Polish chicken unintelligent?

[Chickentender7]

I have 16 chickens total that are all 11 weeks. I have 1 polish chicken. They've been in the coop for weeks and free range during the day. Every single one of them goes in the coop at night, on their own EXCEPT the polish chicken. I also have to help her up to roost. Is this breed just not very intelligent or is it just my chicken?
She's also kind of a loner, I feel bad for her but she seems happy enough.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How big is her head puff? Can she actually see well enough to roost?

Unfortunately they can also be prone to brain damage due to their vaulted skulls.

 

[Chickentender7]

At first I thought it was her puff but it doesnt seem to be covering her eyes at all, just above them. So that would make sense that she can't see up high enough to roost. I'm just worried that I'll never be able to leave my house overnight if she can't figure out how to get into the coop at night at the very least.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Unless she's a show bird I'd try trimming the sides of the puff (so it's more of a mohawk) to see if you can improve her range of vision at least.

What's the access to the coop like? A ramp, steps, platform?

 

[Chickentender7]

I'll try trimming her puff!

The access to the coop is a ramp and I've seen her go up it many times and hangout right at the entrance but I guess she just doesnt understand to go in at night. I also have a ramp in the coop to get to the roost bars.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'll try trimming her puff!

The access to the coop is a ramp and I've seen her go up it many times and hangout right at the entrance but I guess she just doesnt understand to go in at night. I also have a ramp in the coop to get to the roost bars.

Try trimming and see if anything improves (I have a Crevecoeur, not a Polish, but a trim certainly helped her vision as she was starting to bump into things on occasion - now we can actually see her eyes!)

Only other question I can think of is, is the coop well lit at dusk (i.e. large or ample windows letting in the waning light, or artificial lighting?)

 

[Altairsky]

Polish chickens tend to go blind when their crest grows to full size.
They can also be not as smart as other breeds because they have a vaulted skull that might cause brain anomalies.