Hi!
I have a problem. I have a 12 ft by 12 ft cage with no hen house (just a little dog house like thing), with 11 hens and I have 4 more that are about ready to go outside with the older ones. I just got a $50 gift card to Home Depot, and I am debating between building a regular hen house, or should I extend my cage.
PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR OPINION!!!!!!
You can extend the run, but be prepared to improve the housing within the next few weeks before the weather gets really hot. That many birds may overheat quickly in a dog house. Depends on how the dog house is designed, but most of the prefab ones I've seen have inadequate ventilation for summer chicken housing.
As others have said, shade is also critical. Tarps will help but they also cut down the air flow. Most shadecloth is not sufficient for mid-summer, mid-day shade. They really prefer dense shade. In the summer my free-ranging birds hang out under my deck, next to the house where the cool air conditioning leaks out.
When designing shade make sure you take the changing sun angles into account. I have better luck shading the top, west, and north sides - because in the summer the sun is farther north in the morning and afternoon, and is nearly overhead at noon.
then I also let them know that Lauren gives us 1 egg a day, like the chickens do... They still are in shock, & most of the time speechless, actually quite entertaining, I might add..
let's see what this evening brings.. She is getting chick's fron the Stock Shop later.. A few egg's were light, they will be taken out by day 23 if nothing happens.. 
