Half Mile Cottage Hens - Chickens For Beginners Course

Having persuaded my husband to let me have some chickens I decided to go along to one of Sam's courses. We started off by sitting around Sam's garden table in the sunshine with tea and cake (made with her chicken's eggs of course!). Sam then took us through what was involved in keeping chickens, answering our many questions, whilst her hens wandered around us in the garden. I found Sam to be very knowledgable, she also has a great selection of breeds so you can see what the different varieties are like. I fell in love with the Buff Orpingtons and held a lovely one named Buffy who was very well behaved and friendly! We were also shown the chicken coops and houses and how to clean them out etc. I would recommend this course to anyone considering keeping hens. I certainly feel better informed and more confident. I also know I can contact Sam with any questions I have in the future too which is great!

I signed up for the course knowing very little about chickens and wanting to make the right decisions from the start; especially as this may be a life learning experience for my twin daughters at only 5 years old. I came away from the course with a sound foundation of knowledge; knowing exactly what I needed to make the decisions about how to approach our new hobby, what we really needed to start; and our responsibilities. Sam did say that she would help if we needed further advice after the course; and has been true to her word now having replied to my questions in three long emails! Truely an exception and obviously passionate and very fond of her topic and an inspiration. I can't say thank you enough.

My partner and I had a wonderful day out. Samantha was a perfect host and tutor. We thought she was knowledgeable, experienced, interesting and inspiring in all relevant aspects of chicken keeping. Furthermore she has a delightful cottage and garden for keeping and showing her flock of girls who were all in magnificent condition.

This was an extremely well structured, paced and presented course for anyone wanting to keep chickens. I left with the confidence and knowledge about selecting suitable chickens, housing and equipment and day to day care + much, much more information.The atmosphere was friendly and professional and Sam clearly had excellent subject knowledge which she shared with enthusiasm. The coffee and cake were delicious and got the course off to a good start. The comprehensive set of notes which were given out will provide excellent reference material. I would recommend this course to anyone who was thinking of keeping chickens.

We would highly recommend this course for anyone considering keeping chickens for the first time. Sam welcomed us to her lovely home, and the famous coffee and cake broke the ice with the other attendees. The pace and content of the course was just right, and the small number of attendees gave everyone a chance to ask questions. Sam and her beautiful girls were very patient with me, as I nervously held my first chicken. It was lovely to see such a range of sizes and colours as Sam explained the pros and cons of each breed to give you an idea of which chickens and style of housing to choose for your own situation. We left with a comprehensive set of notes, the confidence to start keeping our own hens, and the knowledge that Sam is available should we need help in the future.

From the moment we were met at the door we were made to feel very welcome and relaxed. Excellent coffee and home made cake in the conservatory with the chickens looking in. The course had a good pace and full of quality information for the beginner and those that have had them before. All aspects of chicken keeping covered and friendly advice offered at the end of the phone or by e-mail as an after service. We particularly enjoyed being show how to handle the birds which were kept beautifully.

Course was very informative and useful. Sam seemed to cover everything needed for starting chicken keeping at home and encouraged us to ask questions as she went along. Seeing free range chickens in her garden with the coops, feeders etc was also useful, as was her knowledge about disease, predators and maintaining healthy chickens. Can't wait to get started!

Recommend that everyone attend prior to keeping chickens as much more to it than expected. Samantha is lovely and puts everyone at ease. Also cake was fantastic. Came away with better understanding of chickens and their needs.

Can't think of a better introduction to chicken keeping, a warm welcome, a lovely environment and a knowledgable and encouraging teacher sharing tips and knowhow. Just perfect.

I booked the course as complete beginners for my husband and myself just to get a taster of keeping chickens, Samantha was a brilliant host/teacher very welcoming and put us at our ease straight away, the information provided was exactly what you need to consider as a complete novice. Samantha's chickens were a delight and watching them and handling them certainly made us feel confident enough to want to get our own chickens. I cannot recommend this course enough if you want to know all the basics of what is involved with keeping chickens. Thank you omlet and Samantha for the help and advice much appreciated :) Happy chicken days .