Tolbunt Polish

Description

Tolbunt is a rare and beautiful color pattern that combines approximately 50% reddish-brown background color, 25% black lacing, and 25% white mottling. It is essentially a gold lace pattern with white mottling. The tolbunt Polish chicken takes many generations of breeding and presents a challenge to both create and maintain.

The word tolbunt derives from the German word tollbunt. “Toll” has various meanings in German. It can mean fantastic, breathtaking, or extravagant. And “Bunt” means multi-colored or colorful.

The plumage pattern of the tolbunt Polish chicken originated in former East Germany. A small population first arrived in the United States in the late 1900s. A few more have arrived since then.

Our Cackle Hatchery® Tolbunt Polish bloodline has mostly smooth feathers with a few frizzles. These birds have soft feathers, large crests, and a small V-shape comb. Some are bearded and some are non-bearded. For our Chick Season in 2024 and beyond we will be focused on 100% bearded and smooth feathers. As with any breeding project, it is a work in progress.

These docile chickens adapt well to confinement and small backyards. They are generally calm and friendly, therefore make wonderful pets. However, the large crest can impair vision, making the birds somewhat flighty, as well as vulnerable to predation. For birds not intended for exhibition, trimming back the front of the crest can be helpful.

Polish chickens, in general, are susceptible to Marek’s disease. We, therefore, recommend asking the hatchery to vaccinate your chicks before shipping them. You can find information about this deadly disease on our Cackle Hatchery blog.

Cackle Hatchery has only a limited supply of Polish chickens with rare and exotic tolbunt plumage patterns. We, therefore, offer no choice of smooth feathers or frizzling, beard or no beard. They will produce 10-20% frizzles.