The two things I like best about shade cloth as opposed to tarps is that if installed snugly and with *some* support (e.g. on a run fence or top) it does not flap (meaning: it will not rip off nor will it rip apart what it's attached to, as tarps often do) and rain does not pool on it (meaning...
IME the lower-percentage shadecloth is more useful for plants than for people or chickens... unless it is way more expensive, buy the highest percent shadecloth you can, like 80-85%. Wind and rain still go thru it well enough that it won't collapse after a rainfall and won't flap in the wind as...