Adding a new breed?

[kajira]

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Day-Old-Baby-Chicks/White-Crested-Black-Polish-p377.aspx

I have a mixed flock currently - I'm down to 5 from the original 8 that we were given. 4 hens, and 1 mixed rooster that appears to be half cochin and half RIR. (he looks like a RIR version of our cochin, fluffy feet and all. He's actually really cute.)

Anyways, I wanted to add a couple more hens since our coop can accommodate them, and our cochin is acting like she might go broody... so I wanted to throw in a couple of golden buff (the sex link) chicks. They supposedly tolerate heat well and lay eggs okay.

And, for kicks and giggles, the one in my link, I was thinking of adding a couple - they are supposed to be heat hardy, which will do well here.


Anyways -- For those who've owned black polish, are they as funny acting as they seem?

Can you tell me if they are okay layers and what they tend to be like, personality wise?

I've been reading reviews on them - what i *really* wanted was silkies, but darned if they aren't *always* sold out from every hatchery i've tried to order them from.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My polish have always been a bit hysterical. My white crested have always been loners who go off to do their own thing. They lay fairly well. my buff laced are some of my best layers.

You have to be careful adding them to a flock as the crests can draw uncrested birds to peck them enough to kill them. Only adding one is a recipe for disaster and there should always be a group of them or keep them separately. I have had to trim the crests on my buff laced, but on my white crested they seem to do okay without it.

Polish and silkies share the same troubles in a mixed flock so be careful when adding either.

 

[kajira]

My polish have always been a bit hysterical. My white crested have always been loners who go off to do their own thing. They lay fairly well. my buff laced are some of my best layers.

You have to be careful adding them to a flock as the crests can draw uncrested birds to peck them enough to kill them. Only adding one is a recipe for disaster and there should always be a group of them or keep them separately. I have had to trim the crests on my buff laced, but on my white crested they seem to do okay without it.

Polish and silkies share the same troubles in a mixed flock so be careful when adding either.

I was planning on ordering 3 of them... i only have 4 hens in the flock I was planning on mixing them in with - and none of them are the same breed.

I have one cochin, one RIR, a mixed rooster that's half cochin and half RIR, my white one that's White Freckles, and Little gray - I'm not 100% sure what their breed is - I think one's a Bhrama and one's a bantam

​

​

​

​

​

Our male is really proud of his hens when they lay eggs.

I assumed if I added a couple with amixed flock and not having more then 1 hen of any breed, they'd fit in okay.

I was planning on keeping my Easter Eggers seperate.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They should work, handle them a lot as chicks, and watch for pecking on the crests during their adolescence. The white crested hens seem to have a thicker crest and aren't as prone to pecking as the laced varieties are. They should be fun for you. They are some of the most adorable chicks ever.

 

[kajira]

They should work, handle them a lot as chicks, and watch for pecking on the crests during their adolescence. The white crested hens seem to have a thicker crest and aren't as prone to pecking as the laced varieties are. They should be fun for you. They are some of the most adorable chicks ever.

If I only get 3, and integrate once they are 6-8 weeks, do you think the 3 will pick on my hens that don't have their own "type" buddy? My hens all kind of do their own thing right now, and just sleep together at night. Occasionally the girls will stalk the male rooster when they want his attention, but their free-range area is pretty open and safe, so they are usually fairly spread out. Our goats head butt them occasionally, and go in their coop and eat all their food. I'm going to come up with a better feeder. I'm thinking a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and PVC pipe openings to stick their heads in to hopefully deter the goats.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've never had polish hens bully anyone, the roosters can be troubles, but the hens stay together. You are probably better off that way.

Be careful your ghost doesn't get sick eating their feed. My goats are separated from the chicken feed with a wooden fence that the chickens can go through or over and the goats can't. I think your goats will just trash any feeder to get the feed out of, mine would. They are such troublemakers.

 

[kajira]

I've never had polish hens bully anyone, the roosters can be troubles, but the hens stay together. You are probably better off that way.

Be careful your ghost doesn't get sick eating their feed. My goats are separated from the chicken feed with a wooden fence that the chickens can go through or over and the goats can't. I think your goats will just trash any feeder to get the feed out of, mine would. They are such troublemakers.

We watch them, and they eat whatever the chickens don't eat - which isn't much left over in the morning when we go to let them out, and the chickens scatter it all over the ground, so the goats have to work pretty hard to get more then a few bites. I love the "pipe" feeder ones that attach to the side of a coop to spill less and you just fill up when it gets low.

Our chickens eat our goat feed too - we give them grain, and the chickens of course help themselves too - ironically the layer feed we give them, isn't that much different than the layer feed - except the extra calcium, and I'm thinking of swapping stuff around to give my chickens regular feed - and then put osyter in a seperate dish and another one with grit - I'm still figuring out the best way to do this over the next 3-4 weeks... since I'm building another coop, I can kind of customize what I do, and how I set things up, and whatever works best, I can kind of change things around on my first coop.

Our little goats are pygmy's so they can fit into anything

Our billy goat and spanish goat are bigger, and if I make the coop designed better with a smaller door for chickens with a second door for us to get into, we should be able to keep them out. I was going to put my easter eggers in with my billy and spanish goat.

I'm hoping to work on taming them better, and they have a smaller coop because they aren't friendly and I want to milk my spanish goat. She's supposedly pregnant.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have some wild goats, they are a pain. I personally feed my chickens either a non medicated grower or an All Flock full time as I found layer didn't provide enough protein when extra stuff like scratch and scraps was added in. I keep a separate bowl of oyster shells for the extra calcium needs. My birds are doing much better since I switched, so I highly recommend it.

Aren't goats fun, they always keep you thinking and they always find ways to outsmart you. You either love them or they drive you crazy.

 

[kajira]

I have some wild goats, they are a pain. I personally feed my chickens either a non medicated grower or an All Flock full time as I found layer didn't provide enough protein when extra stuff like scratch and scraps was added in. I keep a separate bowl of oyster shells for the extra calcium needs. My birds are doing much better since I switched, so I highly recommend it.

Aren't goats fun, they always keep you thinking and they always find ways to outsmart you. You either love them or they drive you crazy.

hahaha - well the ones who piss me off too much get eaten, so the nice ones who stay where I want them too and act like they like me, get to live

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Nice. I can't do that, but occasionally think about it and wish I could.