Polish Project (Feathered Legs)

[James Beller]

I want to know how many people want to make feather legged polish or would consider buying them. I am, trying to make them but currently do not have the breed best suited for it. The Breda Fowl. They are perfect for this project. I want to have it a breed in the APA. It will however take many years but i have hope for this chicken. The polish are so beautiful but they could have feather on their legs right. The Breda have no comb perfect for the v comb polish. They lay white eggs like the polish. They have the tempers like the polish. What more could you get. It would take many generations of breeding polish to them then back to polish then back to them. I want these birds to follow the polish standard of perfection but with feather shanks and toes. Who would help me with that. I currently only have polish and need the Breda.

 

[newlinta]

What you're describing already exists...it's pretty much a Sultan. I think it would be easier to breed polish to sultans and make different colored Sultans.

 

[James Beller]

What you're describing already exists...it's pretty much a Sultan. I think it would be easier to breed polish to sultans and make different colored Sultans.

The sultan look nothing like the polish. They do not have correct coloring or correct stature. The Breda fowl remind me soo much of the polish and the sultan do not. In looks anyway.

 

[James Beller]

What you're describing already exists...it's pretty much a Sultan. I think it would be easier to breed polish to sultans and make different colored Sultans.

I am trying to make pure polish with feathered legs. Many years put back into polish and back into breda. Into the polish soo much more. That the breda is so far back that it is no longer in the genes only in the history. Polish with feathered legs perfect thought.

 

[GaryDean26]

I bred Breda Gueldre for 4 years. I know more than some about breeding them and less than others. I have never breed Polish so this project is probably better suited for the Polish community of breeders than the Breda Guldre community of back yard chicken enthusiast, but I will follow this thread.

The Breda is a booted breed. The feathered shanks and feet are incomplete dominant and the vulture hocks are recessive. Will this project breed out the vulture hock, or will it keep them? The Beda has heavily feathered shanks and feet. Other breeds with feathers feet & Shanks (Langshan, Brama, Cochin, etc.) have different amount of feathers. I assume that the first couple of generation with be all over the map, what is the goal on the feet & Shank feathering? The Cuckoo Breda in the USA have more pronounced feathering than the Blue/Black Splash. That may be something to consider when starting the project.

As far as the Crest goes, the Breda breed standard is for a Crest. It is a small tassel crest, but many of the BBS Breda Bloodline lack the crest. I haven't personally worked with the Cuckoo or Mottled Breda lines, but the Cuckoo & Mottled were from a Dutch Show line and the BBS I am guessing were imported from the UK, but I don't really know anything about their origin. At any rate I have seen both cuckoo and BBS with the correct tassel cresting and assume the Cuckoo line is more consistent in this than the BBS line.

There was an Ebay Auction a few years ago for Polish/Breda crosses. Here is the cockerel that was posted on the listing.


This cockerel has the large crest of the Polish but seems to have more of a spiky cresting than many Polish do (although some are even spikier). What is the goal for the crest type? Spiky? Tame? Other?

The color of the crests is an important thing in the Polish Breed. The cockerel on the Ebay auction has white cresting behind the eyes and black at the front. This spit of colors is very common on crest. Some colors require the color split and others don't allow it.

I did some Cochin/Silkie/Leghorn/Breda Crosses. I never say any vaulted skulls, but we did lose some juveniles to wry neck which seems to be linked to the cresting and vaulted skulls. What are you thoughts on Vaulted skulls for this project.

What else....A popular out cross for the Breda in Europe is to Cochin. A contact in the BKU club indicated that the Cochin influence cause lots of the lines to produce some tint colored eggs. I am sure there are other unintended influences from such out crosses in the modern Breda Lines.

 

[James Beller]

2 Will this project breed out the vulture hock, or will it keep them? 1 what is the goal on the feet & Shank feathering?
3What is the goal for the crest type? Spiky? Tame? Other?

.

1) To have noticeable feathering.
2)might be able to keep them vulture hock
3)Tame crest like many polish

 

[GaryDean26]

Any updates on this Project?

 

[James Beller]

Unfortunatley no i need more polish and i have yet to get the breda fowl. But if you could try to attempt this yourself i would love to see pictures. Most of my polish got eaten

 

[GaryDean26]

I have never owned any Polish, and no longer have a breeding group of Breda. I worked with Breda for 5 years, but my work transferred me from one of our manufacturing plants in Texas to a Plant in Oklahoma a year and a half ago and I was not able to bring any mature stock with me on the move. We did do a hatch and bring a dozen Breda Gueldre chicks with us, but only kept a few pet quality hens for the laying flock from that group and are no longer breeding Breda.