Can a Polish actually see?

[Jessica1228]

The DH beloved polish lap roo was lost last fall. I seriously think he couldn’t see well enough to make his way back to the barn and probably got eaten out in a bush somewhere. When I say “couldn’t see” I mean he ran into trees, wall, us… everything. And no, ponytail holders didn’t help.

So, to ease the somber “oh I still miss him” attitude that I’ve been dealing with for almost a year I picked up a polish hen a few days ago. She’s in semi-lock down after we discovered she does have mites and don’t want them getting on the rest of our flock. But… when we let her out in the evening she gets lost. She’s spent all but one night out who knows where, spreading her mites all over the place. I’m getting a little po’d! I’m thinking that we need to LET her see her new home long enough for her to get an idea of where she is exactly.

Has anyone had a Polish that got lost, ran into walls, fought with their own head puff, etc. How did you remedy this? Can I trim her puff without traumatizing her?

 

[melissa41927]

you can trim her puff. that is what i do to mine.

her before

after

 

[swordgeek]

I'm wondering the same thing about giving haircuts. My Polish roo is the best, but I don't trust that he can see a bloody thing. Sometimes, I'll forget to talk softly to the birds when I go into the coop or run to take care of them, and it startles him enough to lunge at me. If he hears my voice, I'm OK. (Though the neighbors must think I'm nuts, roaming around talking to this rooster all the time - they'd never understand the whole Marco/Polo game we have going.) When he hears something, he flips his head way up to get the feathers out of his line of vision, but it can't be that effective. Particularly if he's supposed to be guarding his ladies!

Does anyone have any pictures of a Polish that has gotten a good trimming? Since I'm not going to show him, I don't mind if he winds up with a mullet. He might disagree.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

When I had polish chickens, I used a hairband to hold their puff up and away from their eyes and also trimmed around the eyes. I do trim the silkies around the eyes too. What a difference it is to them to do that, I also keep the hair away from my face as well

. like to see where I'm going and what's around me and I figure that the birds absolutely need to as well. Otherwise I consider it abuse through ignorance.... don't bash me I was ignorant too until the light bulb went on!

 

[Jessica1228]

Oh but ignorance is bliss after all Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards a Mohawk-ish look for her. I’ve been reading up on Polish peeps again, but not a single book mentions anything about sight ability. It seemed logical but I thought maybe I was being a space cadet or neurotic. Glad to hear someone else thought about this too.

 

[swordgeek]

That's it. I'm going for a mullet on my boy.

 

[Deanner03]

Quote:

 

[swordgeek]

Seriously, I'm thinking of doing a little David Bowie on him. The question is, should I go early years or circa "Labyrinth"?



or...

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

I think I am gonna have to trim my poor Lightning's feathers too. Poor girl is safe enough (big, open-ish fenced run) but never gets any treats when I am feeding them. And she's only 11 weeks old, I am sure it will get worse! Fortunatly, none of the others are prone to picking on her, but when they go out with the big chickens I want her to be able to see the roo coming. He isn't mean...just very... roosterish. Not all the girls put up with his attitude, and I want my new ones to be able to run if they want!

ETA I think you can't go wrong with Labyrinth Bowie. What color is the roo in question?

 

[swordgeek]

Quote:
He's a white-crested black Polish, and has amazing headgear. Breaks my heart to see it go, but it would be nice if he could see where he's going. If you could only see him trying to mount the ladies - it's laughable.

My crevecouer hen has the same bouffant as a Polish, and maybe I should do her as well. The other birds have always picked on her mercilessly - she's different.