ISA-Brown page. :)))))))

[cmom]

Hi to everyone out there, I'm new to Backyard Chickens and just getting back into chickens after giving up in despair a couple of years ago, I personally had a very sad experience with ISA Browns. When we first moved out here to the country my one big ambition was to have chickens. So I built my coop and pen and bought 4 ISA Browns.They were a great bird that all laid like there was no tomorrow, docile,each one with its' own personality, made great pets and were a wonderful addition to the yard. Then after about 2 years one after another they all developed a prolapsed uterus and had to be put down. When I questioned the local vet about it he told me that here in Australia they are primarily a commercial breed, bred to do one thing and one thing only, lay large eggs until they drop dead usually at about 2 years or after laying between 600 & 650 eggs . A lot of egg producers keep them under lights so that they lay twice a day, the result being they live a much shorter life. When I asked why do that I was told that most birds slow down egg production after a couple of years and this left producers with 10's of millions of birds that were commercially unviable every year,but they were still healthy animals whose meat could not be used for domestic consumption. And that's where the ISA Brown fits in, the bird itself is useless for the meat trade but is suitable for the pet food industry and the fertilizer industry. The producer sees this as a win win situation 2 eggs a day till they drop dead then the carcass sold to the pet food and fertilizer industries with no worries about what to do with unviable birds. Another down side being the euthanasia of millions of day old ISA Browns cockerels every day, hence the difficult in obtaining the cockerels for domestic breeders . I don't know if it's the same in other parts of the world but that's how it seems to be here. It's very sad.

I'm sure here it is the battery farms that produce the eggs commercially that would sell to the pet food industry. I have some ISA Browns in my flock that are over 5 years old.

 

[TheChips]

Cmom
I hope my 3 isa brown hens live that long. Mine are about 4 months old now.

Its the same here too, Isa Browns are mainly for egg production. But there are a lot of people who also have them as pets and part of the family.

I have mine as pets but theyre like my babies. So cute, loveable and they love to cuddle. Its hard to know they have a short life span. But during their life on this earth Ive made it my #1 priority to take care of them the best I can and make sure they are so very ver loved

 

[cmom]

Cmom
I hope my 3 isa brown hens live that long. Mine are about 4 months old now.

Its the same here too, Isa Browns are mainly for egg production. But there are a lot of people who also have them as pets and part of the family.

I have mine as pets but theyre like my babies. So cute, loveable and they love to cuddle. Its hard to know they have a short life span. But during their life on this earth Ive made it my #1 priority to take care of them the best I can and make sure they are so very ver loved

I feel the same way about my birds. If I have to cull one or one gets killed by a predator, it makes me really sad. I show some of my other birds at poultry shows and I want them to look their best.

 

[Goombungin]

Five years old WOW!! that's great. Thats a good age for many breeds. You sure must be doing something right what's your trick?

 

[Goombungin]

Cmom
I hope my 3 isa brown hens live that long. Mine are about 4 months old now.

Its the same here too, Isa Browns are mainly for egg production. But there are a lot of people who also have them as pets and part of the family.

I have mine as pets but theyre like my babies. So cute, loveable and they love to cuddle. Its hard to know they have a short life span. But during their life on this earth Ive made it my #1 priority to take care of them the best I can and make sure they are so very ver loved

Yeah but look at Flock Master he has ISA's over 5 years old maybe you should ask him for some tips, because something is definitely working for him. Where I live people are very happy if they get 3 years sadly a neighbor lost 8 in the same fashion I did only recently. They are a very nice bird it's just a pity that they have been breed this way.

 

[cmom]

Most of the year I feed my birds high protein feed. If I can't get poultry feed then I use gamebird which is usually around 20% protein. In the summer months after the breeding season when they don't eat as much I switch them over to the same brand of feed only it's the layer feed. They do have very large pens and I take turns and let a different pen out every day to roam in our pasture.

 

[chickenboy190]

Mine are almost a year old and they are doing good. They kinda stopped laying though all my chickens were doing awesome at laying so they need a break.

 

[TheChips]

I would really love to get a few more isa browns next spring from the hatchery.

I do have a question though. I have 3 isa browns, 2 bantom old english/cochin roosters. and 1 cochin hen.

Lately ive noticed their eggs are fertile. Am I able to hatch these? or is cross breeding a huge no no especially for isas?

 

[roostersandhens]

I think I am going to be rescuing some Isa Brown hens from Animal Place soon!

 

[chickenboy190]

I think I am going to be rescuing some Isa Brown hens from Animal Place soon!

Awesome! I love my ISA Browns!