Sultan chicken
The Sultan is a rare, ornamental white Turkish breed: crested, bearded, muffed, five-toed, and feathered to the toes.
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The Sultan is a pure-bred chicken breed in the PCGB Rare Soft Feather Light class. Its origin is given as Turkey (Constantinople); UK imports 1854. It appears on the RBST Watchlist as a priority breed, so keepers of pure stock help conserve it.
It is kept in large and bantam forms. Recognised colours: White.
It lays white eggs.
Compiled from poultryclub.org, rbst.org.uk, en.wikipedia.org. See sources
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Identity
- Species
- Chicken
- Type
- Pure breed
- PCGB class
- Rare Soft Feather Light
- Origin
- Turkey (Constantinople); UK imports 1854
History
Its Turkish name, Sarai-Tavuk, means 'fowls of the sultan'; legend says such birds lived in an Ottoman palace garden. Elizabeth Watts of Hampstead, editor of The Poultry Chronicle, received birds from Constantinople in 1854, and all Western Sultans descend from them. Tegetmeier's 1867 Poultry Book described it. The APA admitted it in 1874, and the bantam in 1960.
Appearance
White is the only colour recognised by PCGB, the APA and the Entente. Crest, beard and muffs; a V-comb usually seen only in cocks; vulture hocks; pale blue or white legs.
Recognised colours
White
Size and weight
- Forms
- Large, Bantam
Eggs
- Egg colour
- White
Temperament
Not recorded yet.
Hardiness
Not recorded yet.
Broodiness
Not recorded yet.
Flying
Not recorded yet.
Suitability
- Good to know
- Endangered. Wikipedia gives a 2026 world estimate of 86 birds, and it is an RBST 'priority' breed.
Conservation status (RBST)
A priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watchlist.
Breed club
- The Rare Poultry Society, umbrella · Website
Sources
This page is compiled from:
Review
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