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Polish

The Polish or Poland breed is best known for its elaborate crest of feathers that nearly cover the entirety of the head.

General Information

Breed Purpose
Ornamental
Comb
V-Shaped
Broodiness
Seldom
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Medium
Egg Color
White
Breed Temperament
Flighty,Noisy,Shy
Breed Colors/Varieties
White Crested : Black, Blue, Cuckoo, Choc. Solid : Black, Blue, White, Cuckoo. Laced : Silver, Golden, Buff Other : Tolbunt, Crele
Breed Size
Large Fowl
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The Polish or Poland breed is best known for its elaborate crest of feathers that nearly cover the entirety of the head. This crest limits their vision and as a result can affect their temperament. Thus, though normally tame, they may be timid and easily frightened.

The oldest accounts of this breed come from The Netherlands, but their exact origins are unknown. One theory suggests that their ancestors were brought by Asian Mongols to Eastern Europe during medieval times, and thus, could have originated in Poland. It is also believed that immigrants brought the breed's predecessors from Spain or Italy in the late 16th century. The Polish was standardised in the Netherlands and declared a thoroughbred in the 16th century already. The American Poultry Association states that the breed was introduced to the USA between 1830 and 1840. The breed was, during a certain period of time, much favoured by American farmers and chicken fanciers.

Polish chickens are bred primarily for ornamental purposes and exhibition, but were originally productive egg layers. Polish hens rarely go broody and are noted for their white eggs.

The American Poultry Association accepted three Polish varieties into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection in 1874; additional varieties were accepted in 1883, 1938 and 1963. There are bearded, non-bearded and frizzle varieties of this breed.

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Polish eggs

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Polish chicks

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Polish juvenile

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Polish hen

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Polish rooster

For more about the Polish breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-polish.1098899/

Latest reviews

Pros: Extremely sweet
Friendly
Pleasing to the Eye
Very good target flying
Cons: Runs very fast
DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS!!!! There are way to many things about them to love!! Mine are very sweet and easy to socialize with.
Love Polish!
Pros: They can jump\fly very high (not sure if pro or con but I like it)
friendly
beautiful
funny
Cons: They can jump\fly very high (not sure if pro or con but I like it)
My hen hatched some polish chicks in June 2021. I have fallen in love with them. They have such funny little personalities.
They are very friendly with other chickens AND humans, they are always up for a cuddle.
They jump\fly very high, it's very entertaining to watch
Purchase Price
£15 for 6 hatching eggs
Purchase Date
May 2021
J
Jumpyrules
agreed
Addicted To Chickens
Pros: The absolute cutest
Good egg laying ability
Friendly
Endless entertainment
A great way to add diversity to a flock
Cons: Flighty
Can't see well
Have a tendency to lay anywhere but the nesting box
They bother the other hens (no personal space)
Extremely LOUD
My personal experience with Polish hens:

The good- They have a great temperament when played with as baby chicks. We have one that loves to be picked up and will fall asleep in your arms. They are surprisingly good layers. We have had ours lay almost every day for close to 6 months through the winter even! (we do not use supplemental lighting at all either) They are so funny to watch and we have the greatest time just watching them around the yard. In all they are a good chicken to have especially if your looking for some fun poof heads to laugh at.
The bad- They DESTROY nesting boxes (kick ALL the hay, shavings whatever right out) and then they don't even lay in them! They can also be extremely flighty because they really can't see that good. It can be a pain the trim and keep their head feathers clean and keep them from icing up in the wintertime. One of our hens is probably louder than the rooster and voices her opinion a lot.
I really like my polish hens, but 3 is plenty and I probably wouldn't get more unless something happened to them.
Below is my buff laced bearded polish hen- Mrs. Santa Claus
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Purchase Price
Free
Purchase Date
3/8/18

Comments

I agree that they are fun and do lay a very nice egg. The bantam WCB bantam Tricia lays a very nice egg for her size especially. Since I large dropping wattles, I need bearded Polish ! Bearded = no wattles
 
My Great Pyrenees loves my polish, but she doesn't seem to understand that he actually wants to lay with her. He also likes my Speckled Sussex roo and Mille Fleur cochin roo.
 
I'm commenting on the colors of my hens... these are not standard colors. They've come out of a project by Boggy Bottom Bantams two years ago. The color was Black-Crested White. My girls came out these two colors plus one all white (the attack hen) and one all black (Raven). Gracey & Attack hen both weigh 4 lbs, while Lacey & Raven weigh 2 lbs.
They're also show-stoppers because no one locally has ever seen anything like their color. I wouldn't want a flock without these girls
 
We just got a Polish and I was also wondering abiout trimming her feathers around her eyes. Can you tell me any more about how you did that? I've also been thinking about giving her a "ponytail" (chickentail? ;)) so she can see a little better.
 
My Miss Muppet is so docile that I just hold her between my knees so she's still and have some sharp trimming scissors and trim away. Just be careful not to nick her which is easy to do. She loves being able to see and she's still adorable. She looks a little like the old female comedian Phyllis Dillar from back in the 70's. She makes me smile even if she thinks I'm a horrible being:). Don't know if the band will stay in with a chicken tail. They don't like "extra" things on them whether is a bandaide or a pony...opps...chicken tail, band!
 
Absolutely STUNNING bird! I hope to introduce Polish to my flock (Silkies) someday and yours is certainly an inspiration! :)
 
Haha! I lover your title! When we talk about our Crested, we often say "awww, bless her, she's soo slow, poor Ricki!"
 
It's odd because I had 4 polish once, and 2 were shy, the rooster was crazy and attacked my son, and the other two hens were just as tame and gentle as could be. They kept jumping the fence though.....
 
I raised three that had been ordered from a feed store and left. I thought they were nervous because they hadn't been handled when they were very young but what you describe is exactly what mine are like. When I got two dwarf goats, one of the Polish died when one of the goats jumped on top of the chicken tractor she was in. I'm pretty sure she had a heart attack. Also, after eight months, we've only had one egg from the other two.
 
I have had Polish chickens before and found that the roosters could be quite aggressive. That being said, I now have a black crested polish hen and she is the typical nervous, flighty bird that Polish chickens seem to be. I have found that if you trim the feathers over their eyes they really calm down so I think because they can't SEE they are always on the lookout for things coming at them! It's an amazing transformation right after trimming. Don't trim too short though or you will draw blood...just trim enough that it helps them see better. I love my little Holly so much that I ordered more polish with this years babies....I have 3 of the blue polish babies right now and they are 4 days old...in with the other chicks in the brooder you can tell that they are higher energy birds and they also are alot more inquisitive...adorable little things that look like they have Q-tips on their heads!
 
Oh, oops, I meant to mention that bcuz theyre flighty and frighten easily I am handling the babies alot so that IF any turn out to be a roo they will be friendly! :)
 
we've had polish and while they are flighty their easy to sneak up on (to hold) and once ya caught her she was as tame as could be. She wasnt picked on but always hung out with the turkeys, and based on their judgement to run, and since they were tame she was easy to catch,. I love this breed but if you dont tame them young they are Really flighty
 
I love my little baby polish chicks to they are very good with people and little kids as well. I'm very glad I have 16 of them.
 
I use Dr. Chets Lice & Mite spray which is a little more expensive (15 bucks vs. 5 bucks for Ultra Care) or Ultra Care Mite and Lice Spray from Eight in One which is like 5 bucks for 8 oz. Both work well, the only reason why I've been using Dr. Chets is because it was in stock at our Cal Ranch and I like it. I haven't had any problems with mites at all so it must be working lol. Plus an 8 oz. bottles lasts me awhile since I don't spray everyday maybe every 6 weeks or so just to make sure my birds are in top notch condition. One or 2 sprays is excellent, I actually think one will do. As for age....well you want to make sure the crest is developed unless you have a mite problem now then spray now. But I would say.... whenever you've gave them the boot out of the brooder or whenever you feel necessary just make sure they are atleast older than 8-12 weeks and you should be good. ;)
 
Loving the Polish! Thanks so much for the info- I've been told in the past that Polish can be "difficult" but worth it- I appreciate the tip regarding handling mites.
This is my first hatch (I've only had Silkies) they have the funniest personality already! Very distinct chirps & I've fallen in love with them- so much fun. I'm really looking forward to watching them grow up.
 

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Category
Chicken Breeds
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Reviews
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Last update
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