ISA Browns: Early Layers
and can be sexed at hatch
ISA Browns are the one hatchery-grade bird I deal with, as there really isn’t any other way to get my hands on these sociable easy-care layers, other than the feed store, but those are shipped chicks and you know how I feel about those.
ISA Browns are fantastic layers, laying early and often, and this spring’s hatchlings are likely to lay straight through the winter. Last year’s gals hatched in February, were laying by June, and kept me in eggs all winter long, five to six a day, from six hens. ISA Browns are sweet, sturdy, and pretty layers of many medium and large brown eggs.
The ISA stands for Institut de Sélection Animale, the French group that developed this hybrid in 1978 for superior egg laying. As a hybrid, the genetics that contribute to the superior egg-laying are limited to one generation. You can’t breed your ISA Browns and expect the same result.
Best of all, the females hatch brown and the males are white, so we know who is who at hatch. This is one of the two breeds that I work with that we can do this with, so if you just want pullets, this is the breed for you.
Friendly and sociable, these are my go-to birds if I just want eggs, lots and lots of eggs.
I have ordered hatching eggs for my own Table Egg flock, but I don’t really need 36 chicks — I will make the extras available to you. This is a once-a-year hatch, so if you want some of these sweeties, set your pick-up appointment for some time after Feb 23rd and let me know how many to set aside for you.
Do keep in mind that I am buying these hatching eggs from afar, so weather may delay their arrival and hence, your pick-up date. Be prepared for a possible. delay.
You can learn how to reserve chicks here.
ISA Browns are sweet, sturdy, and pretty layers of many medium and large brown eggs. Sexed at hatch as females are brown and males are white. Friendly and sociable, these are my go-to birds if I just want eggs, lots and lots of eggs.
“Hey, I purchased Olive Egger hatching eggs from you and the eggs you gave me are blue?! What’s up with that?” or “Hey, I purchased Olive Egger chicks from you and they grew up and are laying brown or blue eggs. What’s up with that?”
”Thank you for asking. It’s complicated.”
One of my customers — a first-time chicken dad — glibly remarked, “I think I’ll get into breeding, how hard can it be?” One of my more diplomatic friends responded, “You would be surprised.”
A Wheaten Olive Egger is a hybrid of Wheaten/Blue Wheaten/Splash Ameraucanas and Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Marans who will lay lovely medium to large olive eggs, often with speckles. The birds are lovely and sweet, and can have with muffs, or beards, or feathery legs, or all three!
This is the fun part of curating an Olive Egger Flock: selecting the prettiest eggs to hatch and then selecting the prettiest grow-outs to keep for next year’s flock refresh. Right now I have an Olive Egger Rooster and a Welsummer Rooster (dark brown eggs with spots) covering Bright Blue Egger Hens and Olive Egger Hens.
Great question. Chick prices vary according to availability, quality, and investment.
My Wheaten/Blue Wheaten/Splash Ameraucanas are quickly becoming my favorite flock. They are such easy-keepers, sociable, gentle, and laying so well right now. I can’t recommend them highly enough; lovely in appearance and temperament and they weathered this winter’s cold snap with ease.
Lost King Fluffybum. Grew out a replacement: Fluffybum Jr. Hens stopped laying. Predator attack. Ended up with 1 rooster and 1 hen, which is hardly a flock. But wait! Kind customers to the rescue . . .
One of my seasonal chores is a comprehensive flock check — I go out and catch and pick up each and every one of my 100+ birds. I check them for bugs, make sure that no-one feels underweight, ensure their leg bands fit properly, take their pictures, and decide which of the grow-outs I will keep and which I will share.
Wheaten/Blue Wheaten/Splash Ameraucanas are golden wheat colored with blue-grey trim and underfluff. They have the most adorable muffs and beards, lay blue eggs in the most gorgeous shades and are usually friendly sweet little birds.
What makes my Olivers special? The birds I chose to start the flock with.
Olive-colored eggs that is. Today I found this in the nesting box . . .
Skånsk Blommehöna aka Swedish Flower Hens lay cream-colored eggs and are good foragers, good predator avoiders, and oh so pretty. They come crested and uncrested and hailing from snowy Sweden, they are unfazed by our rainy PNW winters.
Olivers eggs lay in all the shades of green, from minty to khaki. And the birds are just as pretty as the eggs!
My friend Kristy sent me this pic of an Olive Egger egg with a blue inside — isn’t it gorgeous? Even better, I was able to order some hatching eggs.
Swedish Flower Hens, aka Skånsk Blommehöna, are one of my favorite of Flower Feather Farm’s resident flocks. Because they are a land-race — naturally evolving on the land independently of human intervention — the breed sports a terrific variety of looks. They are beautiful on their own and make a hen bouquet when gathered as a flock.
You find the eggs, I’ll hatch them at no charge.