Buff Orpington Roo with Silver Laced Polish - Yes or No?

[CalBickieMomma]

Hello chicken experts! I have a mixed flock of 11 and 10 week old chicks, one of which is a Buff Orpington cockerel. Two of the pullets are Silver Laced Polish. I've read a little bit about the Polish and get the impression that they are on the delicate side and also smaller than the average chicken. I was wondering if it would be in their best interest to move them to one of the attached coops/runs beside the main coop with my bantam rooster (white Leghorn bantam/Serama cross) when they are old enough. I'm just afraid Gerard (the Buff Orpington) will hurt them when he is of breeding age (although at the moment he's a pretty mellow boy ). Thanks!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I had buff Orpington roosters until an owl took care of them. I also have buff laced polish. The polish would get squished a bit but they survived years of mating. So it should be okay as long as yours isn't too rough.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's probably a good idea, depending on your goals, say you will hatch eggs and are OK with that cross. Some people keep roosters of that size with pullets that size and have no issues like OHLD. Since the hen squats when the rooster is on top the weight gets passed to the ground through her body, not just the legs. That's nature's way of protecting smaller hens with larger roosters and most roosters are larger than hens of their own breed anyway.

But the more difference in weight of the two the more likely you are to have an issue, so I'd move them with all other things being equal. It's sort of erring on the side of caution. But you will have to go through an integration.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

I had buff Orpington roosters until an owl took care of them. I also have buff laced polish. The polish would get squished a bit but they survived years of mating. So it should be okay as long as yours isn't too rough.

Thanks! I’ll keep an eye on the situation. Just this morning Gerard mounted my Guinea fowl, sooooo looks like I might have to move them sooner than later .

 

[CalBickieMomma]

It's probably a good idea, depending on your goals, say you will hatch eggs and are OK with that cross. Some people keep roosters of that size with pullets that size and have no issues like OHLD. Since the hen squats when the rooster is on top the weight gets passed to the ground through her body, not just the legs. That's nature's way of protecting smaller hens with larger roosters and most roosters are larger than hens of their own breed anyway.

But the more difference in weight of the two the more likely you are to have an issue, so I'd move them with all other things being equal. It's sort of erring on the side of caution. But you will have to go through an integration.

Thanks for the feedback! Fortunately, I have a few side compartments from needing to separate chickies out over the years .

 

[FlockB0ss]

Hello chicken experts! I have a mixed flock of 11 and 10 week old chicks, one of which is a Buff Orpington cockerel. Two of the pullets are Silver Laced Polish. I've read a little bit about the Polish and get the impression that they are on the delicate side and also smaller than the average chicken. I was wondering if it would be in their best interest to move them to one of the attached coops/runs beside the main coop with my bantam rooster (white Leghorn bantam/Serama cross) when they are old enough. I'm just afraid Gerard (the Buff Orpington) will hurt them when he is of breeding age (although at the moment he's a pretty mellow boy ). Thanks!

my buff Orpington just had a couple chicks hatch. Our rooster is a Polish rooster. Excited to see how they turn out.

 

[MLBoss1602]

my buff Orpington just had a couple chicks hatch. Our rooster is a Polish rooster. Excited to see how they turn out.

Any updated pics of the offspring? I’m trying to get an idea of what our silver laced polish roo over lavender Orpingtons might look like.
Thanks!