[MellowYellow]

Hi there.

I have four 4 week old chicks who are now ready to spend time outside during the day. 

I hope to be erecting a new hen house/run at the weekend and would love some advice on positioning.

I have chosen a place which backs onto a south facing fence which means that the hens will never be in direct sunlight as the fence supplies constant shade.  My only concern is that there will be nowhere in the run where the hens can lay in the sun if they wish to.  I must add that they have spent most of the daytime over the past week in the garden with us as it has been so warm and they have always chosen to stay in the shade.

Of course they will have opportunities to roam freely in the garden when we are at home but while we are at work they will be in their hen house/run.

This is my first post on here and I would be grateful for any advice possible.

Thank you.   

[Bailz]

i a real novice but have been lead to believe that hens like sum sun light and so i think be better to try and provide this cheers Neil.

[bantam novice]

Hello Mellow Yellow and welcome to the forum 
I'm not an expert but there are some very experienced people here.  I would agree with Bailz that it would be good for them to get some sunlight if possible.  By the way we love pictures on this forum so if you can post some that would be great 
Good Luck

[orchardlady]

If your new hen house will be in a shady spot that's fine. It's better that your birds are able to be in shade rather than not be able to get away from fierce sunlight. Yes, chickens love to sun bath and as you will be having them free range on a regular basis they will be delighted to bask from time to time in your garden. The main things to guard against are bitingly cold wind and rain.

Orchardlady

[MellowYellow]

Thank you everyone.

Thank you for your advice, it's good knowing I'm not alone. 

I'm still waiting for the hen house and run to be delivered but I'm now happy with the site.  The chicks are growing rapidly and are keeping us all amused.  I'll post a picture of them all when they are in their proper home and not in my living room. 

[Sassy]

All chickens have evolved from jungle fowl and love to be in the shade of trees. A bit of sun won't hurt at all though

[Lindeggs]

All chickens have evolved from jungle fowl and love to be in the shade of trees. A bit of sun won't hurt at all though

This is something that puzzles me a bit.  Every other animal I know (dogs, cats, etc) love to laze about in the sun.  We're now in winter on this side of the world, and my chickens still seem to laze about in the shade!    They definitely have the choice - they roam freely over the whole back yard with plenty of sunny spots - but I will usually find them in the shade of a tree or the fence.  Funny things.