I obtained a 10 month old Polish from a guy approximately 12 days ago. I have her in quarantine in a large dog kennel until I'm sure she is healthy. This is my first Polish and also my first time taking an adult hen in. My questions are: Do they lay late? Could it be the cold? Is it the stress of the move? How long before I should be concerned? Thank you.
I wouldn't be concerned, she is most likely kinda stressed from moving and is trying to get used to her surroundings.
Polish are not super strong layers anyway. That plus the stress of the move is probably why she's not laying for you, yet. How is she getting along with her flockmates? She may not lay until the whole pecking order thing is totally settled, and some of that are things only they know about...even when it appears to us they are getting along fine, only they really know. It says you live in FL, so cold is not going to be a factor. It is frequently below zero where I live and the chickens are more affected by the amount of daylight than the actual temperature. I'd love to see a picture of her, I think polish are cute!
Our Polish laid her first egg yesterday, she will be one year old in two weeks. We had kind of lost hope, hehe, but we saw her in the nesting box, and an hour later she was calling us to come see her pretty little white egg
I bought four 8 month old Polish hens back in November and it took two of them about a month before they got used to me, the new area, their new rooster, and started laying eggs. The other two just started laying last month. Like one of the posters already mentioned, I had heard they aren't the most reliable layers but the first one to start has been pretty consistent. She's even gone broody on me! I think Polish may be more for decoration than egg production, which is okay with me since I fell into chicken tending by accident. Best of luck with her!
She hasn't met the other ladies yet. I was told a 3-4 week long quarantine is a good measure. She seems healthy. I recently lost my Maran to Egg Yolk Peritonitus so I'm a bit paranoid. Thanks for all the replies. Here's a couple of pics of the lovely Rita! Io
I own several Polish, and none of them like to lay in the winter. Coupled with a move, the loss of her old flock, her brand new surroundings, and all of that jazz, it's no surprise she isn't laying. Don't worry! When the weather starts to warm up, you'll start seeing some pretty white eggs from her.
