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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.
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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/
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Latest reviews

Addicted To Chickens
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.
PippinTheChicken
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
Addicted To Chickens
Correct!
lily7grace92
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
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Comments

GreatGranny
We are raising and giving away Polish roos to our neighbors! I have 4 Polish roos in with 24 hens! They work beautifully together, and we have not had the first hint of violence! They all crow and move around the hens without fear and are very protective of the brood! They are not aggressive to each other nor to us at all! I guess you could say, it is a work in progress! I love myPolis!!
 
featherhead007
rdcowman said:
Question, i got a exotic chick and it was a white crested black polish! I know nothing about these birds! Our fence is around 4 to 5 feet tall! Can they fly over that?? There's only one! Can you help me?
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Yes they hop over fences at that height, quite easily.
 
flwrldy
GreatGranny said:
We are raising and giving away Polish roos to our neighbors! I have 4 Polish roos in with 24 hens! They work beautifully together, and we have not had the first hint of violence! They all crow and move around the hens without fear and are very protective of the brood! They are not aggressive to each other nor to us at all! I guess you could say, it is a work in progress! I love myPolis!!
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They are the best roosters and your right not aggressive at all, and truly love the hens.
 
3
"Foxes got them easily" says more about the owner than about the chicken.

We have imported these birds, chickens, who are basically jungle fowl, into our non-jungle environment. If WE do not take the precautions to guard these birds against predators that are not their native predators, WE are to blame. Good fencing makes good neighbors. Foxes are easily deterred by fencing.
 
PlayTheGame
I had a pure black chick hatch from a clutch of white crested black polish. First time I have seen this
 
Lynn Borich
We have two Polish hens--a white buff lace and a black lace. Both are good egg layers...nice medium sized white eggs. They are a year old. The black lace is named Mildred and she is hilarious! She talks all the time and if I imitate what she sounds like we can have conversation. She is the flock watch chicken. When she sees a hawk, she trills loudly with her neck stretched out and keeps an eye on the hawk. She is also very affectionate. The Buff lace is skittish and neurotic. Hates sudden moves of anyone or anything and freaks out and hides. Her name is Garbo as she is quite stand-offish. We enjoy them thoroughly!
 

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Lynn Borich
QualityPolish said:
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. ;)
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I like the acronym for the Polish--fits well.
What about Pedialite?
 

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Category
Chicken Breeds
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