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LOL Livinthedream, I grew up on a dairy farm near Thornton so I know the details of milkers ;)
We had chooks too, and my memory is making them stinky. Not sure why, but all I can remember is chook dust and sloppy poo stink, so I'm not fighting the chook issue. Hopefully I can swap my milk for some eggs eventually hehe.
Just thought I'd share... hehe
Just coming in with a different point of view regarding ISA Browns and other hybrids. It is rare for them to live for 8 years, they are not bred for that, they are bred to pump out eggs under specific battery/cage conditions. They are bred for big industry, not backyards. Whilst they are lovely birds and do well in a backyard situation, there are some that do not. A heritage breed will last a lot longer and tend to have less health issues. ISA's can be temperamental things.
A hybrid, whilst it can be bred from, will not breed to. They are only a ISA etc at that particular point in the breeding generation, not before or after. You might be wondering why I am typing ISA in capitals, well it is a trademark. The average person cannot breed them, there are only about 6 hatcheries in Australia that do.
We have some ISA's, the first lot were the $2 chooks from the battery farm destined for pet food. They were a bedraggled bunch, but all survived and layed well in their short time. We only have 2 of the original 6 left and they are looking on their last legs. They are de-beaked and is just plain awful to look at. We have bred from them and oddly have not managed to produce any girls, yet the rooster with his own breed can father girls.
It puts me is such an ethical dilemma. I wont buy ISA's or any other hybrid from a hatchery, I just cannot support the people that supply the cage farms, but I do feel for the old battery girls (well not that old about 18 months) and wonder if they should have a chance of a good life.
We got our original girls from the preschool egg hatching program and they are a free range farm who do the hatching thing as a side business. I agree I wouldn't just get them from just anywhere, as the lady at the farm said. I have noticed the RSPCA do have hens from time to time too.