Reviews

My son and I had a lovely evening at Hen Corner Sara and Andy made us feel at home. We were greeted with Pimms and freshly baked rolls with egg mayo and shown into their lovely garden by Andy. Sara talked us through the breeds, how to care and look after hens. There were only 4 of us on the course which was good as we all could ask plenty of questions to gain plenty of knowledge about chicken keeping. I brought my 3 girls a few days before going on the course so already had lots of questions for Sara. The course was finished off with tea and a homemade cake with a layer of homemade jam, which was yummy. We were both given a goodie bags which contained some lovely eggs, homemade jam, bay leaves, postcard, fridge magnets and some course notes. Brilliant course well worth going !!! Sara asked if there was anything she could do to improve the course and having time to think about it, there is nothing she should change. Thank you Sara and Andy. Tam & Callum

I found Hen Corner online, after searching for bee keeping courses in London - and instantly warmed to Sara from her friendly you tube videos. Her email correspondence was equally as warm and i was really looking forward to her course, it was a beautiful day and Sara welcomed me into her lovely home and into the garden. There were just three of us on the course, which was brilliant and we started with a chat about what we were about to find out, along with a cold drink and one of Sara's homemade honey and oat cookies. Sara gave us a fascinating overview of her background and her decisions to keep chickens and then the bees and how her journey had led her to start this course, we were the first, but you'd never know as her explanations of everything were clear and concise and her passion for sustainable living, immediately clear. We then had a chance to observe the bees close up in a wonderfully restored observation unit, that Sara and her husband had fixed up just the week before, we spotted the queen and learnt more about the worker bees, the smoking and once we were kitted up in our nets we made our way over to the hive... I was at this point that my slight panic set in, as there were bees buzzing up close, and despite my fascination of bees and loving honey and wanting to learn more about bees... I do freeze up... Still i overcame the fear i think as it was amazing, looking in Sara's beehaus, holding the frames, using the smoker and learning more. We then all sat and had a honey tasting session which was brilliant, including getting to taste Sara's award winning honey - the interactive nature of what were doing made the course all the more memorable and fascinating. Then a cuppa and another of the homemade cookies as we chatted through the ins and outs of us all getting more involved, before we were given a Hen Corner goody bag, with eggs (which i've just had for my breakfast on this bank holiday Monday) more cookies, some homemade apple and chilli jelly, home grown bay leaves ! Yum! I'm now trying to find out where i can do more training in St Albans as my local bee keeping authority has said it's course are booked until 2015 but for anyone wanting to know if Bee keeping is for them i highly recommend visiting Hen Corner it was a wonderful way to not only spend a few hours, but real value for money. 10/10

I cannot do better than to paste in part of the the text of an e-mail that I have just sent to Jan: "Jacky and I really enjoyed the course and found it invaluable in 'educating us' in the intricacies of poultry management. We're now in a much better position to make informed decisions so your course met our objectives perfectly. We much appreciated your hospitality, your infectious enthusiasm, your knowledge base - and your wonderful cake!"

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!

It was good to meet people who have been down the chicken keeping road for a while, utilising the omlet product. Rosie and Clive were very knowledgeable and so enthusiastic about chickens. I have gone back with a couple of questions post course and got a prompt response. Really pleased to have met them and am looking forward to getting my own girls in a couple of months. Highly recommend their course and the home made cake was lovely.

My son and i have just spent a very enjoyable (sunny!) morning with Lisa and her chickens!! I found it difficult to find a chicken keeping course that my 7year old son could attend with me but luckily Lisa was more than happy to accommodate him. Being total novices to anything chicken, we left with a good basic understanding to chicken keeping and feel confident now to order our eglu! Lisa has a wealth of knowledge from her years of keeping chickens and also a very comprehensive shopping list from her own trial and error purchases, which she is happy to share. At the end we chatted over a cup of tea and cake and no question was too silly. We left with a print out of the days topics, together with a shopping list and cleaning schedule. A great morning and highly recommended! Thank you Lisa and chooks!

Having spent the day with Janet yesterday I can only endorse all of the glowing testimonials she has already received for her chicken keeping course. Janet shares the love, passion and enthusiasm she has for her hobby and her hens in a constructive and balanced way. The course was a mixture of information and practical 'hand-ons' experience and Janet was able to respond to all questions; the homemade scones and cake are not to be missed

Very informative fun! Fenton gave us a friendly, relaxed learning curve well worth a visit before purchasing your chickens. Cake delicious. Age range in our group 13 -73 and enjoyed by all!

My daughter and I had a brilliant time at Lisanne's hen party. It was informative and made us even more excited about getting our ex-bat girls. Lisanne is very knowledgeable and answered all our questions fully. Lisanne and Steve were very hospitable hosts and the cake was very tasty. We feel much more confident about looking after our girls. Thank you!

I went on a course last Sunday and I can,t praise Bev and her family enough, for anyone thinking of keeping chickens it really should be the first stop. Really loved it and felt like I learnt loads, it's lovely to meet someone so passionate about what they do. Despite the cold weather and it really was freezing I could have spent all day there! I am more confident now and it's nice to no help will only be an email away. First class I really would recommend a course to everyone, thank Bev :)