ISA Browns

Isa Browns  - supposedly they don’t go broody and sit on eggs – woops – mine do. They are not a breed in their own right, they are a combination of breeds and were genetically bred in France for battery hens.  They are great layers, very reliable 4 hens will give you 3 eggs a day. They are usually very friendly chooks and I've had one 'Olivia' who thought she was a person and preferred to watch TV with me rather than hanging with the other chooks. They can at times look a bit ragged using so much energy to lay eggs so you need to make sure they have plenty of food. I have also found they are the favourites of the roosters over other breeds who might be tuning in the flock. 


 I’ve put their eggs through an incubator before using a Rhode Island red rooster and got some decent chooks but there was maybe 1 in every 20 that had some physical defects (an extra spur on the leg or funny feather arrangement on their head). I guess this is a result of the hybrid history of them coming back out.


This ISA Brown hen sat on her eggs in a patch of wild ginger in my large chook run. She was on her eggs in a particularly hot summer with temperatures over 36 degrees and close to 90% humidity then she endured a week of rain as the wet season hit. She is one tough little chook.  The Rooster she has been running with is a Sussex Light and I can see at least one of the chicks have the spotted necklace of the father.


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