Those are creative. Out here they let the chickens and roosters run loose, though if I learn a little about it I expect they put them in a hatch at night maybe.
I live around many poultry farms, huge in fact. Because of that we have lots of flies in the spring and summer.
We used to let chickens run loose, but can’t nowdays.
With all the building around here, they tend to get out in the road and - then you have roadkill. Last week I let my roosters out and lost 3 even though their coop is 200’ back from the road and there is lots and lots of room for them, but for some reason, road is a fascination. We have traffic that consists of dimwit drivers who will swerve INTO the chickens for sport. (which is what happened to those three - tracks went off the road and hit them then back onto the road. Since our road is nice and straight, we have motorcycle riders open them up through here - There was a State Trooper sitting in my driveway last summer for a few days and he clocked one of the bikes with radar at 127 mph. But couldn’t catch him with his head start. He probably turned off somewhere and trooper took wrong turn since there is a 5 point intersection about 1 1/2 miles down the road.
If they survive that, we have foxes to worry about and they have now outlawed shooting foxes. They are also vulnerable to hawks - also now protected. So some type of protection is needed.
Another reason to confine them is that when they are laying, you don’t want to have to search every hedgerow, nook and cranny to find the eggs - Then you have to wonder if those eggs you found is fresh, stale, rotten, or if it has a developing embryo inside.
If you plan to have a garden, they do not share well.
I swear they run down the tomato plants and take a peck out of each tomato trying to decide which one they like best.
With the portables you can move them right over sections of garden that you have finished with - they will clean up everything, scratching up the soil and eat every bug in sight.
I will be putting up a 5’ chicken wire fence around a pasture for them so they won’t get into the garden (I have 2 - 150’ rolls). If you do, and you want to keep them in, you need to clip the flight feathers on one wing - doesn’t hurt them, does not change appearance but they are lopsided when they try to fly.