Standard
Varieties of Chickens:
White-Crested Black Polish
One of the oldest varieties of poultry is the
Polish (fig. 27), their ancestors being traced as
far back as the sixteenth century. Among the
varieties of fowls mentioned in those early days was
the "Wooly" fowl, similar to the Silky fowl of
today; mention in history is also made of the
"Frizzled" fowl, the "Persian" fowl, the "Turkish"
fowl, and the "Crested" fowl. The latter is
described as being a fowl with a lark's
crest. Another variety is known as the "Patavinian"
fowl, which is believed to be the progenitor of the
Polish variety. The cock is described as being
exceedingly beautiful, being richly decorated with
five colors, black, white, green, red, and ocher;
the body black, the neck covered with white
feathers, and the wings and back partly black and
partly green; the tail of the same hue, but the
roots of the feathers whitish, and some of the
flight feathers also white. The eyes are surrounded
with red circles, the comb is very small, the bill
and feet yellow, and the head is adorned with a
beautiful crest. In the hen there is no white except
the white pellicle at the opening of the ears. She
is altogether of a greenish-black color, with yellow
feet and a very small comb, slightly tinged with
red.
The general characteristics of the Polish are those
of a medium-sized fowl, slightly larger than the
Hamburgs; with a full, round breast, carried well
forward; with the neck of the cock carried back and
beautifully arched; with a perfectly straight back,
broad at the shoulders and narrowing rapidly to the
tail; with large and closely folded wings; with an
abundance of tail coverts and sickle feathers; with
shanks of a bluish color, in all varieties but the
While-crested Black, in which they are of dark slate
or nearly black; and above all with a large crest
and leaf comb. The crest of the cock is composed of
narrow feathers, something like those which form the
hackle of the neck and saddle. They should rise well
in front so as not to obstruct the sight and fall
over to the back and sides in a flowing, even
mass. If they fall forward, as is sometimes the
case, they both obstruct the sight and are liable to
get wet when the bird drinks. Such a crest, also, is
hollow in the center and loses much of its
beauty. The crest of the hen is formed of feathers
growing upward and turning in at the extremities,
and should be large and globular in form and compact
in character, with no sight of parting. The larger
the crest the better, provided it is of good shape,
but a close, compact, well-formed crest is to be
preferred to one that is larger but of loose texture
and falling in all directions. The comb is peculiar,
and belongs to the class of combs which forms a
fancied resemblance to a leaf, and are designated
leaf combs. It is better described, however, as two
fleshy horns diverging like the letter V, the upper
extremities retreating into the crest. The smaller
the comb the better, and if wholly wanting, except
when removed by design or accident, it is not
regarded as a disqualification.
Polish are bred extensively in this country and by
some are considered practical for general purposes,
but while some may have good results in breeding
them they are not to be fully recommended as a
general-purpose fowl. They are considered more as a
fancy fowl, and are generally bred for pleasure and
the showroom. Their large crests are against them,
hindering their vision and causing them to become
listless, inactive, and suspicious in their
natures. Extra care must be given them to be fairly
successful in raising them, and their houses and
coops must be kept absolutely dry - the least water
in their crests is likely to result fatally to
them.
They are fairly good layers of medium-sized eggs,
and are nonsitters. For table purposes they are
considered good, their flesh being fine-grained,
tender, and sweet.
Of the varieties of Polish the White-crested Black
Polish is the most popular. The color of their
plumage is a rich glossy black throughout, with the
exception of the crest, which is pure white. The
shanks and toes are black, or dark slate; comb and
wattles are bright red and earlobes are white.
The Golden and Silver varieties are beautifully
marked in plumage. In the Golden the feathers are
marked with rich, golden bay and spangled or laced
with black. The feathers of the Silver are silvery
white, instead of the golden bay, and spangled or
laced with black. The illustration (fig. 28) shows
the general markings of the feathers. The White
Polish is pure white throughout the plumage.
There are two distinct classes of Polish, the plain
and bearded. The latter class has a thick, full
beard, running back of the eye in a handsome curve,
and in color corresponding with the balance of the
plumage. The eight varieties of Polish are,
White-crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Bearded
Golden, Bearded Silver, Bearded White, and
Buff-laced.
No standard weight is given for Polish; they are of
medium size, about that of Leghorns.
FOR
FURTHER READING...
The first two images below come from the Oklahoma State
University Department of Animal Science's Poultry
Breeds pages. The remaining three are from the FeatherSite, "an on-line zoological garden of domestic poultry". The Polish
page at Oklahoma and the Polish page at FeatherSite contain further information about this breed's
history and more images of these fowl. Clicking on
each image takes you to the page specifically about
that particular variety.
Image Credits
(from left to right):
Copyright © 1996, Oklahoma State University
Board of Regents;
Copyright © 1996, Oklahoma State University
Board of Regents;
Courtesy of Bill and Sue Tivol;
Courtesy of Barry Koffler;
Copyright © Frank Quinn
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