South OH Chicks
Chirping
Chickens will lay better during the winter if they are warm and they 16 hours of light a day. Each breed is different regarding hardiness, but if you can keep them warm and some light in there you should be fine.
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I don't have ISA Browns. I have golden comets and they behave like yours but they aren't brutal like yours. It could to be a side effect of sex-links type of chicken. My 5 girls who are 32 weeks today are heavier than your type which I believe are a cross with a white leghorn, a lite weight breed. Mine are a cross of New Hampshire roo with a white rock, both a heavier breed.A 5 foot fence has kept mine in. The highest mine have flown in their 500 square foot pen is nearly 4 feet. I have gotten 5 eggs a day most days sense they were 19 weeks. In 3 years when yours have laid their last egg consider golden comets. Hope you find a solution with your ISA Bowns. Maybe clip their wings for one of your problems. GCI bought six ISA Browns last spring to be my exclusive egg layers. They are extraordinary in that respect, and none has ever missed providing one egg each day since they were 14 weeks old. The problem is that they aggressively peck and bite anyone that comes into their pen. I have to wear leather boots and heavy canvas trousers to keep them from drawing blood, something they've managed to do on my arms on several occasions.
They have their own coop, and a large fenced area that is separate of my meat flock. I raised them no differently than any of my other breeds, which is to say that I personally cared for them in the brooder in my garage until they were old enough to move outside. They've never had contact with my other chicken flock - who do NOT behave this way. They share 2.5 acres with a few ducks, who live in terror of them. No real attacks, but they chase the ducks around the pasture, seemingly for entertainment.
Is this common amongst the breed? I've had a number of heritage breeds and the occasional barnyard mix in the past, but have never seen this before. These act like a flock of over-protective roosters!
I'd appreciate any insights on what to do about this behavior. We've already tried ignoring it, negative feedback (swatting when they peck), and water squirt bottles with the same lack of results. Ironically, since we don't expect to eat them, they are pretty close to being pets. They like getting stroked, do not object to being picked up, and like to roost on an outstretched arm like a bird of prey. Just don't let them get behind you!
Something else worth mentioning... these are the "escaping-est" hens I've ever owned. I had to increase their fence height to just over 8 feet to keep them from flying over, and stretch poultry wire along the entire length of the pasture fence in order to keep them from squeezing through the middle sections of the field wire. I have wire extensions extending at least a foot higher than the tops of 6' tall wooden gates to keep them from landing on the edge and jumping over. I had to pull out the parallel fence support beams from the corners of their pasture, and replace them with angled wedge supports. They used the parallel beams as a launch platform to clear the opposite side!
Any suggestions?