Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[Chortle Chook]

As per my other post on here, I have just got a very pretty little Poland girl that I saw at the Berkshire show. I'm so pleased and she is, to my eyes so very pretty, but I confess that I have not been able to find out much about them. All the books I have looked into say rather negative things about them e.g.

- how difficult they are to look after because of their big hair do

- how they should not be mixed with other breeds

- how flighty they are and easily scared.

but not much that is positive. So I have a few questions for any Poland owners out there.

 

1. Can they use a grub / glug or shoud I be giving her another dish to feed from?

 

2. She is getting along famously at the moment with my Silkies and Frizzles. Is it ok to leave her with them? My set up of a chicken house in a 20m garden that is effectively a WIR would make separating her for any length of time rather difficult.

 

3. She seems really friendly and is quite happy to be picked up. Is that just because she is a bit phased at the moment or are Polands really such sweeties. If so I'm just gonna have to get me another.

 

4. She did fly up onto the chook house roof last night before going to bed inside. Should I clip her wings. That seems rather a shame as she looks to my eyes, so perfect.

 

Here she. Your answers would be much appreciated by me . . . and little Dorothy.

[Daphne]

I keep polands and am a huge fan

 

They are not flighty - quite the reverse as they either don't see you coming or they are such happy inquisitive birds that they come running to investigate. You should use a narrow lipped drinker (ie a water tower) to try to keep their crests dry. They have thin skulls and their crests tend to flatten if they get wet, exposing the skull to other birds beaks. You must provide them with shelter from rain for the same reason though they do run about and get wet anyway. The greatest lesson I can give you is ideally to keep them in a poland-only flock. This is because other birds do seem attracted to the crest/exposed head and will peck at it, which can be dangerous especially as the polands don't always see the others coming. However, it is possible to keep them in mixed flocks, IF you are confident about the docility of the others. So, you should keep a very close eye on yours. I can assure you, a bullied poland is a nasty sight, they run well, but its not fair on them to have to do so.

 

Mine feed from a sort of plastic giant dog bowl. They can be a tad noisy when egg laying, boys are certainly noisy.

 

I find most of mine don't like being picked up, but there is always one who is superfriendly and will ride round on your shoulder. They chat and cheep and are real characters. There is also often one who perches on the eglu run roof, and they can fly. I put my current naughty girl to bed every night and don't bother clipping wings as my lot rarely try their luck outside the pen. The biggest problem I used to have was escapees through the poulty netting (I don't let them FR because of predators they can't see) so now I have it very taught and tight.

 

I don't think I could be without polands now, and my OH certainly couldn't. The biggest bonus are the eggs. Mine are good layers of a pretty white egg which isn't too small considering the size of the birds. The eggs have a large yolk for their size and everybody comments on how rich they are

[Chortle Chook]

Many thanks Daphne in putting me on the right track. I have just been drying little Dorothy's crest with the hair dryer as she did get wet in the rain this evening. I will also keep a close watch on my Silkies and Frizzles, her companions to make sure she is not bullied. At the moment it looks like the Frizzles are lower down the pecking order than her and the Silkies are pretty much ignoring her.

 

By the way, I have a little chook called Daphne only she is a black Frizzle x Poland. Her head gear has always seemed not that difficult to look after because it goes forward (though I do sometimes need to clean round her eyes with a Q tip). Originally I thought little Dorothy was going to be a frizzle too - my mix up. When I saw her yesterday and realised she was the smooth girly, I could however not say no. She is so gorgeous in looks and personality.

[noyan]

I have a frizzled feathered poland called molly. had her about two years now lays wonderful white eggs. she is the smallest of my bunch but makes the most noise just before and after laying. I have a cube but had to fit a longer ladder for her as she had a bit of trouble getting up the plastic one that come with cube. she lives quite happliy with my girls. 1 pekin, 1 batam frizzle, 1 bantam silkie, 1hybrid light sussex, 1 hybrid maren. and my three new girls they were supposed to be pekin cross polands due to the poland cockeral getting in with the pekin hens but they are as big as my hybrids but look cute so not too bothered about the size. only problem I have had is when my other silkie hen turned out to be a cockeral and took a real fancy to her swapped him for my three new ones about 3 months ago and her feathers are just coming back. she is a great character, loves chasing collered doves off my lawn.and laying eggs under the rhubarb.

[Chortle Chook]

noyan, I guess Molly is your avatar. Very sweet looking

 

BIG NEWS - Dorothy gave me a little (actually not so little) egg this morning

[The Dogmother]

I used to have one - daft as a brush and great entertainment but the 'hair' is a problem; it gets all sorts caught in it and if the bird has lice you need to treat the hair as well.

 

I didn't have this problem but they are prone to eye infections.

 

Lovely birds but I wouldn't bother with one again - that's just my opinion.

[Chortle Chook]

I admit I'm a bit anxious about the 'hair do' but if it gets too difficult to manage I'll probably just have to cut it back a little from round her face - or would that be sacrilege - like clipping an Afghan hound? At the moment she is riding around on my OH's shoulder as he trims our box hedging. Normally this is a job for me as it involves a lot of bending and clearing, but it seems Dorothy has made even hedge clipping appealing to OH so that's got to be a winner

[WitchHazel]

At the moment she is riding around on my OH's shoulder as he trims our box hedging. Normally this is a job for me

 

thanks for this. I'm chuckling out loud here at the thought of you riding around on your OH's shoulder while he trims the box hedging.

[Chortle Chook]

At the moment she is riding around on my OH's shoulder as he trims our box hedging. Normally this is a job for me

 

thanks for this. I'm chuckling out loud here at the thought of you riding around on your OH's shoulder while he trims the box hedging.

 

Well I am about 5ft 2" and he is 6ft 4" so I guess it would be possible I have an odd hair do too and it has been getting odder of late as I missed my last hair dresser appointment. Soon it will be over my eyes just like a Poland's hair do

[The Dogmother]

Hazel if you could see just how tall CC's OH is you'd be laughing - he's ginormous!

[lindafw]

We have had Polands...Lisa ( my eldest sons partner) loves them. We lost two to unexplained reasons leaving just esmerelda a blue grey girl. Then collected another 2...black with white heads..one turned into a cockerel and one a hen didn't last 2 weeks..they were not in good condition when we collected them but couldn't bear to leave them (yes we did contact RSPCA) Esmerelda got foxed a little while ago BUT we have received 2 of her offspring from her last clutch hatched by the wonderful Sue

 

1. Can they use a grub / glug or shoud I be giving her another dish to feed from? Yes mine manage fine

 

2. She is getting along famously at the moment with my Silkies and Frizzles. Is it ok to leave her with them? My set up of a chicken house in a 20m garden that is effectively a WIR would make separating her for any length of time rather difficult. Mine live with Aracanas, dorkings and huge buff orpington hen and cockeral!

 

3. She seems really friendly and is quite happy to be picked up. Is that just because she is a bit phased at the moment or are Polands really such sweeties. If so I'm just gonna have to get me another. Some are ok and some are flighty. Our cockerel Rincewind is a chatty chap but not very bright

 

4. She did fly up onto the chook house roof last night before going to bed inside. Should I clip her wings. That seems rather a shame as she looks to my eyes, so perfect. Haven't clipped any of mine but no problems with them

 

We would love a gold girl or two...or three!!!!!

[bouldercroft]

I have the lovely Lola in my little flock. She's barking mad but such a delight to have around. One thing I will say is that she has more digging power than a JCB - she's ferocious in the garden but I have plenty of it so it doesn't matter much. I wouldn't be without her and she's a great little layer - lovely white eggs on most days.

I did trim some of her head feathers around the sides - mostly to even things up as she lost a few (probably on a bored afternoon in the coop at the mercy of the other girls) on one side.

 

1. grubs/glugs

she does just fine no issues at all

 

2. is she friends with the other girls?

she's more likely to wander off and do her own thing - I think because she doesn't realize that she/they have gone somewhere else (did I mention how dim she is?)

 

3. happy to be handled

absolutely no problems - she's easy to catch as she can't usually see you coming - I think she lives in a constant state of surprise

 

4. does she fly?

she's the best flyer of the bunch - she can easily clear a 4ft fence - she's much more aerodynamic that the other girls who seem like bowling balls with wings compared to her sleek more upright stance

 

And here is Lola who has clearly decided that she wants to be a flamingo - I think she'd be lovely in pink

 

photo by jewilk71, on Flickr

[Chortle Chook]

Lola is absolutely stunning bouldercroft! Thanks for that picture. On the basis of that, OH has just said I can get me another Poland providing she looks like Lola Is she called a 'silver laced' Poland? That would take me to the magic 10 chooks

 

Like your Lola, our Dorothy (now known as 'Dotty' for obvious reasons) seems to be on her own quite a lot, doing her own thing but so far not digging which surprised me as she has such long clean legs (well compared to my Silkies' feathered feet and my Frizzles' frankly short legs). As my OH says, she is more 'bird' and less 'chicken'

 

Glad I can keep the grub/glug. She does seem to be managing with it.

 

She is also still getting on fine with my silkies and frizzles but won't let my little cockerel have his wicked way with her. If he comes up to her all swagger like, she flies up onto the top of the hen house and he looks on in dismay.

[bouldercroft]

Lola is absolutely stunning bouldercroft! Thanks for that picture. On the basis of that, OH has just said I can get me another Poland providing she looks like Lola Is she called a 'silver laced' Poland? That would take me to the magic 10 chooks

 

Thank you - she is quite a sweetie. She is a silver-laced Poland and everyone's favorite.

She's all puffed up on this picture as she's trying to pretend to be a flamingo but normally she looks more upright - like your OH says 'more bird, less chicken'

 

here's another photo taken earlier in the year when she was cleaner and more feathered (they are all moulting at the moment)

 

photo by jewilk71, on Flickr

[Redwing]

Lovely Poland

 

I quite like Polands, I have a few amongst my lot and they are endless entertainment

 

the hairdo gets on my nerves though, they are always getting soaked and open water vessels like Glugs or bowls are worst for this

 

I like the budgie type drinkers but you can use rabbit water bottles or coop cups. Changing the drinker may be too impratical for a mixed flock so maybe just keeping an eye on things is the only solution

[The Dogmother]

My poland once ended up with massive icicles on her hairdo - I had to bring her in and thaw them out

[pips_pekins]

Lola is absolutely stunning bouldercroft! Thanks for that picture.

I agree, gorgeous. I would love a Poland but was worried about having one in a mixed flock so have been very interested in what everyone else has said. Cheaky Chook, I can't seem to see your photo of Dorothy but am quite she sounds so sweet. Did you introduce just the one chicken to your others? Did you find it much more difficult than introducing 2 or 3 together?

[pips_pekins]

Can see photo now. She is lovely.

My poland once ended up with massive icicles on her hairdo - I had to bring her in and thaw them out

Poor thing.

[Chortle Chook]

Lola is absolutely stunning bouldercroft! Thanks for that picture.

I agree, gorgeous. I would love a Poland but was worried about having one in a mixed flock so have been very interested in what everyone else has said. Did you introduce just the one chicken to your others? Did you find it much more difficult than introducing 2 or 3 together?

OH is now utterly convinced that we need a silver laced Poland and even has a name all ready - 'Domino'. He's never taken this much interest in my chickens before but has been rather disapproving - must be something to do with her being more 'bird than hen'

 

Pips Pekins - I admit that I did introdcue Dorothy / Dotty to my others on her own - which I guess was a risk. I was a little concerned but my wee cockerel has a good track record for making sure that if he likes a hen then the rest of his harem have to as well. So I introduced her to him first and then to his current favourite girly who, oddly, is not top chook but my most gentle hen - a Silkie. I did keep a close eye on procedings but I can't say it took more than about an hour. It was near bed time so that probably helped. Rather sweetly, when it came to going to bed, my cockerel perched between her and the other chickens as if to make sure she would be alright. I kept nervously popping out for a listen but all was quiet. Now just three days in and Dotty is certainly not bottom chick.