trim your polish???

[NYREDS]

Why would you buy a particular breed of chicken only to remove it's defining breed characteristic, in this case the crest on a Polish? If you don't want a crested bird there are so many other breeds w/o crests.

 

[Edwards' East of Eden]

Jeez.

I really don't think it's a matter of shaving their head, so much as a matter of trimming their bangs. Polish and silkies will both grow bangs so long that they will starve to death because they cannot find the food. This isn't because of the natural way of the world - it's because humans have bred for huge beautiful crests, and that means that sometime crests are simply too large and interfere with the bird's quality of life.

Why do you suppose your parents got you antibiotics and immunizations? Must have figured they'd taken on the responsibility of you, so they'd probably better help you actually survive.

Nobody's giving Polish crewcuts here. They're just trying to help their bird.

 

[yinzerchick]

I wish I would have given my Mick a trim. We were discussing doing it and how to go about it, (it would have been his and my first), but sadly before I did it, he was attacked and killed by a predator, probably a coyote or fox. Had he been able to see better he might have at least had a chance. Shame on me.

I say trim them up so they can see!

 

[HHandbasket]

I have silkies whose crests I trim back several times a year. We had one that was really small and had failure to thrive, and we discovered by watching her for a couple of days that it was because she couldn't see the food! We gave her a little haircut, and she suddenly was much more robust and eating well and had a HUGE growth spurt!

We have a young white crested black polish girl that came in a pullet assortment from MPC (we named her Phyllis Diller), and we have noticed that her crest is also starting to grow over her eyes. She's a tough one to catch, but I can see that I'm going to have to catch her very soon and give her a little trim to help her see better, as well. We're not going to show our birds or anything, so it's ok if their crests look trimmed.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agree 110%.
In my situation I went to the feedstore looking for banty chicks for my non-stop broody silkie. All they had was sex links, minorcas and polish. I love my little polish, but the pullet has a very hard time seeing without her trims. I don't intend to ever show her and she is part of a free range flock, so the trims are necessary for her own good. Besides, I love the polish personality. I have plenty of other breeds, but I like polish.

dshappychicks, I'll try to get a few pics of Pearl and Ozzy today.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Well, we got one of them trimmed, but the other one will have to wait until this eve. After we gave her the trim, it was kinda amazing. She just stood and was looking at everything! It was like, WOW, look at how big my world is!!! Was fun to watch! Didn't get a pic, forgot to take the camera out with me!

Will try to get one tho. In response to NYRED! I love their crest, but after losing 1 to our dog because I believe she couldn't see him and wonder into his territory, I thought for their own safety, we would give them a trim. Most of the time they just sit, only roam now and then, so we just cut their "bangs" about 3/4 inch back! She looks so cute! A little buzzed on the top, but the rest of her crest is still there.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Good job! Sorry I didn't get a pic of Pearl today, I've been dealing with a headache. Strange that your polish like to sit and watch the world go by. Mine are everywhere with their free range flock and Pearl comes running if she sees me.

Pearl had the same reaction the first time she could see...I can see! I can see!