Sultan chicken farming is very popular in it’s native area, and also in some other areas around the world. It is a very old breed, has very beautiful appearance and it is raised mainly for ornamental and exhibition purposes.
The Sultan chicken breed was originated from Turkey. And it is known as the Serai Taook in it’s native area and also called Serai Tavuk. These birds are very popular in Turkey. The breed is raised mainly for ornamental purpose and these white birds were favorite of Turkish Royalty for keeping in their gardens and were known as Sultans Fowl.
The Sultan chicken first arrived in England in 1854, and in the United States in 1867. It was first recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1874, and also admitted into it’s Standard of Perfection.
Today the Sultan chicken is considered to be a rare breed. And it is listed as ‘Critical’ on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List. There is also a bantam variety of this breed available.
However, as the Sultan is a show or ornamental bird, so starting commercial Sultan chicken farming will be a good business. Because the ornamental or show birds are generally sold at very high prices in the market.
How to Start Sultan Chicken Farming
The Sultan chickens are very beautiful in appearance. They are small, fully feathered and have a very special appearance with beautiful plumage. Raising Sultan chickens commercially is relatively easy.
Here we are trying to describe more information about starting and operating a successful Sultan chicken farming from purchasing birds to caring and marketing.
Purchase Chickens
First of all, you have to purchase very good quality, healthy, active and disease free birds for starting your Sultan chicken farming business. The Sultan chicken is pretty rare and it’s not available widely.
Search your local chicken breeding centers, poultry chick suppliers or any existing Sultan chicken farms. You can also search your local online classified websites.
You can purchase either day old chicks or mature birds depending on the price and availability in your area. The mature birds are generally sold at very high prices in the market.
On the other hand, the day old chicks are much cheaper. So we recommend starting with day old chicks.
Housing
Arranging a good, comfortable and secure housing system is very important for Sultan chicken farming business. Because a good house not only helps the birds to stay healthy, but also helps them to stay free from all types of wild predators or adverse weather conditions.
The type of the house can be any depending on your budget and availability of materials in your area. It can be of full concrete setup or you can build the house with low cost and easily available materials such as bamboo or wood. Just ensure that the house is secure and comfortable for your chickens.
Install good ventilation system inside the house. Good ventilation system is very important, because it helps to reduce harmful gases from inside the house and keeps your birds healthy.
Make the house in such a way so that you can easily clean the house. And ensure flow of sufficient amount of fresh air and light inside the house. As the Sultan chickens are ornamental birds, so on average a mature bird will require around or up to 10 square feet of housing space.
Feeding
Feeding the birds with very good quality, healthy and nutritious food is the most important part of Sultan chicken farming business. Because good food not only helps the birds to stay healthy, but also helps them to grow better and produce more.
You can feed your chickens either with ready-made/commercial poultry feeds or you can prepare the feeds of your own. Just ensure that the food is healthy and nutritious for your birds.
Never feed your chickens with contaminated feeds. And always try to provide them with enough clean and fresh water as per their demand.
The Sultan chickens are good for raising in both confinement and free range system. But raising them in free range system will help you to reduce feeding costs, and at the same time it will help to produce better quality products.
Breeding
Like many other domestic chicken breeds, the Sultan chickens are naturally very good breeders. They will breed easily and produce fertile eggs for hatching if you keep good ratio of hens and roosters in your flock. Generally one healthy rooster is enough for breeding around or up to 10 hens.
The Sultan hens are not among the very good egg layers, and they generally do not go broody. They lay medium sized and white colored eggs. The chicks are slow growing and take long time for developing. Both male and females are very easy to handle and tame.
Caring
The Sultan chickens are ornamental birds, so they generally require special caring. They are very good fliers, so fences are must for keeping them confined. They are not among the very good foragers, and do very well in confinement.
Monitor your bird’s health on a regular basis, and take necessary steps as soon as possible if you notice anything uncommon. Vaccinate them timely and always try to keep good contact with a vet in your area.
Marketing
Marketing chicken products (such as meat and eggs) is not a problem. Because both meat and eggs of chicken have very good demand and value in the market. But demand and value of ornamental birds can vary from place to place.
So we recommend determining your marketing strategies first before starting your Sultan chicken farming business.
These are the steps and ways for starting and running a Sultan chicken farming business. Raising Sultan chicken is relatively easy. Hope this guide has helped you! Good luck & may God bless you!
