Free range gets new bird with an old name

A new brown egg layer—bred specifically for alternative systems—will be available in the UK from January.

The ISA WARREN has been selected over the past eight years to perform in more wide ranging environments, says the company behind the breed’s launch, Tom Barron ISA. The layer takes its name from the renowned Warren lines that originated in America under Jim Warren and found their way into Europe when Madame Studler negotiated a deal with the American breeding company. The resulting Warren Studler dominated the UK layer market throughout the seventies and, following the formation of a new breeding company, the Institut de Selection Animale (ISA), played a major role in the development of the modern ISABROWN.

“The name Warren is synonymous with high performance and reliability,” says Neil Leeming, managing director of Tom Barron ISA. “The new layer has been bred to enable high standards of performance and reliability to be readily achieved in today’s poultry industry.”

ISA Poultry introduced new selection criteria into the breeding programme for the ISA WARREN, including the study of animal behaviour to understand the social relationships between birds.

“This is the real key to improving flock liveability especially in alternative systems,” says Mr Leeming. “ISA Poultry has made huge investments in field tests all over the world to identify the ideal cross.

“In all the experimental and field tests the bird has exceeded initial expectations, combining productivity and versatility at the highest level. The layer is achieving this in conditions where other breeds are facing difficulties.”


The company says that the new bird reaches a peak of 92 – 95 per cent production at 25 weeks of age in alternative systems and good early egg size means 60 grams is attained at 28 weeks.

Trials flocks have been in production in France over the past two years, and the breed is currently on trial in the UK and Eire.

“The ISA WARREN has been bred to be a tough, resilient layer while also being easy to manage,” says Mr Leeming.