A Question About Polish

[Aunt Angus]

Hi!

I recently received a large fowl Polish chick along with 5 others of differing breeds. She didn't do too well during shipment (never ordering shipments ever again), but I nursed her back from the brink. She's now 2.5 weeks old and doing pretty good.

However, she is TINY. Like, pretty much the same size she was upon arrival. I have her on starter that I have to put through a spice grinder to make it small enough for her. I have been giving her Nutridrench occasionally. She has been on avian vet-prescribed antibiotics after getting a severe eye infection that I think has rendered her left eye useless. And I will be starting her on higher protein feed (24%) today.

So are Polish chicks usually extra small compared to other breeds? I have no frame of reference here as she's my first and only Polish.

Here she is on Tuesday next to another 2 week old chick (an EE):

 

[nuthatched]

Maybe she's a an accidental bantam? Or a runt.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Maybe she's a an accidental bantam? Or a runt.

I was thinking a bantam, but she was the same size as the others when they arrived. Runt is more likely. How were your Polish compared to others?

And will extra protein for a while help, you think?

 

[nuthatched]

I was thinking a bantam, but she was the same size as the others when they arrived. Runt is more likely. How were your Polish compared to others?

And will extra protein for a while help, you think?

I've never had a Polish, personally, but I've seen runty chicks before. Protein might help but I'm not sure for how long

 

[Poodlemum]

Oh wow, she’s super tiny! Our feed store had some labelled bantam and others just labelled Polish, but the chicks always seemed so small! We never got any of the bantam though… I do feel like they grow really slowly compared to other breeds. After struggling to keep them alive, I’ve kept them separate or only with younger chicks, it’s gone much better now. They’ll go through at least two batches of standard chicks before being the same size and safe to move on

 

[Aunt Angus]

Oh wow, she’s super tiny! Our feed store had some labelled bantam and others just labelled Polish, but the chicks always seemed so small! We never got any of the bantam though… I do feel like they grow really slowly compared to other breeds. After struggling to keep them alive, I’ve kept them separate or only with younger chicks, it’s gone much better now. They’ll go through at least two batches of standard chicks before being the same size and safe to move on

She is VERY tiny. But the one next to her is HUGE, even compared to the other 3 (a CCL, another EE, and a CM).

We decided she will be a house chicken. Looks like she is partially blind and has a vitamin deficiency we're working on isolating and treating. She's just too "special" tone with the rough and tumble big flock.

 

[Poodlemum]

She is VERY tiny. But the one next to her is HUGE, even compared to the other 3 (a CCL, another EE, and a CM).

We decided she will be a house chicken. Looks like she is partially blind and has a vitamin deficiency we're working on isolating and treating. She's just too "special" tone with the rough and tumble big flock.

Awwww, poor bean Hopefully she continues to thrive with your treatments!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Awwww, poor bean Hopefully she continues to thrive with your treatments!

It's still a daily struggle. I'd feel better if she would get bigger and grow more feathers.

 

[Dreamers Nook]

I feel you in your struggle, I haven't had much luck with my Polish chicks. 2 out of 6 survived (1 out of 2 batches). They are smaller than the other full sized chicks, but not that much.

Hope she flourishes with your tlc, keep us posted. Would love to see how she grows up.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It looks like she's a runt, or a FtT. My poliah always were the same size as the other standards/bantams