What color eggs do Polish lay?

**White** eggs, on the small-to-medium side. Polish are an ornamental Continental breed, so they lay a modest number of white eggs rather than the heavy output of a production layer — but the shell color is reliably white.

Are Polish good for showing?

Yes — Polish are a classic exhibition breed, shown in the APA's **Continental** class and judged largely on the size, balance, and symmetry of the **crest**. They come in bearded and non-bearded varieties (White Crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Buff Laced, and more), so there is a lot of scope to specialize.

How hard are Polish to hatch?

The eggs themselves incubate like any chicken egg — about **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch** — so there are no special incubation settings. The catch is that hens rarely go broody, so most keepers hatch Polish under an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. Handle crested chicks gently because of their delicate skulls.

Why do Polish chickens have that big crest?

The crest grows from a **bony knob (protuberance) on the top of the skull**. That domed base lets a huge ball of feathers erupt from the head — the same feature also makes the skull more fragile and can block the bird's vision.

What kind of comb does a Polish have?

A small **V-shaped (horn) comb**, which is usually hidden beneath the crest. A large or upright comb that displaces the crest is considered a fault.

Are Polish chickens broody?

Rarely. Polish hens are known for seldom going broody and generally won't sit reliably, so plan on an incubator or a foster broody if you want to raise chicks from them.

Polish: The Crested White-Egg Breed

Verified September 2026White eggs

The short version

The Polish is an ornamental Continental breed famous for its enormous crest — a ball of feathers grown from a bony knob (protuberance) on top of the skull. It lays white eggs, carries a small V-shaped (horn) comb that is usually hidden under the crest, and comes in bearded and non-bearded lines across colors like White Crested Black, White Crested Blue, Golden, Silver, White, and Buff Laced. Hens rarely go broody, and the crest is the whole game for both breeding and showing.

APA class: Continental

Egg color: White

Broodiness: Rarely broody

Varieties: 10

Egg-color genetics

Polish lay a clean white shell — there is no brown coating and no blue oocyan pigment involved, so the egg is white through the full thickness of the shell. Because Polish are a light Continental breed selected for ornament rather than production, the eggs run small-to-medium; the color, not the size, is the reliable trait.

Why the crest is so big: the skull knob

The Polish crest is not just long feathers — it is grown from a bony protuberance on the top of the skull, sometimes called a knob, vault, or dome. That raised base gives the feathers a wide platform to erupt from, which is why the crest forms a rounded ball rather than a flat topknot. The trait is heritable and central to the breed, so breeders select for a broad, well-domed skull.

The same feature is why Polish need gentler handling: the crested skull can be thinner or partially open compared with a plain-headed breed, so pressure on the head is riskier. It also means the crest can obstruct vision, which shapes how the birds behave — they startle easily and are best kept where hawks and rough flockmates are managed.

Bearded vs non-bearded, and the V-shaped comb

Polish come in two lines. Bearded birds add a beard and muffs — extra feathering below the beak and over the cheeks — while non-bearded birds (including the White Crested varieties) have clean faces and tend to show larger, more spherical crests. Both lines share the breed's small V-shaped (horn) comb, which is usually tucked out of sight beneath the crest; you often have to part the feathers to see it.

Colors span White Crested Black, White Crested Blue, Golden, Silver, White, and Buff Laced (Chamois), among others, and most appear in both bearded and non-bearded form depending on the variety.

Crest care and vision

A wet or frozen crest is a real winter hazard: the feather ball holds water, so Polish do best in dry, sheltered housing and should be kept out of prolonged cold rain. Trimming feathers away from the eyes (without spoiling show plumage) helps a bird see, feed, and avoid predators, and cuts down on the flightiness that comes from a bird that can't see what's approaching.

Breeding notes

The signature crest is grown from a bony protuberance (a knob or vault) on top of the skull; the larger and rounder that dome, the bigger the crest it can support. Breeders select for a broad, well-domed skull base to get the full globular crest the breed is known for.
Keep bearded and non-bearded lines separate. Bearded Polish add a beard and muffs (extra facial feathering) under the beak and cheeks, while non-bearded / White Crested varieties have clean faces and larger, more spherical crests — crossing the two blurs both traits, so single-line pens breed truer, more showable birds.
Cull to a small, low V-shaped (horn) comb tucked under the crest. A large or upright comb, or one that pushes the crest off-center, is a fault to breed away from rather than to reproduce standard text.
Select against crests that fall over the eyes so severely that birds cannot see to feed or breed — vision-blocked birds are skittish and mate poorly, which hurts fertility in the pen.
Skull-vault genetics are linked to the crest; incubators and breeders should expect delicate skulls in crested stock and handle chicks and adults gently around the head.

Showing notes

The crest is judged as the centerpiece: aim for a large, balanced, evenly globular crest on females and a fuller, spikier crest on males, carried up off the eyes rather than falling forward.
Condition and groom the crest before a show — wash it, keep it free of mud, feed, and mites, and train it upward so it frames the head symmetrically. A dirty, matted, or lopsided crest reads as poor condition to a judge.
White and White Crested varieties must be kept clean and free of brassiness; the white cap on a White Crested Black should be bright, with the black crest base sharply defined.
Enter by full variety name and beard status (e.g. 'Bearded Golden Polish' or 'Non-Bearded White Crested Black Polish'); Polish are shown in the APA's Continental class.

Hatching & incubation

No special incubation temperature or humidity — treat Polish eggs like any chicken egg: about 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
Crested chicks can have a fragile, sometimes domed skull tied to the crest gene, so handle hatchlings gently and avoid pressure on the top of the head.
Because hens rarely go broody, plan on an incubator or a broody hen of another breed if you want to hatch Polish eggs.

Recognized varieties

Non-Bearded White Crested BlackNon-Bearded White Crested BlueNon-Bearded GoldenNon-Bearded SilverNon-Bearded WhiteNon-Bearded Buff LacedBearded GoldenBearded SilverBearded WhiteBearded Buff Laced

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Polish lay?: White eggs, on the small-to-medium side. Polish are an ornamental Continental breed, so they lay a modest number of white eggs rather than the heavy output of a production layer — but the shell color is reliably white.
Are Polish good for showing?: Yes — Polish are a classic exhibition breed, shown in the APA's Continental class and judged largely on the size, balance, and symmetry of the crest. They come in bearded and non-bearded varieties (White Crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Buff Laced, and more), so there is a lot of scope to specialize.
How hard are Polish to hatch?: The eggs themselves incubate like any chicken egg — about 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch — so there are no special incubation settings. The catch is that hens rarely go broody, so most keepers hatch Polish under an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. Handle crested chicks gently because of their delicate skulls.
Why do Polish chickens have that big crest?: The crest grows from a bony knob (protuberance) on the top of the skull. That domed base lets a huge ball of feathers erupt from the head — the same feature also makes the skull more fragile and can block the bird's vision.
What kind of comb does a Polish have?: A small V-shaped (horn) comb, which is usually hidden beneath the crest. A large or upright comb that displaces the crest is considered a fault.
Are Polish chickens broody?: Rarely. Polish hens are known for seldom going broody and generally won't sit reliably, so plan on an incubator or a foster broody if you want to raise chicks from them.

Sources

Polish Breeders Club (breed promotion, standards & varieties) — Polish Breeders Club (Polish, Houdan, Sultan & Crevecoeur crested fowl) (Breed club)
Polish Chicken (breed history, crest/skull, varieties & status) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Poland (breed standard overview & varieties) — The Poultry Club of Great Britain (Official / government)

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