I have two small (fully-grown) Polish. They are White Crested Black(Pricilla) and a Pure White(Dotty). Although we love their eggs, they are really small. Is there a breed that will be happy to live with them that lays larger eggs. Before our White Sussex (Blanch) was eaten by Mr Fox, she almost pecked Pricilla to death! Hayden Gardener-Haig, aged 5, from Brighton.

Terry Beebe says: I have to tell you that unfortunately the Poland chickens are always better kept separate from any other non-crested breeds. With my experience with Polands over the last 20 years, there are very few circumstances when Polands survive with other breeds. I have only actually seen one case where this worked; it was where the birds were free range and had a large amount of space in which to hide.

Any non-crested breeds seem to attracted to the birds’ crest and, with the Polands having limited vision, as well as being quite a calm and timid, they do tend to get bullied. Generally, the other birds peck the crest, removing all the feathers until they reach the skull. In many cases the victim will not survive these attacks and the constant pecking.

If you want another breed, I suggest you pen them separately to keep your Pricilla and Dotty safe.

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