Do you Trim Head feathers on Polish chickens?

[LadiesAndJane]

I trim both my polish and bearded silkies just around their eyes. They seem happier after. I have no problems keeping them with standard, regular breeds.

 

[Allthefloofs]

I might add if you are going to add them to an established flock that has never seen a crested breed that you need to watch the standard chickens carefully with the polishes. They will view their crests as odd and will tend to pick and rip feathers out if they have never seen a crest before. Be sure there are a few good hiding places for the new girls and maybe have a place you can move them back to if necessary for a bit. When we introduced Skittles the girls were tough on her crest, pulling feathers out and I had to separate pretty often at first. It took 3-4 months for the established birds to acclimate and leave her crest alone more or less for good. Even now, 7 months later if they are mad at her for some reason it is the first place they pull, but that is very rare lately. I would definitely trim them before adding them so they have a chance to get away if they need to, do it at least a week before integration so they have a bit of time to acclimate to their newfound sight.

 

[SueT]

Yes, mostly because we introduced ours as a single chicken to a 6 chicken flock and she is pretty bananas anyway. It helps her a lot, and because of it she is not the lowest on the pecking order, nor can she be cornered. She still has a lot of crest, but she can see just fine. View attachment 2405088

She looks good! I'm impressed!

 

[Allthefloofs]

She looks good! I'm impressed!

Thanks! That was her first trim, after that I made a habit of washing her crest every few weeks and then doing her trim when I could mohawk her

 

[searchgunn]

Yes, mostly because we introduced ours as a single chicken to a 6 chicken flock and she is pretty bananas anyway. It helps her a lot, and because of it she is not the lowest on the pecking order, nor can she be cornered. She still has a lot of crest, but she can see just fine. View attachment 2405088

Still looks cute as a button!

 

[Allthefloofs]

Still looks cute as a button!

Thanks! I rolled her into a new flock that had a few polish and she is thriving without a trim. She has settled in and her craziness is completely gone. She is a very sweet and happy chicken now! I do miss her Mohawk some days though! She is a pretty awesome
chicken!