Too much shade?

[chris10sen]

I am a newbie and I am trying to figure out where to put the coop. Our new babies are going to be shipped on June 21st. I can't wait, I have the brooder all set up in the garage. My husband thinks the best place for the coop would be under some pine trees on the side of the yard. It is very shaded. The chickies would get some filtered sunlight during the day. We plan on putting a translucent roof on the coop. The hens will have free time most days in the yard which gets lots of sunshine. Do you think this would be a problem?

Thanks for any advice.

Lisa

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Sounds like a perfect set-up.

 

[WriterofWords]

It sounds good for summer but will it be too cool without direct sun in winter?

 

[teach1rusl]

Writer made a good point. Depending on where you are, you have to look at winter placement too. Which is more of an issue for you guys, summer heat or winter cold?? Is it possible to place the coop just a bit further out (not directly under) from the pines if needed? Some sun in the winter time sure is nice to take advantage of...

 

[Imp]

Hi &

I'm in cloudy gray Seattle and my coop and run are in the shade. No problems. I do let them free range all day, so they can get into the sun if they want.

Imp

 

[ScrambledAcresFarm]

Welcome Chris to the nets greatest site!

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I say take note of where the shade of the pine trees is in the hottest part of the day 12-2pm, and place your run, not the coop in the main shadow of the trees, this will allow shade during the hottest part of the summer days and will still allow sun in the winter, and you can always add a piece of tarp over part of the run so if its really hot they have added shade in summer but ample sun in the winter when its colder. Also if you are prone to get cold winters, make sure your coop is well insulated. If your run is in the shade and the coop in the sun, they're usually in the run during the day and coop at night, and so again in the winter the coop will be in the sun and if they are cold they know where to go to get warmed up and protected.

 

[elmo]

Depending on your climate, you may be very glad of that shade with a translucent roofed coop. Here in Texas, my white polycarb roofed coop heated up to 117 degrees in the sun yesterday afternoon, 20 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature. Obviously, way too hot for chickens unless I was planning to roast them (which I'm not).

Good thing I only use that closed coop for the winter!

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Quote:
It will depend on what part of the country you live in. I'm in Texas where we try to find all the shade we can in the Summer. This week we will be in mid to upper 90's and by weekend will be in the 100's. Bah Humbug!

 

[chris10sen]

I am in MN. So I have both extremes. I guess I wasn't thinking about the lack of passive solar heat in the winter. But we are planning on insulating the floor of the coop. I have read both pros and cons of insulating the rest. I will have no problem putting in a heat source if needed. One positive thing we were thinking about winter was there would be almost no snow in the run. I thought that would be nice. Of course I have no idea how much to expect the chickies to come out of the coop in the winter.

21 days until my 1 Easter egger, 2 red stars and 1 silver laced wyandotte comes. But who is counting.......