Layers of this cross - hybrids obtained by crossing several breeds, which are characterized by high productivity. They appeared on the market quite recently, but over their thirty-year history they managed to find fans and occupy their niche among chicken breeds of egg orientation.
Origin history
This hybrid was obtained by crossing two well-known breeds - the American Rhode Island and the Italian Leggorn. These breeds are often used by breeders to breed new egg breeds.
Derived by her Dutch (Dutch) breeders. They gave her the name in which the abbreviation of the institute is hidden. On the basis of it, success was achieved in breeding this cross. "Brown" is nothing but a pointer to the color of the plumage, that is, "brown."
Description
These are typical laying hens without any special signs, so they are easy to confuse with other representatives of brown breeds.
Chickens Iza Brown are small individuals with a light skeleton. The chest protrudes noticeably, has a convex shape. The head is small, regular in shape, with a small leaf-shaped scallop and earrings of pale red color. The neck is long with a smooth bend. The beak is strong, massive light brown, closer to the beige hue. The eyes are dark orange. Legs are yellow; plumage is practically absent on them. In chickens and roosters, the tail is short, raised up.
Feathers are well pressed to the body. The color of the females and males is different from each other, so already at one day old age it is easy to say which of the broods are chicken and which are roosters. The latter have a lighter color, in which there is more yellow. Hens are darker; brown color prevails. In individuals of both sexes, the tips of the feathers and tail are lighter. If the bird has a white color, then the cross is called Isa White.
The nature of the bird is balanced, calm. They easily get along with each other and other breeds. They never enter into conflict situations, do not participate in fights. They are energetic, mobile, so they definitely need to provide a place for walking.
Weight characteristic
These are some of the lightest crosses. The weight of the female rarely exceeds 2.5 kg, and the weight of the cockerel is 3 kg. With a small size, they show high rates of egg production.
Productive qualities
Iza Brown is a purely egg breed, with its breeding the goal was set to get a large number of large eggs. On average, laying eggs lay 320 eggs per year. This is not the highest rate among egg-laying chickens, but their eggs are very heavy. On average, one egg weighs about 62 g, and larger eggs with a mass of about 70 g are often found. The eggshell is hard, brown in color, often they are two-yellow. At the same time, the chicken is "small" and consumes about 109 g of feed per day.
If we talk about the quality of meat, then you should not expect much. These chickens are raised only for eggs. Their meat is very cruel and is suitable only for broth. Even long cooking does not save, meat remains "rubber".
Puberty
Hens begin to hatch early, they lay their first eggs already 20 weeks after birth, that is, at 4.5 months. The main peak of egg production occurs at 22-23 weeks and lasts until 47 weeks, after which the decline begins. Therefore, experts recommend changing the number of birds for 2-3 years.
Many poultry farmers cultivating this hybrid note that poultry productivity increases dramatically when using a balanced and nutritious food supply.
Like all hybrids, Iza Brown lacks the instinct of incubation. For further breeding, you need to purchase an incubator, but there are pitfalls here, which will be discussed later.
Content
The small size of the hens allows them to be kept in cages or on the floor. This cross is well suited for poultry farmers who are not able to allocate a large area for breeding chickens, but it is still desirable to arrange for them a small courtyard for walking. With a cellular content, birds can do without walking.
The optimal daylight hours for them is at least 14-15 hours. In winter, indoor lamps include 1 square meter. m intensity should be 3-4 watts. The productivity of the laying hens depends on the lighting; with its lack, egg production noticeably decreases.
Some farmers who have the opportunity in the warm season keep them on a walk. This helps to reduce the cost of food, as the bird during this period is enough pasture. She feeds on various insects, worms and grass. In addition, poultry breeders note that birds regularly kept on a paddock have good immunity and are ill little.
With the onset of cold weather, birds are transferred to the chicken coop, because they are sensitive to low air temperatures.
Chicken coop
During the construction of the house, it must be taken into account that for these layers, it must be spacious. For 1 square. m place four chickens. Keep it clean, avoiding dampness. Natural materials — hay, straw, sawdust or peat — are well suited for bedding.
How to build chicken coops on their own is described in the next article.
Since chickens do not like cold, the room needs heating or high-quality insulation of the house. The minimum temperature that must be maintained is +12 ° C, the temperature should not fall below, as this is fraught with the absence of eggs and an increase in the incidence of disease. A comfortable temperature for keeping birds is + 20 ... + 25 ° C. The temperature for chickens should be higher.
Coop equip:
- perches (40 cm wide), which are placed at a height of 50-60 cm from the floor;
- lamps, if due to bad weather or frost the animals are in the house around the clock, they are turned on, providing optimal daylight hours;
- ash baths are installed for preventive purposes;
- extractor hood for better air circulation, but without creating drafts, or windows;
- feeders and drinkers that you can do with your own hands. You can read about making drinkers here.
Feeders are recommended to be covered with a coarse mesh on top, this allows the chickens to easily get food, but at the same time prevents them from vandalizing, raking the food in paws. And also set separately a feeder, which is filled with river sand, small pebbles and fine gravel. Chickens need these components to grind the feed into goiter.
As nests, deep wicker baskets, boxes or boxes are suitable. They are placed 20 cm from the floor and filled with hay. Three nests set 1 nest.
Several times a year, the premises are disinfected from insect parasites and various pathogenic microorganisms, thereby reducing the risk of epidemics.
Walking patio
It is equipped right next to the walls of the chicken coop so that the birds at any moment can either go for a walk or take refuge in a barn. The territory is surrounded by a fine mesh netting. They make a canopy under which the hens can hide from rain or sun. A net is pulled up around the entire perimeter so that the predator does not crawl. At the surface with the ground, the fencing should be strengthened, knowing the love of chickens to tear the ground with its paws and undermine.
Diet
The quality and quantity of eggs depends on a balanced diet, so the feed should contain the optimal ratio of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. The diets of adult birds and chickens vary.
Feeding chicks
Freshly hatched chickens do not need food for 12 hours. Then for three days they are given a light pink solution of potassium permanganate and fed with boiled, chopped egg. Then, grain is crushed into the diet - millet (source of fiber), corn, wheat and barley, or buy ready-made mixtures. The young generation is regularly fed cottage cheese, yeast and fish oil.
Install drinking bowls. Pour pure water into some, milk into others. Young adults are given a mash of potato peel (boiled), grated zucchini, pumpkin or root vegetables, bran and steamed alfalfa seeds or fresh herbs in the summer.
Feeding hens
Experts say you want greater productivity from laying hens - feed them with specialized industrial compound feeds for egg birds, additionally introducing vitamins and minerals. In addition, hens need a sufficient amount of protein and calcium to increase egg production and shell strength. But not everyone has the opportunity to buy ready-made mixtures. Therefore, when feeding, you should adhere to several rules:
- The basis of the diet is grain (the share of crops in food should be 50%).
- Dry grain must first be crushed to medium or large fractions.
- Whole grain is used in germinated form. It is better to use barley for these purposes, since it contains various vitamins of group B.
- The remaining 50% of the food comes from fresh herbs, mineral and vitamin supplements, vegetables and a mash - wet food with the addition of vitamins.
A stirrer is kneaded on cottage cheese, yogurt or meat broth. It consists of fresh grass, root crops and potatoes, grain, bran and legumes. Be sure to add yeast, salt, fish oil and bone meal to it.
It’s easier to prepare a mash of greens if the farm has a grass shredder. Read about how to build such a unit yourself.
They give it in freshly prepared form, and after a few hours, the remains are removed from the feeders. However, do not overfeed the hens, they begin to fatten, which, in the first place, immediately affects productivity. They give food in the morning, after the birds have awakened, and it is better to feed them with a stirrer so that they get enough energy for the whole day, the second meal - in the afternoon and the third before going to bed.
You can read more about the proper diet for laying hens here.
Growing and breeding
An incubator is used to breed cross, the maternal instinct for all crosses is absent. But if we talk about Isa Brown, then at home to get birds with exactly the same characteristics will not work. This hybrid was bred in a rather confusing way, and repeating it to an ordinary poultry breeder is very problematic. In most cases, individuals with low egg production and prone to various diseases are born.
Therefore, experts recommend not experimenting, but buying young animals in specialized nurseries. Hand buying does not guarantee that you have purchased this particular breed. Since it is very difficult even to specialists to distinguish it from other representatives of brown breeds.
When buying young animals, they pay attention to the beak of the animal, since this cross has a congenital disease - micromelia - a shortened beak, in appearance it resembles the beak of a parrot. A sick chick dies in a couple of months.
Chick Care
Just bought chickens are placed in a warm place, the temperature should be in the range + 28 ... + 31 ° C. Cold or hot chicks can be recognized by their behavior. If they freeze, then they pile up together, often weakening of weaker individuals occurs. If they are hot, then they are distributed along the walls of the room.
The daylight hours in the early days should be up to 22 hours with maximum brightness to support the chicks' need for water and feed. Gradually, daylight hours are reduced to 18 hours for 15 day old chicks.
Chicks should have free access to water. Drinking bowls are washed thoroughly daily. Unfinished feed is removed. Only freshly prepared food is given to the chicks; dry grain should be constantly in the feeder. The room in which young growth is kept should be clean and dry, this helps to reduce the development of infectious diseases of different origin.
With proper maintenance, the safety of young animals has a high percentage of up to 94%.
Shedding and a break in egg laying
In the first year of life, the chicks grow actively, so molting occurs in them three times a year, and this is a normal process:
- For the first time, the chicken sheds in the fourth week of life. He parted with his down and feather feathers grow out of him.
- In a three-month-old young, downy feathers are replaced by contour feathers, and the chick becomes like an adult bird.
- All birds under one year old molt for the third time in spring.
In other laying hens, molting occurs annually in the fall (late October). It is associated with reduced daylight hours and the onset of cold weather. Nature took care of its wards, during this period there is a natural change of plumage - old feathers gradually die off and fall out, and new thicker ones grow.
In healthy chickens, feather changes take place quickly and complete renewal takes 6-8 weeks. They can be recognized by their untidy, “shabby” appearance. Layers that have egg problems begin to molt from mid-summer. This process lasts a very long time, and can last up to six months. At the same time, hens remain “smart”, as they do not lose their dense plumage.
When, like other breeds, they cease to sweep completely, in these layers, only a drop in egg production is observed. Since feathers are mainly made up of proteins, during the renewal of feathers, the laying hen's organism is greatly depleted, it loses weight, weakens, the immune system becomes unstable, therefore, during this period they are susceptible to various diseases. A reduction in daylight hours affects the hormonal system, its failure occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to provide them with proper nutrition during this period and maintain optimal daylight hours.
In the diet during molting, the proportion of protein foods of both plant and animal origin is increased. The bird is given soy, fish, worms and insects. If mixed feeds are used, then they switch to feed for broilers, since the protein content in them reaches 22% instead of 17% for egg breeds.
Also, birds are fed with products rich in sulfur - cabbage, peas, alfalfa, dairy products, meat and bone meal. With a lack of this mineral, chickens begin to peck feather sprouts, which results in bleeding that is difficult to stop.
Untimely molting indicates health problems, poor nutrition, or poor bird care.
Disease
In addition to the congenital disease mentioned above, birds are susceptible to vitamin deficiency. But I must say that this is a problem for all representatives of egg breeds, since they, having a high productivity index, need an increased amount of vitamins and minerals. With a shortage of vital substances in the bird's body, cannibalism in the herd can be observed.
Speaking generally about the health of laying hens, they are genetically hardy and strong. But, of course, vaccination and regular treatment of livestock from parasites will not hurt.
Advantages and disadvantages
The number of egg breeds and hybrids is currently a lot, they all have their pros and cons and find their fans.
Cross Pros:
- unpretentiousness;
- easy adaptation to new conditions;
- not susceptible to disease;
- minimum feed consumption;
- high egg production;
- rapid maturation of young animals;
- up to 94% of chickens survive from the brood, that is, the viability index is high.
If you are not ready to change the herd every 2-3 years, if you want to receive, except for eggs, chicken meat, you prefer to raise the bird yourself, and not buy it from the breeders, then you should consider other options.
So, the Isa Brown hybrid is considered the most cost-effective egg breed, due to the ratio of productivity and feed costs. And also not the last place is occupied by simplicity in caring for laying hens, their unpretentiousness and good immunity. It is suitable for private farms and large industrial poultry farms.