the sultan thread

[yellowherb]

Both of my pullets, Flossy and Meilikki are laying regular. I need to get my mille roo away from them while a new home is found for him, but hope to soon be getting a regular supply of (pure)sultan eggs, quality unknown yet but I think Flossy may produce the best and I'm marking her eggs if I know they are hers for sure.

Flossy's first egg is due in 4-5 days and it's nicely fertile. If it pops out a mille cross.... CHICKEN SOUP Mille Roo!!

I'm getting 2-4 sultan eggs daily! I consider that good since I have 4 older hens and 2 pullets. Little Roo is trying to top the hens, backwards..! He's not crowing yet. The hens kick his tail feathers after he pulls them around by the scruff trying. Then Sully chases him off.

I'm still unimpressed with my Ideal sultan chicks. Really bummed about the missing toenails since both of my existing Roo's also have missing toenails. I need to find a nice rooster without missing nails and preferably a nice 80's rockstar hairdo.
I'm missing my CB. 4 toed cross beak he may have been, but he sure had a nice head poof! (that's him in my avatar just hatched), Flossy is his sister and my hopes lay with getting a good replacement rooster from her.

RIP CB, you are missed, the best chicken buddy in the world!!

 

[fishnet1971]

I have 1 sultan out of 5 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow. Looks like a total possible hatch of 4-5. 1 Sultan, 2 Olive Eggers, 1 EE, 2 brown eggs not sure what they are! My first hatch. I am scared to death! let me bring these little ones into the world safely. I have 3 Sultans already and they are SO my favorite breed in the world.

This was my little 'Toria 3 years ago.

 

[andrea2chicken]

I have 1 sultan out of 5 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow. Looks like a total possible hatch of 4-5. 1 Sultan, 2 Olive Eggers, 1 EE, 2 brown eggs not sure what they are! My first hatch. I am scared to death! let me bring these little ones into the world safely. I have 3 Sultans already and they are SO my favorite breed in the world. This was my little 'Toria 3 years ago.

they the pick cause I was just about to ask if sultans had feather feet from the start or not. I got two chick's from tractor supply and the tops of their heads look just like a sultan chick however neither have feather feet. And I knew that was an important feature. They are now about a week old and still no feather feet

 

[fishnet1971]

sultans also have 5 toes

 

[andrea2chicken]

sultans also have 5 toes

yeah no these girls dont. We will wait til they are bigger thinking now maybe a polish. We will see my just build a special house for them and my favorelle.

 

[yellowherb]

I love sultans. I keep hoping to come across one at tractor supply but Privett sells TSC their chicks and I do not think they have sultans. Privett does carry polish though.

I put several pipped eggs in the hatcher earlier. Pretty sure one is a sultan egg, possibly both. I was able to mark Meilikki's egg today since I was outside when she laid it. It took her a while unless she was just enjoying being in the cat crate, relaxing. The sultan rooster has become aggressive. He pecks my shoes when I open the coop door each morning and when I go to the aviaries to feed and check the birds he will often try to spur me. He's only become aggressive after the girls started laying well and it could also be due to all the young chickens and chicks running around the yard with the adults.

I had to put my Mille Fleur rooster and his hens in their own pen. I couldn't stand seeing him top the sultans and was going to wring his little neck, even though it's natural for him to want to spread the love. Between him and the young sultan rooster, the old guy was running back and forth trying to protect his girls.

Little roo, the young sultan did finally top a hen the right way around yesterday. He still didn't manage any contact and got his tail feathers pecked for it, but he gave it a good try.

3 days for Flossy's egg to hatch I'm really excited, it may be a little not crossbeaked CB with 5 toes since Flossy was his sister. My fingers are crossed

 

[yellowherb]

Have your eggs hatched yet Fishnet?


I just pulled a sultan baby who was early out of the incubator. It never even got a chance to lay down in the hatcher as an egg. I also got a mixed sultan chick for my project on colored sultans. It seems to give better, closer to sultan looking chicks if it's a non sultan rooster over a sultan hen. But that's just based on only one non sultan hen egg hatching a sultan rooster's offspring. That one chick looks normal whereas the sultan hen's chicks resemble a sultan.

My milles are going to a new home tonight, so hoping in a month all my sultan hens will be laying pure bred sultans. I'll miss the little mixed chicks though, they are such a surprise to see. But I guess I'll console myself with watching the mixtures grow up and decide which will be used on the "colorful sultan project".

Off topic, Privett who is TSC's supplier does carry sultan bantams. I've never seen one, but it's possible so any sultan lovers should keep their eyes on the bantam bin, just in case they get lucky

 

[Curnow]

I am happy to report that after several months two of my 5 sultans (1 hen and 1 roster) decided to become chickens and go outside the coop into the run will with the other chickens. They thoroughly enjoy it and are busy doing what all the other chickens of our mixed flock do. The little sultan hen runs around with the other "big" girls and roosters and has had no problems. Nester the rooster is quite active with the bigger girls. He follows our Cuckoo Marans rooster and it looks like the rooster is looking out for him and they are buddies. They even lay next to each other on a pile of hay. I hope the other 3 decide eventually to do the same.

I have watched Nester breed the my Easter Eggers, Red Sex Links, and Rhode Island Reds....and appears that he reaches fine and may be successful.

If I was to hatch one of these eggs, what would the cross be like? What physical traits might it have? Not sure if he gets to my Cuckoo Marans hens or the Light Brahma or Black Sex Link. He may and I have just not witnessed it.

 

[yellowherb]

I have a couple of crossed chicks from Mille Fleur. It seems the chick that came from the sultan rooster x mille hen looks most normal. It's a white chick with black spot on it's side, but has 5 toes so I know it's a sultan x.

Now the chicks from mille rooster x sultan hen are far more interesting. They have a sultan chick look to them although they are not white. The chicken calculator says first generation crosses of anything to sultan should be solid black (im probably not using that correctly). My crosses are a pale chipmunk color, solid grey, and the white mentioned above.

The crosses will not look pure sultan with coloration due to poor foot feathering (co dominate gene, also uses 2 genes for big fluffy feet)
head poof may or may not be there (co dominate but will be a lot smaller from a non head poof x sultan)
Beard and ear muffs, may or may not be there. It's co dominate and has a 50/50 chance of showing on any chick if one parent has none. You will get it if crossing with a EE who has a beard and ear muffs.
Aslo the comb. All combs are co dominate except bresse which is dominate. So you can get a straight comb or a sultan comb, just luck of the draw on features really.
5 toes is also co dominate and 50/50 chance.

They will be far more interesting looking than "normal" chickens.

Co dominate is basically saying the strength of that gene is equal to the opposite of the gene. beards/no beard, crest/no crest 4toes/5toes etc. They are equal and mother nature will make a decision about which the chick gets.

I know diddly squat about color and pattern dominance. haha

 

[yellowherb]

Flossy's egg was a late quitter. I am bummed about it since I was so excited to see her chick. I have since hatched out 1 more pure sultan chick.

I'm up to 3 pure sultans and 2 sultan type mixes, 1 non sultan type mix.
It looks like a week before my next round is due to hatch.

One of my hatchery chicks is starting to get the type of head poof I like. I want it to look like a giant bubble sitting on their head and not a Mohawk as seems more typical. It's early days yet, so maybe...

I am upset that it seems the missing toenail thing is genetic and passes easily. at least one of my chicks is missing a toenail. The mixes are fine on toenails, it's a pure sultan problem.