Polish Maintenance Questions

[GreenAcresFarm]

I have 2 Polish hens and 2 Polish roosters, I have them separate from the rest of my flock, as the lady I purchased them from a lady that said that her hens were picking on them and I didn't want to take any chances. I absolutely love them, they are so cool looking and all have interesting personalities. My one hen thinks she is a dog I swear, she will peck at your shoe until you pick her up, she will sit in your arms all day if you let her. My one Rooster is a social butterfly and roams the barn all day long. They haven't laid any eggs yet, but that is ok, that's not why I got them, I wanted something original.

 

[Celtic Hill]

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How old are they? We didnt buy ours for eggs, but for just hanging out and looking cool. From what i read they are really social birds and make good pets.

 

[dsvabulas]

I love my polish crested. I have 14 hens, and one sultan hen. They have started laying in earnest and I get 8 eggs a day. A few really like to be held and patted. I use DE in their coop so mites shouldn't be a problem. I hadn't thought to trim head feathers, good idea. I plan on ordering 6 golden comets today and keep them seperated until they get bigger,(sept) and then put them together. Will I have terrible trouble with that? I didn't know polish were low on the pecking order until just now. Any input appreciated!

 

[SonRise Silkies]

Hi, I just ran across this thread while browsing.
I have a pair of Polish and I had to put them separate because the other chickens really beat them up and the screaming and running was awful!
Now that they are alone they are happy but I sure am not, the roo has gotten plumb vicious!
I hate to even feed and water them, he will fly at you face or neck and really is serious about hurting you!
I'd like to wring his pretty neck, but I think His wife needs him.
Years ago I had several Polish and they were just way to nervous and flighty for me, this hen is sweet but her man is horrible.
This is him, half grown,

 

[Bantimna]

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No ofense but he does look like Cruela Deville............

 

[95yj]

i'm going to go against the grain on this one, don't get a polish unless you are an experience keeper, have a spare coop or feel ok about making another one, plan on keeping the polish only for show purposes and are going to get five. Polish usually only get along with eachother and other very high maintanence show birds. These birds are best suited for the show "ring" (cage) and just don't fit into the backyard community flock, they can be mercilessly abused and the abuse can easily go unnoticed to the untrained eye. Polish's egg laying capabilities also vary greatly, which may frustrate people who want eggs. They are beautiful birds and for the right person make wonderful animals for the right person but should not be mixed with most types of chickens and are difficult to care for. Their are many other absolutely adorable breeds of chicken that WILL fit into a community flock and be easily managed by anyone, and i just don't see why anyone should put themselves through the pain and difficulty of trying to sort out a misplaced polished. I'm not saying polish can't be kept with other breeds, i'm just saying its more difficult than usual.

 

[Turner]

Well said!

 

[becky3086]

I agree, though I don't show my chickens at all. My purpose is just to have the best Polish that I can possibly breed. I agree, they need their own pen but other than that, I haven't treated mine any different than any of my other chickens besides making sure they have waterers that they can't get their crests all wet in.

 

[Celtic Hill]

Hummm, When my brother was looking for a breed of chicken i told him it had to be around the same size of my Polish, so he got some that were around the same... If it dosn't work out we'll build him his own coop.

Can you raise bantam and standard polish together?

 

[becky3086]

Size has nothing to do with it. Yes you can raise bantam and standard Polish together. It mostly has to do with the non-crested chickens picking on the crested ones.