Polish (chicken)

Polish

A Polish Silver Lace Chicken
Other names Poland
Country of origin Netherlands[1]
Classification
APA
Poultry (Galloanserae)

The Polish (Also called the Poland) is a European breed of chicken known for its crest of feathers. The English language name of these birds is a misnomer, as they do not originate in the country of Poland. Instead, the oldest accounts of crested chickens comes from the Netherlands.[1] In addition to combs, their heads are adorned with large crests due to a cone (called a protuberance) on the top of their skull. The crests cover almost their entire heads. They are normally tame chickens, but can act out because the crests on their heads limits their vision. This limited vision can impact their temperament. [2]

Polish chickens are bred primarily as a show bird, but were originally egg layers. Accordingly, Polish do not go broody and are noted for their white eggs. They may be bearded or non-bearded. Hens weigh around 4.5 pounds, and roosters 6 pounds.

Contents

History

Polish or Poland were brought from Asia in to which is now southern Russia and Ukraine in 12th and 13th century by Mongols and other invading tribes under their rule. They were then brought in to Poland especially after Union of Lublin in 1569 when Magnates rose to power, created enormous wealth and residences in eastern Poland now Ukraine. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and wealthiest unions in Europe during those times often dealing with Tatars and trading goods brought by them from far east. Wealthy nobles traveled on vacations to Italy and send their sons to two best European universities at that time, in Bologna and Padua. Because of technical difficulties the travels took long and nobles traveled with all they needed and could even animals. In 1700 Magnates had their own small army made up of foreign mercenaries, upon return to their homeland after time served, mercenaries brought back with them what they amassed during their campaign. During that time market exchange was booming and was led by Dutch. Chickens were popular in villages and at manors of Polish nobles, also around 1600 they were distributed on mass scale further in to western Europe, Germany, Holland, England and Italy's Padua city, by Germans who lived and worked in Poland. Breed standardization was mainly done in Holland also England and Germany, the name change took place in 1869 Germany, Dresden at a convention of Poultry breeders to German, Paduaner after Italy's Padua city (Polish Padewski or Padwy). During that time Poland was torn by civil unrest, had been partitioned out by war and was gone from the map. Polish breeders persisted in having the name changed back, although there are still breeds that are called Padewski or Padwy in Poland. Thanks to Dutchman Arie Boland and his pursuit of saving Polish they are now found in many colors, which he helped to preserve and popularize.

Approximate weight (metric)

Bantam Variety Polish
Rooster 680g - 790 g
Hen 510g - 680 g

Bearded

[3]

Non-bearded

[3]

Feeding and Activity

January - September (Egg laying)

Granulate, shell grit, curd(Cottage cheese), Celery, grain sprouts

February - May (Brooding)

Grain, egg, curd, greens, fruits

August - December (quiet, calm down,jumpy)

Greens, fruits, vegetables, some granulate, seed mix, grit

References

  1. ^ a b Ekarius, Carol (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. pp. 145–146. ISBN 9781580176675. 
  2. ^ "Chicken Breeds", My Pet Chicken, accessed March 19, 2011.
  3. ^ a b American Poultry Association (1998). The American Standard of Perfection. Petaluma, CA: Global Interprint. 

External links