Speckled Sussex Bantams - Best Boys to Keep?

[Amer]

I can’t really judge at this age, but if we are going off of comb and coloring, purple and yellow purple are the most moderate and probably the best.

Whoops I wrote I didn’t know their sex. I meant I couldn’t really judge them at this age. I need to proofread.

 

[fuzzi]

I like Green, Purple, and Red. I really think it's too young to make decisions on rehoming them if you're trying to get the best for breeding. Have you reached out to the breeder to ask their opinion?

Thanks!

Sorry, missed notification of your response. Unfortunately the breeder just told me to use Craigslist to re-home them.

Purple and Red are on my short list of keepers. Red is shaping up nicely. Green has been going after the new chicks as if to hurt them, the others just peck the new ones once or twice, so Green will not be staying.

"Red"

"Purple"

 

[fuzzi]

The boys are starting to fight, so I'm actively planning to either rehome or cull them in the next couple weeks.

I found one rescue to take them, but they're a 5 hour drive away. I don't think so.

Addendum:

Here's information in case anyone is interested: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-rehoming-a-rooster-thread.1405427/post-26869323

 

[ColtHandorf]

Sad the little turkeys are already fighting. Usually, I can let males grow out with each other for a long time before they start any real trouble.

 

[fuzzi]

Sad the little turkeys are already fighting. Usually, I can let males grow out with each other for a long time before they start any real trouble.

There's no blood yet, but the hormones appear to be flowing strongly.

From a couple days ago, the one on the left initiated the stare-down. Ten seconds later he walked away. The one on the right (Joel) is the one who's crowing, and who I'm planning to keep.

There's been a lot of neck-grabbing between the cockerels, too, mainly with the ones lower in the pecking order. So far I have not seen any of the others challenging Joel in that manner.

 

[ColtHandorf]

There's no blood yet, but the hormones appear to be flowing strongly.

View attachment 3516761
From a couple days ago, the one on the left initiated the stare-down. Ten seconds later he walked away. The one on the right (Joel) is the one who's crowing, and who I'm planning to keep.

There's been a lot of neck-grabbing between the cockerels, too, mainly with the ones lower in the pecking order. So far I have not seen any of the others challenging Joel in that manner.

Has the breeder taken a look at them and suggested which cockerel/s to keep? Looking at those two, I'm much more partial to the male on the left. The right one has too much white and is over-marked, IMO, but there's a reason I haven't gotten Jubilee Opringtons yet. I can't stand the variation in them. lol

 

[fuzzi]

Has the breeder taken a look at them and suggested which cockerel/s to keep? Looking at those two, I'm much more partial to the male on the left. The right one has too much white and is over-marked, IMO, but there's a reason I haven't gotten Jubilee Opringtons yet. I can't stand the variation in them. lol

The breeder has basically kicked me to the curb, told me to get rid of excess cockerels on Craigslist.

I have been corresponding with a Speckled Sussex bantams breeder who is also a judge. She has looked over the photos and said it would be better to wait until they get their adult plumage. She told me not to worry about the white feathers, yet, they will be replaced by adult feathers. "Red" who is on the left has a lot of stippling that I want to avoid. She picked the best three for me, with Joel at the top, and "Purple" having some really good examples of feather coloring.

So far Blue stands out for me.. because of his tail color... Red shows promise and purple is showing very sharp coloring.
Those chick feathers....mean 0 so no worries if they are stippled...its when you see the new feathers starting to emerge...if they are stippled then that's a big issue. They won't all be stippled...at least that's my hope.

 

[fuzzi]

Here's a link to a picture of the standard:

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Speckled-Sussex-STANDARD.jpg