Single hen

[CatsCube]

Ok so as I have worked out that with my new run I can get a couple more chookies, the guy I go too has a french maran and Frizzle Poland which I like the idea of. I know a lot of you rave about your polands so I just wondered if you could tell me a little more. Are thry likely to be okay with my girls, do they get broody, are they friendly.

 

And also (and this goes for both birds) do either of them lay in winter or are thry like most other purebreeds. and how many and what size eggs do you get from them?

[chelsea]

I have a maran, she isnt french - but she's a very good layer. We get 6 very hard dark shelled eggs from her a week. And she has laid since we got her in late August. She's a very perky hen, tame and doesnt mind being picked up - very greedy though!!

 

Frizzles are gorgeous, cant wait to see piccies of them

[Shirl]

It isn't recommended keeping polands with non crested breeds because they can peck at the crest a lot. On the good side they don't sit on their eggs at all. Not sure how big the eggs are, I only had my little one 3 weeks before she got taken by a fox

[sparkleeeeee]

i had two polands and they were lovely but i sadly lost both of them before we had any eggs. i bought them because they are great pets for children and they were very cuddly. i dont think they lay in the winter but they do lay bigger than bantam eggs the breeder said. i got them from fritton poultry.

i would get another one. i think they are more prone to be being attacked by foxes as they cant see well with their big fluffy hat. i lost one of mine to a fox.

i have two normal marans, no eggs yet but they are lovely as well (but huge) daisy keeps the babies warm at night in the nesting box, it is really cute.

[Cinnamon]

I can help Cat - I have a French Maran & 2 Polands

 

One thing to consider is that Polands are smallish - I have mine in with my Bantams, & French marans are really pretty big. Not huge, but not your skinny sort of hen either,so pick what will mix with your current flock the best.

 

They are both pure breeds,so will stop laying over winter.

The Poland eggs are lovley,as big as a full size hen when she has started to lay (so smaller) & white. French maran eggs are larger & a deep brown.

 

Polands are sweet, easy to catch 'cos their silly hair means they can't see you coming & have heaps of character.

Their feathery head does take a bit of looking after.Floss is also known as Maracas, after she got dry muddy 'bells' on the end of her head feathers which tinkled when she moved!

French marans,well mine anyhow, are very pretty hens with dark eyes & an inquisitive nature.They are really friendly.

 

If you go to my album there are photos of all my hens,so you should find some of Floss the Poland,Indiana the Poland Cockerel & Bramble the French Maran.

[CatsCube]

Did you have any problems with other girls picking on their crests and any other bullying problems sparkleee? Im hoping mine would be okay as none of them are aggressive.

 

I thought if I got the two new girls when I finished making the new run and pop them in for a day first, then introduce my existing girls to the new run, then hopefully their wont be to much territorial squabling.

[Daphne]

I don't think I'd mix polish bantams with others. We have LF orps as well, who are non-bossy but when we tried running them together there was some pecking going on to establish the order; so now they live apart tho they see each other through the netting every day. The polands have thin skulls under all that mop and they can't see so a)it doesn't seem fair on them as they don't know when the others are swooping down on them and b)apparently they can be done serious injury (I think affecting their balance) because of the skull. I'm not sure that this is very common, but seeing that the Polands don't stand a chance to get out of the way I wouldn't risk it myself. Plus we got ours from a happy home but they were running with mixed other breeds where they kept on the move the whole time as a safety measure, and it took a couple of months for them to settle down and get more confident with us and feed from the hand etc rather than scuttling off at every opportunity.

 

However, ours do lay very well, their eggs are larger than many bantams, (they are white and rich flavoured) and 2 started laying just before Xmas.... they are friendly, inquisitive and quite adorable.

 

Hope this helps

[BeckyBoo]

Hi I'll echo what Daphne says, we inherited two Polands from Dancing Gal and one of them has become the subject of bullying because every time someone has a go at her she just puts her silly head down and becomes a sitting target! That said either her or her sister started laying yesterday so I don't think they're distressed (except at the time she's being pecked!) We've found if we let them out to free range a lot earlier instead of confining them to the run for the morning then there's very little trouble. They are very VERY daft tho, if they were yellow they would look EXACTLY like Big Bird from Sesame Street!

 

Mrs Bertie

[sparkleeeeee]

my polands spent most of their time with my two norfolk greys and they were ok. i did think that ninky had been attacked by the others when i was out once but it turned out to be a fox. i didnt see them picking on her but she was very small. How old are the ones you are thinking about getting?