tell me about crested polish please

[Atlchick]

I bought 3 WCB and 1 Blue from a local guy, back in March. All four survived chick-hood very heartily and have turned out to be all pullets (I think). One started laying about 2 weeks ago, and another has reddened up her comb and wattle and appears to be ready to lay soon. I read here that sometimes they get roughed up a little by larger breeds, and we did have one huge young rooster that liked to grab them by their heads. As soon as this started happening, we separated them. They are SO QUIET! I hardly ever hear a peep from them. Mine are not overly-friendly, but tolerate me loving on them when necessary. I will post pictures soon because one has a Patti LaBelle hairdo, approx. size of a grapefruit! The other three's 'hairdos' are about half that size - Patti/Patrick is a hoot! I would post the pictures today, but they've been eating yogurt and veggies and have yogurt heads!

I'm looking forward to getting a roo and maybe a couple more hens.

 

[chickendude]

I have a 12 week old Silver Laced Polish cockerel that was a free exotic chick with my McMurray order of 25 RIR girls. He just started to crow about 10 or so days ago. He is smaller than those fat RIR hens and tends to stay in the background a lot, minding his own business. As for his temperance he is a friendly young dude and he will put a girl or two in their place if it warrants. But it takes a lot to peeve him off. One problem I do have is his toes started to bend at 90 degree angles. He walks funny but does get around ok. He appears not to have any pain. Members on BYC have told me it may be a vitamin deficiency so I give him poly vi sol no added iron vitamins every other day. It doesn't seem to be helping. But over all he is a pleasure to have in our flock. Here is a recent pic of him.

 

[lorihadams]

I love the pics! Oh, they are so pretty. I am thinking of building a small coop/run just for them. I just started with a flock of 10 light brahmas and plan on replacing some of my layer flock with those. Since they are so big I think separating the polish will be the best thing to do. I also just got ducks so I don't think I would attempt chicks right now but maybe come spring I will definitely get some. Thank you everyone for the insight and the lovely pics!

 

[KathyR]

Well I am definately not an expert on chickens but I do have 8 crested polish. 2 white crested black, 2 silver laced and four buffs. I got them from McMurrays. I tried to spend a lot of time with them from the start and it seems to have paid off. I don't know if colors can have anything to do with it but I would say the buffs are the least affectionate, at least with mine. I do love them, have just recently had to cut the crest feathers to help them to see. This seems to be a real problem, poor things. One each of my white crested black and silver laced are just so adorable, content to just sit in my lap for as long as I let them. But my EEs are sweet too. I did have some questions aboutthe polish chicks temperments when they were young, I started seeing some aggression towards me. But that has passed. Now when I go outside they all run to the gait and wait for me to come in, following me around. Good luck with whatever breed you decide on.
Kathy

P,S, I will try to post some pics

 

[chickendude]

Quote:
Thanks for the pic complement. I noticed you are from Cartersville, Va. I have driven on RT 64 in VA and that is an absolute beautiful area! I always say I want to retire in that area.

 

[popcornpuppy]

I have a white crested black Polish. She was our very first bird. We adopted her so we don't really know how old she is. We did alot of research when we got her and this is what I can pass on:
They are not very cold hardy. (We put a heat lamp in the coop for her during the New England winters, and she was fine for her first winter here.)
They will get picked on by other breeds because they are docile. (Since she was our first bird, she is Queen of the coop. All of the young ones have respect for her and don't pick on her.)
They do have trouble seeing because of their crests. (She is hard to get into the coop at night because she can't see where she's going. Most of the time we have to lift her up to get her into the coop.)
They are not reliable egg layers. (We get 4 to 5 eggs a week from her. The only time we had a problem was when she molted. No eggs for a few months, but when she started laying again we haven't had any trouble since.)
They are calm friendly birds. (They are a pleasure to hold! And their feathers are so soft!!!
When the sun hits our polish gal just right you can see shades of teal and purple, it's beautiful!)

 

[KathyR]

Well, here are some pics of my girls. They were somewhere between 4 and 5 months old when these were taken.

Above are the buffs, I think they will still get more color?

Then these are the silver laced,above.

The last are the white crested blacks.

I wouldn't hesitate to get them again, they are adorable. Like I said I did have to trim the featheres so they could see. This can be a problem since they cannot see predators coming. It is suggested that they be penned, since they can get lost and unable to find their way home. Mine are penned up and I have not had any problems.
Good Luck!
Kathy

 

[lorihadams]

Man, I just love the laced ones!!! they are so beautiful. Yep, definitely getting some. Man I am in trouble with the hubby!

How hard is it to trim their feathers around the eyes? That would scare me....I'd be afraid I'd poke their eyes out.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I did it a few times. It's really much easier than most chores I've had to do for my chickens. I just get a friend to hold them until they submit and relax, and trim the crest and muff feathers around their eyes with a pair of safety scissors. I've had no problem trimming 3 of my crested birds.