A Hen House, also known as a Chicken Coop, is a house for your Chickens/Hens to live.
The inside usually has nest boxes where the chickens can lay their eggs, and also a place where they can perch themselves to sleep.
Chicken Coops that are designed for chickens that are commercially bread for meat have neither of these features, and usually produce relatively unhealthy chickens.
It is also popular for Hen Houses to have an outdoor facility attached, allowing the chickens to run around.
Both the interior and exterior are often covered with some form of material, like wood chippings or straw.
Covering the floor allows for easier maintenance of the Hen House due to it absorbing the chicken waste.
Most Hen Houses have ventilation to help air out any smells that may arise.
There are two radically different designs of Hen Houses; 'Fresh-Air Houses' and 'Closed off Coops', this is due to there being two different ideas on the best environment to raise chickens.
The fresh-air Houses feature large, permanent openings, and a very open House that is extremely ventilated.
This is due to the thoughts that chickens can be brought morally low by, unventilated, confined darkness and much prefer outdoor conditions.
The closed off Coops are, as you can guess, the opposite of fresh air houses.
The houses contain doors and windows that can be shut confining the chickens to their Coop in darkness and providing poor ventilation.
Backyard Hen Houses are smaller coops that are usually surrounded by a fence (usually made out of chicken wire) so the chickens don't roam off but allowing them to roam in the garden, peck and hunt insects.
Backyard Hen Houses are popular with people who are keeping Chickens for their own personal use and not for commercial benefit.
There are a growing number of people who are turning to keeping their own chickens, although this has been popular in rural areas for some time it is becoming increasingly popular in urban areas.
This is due to the chickens producing delicious, fresh eggs and healthy meat that the owners can consume for themselves and not use for a commercial value.
There is the added benefit that chickens are very easy to maintain and require little attention.
There is a growing population of people investing in chickens, and instead of buying Hen Houses they are building their own, this has the cost saving benefit.