Be prepared to split young males earlier than 6 months. Be ready at 3 months. Sometimes pullets can be problematic as well. To suppress starting of major fights I often keep groups of juveniles in with a cock. With a little practice you can also bring juveniles back together that previously...
My starting point with a similar project.
Leg color good, but type is off, has a pea comb, and base coloration is not BBR (e+). He has been bred to a BBR hen carrying pattern allele. He is homozygous for whatever is not e+. Next year I should get a percentage that is suitable for show but...
I take the American Games in anyway knowing full well they will be DQ'ed. I have introduced some new blood that will allow selection towards SOP. During interval I will learn about how the pretty fowl business works with games.
There are other subtle differences that can keep American Games from competing. My favorite burn is lemon hackle coloration that gets me DQ'ed every time. Most Red Jungle Fowl look more like my American Games than the Standard Old English Games that are considered by SOP to be wild-type BBR...
Good luck on your hatch. Make certain your brooder has lots of space by 2 weeks. I like chicks so do some flying about to aid with muscle and bone development. Consider doing some training. I have had some real fun training games. Somebody else needs to do it so I do not look so bad.
Tail feathers black, not brown as ligting makes them appear. This dude is very smart and exceptionally easy to handle. I use him to teach kids as lot.
Gray version of above when crossed with bird carrying silver allele.
This guy represents the core appearance of my line that is derived in part from Pierce Red Shufflers. Based on knowledge handed down to me, that stock came from Pierce himself to my grandfather. Line has been in our families possession since. All are straight combed with willow legs...
Images from earlier this spring. He is not of my breeding and was acquired as a source of white-skin allele for my Missouri Dominique project. He was a definite man-fighter when acquired so I had to invest effort to break him of that. He still gets too excited over food. He was in cull pen...
This fall I will have selected the half dozen barred birds to be used for breeding in 2019. Variation minimal in those because parents used to make cross are homozygous for traits easy to see in photographs.