I should have know grrrr aaag.

[Peaches Lee]

Ugh, that stinks. What though do you mean by fail? Do the hens give up before 21 days, or do chicks not appear at 21 days? Maybe they were brooding non-fertilized eggs. I am going to look up the ISA Brown's fertility.

 

[appps]

and we google it and we read that isa browns can no be fertile.

And we all know google is the fountain of all knowledge lol

See below. If you breed them it says you won't get Isa browns, not you won't get any chicks because they are infertile.

"The ISA Brown is not recognised as a breed as it a hybrid, meaning that the girls (hens) hatch out a different colour to the boys (roosters) – ideal for the commercial egg industry. Also, if you mate the rooster to a hen you will not produce an ISA Brown chicken which is another component of producing a hybrid chicken. The Isa Brown is not a recognised in poultry shows and cannot be judged as there is apparently no breed standard for them. ."

Also strangely enough from our friend google.

"Because the commercial layer Isabrown you buy is a hybrid, they will not breed pure. However, if you mate them to a rooster of pretty much any egg laying strain then the chicks will also be excellent layers. You will not however be able to autosex them as that requires the specific parent strains. I reckon relax and enjoy whatever results from the cross!"

So not sure what sites you were reading.

 

[donrae]

If an animal is a hybrid of two different species, it's usually sterile. Classic example is a mule.

Isa browns are called a hybrid, but what they actually are is a cross of two breeds of the same species. No reason for them not to be fertile, just like any other mixed breed animal. Check out this thread

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/660815/breeding-sex-links-third-generation

if you need proof. But basically, what you're saying is a load of crap. True, they don't go broody often, but fertility and broodiness are two different things.

 

[PotterWatch]

Have you cracked open some eggs to see if they are fertile? Are you certain that you have a broody hen that is consistently setting on the eggs? We used to have a hen that would go broody every few months, but she wasn't fully committed. She would sit for a week or so and then just get up and forget about the eggs. She never successfully hatched any chicks because of her fickle setting habits.

 

[sourland]

What? Isa browns have chicks all the time. There is not reason for their eggs not to be as fertile as any other breed if they're with a rooster. They're a chicken just like any other. Their chicks just aren't sex linked like the parent stock.

True, what donrae has posted. There is absolutely no reason why birds which are nothing more than crossbreds can not lay fertile eggs. Of course they need a rooster, and they are generally less likely to go broody than many other birds.

 

[youngchooklover]

Ugh, that stinks. What though do you mean by fail? Do the hens give up before 21 days, or do chicks not appear at 21 days? Maybe they were brooding non-fertilized eggs. I am going to look up the ISA Brown's fertility.

ISA browns have been bread to not be at all fertile says google as they are genetic owned property.

 

[youngchooklover]

Our silkie is a very good siting

 

[youngchooklover]

Have you cracked open some eggs to see if they are fertile? Are you certain that you have a broody hen that is consistently setting on the eggs? We used to have a hen that would go broody every few months, but she wasn't fully committed. She would sit for a week or so and then just get up and forget about the eggs. She never successfully hatched any chicks because of her fickle setting habits.

She sits for the 21 days very good.

 

[bock]

Agreed, there is no reason why Isa Browns would be infertile. I have hatched many eggs from similar hybrids without any problems.

 

[youngchooklover]

Google