Great to hear that you have enough room and the ability to create separate accommodation for individuals if need be.
I'm somewhat concerned that HeiHei is showing other symptoms of being ill as well as that hunched posture. Please be careful about biosecurity between these birds and your original flock. Viruses can be carried on your clothing, shoes hair and skin as well as the wind. Birds can appear healthy but be carriers of disease which breaks out at times of stress such as moving to a new home.
I can't make Charlie out very well in the photo and as I said I am no expert but the general look of the flock suggests they are possibly mostly mixed breed birds. Were they sold as a job lot or did you select each individual? Did you buy from a breeder who specialised in specific breeds and had separate breeding pens or just a farm or individual where they had a surplus of chickens all running around together?
Polish are not very good egg producers, but their offspring may be better if they are crossed to a production bird.
When contemplating breeding it is important to have a plan in place for the minimum 50% cockerels that will result from any hatch. They are hard to find homes for and very little meat on a polish or even polish cross. It's very easy to get carried away with hatching chicks only to suddenly find you are overrun with adolescent males that are causing mayhem in your flock. Processing them for food is the most sensible option, but not something everyone can get their head around.
Good luck with HeiHei. I was going to suggest he might be suffering from coccidiosis with that hunched posture and diarrhoea but sneezing suggests a respiratory illness. It might be both which would suggest that his immune system may be compromised. Chickens develop resistance to the strain of coccidia in the land they were brought up on but can be vulnerable to new strains when they move home. Corid (amprolium) is the medication that is commonly used to treat coccidiosis. Many respiratory problems are viral and take time to run their course.... often the bird remains a carrier for life after they recover. A good vitamin supplement should help support his immune system.
I'm somewhat concerned that HeiHei is showing other symptoms of being ill as well as that hunched posture. Please be careful about biosecurity between these birds and your original flock. Viruses can be carried on your clothing, shoes hair and skin as well as the wind. Birds can appear healthy but be carriers of disease which breaks out at times of stress such as moving to a new home.
I can't make Charlie out very well in the photo and as I said I am no expert but the general look of the flock suggests they are possibly mostly mixed breed birds. Were they sold as a job lot or did you select each individual? Did you buy from a breeder who specialised in specific breeds and had separate breeding pens or just a farm or individual where they had a surplus of chickens all running around together?
Polish are not very good egg producers, but their offspring may be better if they are crossed to a production bird.
When contemplating breeding it is important to have a plan in place for the minimum 50% cockerels that will result from any hatch. They are hard to find homes for and very little meat on a polish or even polish cross. It's very easy to get carried away with hatching chicks only to suddenly find you are overrun with adolescent males that are causing mayhem in your flock. Processing them for food is the most sensible option, but not something everyone can get their head around.
Good luck with HeiHei. I was going to suggest he might be suffering from coccidiosis with that hunched posture and diarrhoea but sneezing suggests a respiratory illness. It might be both which would suggest that his immune system may be compromised. Chickens develop resistance to the strain of coccidia in the land they were brought up on but can be vulnerable to new strains when they move home. Corid (amprolium) is the medication that is commonly used to treat coccidiosis. Many respiratory problems are viral and take time to run their course.... often the bird remains a carrier for life after they recover. A good vitamin supplement should help support his immune system.
