My coop!

I am finally going to build a coop and get some laying hens, maybe three to start with. Can you recommend a particular brand that would be good for little children (ages 4 and 6)? Also, the area I plan to have the coop is very shady. Do chickens need sunlight, as in direct sunlight? If so, how much? Thank you.

Hi,
The chickens don’t have to have the direct sunlight but you want the area that the coop and run are located in to have good drainage in so that every part of the run is drying out fairly quickly after a heavy rainstorm and if their is run off after melting snow that it drys out soon because you don’t want them to be living in moldy and mildewing bedding which is inviting the development of bacteria to grow and promote illness and diseases. You will have problems right off the bat with coccidia-sp. and you have to have a dry area free of dampness to keep insects like flies, worms,
Mites, and jnfestational bugs down to a controllable level.

zgun said:

I am finally going to build a coop and get some laying hens, maybe three to start with. Can you recommend a particular brand that would be good for little children (ages 4 and 6)? Also, the area I plan to have the coop is very shady. Do chickens need sunlight, as in direct sunlight? If so, how much? Thank you

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I highly recommend this website for information on a lot of breeds:
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/chicken-breeds/
There is some good information on what breeds would be good for children, etc. Personally, my two barred rocks are the sweetest out of the three breeds that we have.