ISA Brown Chickens???

[John Gusmano]

Any Swampers keep ISA Brown chickens??? I am picking up 3 hens today, they are all 3 months old. How did you like keeping the ISA browns? Any info will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[John Gusmano]

Here is a pic of my new birds. They are 12 weeks old here, these are some super friendly birds! I heard that they will produce roughly 300 eggs in a year, each bird! I figure having 3 of these girls at the homestead will provide me and my family with plenty of fresh eggs! Anyone else keep Isa Browns? Tell me your experiences!

[nytrapper23]

Nice looking birds. Never heard of that breed .

[Brad H.]

I've not heard of that breed either, although I would like to hear how they work out for you. I'm interested to know if they lay 300 eggs per year in a climate like Michigan. Usually when the temps get cold laying slows down. Let me know how they work out.

[John Gusmano]

They are not really a “true” breed they are in fact what is referred to as a sex link chicken (male and female chicks are different colors at birth). They are the result of crossing a Rhode Island Red and a Rhode Island White, a few other breeds I believe are in the bloodlines. The farm I got them from here in Michigan told me that they are the friendliest birds on the planet and are fantastic layers.

You guys have given me an idea, since this is my first experience with them I will start a thread to keep you all updated on them! Including the 17’ x 7’ coop and run I built for under $25!

Stay tuned Swampers…..

[SkFarm25]

I also keep ISA Browns, I Switched from white leghorns a few years ago and Im happy i did. My whites were smaller and seamed to be much more affected by stress. I had problems with pecking and they just wernt a very quiet calm bird. I decided to try and few IAS's and now I have around 30 of them. There quiet, calm, larger eggs, and a better looking bird in my opinion.

[John Gusmano]

They definitely are a beautiful bird! I really like the speckles of white they have scattered throught their plumage.

[cbul]

I had a sex link bird called a Red Star. They were a bit skittish but in most circumstances add to longevity as they elude predators better. I do think I ordered one in my new batch as well. My flock looks like a poster for tech. school in that every race is represented.

Black
White
yellow (buff)
Red

[rendezvous]

They look like my sex-links, if so they were egg laying machines! Had them a couple years. They free-ranged most of the time. Lost 2 to neighbor's dog and the remaining 4 a mink killed them all in one night.  


Here's my coop.

[mitrapline]

We used to keep Isa Browns. They were great producers. Some of the best brown eggs I've ever had. Very dependable....even during the cold months. Only complaint is that we had several start to eat the eggs (not sure if this is common to other breeds). Had to figure out which one's were guilty and get rid of them. The birds themselves were not to good for eating. I'll stick to broilers for meat birds. Good luck.

[Admin]

Nice lookin coop. I had the red sexlinks and they were super egg producers.

[patricimo54]

Nice coop I wished I could see more detail

[John Gusmano]

At 16 weeks old, they are thriving! They are so darn friendly they eat right out of your hand, my son, and niece and nephew love them!

Any idea when I can start expecting eggs???

JC, my hens may be the exact same ones you had in your video, they look identical!

[farmertrappe]

John, you should start to see eggs at 20 weeks old. I use a crossed sexed link breed also for my layers. I get them at 16 weeks out of Ohio. I have around 75 birds and get over five dozen eggs on a normal day. Some of the older birds lay eggs with crappy shells and those eggs offend get broken and ate. Pain in the azz, and can start problems with all the birds. I have some free choice oyster shell and that helps when older birds need extra calcium. Fresh eggs rock.

[rendezvous]

patricimo54, here's a couple of other pics of the coop.

[rick2]

You sure did a good job on that coop.Hope my add on looks 1/2 that good.I will seek help! I am no carpenter.