We conduct classes onsite during spring and summer. The majority of our onsite classes are immersive, giving you an opportunity to hold an animal, see equipment, conduct a process, and taste a product. We think these immersive experiences make our classes unique and enhance your learning retention.
Note: One class registration fee is for one person. Additional unregistered attendees will be asked to register. Contact us in advance if you believe you have extenuating circumstances.
Classes we offer:
- Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens – All the basics to get started, including raising chicks, breed selection, feed, housing, security, and issues to look out for.
- Chicken Processing – Watch us process chickens, then process one yourself, including dispatching, scalding, plucking, eviscerating, and packaging. Then take it home to eat!
- Raising Quail for Food – How to raise domestic quail for eggs and meat. Includes a tour of our quail housing, a processing demonstration, and tasting of quail eggs and meat.
- Introduction to Beekeeping – An overview of keeping honeybees, including bee life cycle, handling, equipment, honey harvesting, pests & diseases, and keeping bees as a business.
- Honey Harvest – Learn how honey gets in the hive, then put on a bee suit and harvest the honey! Collect and uncap frames, spin, filter, and jar honey. Then take home a jar! NOTE: This class is only offered in late June or early July; attendance is very limited.
- Cheese Making – Learn how to make fresh mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and cottage cheese using store-bought milk and common kitchen tools. After watching how quick and easy it is to make, taste the cheese and take some home to share, along with enough rennet to make your first pound of mozzarella at home.
- Wine Making – Learn how to make homemade wine. Watch the actual process as we compress a 2 month process into 3 hours. Then taste the final result.
- Strategic Farm Planning – An introduction to the business side of homesteading, including how to write a business plan, social media tips, marketing, and business creation.
- Chicken Health Care for Homesteaders – A review of the types of chicken health issues we see on the farm, and how we deal with them, including spur removal, bumblefoot, mites and parasites, eye and throat infections, coccidiosis, mycoplasma, egg bound, oviduct infection, peritonitis, water belly, signs of aging, and a homesteader’s first aid kit.
- Build a Hatch Kit Workshop – Build a poultry brooder and take home a complete kit to hatch fertilized eggs and raise chicks. Kit includes incubator, brooder, heat lamp, hygrometer, candler, and more. Only offered in March.
- NEW IN APRIL 2026: Electrical Basics for Homeowners – Learn about AC and DC electricity, how to use a multimeter, how to diagnose home electrical circuits, how to install outlets and switches, and so much more. This class won’t over-complicate electrical concepts, but it will give you the confidence to make common repairs safely by yourself.
CLASSES SCHEDULED ONSITE AT HAPPY WIFE ACRES (near Dayton, Ohio).
14 March 2026 – Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens, 9:00 am – Noon ($30)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
14 March 2026 – Chicken Health Care for Homesteaders, 1:00 – 4:00 pm ($30)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
28 March 2026 – Raising Quail for Food, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm ($30)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
11 April 2026 – Electrical Basics for Homesteaders, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm ($20)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
25 April 2026 – Introduction to Beekeeping, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm ($30)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
16 May 2026 – Cheese Making, 10:00 am – Noon ($20)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
30 May 2026 – Chicken Processing, 9:00 am – Noon ($45)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
13 June 2026 – Wine Making, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm ($30)
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
Honey Harvest Classes, Multiple Dates, 9am – 1pm ($50)
Saturday, 27 June; Sunday 28 June; and Friday 3 July 2026
Happy Wife Acres, 8600 Haddix Rd, Fairborn, Ohio
To learn more and register, click HERE.
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS. We will be speaking on the following dates. Presentations are abbreviated versions of our paid classes. These presentations are FREE unless otherwise stated. We do not control registration. Please contact the event organizer for registration questions.
12 March 2026 – Raising Quail, 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Central State University
Emery Hall, 1400 Brush Row Rd, Wilberforce, OH 45384
Click HERE to register. You will be asked to create an account.
19 March 2026 – Chicken Health Care, 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Central State University
Emery Hall, 1400 Brush Row Rd, Wilberforce, OH 45384
Click HERE to register. You will be asked to create an account.
4 April 2026 – Electrical Basics, 1:00-2:30 pm. Fairborn Community Library
1 East Main Street, Fairborn, OH 45324
Registration is required (opens 21 March). Click HERE to learn more and register.
16 April 2026 – Cheese Making, 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Central State University
Emery Hall, 1400 Brush Row Rd, Wilberforce, OH 45384
Click HERE to register. You will be asked to create an account.
20 May 2026 – Cheese Making, 6:30-7:30 pm. Fairborn Community Library
1 East Main Street, Fairborn, OH 45324
Registration is required (opens 6 May). Click HERE to learn more and register.
Would you like us to email you when specific classes are scheduled? Let us know which classes you are interested in by submitting the form below. Also, if you commit to at least 6 attendees, we will schedule a class on a date and time of your choosing (subject to availability).