// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Sultan chicken say? "Fowl" ruler.
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| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Country of origin | Turkey |
| Distribution |
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| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Egg colour | white |
| Comb type | v-shaped |
| Colour | white |
| Classification | |
| APA | all other standard breeds[5]: 18 |
| EE | yes[6] |
| PCGB | rare soft feather: light[7] |
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The Sultan is a Turkish breed of crested chicken. It has several other unusual features: it is bearded, muffed and five-toed, and has a v-shaped comb, heavily-feathered legs and feet, and vulture hocks.[8]: 173 The name derives from the original Turkish name of Sarai-Tavuk, 'fowls of the sultan'.[9]: 159 Birds of this type were supposedly kept in the gardens of the palace of one of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire.[8]: 173 It is rarely seen[8]: 173 and is an endangered breed – in 2026 the world population was estimated at 86 birds.[10]
History
[edit]The Sultan is believed to have originated in the part of the former Ottoman Empire now known as Turkey; according to legend, birds of this type were kept for ornament in the gardens of the palace of one of the sultans of the Empire.[8]: 173
A small number of the birds were sent from Constantinople in 1854 to the editor of The Poultry Chronicle, Elizabeth Watts of Hampstead in north London;[4] all Sultans in the West descend from this stock.[11]: 303 A full description, with an illustration by Harrison Weir, was included in The Poultry Book by William Bernhard Tegetmeier, published in 1867.[12]: 188 The Sultan reached North America at about this time, and was included in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874;[9]: 159 the bantam was added in 1960.[5]
In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed. It is reported to DAD-IS by six countries – Australia, Ireland, Serbia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States – of which two report population data.[10] In 2024 the number of the birds in Turkey was estimated at 20 to 30,[2] and in 2026 the world population was estimated at 86 birds.[10] Its conservation status was listed as "not at risk" by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2007;[1]: 153 in 2026 it was listed as "priority" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the United Kingdom, as "threatened" by the Livestock Conservancy of the United States, and as "at risk/endangered" in DAD-IS.[3][4][2]
Characteristics
[edit]The Sultan displays a wide range of unusual features: it is crested, muffed and bearded; it has v-shaped comb, usually visible only in cock birds and hidden by the crest feathers in hens; it has heavy feathering on the shanks and toes, and vulture hocks on the thighs; and it is five-toed.[11]: 303 [8]: 173
Only one colour – the white – is recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, the American Poultry Association and the Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture;[7][5]: 18 [6] the Entente Européenne also lists (but does not recognise) a black variant.[6] The beak, shanks and toes are pale blue or white, and the comb, face, wattles and earlobes are bright red; in hens the comb is often hidden by the crest.[13]: 285 The eyes are red.[13]: 285
Weights are variously reported: for large fowl, the Poultry Club of Great Britain gives 2.0 kg for hens and a maximum of 2.7 kg for cocks;[11]: 305 the Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter gives 1.0 to 1.5 kg for hens and 1.5 to 2.0 kg for cocks.[14] According to the Poultry Club of Great Britain, bantam cocks weigh 680–790 g and bantam hens 510–680 g.[11]: 305
Use
[edit]The Sultan is reared only for ornament or for showing – it is not suited to the production of either meat or eggs. Hens do not lay many eggs and have little maternal instinct or tendency to broodiness;[3] they may lay approximately 70 white eggs per year, with a median weight of 53 g.[14]: 85
References
[edit]
- 1 2 Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- 1 2 3 Breed data sheet: Sultan / Türkiye (Chicken). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Sultan. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 17 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Dominique Chicken. Pittsboro, North Carolina: The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 26 January 2021.
- 1 2 3 APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
- 1 2 3 Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
- 1 2 Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Chris Graham (2006). Choosing and Keeping Chickens. London: Octopus Publishing. ISBN 9780793806010.
- 1 2 Carol Ekarius (2007). Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. ISBN 9781580176675.
- 1 2 3 Transboundary breed: Plymouth Rock Barred. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 J. Ian H. Allonby, Philippe B. Wilson (editors) (2018). British Poultry Standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain, seventh edition. Chichester; Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9781119509141.
- ↑ William Bernhard Tegetmeier, Harrison Weir (illustrator) (1867). The Poultry Book: comprising the breeding and management of profitable and ornamental poultry, their qualities and characteristics; to which is added "The Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Birds," authorized by the Poultry Club. London; New York: George Routledge and Sons, the Broadway, Ludgate.
- 1 2 Victoria Roberts (2008). British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 9781405156424.
- 1 2 Rassetafeln: Hühner (in German). Reichenbach, Haselbachtal: Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter. Archived 1 December 2024.