A Little Cooped Up

I just got back from a trip to the local feed-store, and was reflecting on how inexpensive it actually is to raise a small flock of chickens. A $25, 50lb bag of feed generally lasts them several months if they are allowed to free range. A huge bale of pine shavings ($11) has also lasted me several months, even when cleaning out the poo from their coop on a weekly basis. Actual chickens themselves are inexpensive, usually only running $2-$10 for chicks. 
  
  Perhaps the most expensive part about owning chickens is building or purchasing a coop. If you are handy with tools, I would highly recommend building your own coop instead of purchasing because you will literally save hundreds of dollars and end up with exactly what you need. After purchasing some 2X4's and scoring some plywood off Craigslist for a great price, the total cost of the coop was about $130. Basic pre-built coops are usually more than twice that cost.
  
  Chickens need, on average, 4 sq/ft per bird inside the coop and about 8-10 sq/ft per bird in the outside run (a bit less if you have bantams). If you are planning on free-ranging exclusively, they do not need as much room in the run. If they will not free range at all, they will need much more than the 8 sq.ft.  My 6 girls have an enclosed run attached to their coop and then are allowed to free range a good portion of our yard all day.  Even though they free-range, I opted to have a sizeable 5'X12' run so they could have a large covered place to get shelter when it's raining besides the actual coop. We live in Seattle. It rains a lot.

The enclosed upper coop portion is 5'X5' square with 3 nesting boxes. Usually, you only need 1 nesting box per 3 or so chickens, but since they usually ALL only choose 1 to use, I wanted to give them options.  There is a roost running along the inside of the coop so they can perch at night.  Most people I've talked to didn't know chickens liked to get up in a high place to sleep... I didn't at first.  But mine all jump up on the roost and snuggle together for warmth. It's pretty adorable.

3 nest boxes with rear access, and roosting perch along the interior

I used hardware cloth on the outdoor run for safety from predators. It is considerably more expensive than chicken wire, but worth it in the long run. Chicken wire, although called as such, is not ideal for chicken safety. Especially from raccoons who can rip right through chicken wire and kill your entire flock in a matter of minutes. It is also important to have a real latch on the door (not just some hook-and-eye sort of deal) and perhaps even a lock. Raccoons have very dexterous hands and can get into anything a 2-year-old child can. When my son turned 2, and easily opened the chicken coop, I knew I had to make a change.  Raccoons can also collapse their spine to a matter of 1 inch... so keep that in mind and account for any gaps in doors, roof, etc. I call my coop "Fort Klux" since nothing can get in or out.

Hardware Cloth is much more durable than Chicken Wire

Chickens create a lot of waste, and pine shavings are a great thing to use inside the coop. Some people like using hay, but I found hay gets gross pretty fast here in the wet and humid Pacific Northwest. Hay also seems to attract bugs and mites, so I opted to change to pine shavings and have had better success. Using the "deep litter method," fill the coop with at least 6" of shavings to help catch waste and keep constant cleaning to a minimum.  I still scoop the poo once a week in the areas it collects most (usually under the roost) and add it to our compost. I deep clean the coop once every 3-4 months. It is important to keep the coop clean and dry so ammonia does not build up and cause respiratory issues in your birds.  
As far as the run is concerned, sand is an ideal ground cover to have in the run because it is inexpensive, does not mildew, is easy to rake and scoop to clean, and gives the chickens a place to roll and dust bathe (PS, a dust-bathing chicken is pretty much the cutest and most hilarious thing ever)

Here is the beginning frame-work of the coop and run. It is very basic as we were not able to spend a ton of money, but gives the chickens what they need. 
More specific measurements:
Upper coop portion is 5'X5' and runs 2-3' tall w/ the slant roof.
The run is 5'X12' and 4' tall with a shorter area that extends under the coop.

If I were to win the lottery and do things over, I would make the run high enough for me to stand up in for easier cleaning without hunching over. But for now as long as the chickens are happy, I'm happy, because they are the ones spending the most time in it.