Wondering what color eggs do Polish chickens lay and whether or not they are good layers and backyard chickens?
Polish chickens are certainly one of the more unique-looking chickens with their impressive crests of feathers on their heads.
They’re good layers, too, producing around 3-4 eggs per week under ideal conditions.
The color of Polish chickens’ eggs is white, which is a refreshing change from light brown!
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What Do Polish Hens Eggs Look Like?
Looking at most eggs side by side, the size and color of an egg is the best way you can tell - or at least narrow down - which breed of chicken laid it.
Egg size can vary slightly from hen to hen, but Polish hens are classified as laying small eggs.
According to the official USDA egg consumer grading, small eggs have a minimum mass of 42.5g or 1.5 oz.
If you’re used to picking up large eggs from the grocery store, you’re going to notice the difference right away.
Large eggs are a minimum of 56.8g or 2 oz in mass.
Then there is the most obvious difference between Polish eggs and most of the eggs you see in the store - they’re white!
It comes as a surprise to most, but white eggs are exactly the same as brown eggs. In fact, all eggs start out being created white, color pigment is added depending on the breed of chicken.
Still, some people think white eggs taste better or are healthier. Probably due to the fact that they’re rarer.
Related - Why brown and white eggs are the same (apart from the color of the shell!)
Are Polish Chickens Good Egg Layers?
Polish chickens are not prolific layers, but they’re not bad layers, either.
Obviously, estimates can vary a lot when researching how many eggs a breed of chicken lays, but most people seem to agree on the figure of ~150-200 eggs per year.
That’s a lot of eggs. Assuming you have a flock of at least three Polish hens, that’s a potential 600 eggs in a year.
If you’re looking for a breed of chicken that makes an excellent backyard pet as well as being a prolific layer, I recommend checking out Sussex or Rhode Island Reds.
How Often Do Polish Chickens Lay Eggs?
With all of their environmental needs met, Polish hens will lay around 3-4 eggs per week.
When you take into account that it takes 24-26 hours for a chicken to create an egg from start to finish, that’s not bad at all!
If you’re raising Polish hens from chicks, you can expect to see that first ‘pullet egg’ at around 5 months of age.
It takes a few weeks for a hen’s reproductive system to get up to speed, for want of a better term, so you can expect to start finding regular eggs.
Something to be aware of is that chickens taper off laying eggs pretty quickly year on year, too.
As a general rule of thumb, most chickens lay around 10% fewer eggs per year for the next few years before tapering off sharper as they enter their twilight years.
Can You Find Polish Hen Eggs in Grocery Stores?
Most eggs you see at the grocery store or supermarket are medium brown eggs and look the same.
This is no coincidence. For the most part, the eggs in grocery stores are laid by hens that are able to produce eggs for the lowest cost.
With Polish hens laying small eggs and producing a lot fewer than some other breeds of chicken, you’re not likely to see them on the shelves of your local store.
If you want to buy Polish hen eggs, your best bet is going to be at local farmers’ markets. Smaller farms tend to have a wider range of chickens roaming around, so you never know.
Where to Buy Polish Chickens?
If you’re looking for Polish hatching eggs or Polish chickens, I recommend checking out Cackle Hatchery.
Cackle Hatchery is a 3rd generation family-owned hatchery offering more than 202 varieties of poultry shipped directly from their facility in Missouri.
Ordering hatching eggs and chicks online is by far the easiest way to get the exact type and breed of chicks you want - I certainly do all my chick shopping online.
At the time of writing this, I could see that Cackle Hatchery had Silver Laced, Blue, White, Buff Laced, and various other varieties of Polish chickens in stock.
Prices start as low as $3.85 depending on the variety and the number of eggs you purchase, so there’s really no excuse if you’ve been wanting to raise some Polish chickens for a while!
Click here to see the varieties of Polish chickens available on Cackle Hatchery!
In Summary
Polish chickens lay around 150-200 small white eggs per year.
If you’re looking for a white egg-laying breed that’s oozing with character and has a unique look, then look no further than the Polish.
Polish chickens are often kept as ornamental or show birds due to their impressive crest feathers, but they also make excellent backyard pets.
