have everything they need throughout the day, including light. If your co-op doesn't have windows, you can set lights and a timer, but that often requires it to run on electricity and many people don't want to do it outside.
Some chicken farmers also use poultry nets to ensure their flock stays inside the yard at all times. When selecting a chicken coop, make sure it's made by a company that understands chickens and their needs. Once you know how much you can spend, find or design a chicken coop plan and make a list of supplies. If you're especially skilled, you can build a cooperative with recycled materials at minimal cost.
Building a chicken coop usually costs about half of what you'd expect to spend on a ready-made chicken coop, especially if you decide to build from scratch. Not all kits come with enough egg boxes, and if you're going to convert a shed or build a chicken coop from scratch, you'll need to install nest boxes anyway. Medium breeds like Leghorn would need three square feet of chicken coop per chicken, while larger breeds like Plymouth Rock would need at least four square feet. If you want a larger chicken coop, it's also worth looking at the plans of the storage sheds and seeing if the structure of a shed could be modified for you and your chickens.
If you are not comfortable with your ability to use these tools safely, you should consider hiring a reputable operator or contractor who can build the structure for you. A chicken coop kit can cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars and a prefabricated chicken coop can be even more expensive. When calculating how much it costs to build a chicken coop, an important factor is whether you buy a prefabricated one or build it yourself. To keep their chickens happy while minimizing the cost of building a chicken coop, many moms and chicken porridge let their birds go out into the yard during the day and tuck them into the chicken coop near dusk.
If you live in areas with fairly harsh winters, you'll have to spend a little more to prepare your chicken coop for winter than chicken breeders in warmer climates.
