The Sultan is a Turkish breed of

crested chicken Crested chickens are a group of ornamental chicken breeds characterised by a tuft or crest of upward-pointing feathers on the head. History and distribution A skull excavated in England suggests that crested chickens were present there in R ...

. The name derives from the original

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

name of ''Sarai-Tavuk'', which translates as "fowls of the palace". They have always been primarily ornamental, having been kept in the gardens of Ottoman sultanate. In the West they are bred for competitive showing as part of

poultry fancy Animal fancy is a hobby involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of pet or domestic animals. Fancy may include ownership, showing, animal sports and other competitions, and breeding. Hobbyists may simply collect specimens of the anima ...

, and are generally a rare sight. The breed was first exported from its native country in 1854, when a Ms. Elizabeth Watts of Hampstead,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

brought a small flock to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. It was seen in North America by 1867, and was recognized officially by acceptance into the

American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respo ...

's Standard of Perfection in 1874. Sultans have a great deal of decorative plumage, including large, puffy crests, beards, long tails, and profuse foot feathering. Their small, V-shaped combs are almost entirely hidden under feathering. Sultans are also one of a minority of breeds to have five toes on each foot. With males weighing approximately 2.7 kilos (6 pounds) and hens 2 kilos (4 pounds), they are the smallest of the large breeds of chickens. They also have a bantam version. Sultans appear in three varieties: black, blue, and white, with white being the most well known. Hens lay small white eggs at a slow rate, and do not generally go broody.

References

Chicken breeds Chicken breeds originating in Turkey Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist {{poultry-stub