I have to talk POLISH!

[seminolewind]

I have 3 BLP girls. One went to the roost early. Her wings were sagging. I went into the coop and walked up to her, she puffed up and put her wings out a bit, and made evil noises. On the roost!!!!!
Silly girl.

 

[flower]

I am thinking that she was startled and afraid while half asleep. Until my birds were used to hearing me going out at dusk to close the coop door that might have happened. Later I could here them make a "trilling" sound in answer to my "good night girls."

 

[seminolewind]

Flower, she is now planted in the nest, and I had to put another nest in the coop for the others but, as you know, they all squeeze in with her to lay their eggs,

 

[Hawkeye95]

I couldn't get on the Polish thread-- said it was closed? Anyway, I have a question for your Polish experts! I ordered all White Crested BLACK Polish. But now that they are 3 weeks-- close to 4 weeks old... they have all split up into half look like they should and half still have a lot of white in them. I'm posting pics- tell me your best guess on what happened!

Thanks!

Example of first set of Polish:

second set of Polish:

Okay, it's several months later, and these birds I posted last year have all turned out to have black bodies with no white in them. Was that just part of the process of getting in their adult feathers? Also, I sure wish I had read this thread before I bought these little guys from a hatchery. Sigh. I would have went with a breeder instead. NOW, of course, my oldest just started 4-H and we are showing our poultry. At the moment, we are only showing our silkies which did come from a reputable breeder. Some of these polish really don't look too bad, but others are obviously poor quality. I would love to post some pictures of what I have and see if you Polish experts could tell me if it would be worth our while to show any of these in our 4-H shows. I realize we are not working with decent breeder stock, unfortunately. Perhaps you can point out their faults so when I go to look for better birds, I know what I'm looking for. I have NO problems with having my birds critiqued. But back to the white mottled look in the chicks-- since they turned out black, is this something to be worried about genetically?

OH-- and last question for you. My big birds had plucked out the Polish tail feathers and I was at my wits end for a few months not knowing what to do about it to stop it. I finally put Pinless Peepers on my big birds and now the Polish are all growing in their tail feathers again-- finally. However, where they did have solid black tail feathers--some of them are growing in with white spots on them. I've read this can happen from injury. Do you suppose the white spots are genetic or from injury. Basically, is that true, and have you seen feathers come in after an injury with white in them? If that isn't the case, I certainly won't be doing anything with these birds.

I will try to post pictures shortly.

 

[calicokat]

Can we talk about feed a little bit? It seems like my birds are not as plump and healthy as I'd like. I'd love to know what others are feeding- especially those who don't free range. My DD's 4H show birds are caged so they don't get to hunt and scratch for bugs, etc. like my laying flock does. I try to give them scambled eggs or black sunflower seeds, something for a treat that is higher in protien. But still, they just don't seem to hold a nice weight.

So if you're comfortable sharing your feeding tips I'm all ears

and THANKS!!

 

[TexasChick09]

Ack, I think I have 2 BLP bantam roos (I don't think they are actually bantams though, but that is what they were sold as). Do these look like roos to you?

They are around 5ish weeks old I believe.

Chick #1


Chick #2

 

[seminolewind]

Well, I had a little one that I named Ozzie that looked like they did, only Ozzie is now Laverne.

 

[TexasChick09]

Woo hoo, holding out for one Laverne..lol. They do have different looks to them in the shape of their face/comb area and the styling of their poofs. It's hard to see from the pictures though since the bottom ones are blurry. My Jack Russell was trying to help me out..lol.

 

[flower]

Flower, she is now planted in the nest, and I had to put another nest in the coop for the others but, as you know, they all squeeze in with her to lay their eggs,

I have never had a broody hen except my showgirl who I guess was not really very serious, But I have read here on BYC that it is a good idea to have a separate box in a separate area where the other hens do not have access. Along with that, I see the idea that it is good to remove her one a day to eat,drink and go poop. I sure wish that I have a broody some day and have decided to add silkies to my flock.

 

[calicokat]

So exciting to have a broody seminole! We seem to get one a year that goes broody - but never one of our polish yet, that would be cool!