The White Crested Black Polish chicken is a show-stopper with a sleek, glossy black body contrasted by a fluffy, snow-white crest that looks like a feathered crown. Their plumage shimmers with greenish iridescence in the sunlight, making them one of the most striking breeds in any flock. Think of them as the rock stars of the chicken yard—always strutting their stuff with a built-in feathered wig worthy of a stage spotlight.
You will receive (1) bird per quantity ordered.
A starter pullet gives families a jump start on chicken ownership, allows families to skip the need to invest in a heated brooder, and there is less wait time for eggs. Selecting a specific hatch date of a starter pullet is your commitment to pick her up within (6) days of order placement on your choice of Saturday between 8am-5pm or Monday between 5pm-6:30pm. Make sure you select the hatch date desired to ensure your starter pullet is the age you want. For further guidance on what age, they can begin to be acclimated to outside temperatures, read the section on Considerations of Starter Pullets prior to purchasing.
Egg Gifting:
These elegant ladies typically gift you with 2–4 medium white eggs per week. While not the most prolific layers, each egg feels like a special treasure from such a regal bird.
Personality:
Playful and curious, White Crested Black Polish are known for their quirky antics and love of exploring. Their large crests can make them a bit more vulnerable to surprise, but it also gives them a gentle, endearing personality. With their wild, fluffy crests, they look like they’re permanently ready for a punk rock concert—equal parts fashion statement and personality highlight.
History:
Originating in Europe, the Polish breed’s exact history is a bit of a mystery, but it is believed they were brought to the Netherlands in the 16th century and later refined for their signature crest. The White Crested Black variety became particularly popular in exhibitions during the Victorian era, valued both for beauty and companionship.
Sexing Methods and Accuracy:
Polish chicks can be challenging to sex using traditional feather or vent sexing methods due to their uniqueness. Gender identification gets easier as they mature by observing crest shape but accuracy at hatch is generally only about 75%. A female chick's crest is round and full and located at the front of her head, while a male's is oval and runs more toward the back of his head. Close observation of their crest shape reveals further clues to their sex as they age. Males tend to develop wild, spiky crests (true chicken mohawks) while females have more rounded, tidy crests. As adults, it is obvious with rooster appearing like 80's rock band hair do and hens maintaining a tight crest as if it was just released from curlers.
The industry standard is to sell “female chicks” or pullets; even though up to 25% end up being accidental boys. Since many communities have ordinances against keeping roosters, we decide to be different!
While hatcheries and feedstores stop at the industry standard, we go further because we care. If your “female coverage” chick grows into a rooster, we will give that boy a free home and provide a store credit for the original purchase price with healthy return of the rooster. This way, your family is not left with the hardship of a city ordinance issue. For families who want zero risk of rooster surprises a heartbreak, we also offer DNA sexing services. DNA is the only truly accurate method, but is a bigger investment, costing about 3x more than a female-covered chick. The choice is yours. We’re here to make sure your flock is the perfect fit for your family.
Starter Pullet: White Crested Black Polish
Most families are attracted to obtaining their chickens from us because we are proud to be completely different than typical feed store/ hatchery industry standards. Industry standard is to sex as accurately as possible and sell as pullets (female chicks) and force customers to accept a >10% chance of an accidental rooster without the ability to accept returns nor refunds. In addition, industry standard is to sell bantams (such as silkies) as straight runs since they are too small for safe vent sexing. We offer multiple sexing options.
Male
If you are lucky enough to have a rooster, our male sexing option is a great way to save money on a wonderful breed.
Unsexed
This option means that the chicks have not yet been sexed and are sold as a straight run. While nature usually averages half girls and half boys in high volumes, families should only order if prepared for >50% possible roosters.
Female Coverage
This is our most economical choice for families seeking a female. We kept city ordinances that restrict rooster ownership in mind. This option is great for families that want to enjoy a backyard flock of ladies. We use traditional sexing methods on the breeds that capable of being vent sexed, home accidental roosters, and issue store credit of original purchased price. To learn more about how we sex baby chicks based on their breed view: How to Sex Chickens.
Depending on the breed, sexing accuracy can range as low as 50% for bantam breeds, 90% for standard breeds, and as high as 95% for auto sexing breeds. Our female coverage option is not a service fee for sexing the chick, it is the cost difference between purchasing a male or a female chicken. We do not believe in grinding males alive nor suffocating them as day olds to enable a profit when selling a stated female chick at ridiculously low prices. Thus, our female pricing takes into consideration the male left behind with each female purchased. Male chicks are typically half the price of a female.
To qualify for rehoming, the rooster must remain in perfect health. If the family decides to return the rooster, a store credit in the amount of original purchase price is provided. As a family, you are welcome to decide to keep any accidental rooster and forfeit the credit.
DNA Sexed Female Chicks
For families that get emotionally bonded quickly and do not want to risk a future discovery of a rooster, we offer DNA sexing. DNA sexing is the only true accurate method of sexing baby chicks. DNA testing is a significantly higher financial investment. In most cases, it is 3x the cost as (1) female sex covered chick.
Balance accuracy with financial investment
The sexing decision is one that needs to be made at time of purchased and the original order cannot be altered once the order is fulfilled. It is important as a family to determine the right balance between sexing accuracy and financial investment for your family’s situation.
We provide as much information on our website as possible to ensure families make an informed decision based on their situation and lifestyle. Some breeds are more accurate in sexing and most families find our female coverage adequate in providing a free home for their accidental rooster (up to $100 savings) and use the store credit towards a replacement or our organic feed. While harder to sex bantam breeds, or families that know they will develop a with strong emotional attachment prefer to invest in DNA sexing.