Sulmtalers Thread

[Chickielady]

Lovely photos and lovely birds! The roos are to DIE for!

I wanted to ask you if your Sulmtalers are in their own pen or have you ever had the hens mixed in a flock with other breeds, and if so, what breeds do they mix with?

How much does a hen weigh? These look like heavy birds.

You say they are easy-going and smart -- it's been my finding that usually crested, bearded, muffed, tufted, vulture-hocked, feather-legged, or pea/walnut combed breeds seem gentler/nicer than normally feathered straight-comb breeds. Would you say Sulmtaler hens fit that non-combative gentle temperament toward other breeds or are they more assertive toward other breeds? I talked with someone who didn't like the aggressiveness of their Sulmtalers so I would appreciate hearing from several owners in order to get a full spectrum of owner input.

Have you kept record of their egg production?

Well let me try & answer as much as I can....starting with their age seen here, is almost 6 mo old. They are just at POL, with sometimes an egg a day, sometimes not.
Thei temperment seems very nice, the males are not aggressive toward humans, and they are very attentive to their hens and keep a vigilent watch on their surroundings, and not allow the hens to part off & stray too far.
They also do not seem to "over mate", whereas they seem to mount once a day, if that, which allows for fertile eggs without beating up the hens.
The males also get along very nicely, both seem to be Alpha's, while the Silver seems to be watchman, the Gold cockerel tends to the hens more so.
I have not seen much of this in other breeds.
My experience with most pea combed breeds, seems to be more flighty, mainly Ameraucanas, which have been more flighty (self preservation in these birds is strong) and Leghorns can be flighty, they don't care for being "penned up" as some other standard combed birds do not mind at all.
These birds are in their own coop now, but were housed with same aged English Orpingtons, of which several were also males, and everyone got along well.

I have heard from others, that their Sulmtalers were horrible flighty...flying up in his face upon entering the coop, etc so much so he was selling them all off.
This has not been the case with this line I have, maybe that is the reason his birds were so flighty, a different blood line ?
IDK...
So far, mine are fine, but they do have a back door in their coop, and if I enter , they simply go out the back rather than flip out.
I can walk past them within 1 foot, they do not flip out.
I can call them for a treat, I can walk through the group of them..they simply part and let me through, no running, no screaming or flipping out.
They have an adorable way they 'talk' to each other in little purring voices that I have not seen/heard in other breeds.
So far, I really really like them.

Their eggs are something to get used to, after having so many lt brown & dark brown layers.
Their eggs are longer than round, so are more of a torpedo shape, rounder at the air cell, of course.
The egg is thick shelled, white with a pink cast. Held next to the leghorn egg, the Sulmtaler egg appears even more pinkish, while the leghorn egg is chalk white.
Looks good in my mixed egg basket.
Weight..they are a tad smaller than a Marans, but as I said, these here are still just 6 mo old and will probably take a while to fully fill out.
They almost appear "dumpy" in that their legs seem a tad short for the body size, as in a Scots Dumpy.
I really like them.
They "talk" happily constantly...chicken gibberish and purring...the cockerels so happy to find a hunk of squash or bug to offer the pullets...Great birds !
Are you thinking of getting some or do you have any now ?

 

[Chickielady]

Also interesting, and so far I have not figured it out:

Both colorations can come out of either coloration, with (so far) the pullets can be a lighter color which greatly reminds me of Porcelain, and the wheaten (show in my last pics) and the Cockerels apparently can carry both color genes, so a Silver can produce gold or silver, and a gold can produce both also....but not mix.
I am at the point (in my life) where I do not want to know why....LOL

It just happens.I bought silvers, and I got both. I bought Golds, and got both.

I had only 1 "porcelain" colored pullet last spring (out of 2 doz eggs set) and sold her to a friend...

I will see if I can find a photo...

 

[Chickielady]

That's her in the center, awesome color compare to the wheaten on the upper left..


There is a wheaten and the "porcelain" in upper right corner...I assume the "Porcelain" is a Silver Wheaten..


There she is in the center, and also note the WHITE Sulmtaler cockerel to the lower left......I had no idea pure white could come out of this breeding !
These birds grew up in the brooder with all these Bielefelders, in case you were wondering what all the barred birds are.
Interesting colors, huh ?

 

[Sylvester017]

Well let me try & answer as much as I can....starting with their age seen here, is almost 6 mo old. They are just at POL, with sometimes an egg a day, sometimes not.
Thei temperment seems very nice, the males are not aggressive toward humans, and they are very attentive to their hens and keep a vigilent watch on their surroundings, and not allow the hens to part off & stray too far.
They also do not seem to "over mate", whereas they seem to mount once a day, if that, which allows for fertile eggs without beating up the hens.
I like this feature about the males since some breeds can be brutal.

My experience with most pea combed breeds, seems to be more flighty, mainly Ameraucanas, which have been more flighty (self preservation in these birds is strong) and Leghorns can be flighty, they don't care for being "penned up" as some other standard combed birds do not mind at all.
I grew up around Leghorns so I'm fairly familiar with them. I currently have a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana that is gentle and non-combative and she would rather flee than fight another bird. She runs so fast from other birds that none can catch her on those long legs of hers yet she allows me to go up to her and pet her or pick her up. She's a poor layer but I keep her around because she doesn't fight with other birds.

These birds are in their own coop now, but were housed with same aged English Orpingtons, of which several were also males, and everyone got along well.
It seems that different breeds that are the same size get along better than mixing smaller gentler breeds with larger dual purpose birds.

I have heard from others, that their Sulmtalers were horrible flighty...flying up in his face upon entering the coop, etc so much so he was selling them all off.
This has not been the case with this line I have, maybe that is the reason his birds were so flighty, a different blood line ?
IDK...
So far, mine are fine, but they do have a back door in their coop, and if I enter , they simply go out the back rather than flip out.
I can walk past them within 1 foot, they do not flip out.
I can call them for a treat, I can walk through the group of them..they simply part and let me through, no running, no screaming or flipping out.
I personally don't buy the bloodline theory about breeds - after reading countless reviews from owners of different breeds I discovered a breed is just what it is and certain characteristics are inherent in a breed no matter what bloodline it comes from - JMHO. My personal feeling is that I like to get juveniles around 3 to 4 months old before POL so I can socialize them in-house during their quarantine. Birds that I acquired after POL have never been as tame or sweet as the younger juveniles I've been able to socialize before introducing them to the main backyard flock.

They have an adorable way they 'talk' to each other in little purring voices that I have not seen/heard in other breeds.
I understand about the unusual voice talk with chickens. I always thought they all sounded the same but I know exactly which chicken is talking without having to look at them. Our petite Breda surprised me the first time I heard her low voice - it sounds lower than any other bird in the flock and she loves to talk.

Their eggs are something to get used to, after having so many lt brown & dark brown layers.
Their eggs are longer than round, so are more of a torpedo shape, rounder at the air cell, of course.
The egg is thick shelled, white with a pink cast. Held next to the leghorn egg, the Sulmtaler egg appears even more pinkish, while the leghorn egg is chalk white.
Looks good in my mixed egg basket.
Leghorn eggs are very white. Any other egg looks dingy or cream next to the very white Leg eggs.

Weight..they are a tad smaller than a Marans, but as I said, these here are still just 6 mo old and will probably take a while to fully fill out.
They almost appear "dumpy" in that their legs seem a tad short for the body size, as in a Scots Dumpy.
Sounds like the Dorkings who also have shorter legs and are considered a gentler breed for being a LF.

Are you thinking of getting some or do you have any now ?
I'm at my limit for birds currently but I like to get owner input on breeds since there is seldom enough information on the rare breeds. I have Silkies and can only have ultra-gentle LF weighing under 5-lb around the bantams. I had to re-home Leghorns and Marans because they were too aggressive or too big around the smaller Silkies. Even though there are gentle LF they'll still be tempted to badly bully smaller or gentler birds - it's a chicken thing!

Sounds like you are really enjoying your birds. I love pullets and cockerels for their gentleness. But it's when birds reach maturity around 2 yrs old that their real temperaments show up and I've had to re-home a few LF breeds that "turned" and I was so disappointed - that's why I ask several owners about a breed before I consider adding it to my existing flock.

 

[Chickielady]

Exactly !
And like I said, these are barely 6 mo, so we could see some real changes , especially in the males.
Currently, it is winter approaching, so things may stay """Calm""" between the males.
So far, the golden is far more gentle & better with the pullets, But everyone loves the silver for his coloring.
And while they have worked together for so long, things may drastically change soon, at least by spring...I expecy more agression, and am currently looking for another coop for each male.
The White male, was exquisite, also, and should I hatch any more, I will keep one, if for nothing else, for curiosity.....a white Sulmtaler !

 

[Chickielady]

@Sylvester017 ................................I have noticed the Silver Cockerel is getting testy after the Golden...so we may see fireworks between those 2 yet ! This in middle November...see how they are in another month. If the argueing keeps up, I'll have to separate them.

 

[Sylvester017]

Exactly !
And like I said, these are barely 6 mo, so we could see some real changes , especially in the males.
Currently, it is winter approaching, so things may stay """Calm""" between the males.
So far, the golden is far more gentle & better with the pullets, But everyone loves the silver for his coloring.
And while they have worked together for so long, things may drastically change soon, at least by spring...I expecy more agression, and am currently looking for another coop for each male.
The White male, was exquisite, also, and should I hatch any more, I will keep one, if for nothing else, for curiosity.....a white Sulmtaler !

I'm wondering if the Sulmtalers are related to the Styrian or Alsteirer breed? They look similar except for colors.

@Sylvester017 ................................I have noticed the Silver Cockerel is getting testy after the Golden...so we may see fireworks between those 2 yet ! This in middle November...see how they are in another month. If the argueing keeps up, I'll have to separate them.

Sounds like chickens are being just chickens! My hens go through weird squabbles too and then work it out. I interrupt only if it looks like something injurious; otherwise, I hold back and let them settle it themselves. I have gotten to know my hens and breeds and know if something is out of control or needs intervention or re-homing. Although I only have 4 girls now, I went through 13 chickens to get down to the peaceful group I have now. I haven't had cockerels so can't say anything about them.

 

[Chickielady]

You are a very smart person to ask these questions...I like that about you.
Good Job~~ and newbies can learn from the Q's you ask...Q's they probably never would think of in their beginning search for their poultry.

I am setting a clutch of eggs tonight, as I love these birds so....
This is so much against my personal law: no sets in winter, especially not with a broody...WHY? Cuz after she hatches, she'll want to be OUT with the chicks, and by then it'd be snowing here.................SO, I am turning on the small gQf and running it just for these birds and a few of the Lavender Orps.

 

[flypen]

I had the silver, Gold wheaten, blue wheaten, and the whites, I bred the blue wheaten to blue wheaten and some off the off spring came splash. I have since got rid of the whites, blue wheatens, and the silvers and decided to keep the the splash and the gold wheatens.

 

[Chickielady]

I had the silver, Gold wheaten, blue wheaten, and the whites, I bred the blue wheaten to blue wheaten and some off the off spring came splash. I have since got rid of the whites, blue wheatens, and the silvers and decided to keep the the splash and the gold wheatens.

Super interesting ! Can you post some photos ?
I'd love to see the splash & blue wheaten !