Afternoon All,

I recall seeing a thread on here a few years back about keeping chickens and wondered if anyone has any recent experiences they could share?

We moved last month from a house with a relatively small garden to one with over 60' of mainly turf with some shrubs/trees/bushes around the periphery.

There is a decent boundary wall or fence to the whole garden although it is questionable whether it is 100% sealed off should any chickens or foxes wish to come and go. It is possible to remedy this but it won't be until the spring now.

For a long time, and for a particular reason I won't bore you with here, I've wanted to get a few ex-battery/rescue chickens to come and see out their retirement days with me. I've registered with the BHWT and their next adoption locally (which unfortunately may be just a shade too soon for me) is coming up shortly.

I had looked at the Eglu Go Up as a potential coop. I didn't want the wooden coops due to their propensity to harbour red mites. Plan was to get 3-4 chickens to live in plus the extended 3m run whilst I wait for the weather to improve so that I may free-range them during daylight hours when I am in the garden.

https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chicken...ng/eglu_go_up/

Has anyone done anything similar, and has anyone got any specific comments regarding the above? My only slight concern is that as a novice is winter the best time to be getting them or should I gently introduce myself to the world of chicken keeping when the nights are longer and the weather is warmer???

TIA