So you’ve built your Chicken Coop and Run “Shangri-La,” and come the rainy season, discover that more than a bit of water is entering in.  What to do?  Short of reconfiguring rooflines, etc., you can try these proven, simple hacks:

• Affix removable panels of corrugated plastic using double stick Velcro tape (see Photo 1). After nearly 3 years, the original ones we created are still quite functional, and I daresay, a genius solution.  They keep out the rain, wind, and snow when necessary, while still allowing the sunshine and cooling breezes to flow through when not affixed.  They are easily customizable, and because they are flat, store quite nicely, too.  Once we cut our panels to size, we affixed small squares of heavy-duty Velcro tape to each panel corner and stapled a corresponding Velcro square to the chicken run frame (see Photo 2).  Instant weather barrier!  We’ve tried a couple of different types of Velcro and highly recommend this clear one.

• At roof edges, try adding strips of vinyl baseboard molding (see Photo 3).  Short lengths are available for less than $4 at the local hardware store.  Tack them on with heavy-duty staples, and voila, roofing edges are lengthened, and water is diverted away!

• For a more substantial rain diverter, utilize a leftover piece of plastic corrugated roofing panel, as seen in the middle of Photo 4.  It wasn’t our brightest idea to set the coop alongside the run in this way, with the roof angled toward the run area; but the gutter hack has worked perfectly.