I am *considering* getting a Polish hen. I do not know where to get one, however, that is around 16-20 weeks old.

[Livia Stouffer]

Whoever is interested in adding a Polish or other crested breed to their already existing flock of socalled 'normal' breeds needs to be aware that acquiring at least two, even better three is important.

Usually a crested bird like Polish, Silkies or Holland white crested will not be welcomed by a flock of 'normal' breeds which often leads to severe injuries and even death.
Only chickens that have been raised with the mentioned breeds and are accustomed to their unusual looks and behaviour should be kept together.

So, unless your flock is all crested birds you better keep the crested breeds in a separate coop and run.

And please, trim their mostly overgrown head feathers to allow for unobstructed view. Otherwise they might not only have no way to orientate but even starve to death as has happened to a friend of mine with her beloved white Silkie hen.

Thank you for the tips! I had to give my silkies their own coop, now it's my "broody coop" (whenever I get new chicks I but them in there as a buffer between brooder and free range for them to get a little bigger and tougher, or just let my silkies hatch out the new chicks themselves). And it's much more peaceful now that they have their own space where they aren't extremely bullied.

 

[Allthefloofs]

If you watch MPC sometimes they have 6 week olds pop up but they are pretty limited and are gone fairly fast. Do you have a fb group for chickens in your area? Ours has meet ups occasionally and people sometimes bring Polish chicks/started pullets. Usually those people are open to DMs to arrange sales.

 

[Allthefloofs]

Whoever is interested in adding a Polish or other crested breed to their already existing flock of socalled 'normal' breeds needs to be aware that acquiring at least two, even better three is important.

Usually a crested bird like Polish, Silkies or Holland white crested will not be welcomed by a flock of 'normal' breeds which often leads to severe injuries and even death.
Only chickens that have been raised with the mentioned breeds and are accustomed to their unusual looks and behaviour should be kept together.

So, unless your flock is all crested birds you better keep the crested breeds in a separate coop and run.

And please, trim their mostly overgrown head feathers to allow for unobstructed view. Otherwise they might not only have no way to orientate but even starve to death as has happened to a friend of mine with her beloved white Silkie hen.

Super important info! We had an emergency adoption at the beginning of the Covid and she was a single WC black polish. It was a process. I was super worried about her. It took about 4 months of patience and moving forward and backward with introductions. She was introduced to a "normal" flock of 6 birds, all very friendly. I just had to manage it very closely and as LaFleche recommended, I trimmed her before she was ever allowed to be with the other girls without a fence. I trimmed over a week daily to see how her crest would fall. I wanted to be absolutely certain she could see everything and get away if she needed to. It was probably two months before she was even allowed in the run with the other girls. I had to see them all free ranging together most of the day without chasing. Now 6 months on she is in the middle of the pecking order and a very happy bird!

 

[Flockincrazy]

I have a 2 week old polish roo if anybody wants him. He came as a mystery chick & won’t be the best fit here since my flock is mostly free range.

Where are you state/ country

 

[Crazy Fun Chicken Lady]

I LOVE Polish! I will be hatching some next spring and I can keep them until they are your preferred age. I am in South East TN. I plan to hatch blue/black/splash. My hens and roo are very friendly and they do not have the wacky personality some Polish have. I have a couple of wackys but I will not hatch their eggs.

 

[Dinoroar]

Where are you state/ country

I’m in Georgia, but I found a home for the little guy.

 

[Flockincrazy]

I’m in Georgia, but I found a home for the little guy.

Ok good

 

[Dinoroar]

Ok good

Yeah, for all the reasons people mention here I felt like he’d be better of with someone with a more breed specific set up. I hadn’t really considered that the hatchery freebie would be a fancy pants bird.