Can we talk PolisH?

[bkreugar]

I just got my chicks today from SS. I was very specif with what I wanted :
Barred rock pullets
Frizzle pullets
Silver laced wynadotte pullets
polish pullets but would have accepted straight run
Silkie straight run

I placed the order in late April when I started looking online and seeing I was NOT going to be able to get the breeds I wanted and yet still do the numbers the hatcheries required.

So SS said they would get them for me.They said they may come in staggered they may not.FINALLY in late May they told me ALL my chicks were coming on June 10th.I thought that was strange but whatever.SO they call and tell me they are in.

BIG disapointment.I only got 1 silver laced wynadotte ,(ordered 6) and NO polish at all.THEN they tell me they are very hard to get.I had already had plenty of people tell me they would like some polish chicks.Kinda upset that I did not know that before, as now it is lvery late in the season.

So ARE they that hard to get and if so why?They seem popular.

 

[KinderKorner]

I know I bought about 18 polish chicks this year. And I only have 5 left. With more still dying.

For some reason they just aren't very hardy, so I have decided to sell my remaining chicks and just get out of polish.

First I bought 4 or 6 chicks from Mcmurray. Everyone died in the box.

So I reordered 8 from Ideal. Well right before my vacation a little outside chick got hurt so I brought it inside to nurse it back to health. Well while I was gone, apparently since it had been outside it brought Cocidious(not spelled right I know. lol) in, and killed all my polish again.

Then I bought 6 more from a breeder. And now they are about 3 weeks old, well yesterday one died for no obvious reason. And another looks questionable.

They just don't seem to be hardy enough to live with other breeds especially when they are young, so I am getting out of them. Too much disappointment, and I feel bad cause they all die on me.

All my other breeds are just fine. But for some reason I just can't have sucess with Polish. Which is weird cause I got a polish chick years ago on accident, and it grew up fine and is now my top rooster.

Oh well. Rotton luck for me.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Mortality rates in the breed are pretty high. They are a sickly and weak breed of chicken, sadly. And because of their vaulted head, hatch rates might have been lower due to death in or right after breaking the shell.

 

[bkreugar]

BIG sigh.Thank you very much.I really appreciate you sharing that with me. That does explain WHY it so hard to get them.

I think I will see if I can get adolescents from Craigslist.I vaguely remember seeing them listed before.

I just adore the black crested polish!Do you think adolescents would reduce my mortality significantly or still just weak> And regarding climate are they less tolerant to heat or cold.Heat would be the issue here in NC.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

It gets hot in the summers here in NY too. And it gets cold in the winter. My girl has made it past both seasons twice and is still very healthy today.

I have to warn you that every once in a while, she gets sickly and fatigued out of nowhere. Within a few hours she repairs herself but I still don't know why this happens.

I just always expect it now.

Summers can make them hot and they will pant alot. In really warm weather I usually end up dunking my hens in a bucket of cold water. In cold weather, crests will freeze up (what with all of the foraging and other activity taking place on the icy floor) and will literally become icicles. The tend to go away after a day or so. But they clank together and make my poor hen so annoyed. It's like trying to get around with long frozen hair in our faces.

As a general rule, the older, healthier teens would have a better chance at thriving than the young chicks. The bad part about this is that previous owners might not have made them friendly. It's hard to socialize chickens, but much harder with Polish. Gaining their trust can be a difficult task.

 

[becky3086]

I have not found my Polish to be any less hardy. I have only lost one buff laced that I hatched and I could see that it had something wrong with it to begin with. However, I have noticed that they are hard to hatch, a lot die in the shell, and the eggs do not particularly ship well, the air sacs break.
I am struggling just to get enough to have decent breeding pens. The buff laced and the splash seemed to hatch better so far. I did hatch out 2 silver laced this time. Now if you are just interested in top hats, I found that my houdan seem to be doing real well, you might also try the spitzhauben and brabanter.

 

[KinderKorner]

I am SO glad I am not the only one who has bad luck with the breed. I thought I was a terrible chick person. Be apparently they are just hard to raise to adult-hood.

All my other chicks grow up just fine. *sighs*

Haha I just remembered I am buying Khaki Polish eggs this fall for a breeding project I needed them for. I sure hope some hatch and I am able to keep them alive. I didn't even think about it.

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I ordered a "top hat special" from Cackle Hatchery a couple of months ago and most of the chicks that I got were Polish. Mine have done very well. I lost a couple in the beginning because the USPS kept them a little too long, but the others appear to be very healthy. I love them!!

I just ordered more from the same hatchery a couple of weeks ago. They are due to arrive this week. I ordered a few of every color. I haven't heard anything about them being hard to get. Mine also seem to be some of the healthiest in my flock.

 

[wanda047]

bkreugar

I don't like my polish

and they don't like me! Of all the breeds I have, they are my least favorite. They're extremely unfriendly, easily frightened, and hate to be held. I've tried everything with them. They are almost a month old now.

If you lived close to me... I'd sell you mine (cheap!)

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I like mine. I have read that they become skittish when their crests get so large that it affects their sight. If you can trim some of the feathers around their eyes, that might help. If they can see you they might be friendlier. Of course, mine are only a couple of months old, so the crests are still growing.