Hen Party For Beginners

Children from 7 years upwards are welcome on the course but must book a place.

Disabled access is unfortunately very limited but please email if you have a query and I will be happy to help.

There is limited parking on the estate.  If coming by car, I will email prior to the course to confirm directions and parking areas.

The host of this course accepts no responsibility for any loss or injury while on the premises.  By booking on this course, you are agreeing to these terms.

A lot of the course is outdoors, so wellies/outdoor clothes are advised, but in the event of bad weather we can minimise this and adapt.  There is optional handling of a hen, so please wear comfortable clothes you won't mind getting dirty.

Topics covered include;-

       - care of chickens (daily, weekly and monthly tasks)

       - feeding

       - accomodation (chicken area, housing, Eglu)

       - choosing chickens (pure breeds, hybrids, ex-batts, how many!)

       - buying chickens

       - the pecking order

       - handling

       - seasonal care

       - hen health (worming, lice, mites)

       - wing clipping

       - moulting

       - broodiness

       - eggs

       - chickens and other animals

Feel free to ask questions throughout the course, and there is a later opportunity to chat over refreshments if there is anything else you wish to discuss.  Home made cake is also provided and you get a goody bag to take home afterwards (one per household). 

We are Steve and Lisanne, and we run the Omlet hen keeping courses in north Manchester.  I am the main chicken keeper, and the guilty party who converted the family to 'the good life.' My husband, Steve, is the perfect party host as he keeps everyone topped up with a drink! 

I have kept all types of animals in my life but chickens definitely rock!  They are relatively low maintenance and they produce fresh eggs as well as manure, pest control and provide us with entertainment!  However, when we started out, there was limited information available and no one else kept chickens as pets in the area.  Chickens were still regarded purely as farm stock, so I think a lot of people thought we were a bit mad!  Our neighbours have been great though, and have been fully supportive from the word go.  We have had various breeds of hens, both hybrids and pure breeds.  We like to choose hens that lay different coloured eggs for variety and also so we know who's pulling their weight!  We also have 2 Siamese cats, Bart and Phoebe who like to watch the chickens antics from the window.

We've kept hens for 5 years now and we've had our ups and downs, and learnt that some problems just aren't covered in text books!  This is why we started running our chicken keeping courses, primarily to provide a friendly intro and practical advice.  They have been so popular, we often get past course attendees email us when they get their own hens and also when they have further queries.  Chicken keeping has grown massively in this area and I hope to pass on our knowledge through our courses so other people can have as much satisfaction as we do and avoid any potential problems.

Our 2 hour courses include refreshments, goody bags and additional printed notes.  Free range eggs are sometimes available to buy; please ask on the day.  Hope thats everything covered, but if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.