Polands are a very old breed being written about at the end of the C16th and painted by Dutch artists in the C17th.   On the Continent they are also called Crested Dutch.   In spite of the name 'Poland' their origin is not known for certain as crested fowl are known to have been found throughout Central Europe, not just in Poland.   The name may have come from the pronounced poll, a dome of bone on the skull, that supports the crest.   They appeared in the first poultry show in London in 1845 and the first Book of Poultry Standards in 1865, which lists gold and silver spangled, white crested black, golden & silver varieties, some with muffling and others without.

They are showman's birds, but lay well and are popular because of their srtikingly different appearance.   Obtaining perfection, especially with the crest, takes a lot of time, careful selection and breeding, so 'good' birds do command higher prices.  

Birds are quite slender, upright, friendly & easy going.   They are not difficult to catch because the crest allows them only to see forwards and downwards.   The hens in particular can be easily spooked, but they become very tame if you talk to them, letting them know you are there.   You are not going cuckoo, just tuning in to your stock.   Backs are long and taper to the tail, full, neat & spread in the hen; plentiful & curved in the cock.   The crest is large, full & circular on the hen whereas the cock it is looser & longer (like a bad hair day).   The face is muffled except in the white crested varieties where the wattles are larger & longer.   Legs are generally blue-grey.   They may lay up to 200 white eggs though they tend to be slightly smaller than usual.   They are not noted for going broody.

We have two varieties:

White Crested Black:   The body is a lovely metallic black, the crest white with a black band at the base of the front.   Getting a good, clean crest is difficult and we have two standards, our more expensive birds coming from exhibition stock.   Legs and feet are blue or horn, with white soles.

Chamois:   These also come from exhibition stock.   The feathers have a buff ground colour with white lacing hakles and primaries, which have white tips.   The crest is buff with white lacing except that in the cockerel it is darker and the white less pronounced.   The legs & feet are blueas are the soles.

Bantam forms do exist though we do not have them.