The Polish or Poland is a European
breed
A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
of
crested chicken
Crested chickens are a group of ornamental List of chicken breeds, chicken breeds characterised by a tuft or crest of upward-pointing feathers on the head.
History and distribution
A skull excavated in England suggests that crested chickens ...
. Its origins are unknown; similar birds are shown in seventeenth-century images from Italy and the Netherlands.
The birds have a small v-shaped
comb
A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...
and an abundant crest of feathers on the crown of the head. They are kept for
show or for ornament. There are bearded, non-bearded and
frizzle varieties.
Etymology

The origins of the breed's name in the English language are uncertain. The breed could have been named after the country of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
.
Its name could have also come from the
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...
word ''pol'' 'head' (compare origin of ''
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
''), in reference to the Polish's dome-shaped skull.
In some European countries the breed is known as "Dutch crest fowl" in the respective languages. In Poland it's known as Polish crest fowl (Czubatka Polska) The old type of the breed, less numerous, was still cultivated in Poland, where it's now known as Old-Polish crest fowl (Czubatka staropolska)
History
Though the derivation of the Polish breed is unclear, one theory suggests that their ancestors were brought by Asian Mongols to
Central and
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
during medieval times, and thus, could have originated in Poland. Crested chickens are seen in paintings from the 15th century,
[ and in Dutch and Italian paintings from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Though usually only a fair layer at best today, in France they were formerly kept for their eggs.] Three colour varieties were included in the first edition of the '' Standard of Perfection'' in 1874; additional varieties were added in 1883, 1938 and 1963.
Characteristics
The Polish has a small v-shaped comb, which may be hidden by the crest. The earlobes and wattles are small and may also be completely hidden. Some varieties possess "beards" and thus may also hide the appearance of the wattles. The earlobes are white, the comb and wattles bright red.[
]
References
{{reflist, 45em, refs=
[APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012]
American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
[Carol Ekarius (2007)]
''Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds''
North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. {{isbn, 9781580176675, {{nobreak, pages 145–146.
Chicken breeds originating in the Netherlands
Chicken breeds