How Much Sunshine??

[jomoncon]

How much sunshine do chickens need? The area where I am planning on putting my new coop gets direct sunlight until about 11:00 each day. Then the rest of the area is in shade from the house. With the heat in New Orleans, that's not a bad idea, but I don't know if it's enough sunlight. It's still pretty bright there - my Dad had a garden in that area, but did mostly grow leafy veggies. Since I'm in a city, with lots rather small, I don't have anyplace else to put it. Well, I do have one other area, but that one gets about 4" of water with every rain, which on average, is about once a month. It drains quickly, but the run would be wet for several hours.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Shade is good. My girls would be happy as clams if they stayed in the shade all the time. If you're going to have sun, especially in your environment, morning is better than afternoon. Standing water in a run is not so good and you should strive to avoid it. Good luck!

 

[koikeepr]

From all my research on chickens, they were naturally jungle/forest animals (for protection and for foraging), so they do very well in shade.