Go on a course: hen keeping

How to keep hens to keep you self-sufficient in eggs. By Lisa Sykes

It was no ordinary hen party. Instead of riotous laughter and copious bottles of wine, there was the gentle warbling of a contented, award-winning Silkie and the knowing chuckles of fledgling hen-keepers. Francine Raymond, well-known to Country Living readers for her book 'Keeping a Few Hens in Your Garden' (Kitchen Garden), runs day-long courses to which she invites a dozen or so people for tea and cake, lunch and a pleasant discussion about all things chicken-related. The highlight is a tour of her kitchen garden, where Buff Orpingtons hide behind terracotta pots, under trugs and among cloches protecting appetising plants.

Farming or even smallholding it isn't. But Francine makes it sound such fun. She's the first to admit that she keeps hens because they are interesting to look at rather than as prolific egg providers or, God forbid, for the table. "It's the only way you can really keep a bird as a pet without it being in a cage," she says. Francine's hen houses are painted the same shades of pink and green as her house and her hen run is edged with a hedge of yew.

"You can use corrugated iron and acres of chicken wire but it can end up looking a bit Cold Comfort farm," she says. Top tips include handling your birds at dusk when they are more docile; dating fresh eggs with a pencil; and once a year vacuuming your hen house. The notebook of advice I came away with wasn't just from Francine but from sharing observations with fellow amateurs. One had a different coloured Pekin for each of her four children, who carried them everywhere; another talked of hen-pecked birds and what to do about them. And Hugh, the expert breeder with his pretty Silkie, was reassuring about those nasty diseases all the books harp on about.

Francine's sitting-room lecture, among her books and memorabilia, was informal, cosy and made it seem so easy. Six months later I keep ten brown hens - and it is.

For course dates and more information on The Kitchen Garden shop, call 01359 268322 or visit www.kitchen-garden-hens.co.uk.

Click here for the full Country Living course directory 

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