I have to talk POLISH!

[BGMatt]

Losing any chick if reared properly should be a very rare thing. I raised about 45 polish chicks this year (that's what I started with) only had two losses, one was the day I got them (also lost a wyandotte that day) and the only other loss happened to be a Polish, but it was not the fault of the breed, that brooder happened to have a waterer spring a leak and flooded.

I was told as a kid by my 4-H leader that Polish could have feathers grow into their brains and kill them but to this day I am unsure if he was joking or not. But that would make them "more fragile" I guess?

 

[Shalva]

again I dont know if this is true or not but I did personally lose just one polish the day I get them... actually overnight... the other three are fine BUT in talking to others it seems that they have done fine with other breeds but have repeatedly lost their polish chick... again not sure that these observations are anything other than observances and certainly not scientific... but just observations....

 

[racuda]

I have a couple of questions for you Polish experts.

I've had Silkies for several years and would now like to get just one variety of Polish. Since I only have room for one kind I would like your help in deciding.

I'm looking for the best type I can find. Do large fowl or bantams have the best type? What about color? I assume that the oldest colors, (WCB, Gold, Silver, white) would exhibit the best type. Correct?

I love, love Tolbunts but I'm afraid that they would be like Partridge in Silkies - you would have to go through a lot of mediocre ones to get an amazing one.

 

[NosiphoChooks]

Hi guys,

These are the first chicks I have raised. I had 10 polish hatching eggs from a friend and 8 hatched with 2 not making it past 24hours. Below are the little guys at 2 weeks and 5 days old! Anyone got any idea on the sexes yet or is it too early to tell?

Chick 1 (boy?)



Chick 2



Chick 3




Chick 4




Chick 5




Thank you people!

 

[BGMatt]

again I dont know if this is true or not but I did personally lose just one polish the day I get them... actually overnight... the other three are fine BUT in talking to others it seems that they have done fine with other breeds but have repeatedly lost their polish chick... again not sure that these observations are anything other than observances and certainly not scientific... but just observations.... 

I think it's just people being bad at raising chickens and blaming it on the breed most the time.

I have a couple of questions for you Polish experts.

I've had Silkies for several years and would now like to get just one variety of Polish. Since I only have room for one kind I would like your help in deciding.

I'm looking for the best type I can find. Do large fowl or bantams have the best type? What about color? I assume that the oldest colors, (WCB, Gold, Silver, white) would exhibit the best type. Correct?

I love, love Tolbunts but I'm afraid that they would be like Partridge in Silkies - you would have to go through a lot of mediocre ones to get an amazing one.

The other problem with Tolbunts is they aren't standard. As far as type question, at the shows I have been to the type is generally ok, the bantams I know are always fighting being too large. White crested black and buff laced seem to be the ones doing most the winning. But the only "problem" variety seems to be the Black Crested White, it's rare and color leakage is a big problem.

Just some observations from a chicken addict.

 

[Maligator]

I've always had great success with my Polish chicks, as well. I didn't have any losses this year and the ones I raised long ago never seemed overly fragile. I am raising some Sultans right now, which are reportedly fragile as well, but they are thriving. I haven't kept the chicks very warm at all, really. They Sultans did have a really bad case of pasty bum but regular soaks cleared it up eventually. I never knew Polish were considered fragile until I came to BYC. I have kept mine in extreme heat waves and snow storms just fine thus far!

 

[jnjmanning]

I would say 1 & 4 Pullets, the others cockerels. Just my opinion.

 

[sbucciarel]

I dont know that this is scientific or not but I have heard that polish chicks are hard to keep alive... that they are just more fragile... I had a parrot for many years and when he was not well we would keep him warm.  I know that i bought four polish chicks, one died the first night not surprising to lose a wee baby... but then I kept them pretty warm for a long time... I think they were four or five weeks old before I really lowered the temp on them any substantial amount... wiht other chicks i did the five degrees a week but honestly with these guys I kept them pretty warm, warmer than I kept my orpingtons.  The three remaining all survived and have done well and are now 7.5 weeks old and I still don't expose them to temperatures at all... I really do coddle them a bit. 

I raise WC Black and WC Blue and Tolbunts and have a bunch of chicks right now. Even with the original chicks that were shipped to me from CA, I've lost very few. I do keep them warm for quite awhile (until fully feathered out). I baby them, but they are as vigorous as my other chicks.

 

[sbucciarel]

I have a couple of questions for you Polish experts.

I've had Silkies for several years and would now like to get just one variety of Polish. Since I only have room for one kind I would like your help in deciding.

I'm looking for the best type I can find. Do large fowl or bantams have the best type? What about color? I assume that the oldest colors, (WCB, Gold, Silver, white) would exhibit the best type. Correct?

I love, love Tolbunts but I'm afraid that they would be like Partridge in Silkies - you would have to go through a lot of mediocre ones to get an amazing one.

I personally love the Tolbunts and the Bantam Buff Laced. I also have WC Blue and WC Black and they are gorgeous. The breeder who sold them to me does very well in shows with them. In the Polish breed, I prefer the Bantams and the Tolbunts and I haven't hatched out a Tolbunt that wasn't amazing. They are very showy birds if you start with great stock.

 

[trsturself]

I don't know if they are overly fragile, that was our first try at polish, between my friend and I we've raised over 100 chicks, do 4H, and TONS of research so I'm pretty sure it's not us not knowing what we're doing. Plus they were in different houses with slightly different setups and they were the only chicks lost (out of nearly 50 this year). We kept them plenty warm and it didn't help. I watch the birds for clues on when to turn the heat down. If they are avoiding the warm spot I cool it down a few degrees. I feel they should be exploring all of their box, not avoiding or favoring one area.
I'm not saying the breed is weak. Just sharing my experience. It's quite possible and likely that we just got a bad batch that caught something on the trip. It's possible, as a breed, they are more susceptible to certain illnesses than other breeds. If you are lucky your chicks don't encounter that illness, you don't have a problem. I would be careful about your words BGMatt, you know nothing about the people sharing their experiences. Just because you haven't had a problem doesn't mean one doesn't exist or that others don't know what they are doing!