Polish Thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I used to have a polish that got picked on by the other polish and they would never wuit so he had to live with the Silkies his whole life.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes he is a young cockerel. He just started crowing about 2 weeks now and he is very protective, from his demeanor. He is only sweet, gentle and playful to me, maybe because I raised him since baby. But to my other family members who don't handle him, he has the protective gesture.
So I should keep him in the 1st story of the silkie, huh? And have them get acquainted? Right underneath the silkie coop, I can add a wire partitioner, so they can play side by side and see Julio, and hopefully I can eventually mix them. But where does he sleep at night? Back in the house again? Garage? *cry* *cry* i feel so sad for Julio. This morning I almost cried. It looks painful, it must but painful.....
Also, once he gets better and a bit older, can I put him back to the Polish house? I am 99% sure I have 2 girls. One more Polish, I don't know...still in question.

While Julio is recuperating you don't need to punish him with isolation from other Polish girls. Keep him with the flock so they will always see each other but separate with a fence barrier between him and the others so they grow up together. They will see each other but not able to peck at him through the wire. You can give him a covered cat litter box to sleep in at night on his side of the fence in the coop run or anyway you can make it work - as long as everyone can see each other while he is recuperating from his injuries. I would still keep him fenced from the girls even after he is healed - hens/pullets are notorious for ganging up on cockerels until the cockerels reach confident maturity. When he becomes a grownup confident boy then you can remove the barrier between him and the Polish girls. This method has worked for me whenever I introduce a new bird to the flock. Everyone gets to see each other every day but not touch each other and when the wire is removed Julio won't be a stranger when ready to be integrated. But give him time to mature a bit more before removing the fence - otherwise the pullets/hens will throttle him again while he is young - it's a chicken thing. My friend's two 6-month-old EE cockerels were mercilessly chased by the flock hens so she had to barrier the two males from the girls until the cockerels matured a few more months.

Even when I have to separate a very sick bird into the house by itself I give it a mirror so it thinks its reflection is another bird. Chickens are flock birds and always need to be with companions. Julio will like being with the others while he is healing but securely separate with a good fence between him and the flock girls. Make sure the fence openings are small enough to keep the girls' beaks from reaching through the fence. It's always a surprise how birds will integrate as they grow-up and all our experiences can be different. I pamper my juveniles in the house to bond with them until they are about 5 or 6 months old - then I use the fence barrier between the new bird and the established flock until it's time to integrate them as one flock. Then I stay out of flock politics and don't show favoritism to any of the birds while they establish their pecking order (as long as there is no bullying or injuries occurring) GL!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

 

[evitachu]

Thank you all for the useful advise. I may switch the coops. The silkies house has a really weird set up where there is a "gate" right underneath, which is perfect for what @sylvester017 suggested. The Polish house doesn't. Well, yesterday I didn't come home until 2am (Duran Duran concert!!) and this morning, Julio and the silkies seem to ve friendly. So I took out the partition and they play with each other. Now, the Polish house is right across the Silkies (about 3 yards away) So the Polish girls can see Julio. Julio looks at the ladies a lot, but the silkies are playful with him so he kind of got distracted on and off. BUT! Here's the interesting part.....the girls didn't have appetite!!!! I broought their usual food...and they just looked at it, ate a little and all 3 of them stood by the side where they can see Julio. I cleaned the coops, and my other routine, an hour later, the food bucket is still full. They kept staring at Julio and not eating.
OMG, what's happening here????? Now they're missing Julio??????? But he got beat up by the girls, now they're missing him????
I seriously don't understand chicken behavior!!!

 

[evitachu]

These are my kids. Top: Julio, Bobbie, Elvin. Bottom: Elvis (girl, oh well the name stuck), Kiko, Pompom. I don't know the gender of the silkies yet. All are 3 months old this week.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you all for the useful advise. I may switch the coops. The silkies house has a really weird set up where there is a "gate" right underneath, which is perfect for what @sylvester017 suggested. The Polish house doesn't. Well, yesterday I didn't come home until 2am (Duran Duran concert!!) and this morning, Julio and the silkies seem to ve friendly. So I took out the partition and they play with each other. Now, the Polish house is right across the Silkies (about 3 yards away) So the Polish girls can see Julio. Julio looks at the ladies a lot, but the silkies are playful with him so he kind of got distracted on and off. BUT! Here's the interesting part.....the girls didn't have appetite!!!! I broought their usual food...and they just looked at it, ate a little and all 3 of them stood by the side where they can see Julio. I cleaned the coops, and my other routine, an hour later, the food bucket is still full. They kept staring at Julio and not eating.
OMG, what's happening here????? Now they're missing Julio??????? But he got beat up by the girls, now they're missing him????
I seriously don't understand chicken behavior!!!

Silly birds! They are so cute! And can act different from someone else's flock depending on the size of the flock, the size of the pens, if they're free-ranged or not, the kinds of breeds kept together and many other factors. Your Polish girls will get their appetite back. Our girls are most hungry in the early morning and late afternoons. Mid-day they just toodle around or lazily take naps.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I agree. I bought silkies and Polish for a start. I really thought I would love silkies more. I was wrong!!! As they grew up together, my Polish became incredibly cuddly and sweet....& my silkies seem scared all the time. If I could do it all over again, I would do Polish only.

This is so opposite from me. I started with Polish, and got Silkie's the following year. They are all sweet and cuddly and much friendlier than my laying breeds that I got later. But the Silkie's are the sweetest. My polish hens are crazy and don't even like to be touched. One of my boys is super friendly, but aside from him, the Silkie's are the friendliest. They were all raised the same.

 

[Sylvester017]

This is so opposite from me. I started with Polish, and got Silkie's the following year. They are all sweet and cuddly and much friendlier than my laying breeds that I got later. But the Silkie's are the sweetest. My polish hens are crazy and don't even like to be touched. One of my boys is super friendly, but aside from him, the Silkie's are the friendliest. They were all raised the same.

Have to agree about Silkies. I admit I have not had the pleasure of having Polish but have had several backyard breeds almost 5 years now. The Silkies are my DH's favourite and won't have a flock without them. Our two Silkie hens are the oldest and the other LF members give them respect. Our Silkies get so excited to see us and get underfoot when we come outside that we have to be so careful where we step as they peck at our shoes and pant legs begging for treats. Our littlest Silkie does a whirling dervish in a circle she gets so excited. All our chickens get excited when we dig holes while gardening but one Silkie will sit on my shovel while the other one sticks her head way down into the holes! We've had these Silkies for so long that they are extremely trusting of us and don't fear tools in our hands. They love helping us dig in the soil.

 

[ejsouthy]

[/IMG]

Hi there, I'm just wondering if anyone could help me. I picked this little love up today as its owner couldn't keep her as she is too noisy, the thing is when I've seen this chicken properly I'm not convinced it's a girl, the woman said that she's about 5-6 months old, such a cute little thing but if she is a he I'll have to take it back as I have a Bantam cockerel already. Apparently it's not crowing but I don't know if she's just saying that, thanks in advance for any help at all

 

[ejsouthy]

This is a slightly clearer picture, it's hard to get one.