Hens At The Double

Ben and cheryl tompsett have two thriving poultry businesses in kent. They talked to john wright.

- John Wright

Smallholders who find that selling chickens is not quite a living in itself must explore various ways to increase income. Ben and Cheryl Tompsett, of Hen House Poultry on a smallholding south of Maid stone in Kent, did just that.

As with all discoveries that may seem to materialise overnight, it was years of hard work in different jobs as they prepared for a future with chickens that enabled a golden opportunity to knock at their door. Their poultry business took off the moment it began, and has now been running for 10 years. The extra stroke of good fortune came once they were established when they were offered the franchise for another business involving chickens.

Ben comes from generations of farmers, chicken-keepers and gardeners, but worked initially as a book distributor. For 20 years he was a self-employed licensee, although I am sure he would rather have spent all those years distributing chickens. “Chickens were always a hobby, then a bigger hobby,” he says. “I remember, when I was 11, nagging my father, now a semi-retired gardener, to build a pen and getting the first few chickens.” Ben would agree that 2007 was a very poor year to start Hen House Poultry – it was during an avian flu outbreak with a recession round the corner.

“But the two things went hand in hand,” he says. “Suddenly there were waiting lists for allotments because people wanted to be self-supporting with food. “Chicken keeping became so popular around that time that I had queues of people wanting our chickens at our third of an acre garden. We moved from that village to where we are now – a 3½-acre smallholding with house, paddocks and outbuildings, including three stables – to create a more practical set-up and relieve the congestion of customers’ cars blocking the street.”

GIVING UP THE DAY JOB