Polish/ Poland - a daft question?

[pebojuno]

Another day, another question!

Does anyone have any experience of polish/poland bantams? Are they um well a bit daft?

I incubated 6 chamois polish eggs about 8 weeks ago (with some other breeds) and one hatched out- Bobble! She is the funniest, friendliest, oddest creature ever- but ever so slightly dim- just wondering if this breed aren't the brightest in the chicken world?

So far we have had to rescue her several times after she has been stuck in a shed/ hedge/ cage/ lost all her chicken buddies! She seems to get into places and then have a mind blank and be unable to work out how to get out again- We often hear the unmistakeable sounds of a Bobble missing her friends (she always manages to lose the rest of them and then screeches loudly - which obviously they all ignore, hoping she'll get lost and leave them in peace! - so we have to find her and carry her back to her pals (am sure she just likes the attention!)

Has anyone else had experience of these odd little beasts? Are they a bit twp? And is that why they're so noisy all the time?

 

[snifter]

They generally are a bit daft, mainly because of their head feathering restricting their vision. They spook easily and are very responsive to voice due to their lack of sight.

Usually its not advised to let them free range totally for this reason, especially with chickens that can see fully and will go off easily with her unawares. Also unlike many breeds they are not very hardy and need to be kept under cover in winter and when it rains due to the headgear. It is very easy for them to catch chills/sniffles and become unwell in this respect. I always dry the headgear off on mine with the hairdryer before they go to roost. I never let them go to roost with wet feathering, especially in the colder months.

I'd advise you keep her in a run of a decent size with company. Or if she is going to free range that she does so when someone is around to keep an eye on her. Mine free range in our garden but its secure. However in my old house Stella, my chamois Poland escaped and spent 5 days living rough in the field next to the house before I found her.

They are great characters but do need a bit more special care than most other breeds. Many breeders of them keep them indoors. I'd be very wary about letting her free range totally in a large open area as they do spook and can take flight and end up lost very easily.

A covered area on the run all year round is good. So she can shelter if it gets wet.

 

[pebojuno]

Snifter-
Thanks for your advice- I trimmed the feathers around her eyes a bit and she seems able to see where everyone else has disappeared to a bit better now! Strangely she's not at all flighty- she's the first to run up to us when we check on them.
To be honest we only got the poland eggs to fill a gap in the incubator and were going to pass on any that hatched out but we fell in love with her - We'll get some friends for her and a small covered run and let her out when we're around - it's funny because the older and bigger chickens don't pick on her at all (like some books warn they will) - I'm not sure they realise she's a chicken!

 

[snifter]

She may not be flighty around people as she will learn to respond to voice and familiar sounds. But if she is startled when out ranging she may just take off. They can travel quite a distance. I used to find mine all over the place if there was a loud bang or the dogs startled them or some such.

I found it easier to tie the headgear up in a band rather than keep trimming feathers. Eventually once the hard feathers come through and you need to trim them short it can cause them to bleed and be painful for the chook. I just scoop them all up in a top knot and mine see really well.

They are a bit high maintenance but I love them. Would not be without a Poland in the collection even if it means the hairdryer sees more action than normal all winter :lol:

 

[pebojuno]

Ha! Love the advice about the hairdryer and tying up their feathers- my 10 year old will have fun with that one I'm sure :lol: They are lovely- wasn't too sure about the look of them but the personality won me over - she's a frizzle too so looks even more AHEM "unusual"

At the rate I'm going I'll need to be Defra registered before Spring - Only started keeping my own chickens this July ( Always had a few in the garden as a child) and getting quite carried away now! But hey, I can think of worse hobbies!

 

[girlracer265]

they sound gorgeous, my hubby has just said ' no more' in a loud voice
chicken keeping is addictive, we only started off with a few ex bats in january
now we have jersey giants light sussex pekins silkies and wyandottes

 

[pebojuno]

girlracer-
They are cute! And chickens are incredibly addictive there should definitely be a government health warning on them! What are the jersey giants like? My mum has 2 brahmas and they're friendly feathery dinosaurs! I quite fancy the wyandottes but have already got some legbar, buff sussex, frizzle, white orpington youngsters, some pekin POL and of course the mighty bobble! - there should be a support group set up for us addicts? Or have I already found it?! :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, I soooooooo want Polish chickens. They are on my 'short list' for sure.

Hi, I'm Georgia from the USA and am new to this list and very excited to be here. I've had chickens before but my hubby has not, and for me it's been a long time so kinda/sorta we are both novices.

We ordered a chicken house from a kit but it didn't arrive before I was scheduled to pick up chickens I'd made arrangements to get. So we have 6 chickens living in a large, 3 compartment ferret condo in our living room. Well, the upside is that they greet us with enthusiasm each time we come into the room! The downside is I should have bought a bigger air filter!

We have a pair of Lakenvelders, a pair of Frizzles, and 2 young pullets whose breeds I'm unable to identify. Either from my lack of knowledge or they are of mixed heritage. I want to get some Silkies and the previously mentioned Polish.

Georgia in Alabama

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Georgia,

I'm so glad I'm not the only person with hens in their lounge :lol: ,although mine just wander in from my garden....... .
Hopefully your kit will arrive soon,I don't know what a Lakenvelder looks like :? ,but,it's a chicken so i'm sure I'd like them.Frizzles are very cute,as are silkies and Polish.
With regards to the Silkies and Polish,are you going to get the bantamised versions or large fowl?

they are certainly both lovely breeds.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Lydia, I've had chickens come in the house door before. Gosh, I hadn't thought of that in years, so thank you for the reminder. I used to lure hen ducks in too, by a trail of bread. The drake duck would stand outside squawking "Don't do it, don't do it, she's going to shut the door the moment you get inside, don't do it, don't do it"! And she would ignore him, come in and I'd shut the door and pick her up! I just love holding poultry!

Lakenvelders are German, with black on both ends and white in the middle. The Roo has a very high comb and a few longer trailing feathers in his tail. Very striking in appearance.

Bantam I think for the Silkies and Polish. Around here bantam Silkies seem to be the norm. In fact I didn't even realize they came in a standard size version. When I had chickens before I didn't even know the breed existed. I know where I can get both but I'm not sure if the man has standard or bantam Polish. The ones I saw at a show were bantam. I'm trying to wait till the building arrives before getting more chickens. My hubby is being really good about the current 6 in the house so I don't want to push my luck. :lol:

Today we looked at plastic house gutter, the stuff that catches rain water coming off a roof. People here make chicken feeders from it and hang the feeders by chains so they are up high enough to prevent scratching in the feed.

I don't know where anyone lives, but my hubby has a cousin in Huddersfield.

Georgia in Alabama

 

[victorias poultry]

The chamois sounds just like my polish girls, they get lost, sqeek loudly when they loose their friends and get stuck in all sorts of unusal places. Two of the hens have found a way of getting in through the cat flap, and I find myself spending many an afternoon chasing them out of the kitchen. Have had poultry for over 20 years, but only discovered polish last year, and I must say they are charming, friendly little birds. You can keep cockerels together as they never fight and can breed plain to frizzle and hatch either or, but must never breed frizzle to frizzle as they will hatch with no feathers! you can also breed gold laced to chamois and hatch either colour (will not be a cross). For those of you who have never had polish, I can throughly recommend them, they love cuddles and are great for children and smaller gardens.