I forgot, I was gonna post pictures! These are all from the spring of 2010, when it all began. It's a lot of pictures; sorry. I just don't know where to stop.
This is the temporary set-up we had while getting a permanent coop and yard set up. My older dog, Tai, spent a lot of time in that exact position.
We converted my niece's old playhouse into a coop. DH put wire over the window openings and added plexiglass that can be slid up and down.
He put roosts inside and built a bin for food. He built nesting boxes and this drop door where we can reach in for the eggs.
He made this door for them to get in and out. It's attached to a pulley system (you can kind of see the end of it on the fence post at the upper right of the picture above) so it can be opened and closed from outside the fence. He has also built a ramp made of stones to replace the temporary one you see in the picture.
My niece made a soundless "wind chime" out of wooden beads and a bird house so there wouldn't be noise to bother the chickens. She's posing with DH.
And finally, the yard. Tai and Gypsy still spend a lot of time patrolling the outside trying to dig up any chicken poop that may have made it outside the fence. We've also had to add heavier wire fencing on the outside since Gypsy figured out how to get through the regular chicken wire this last fall. We often open up the gate about an hour or two before the chickens are ready to roost. That way they can free range in the yard and put themselves away when it starts to get dark. All we have to do is go close the gate, the chicken door and the windows (depending on the weather). This picture makes me sad. It reminds me we didn't always have to keep our dogs separated from each other.
This is the temporary set-up we had while getting a permanent coop and yard set up. My older dog, Tai, spent a lot of time in that exact position.
We converted my niece's old playhouse into a coop. DH put wire over the window openings and added plexiglass that can be slid up and down.
He put roosts inside and built a bin for food. He built nesting boxes and this drop door where we can reach in for the eggs.
He made this door for them to get in and out. It's attached to a pulley system (you can kind of see the end of it on the fence post at the upper right of the picture above) so it can be opened and closed from outside the fence. He has also built a ramp made of stones to replace the temporary one you see in the picture.
My niece made a soundless "wind chime" out of wooden beads and a bird house so there wouldn't be noise to bother the chickens. She's posing with DH.
And finally, the yard. Tai and Gypsy still spend a lot of time patrolling the outside trying to dig up any chicken poop that may have made it outside the fence. We've also had to add heavier wire fencing on the outside since Gypsy figured out how to get through the regular chicken wire this last fall. We often open up the gate about an hour or two before the chickens are ready to roost. That way they can free range in the yard and put themselves away when it starts to get dark. All we have to do is go close the gate, the chicken door and the windows (depending on the weather). This picture makes me sad. It reminds me we didn't always have to keep our dogs separated from each other.
How unexpected. Sounds like you did all that you could. 
