I am keeping them both, since the blue wheaten hen is directly related to the other rooster. However I was wondering more on type than color. And what to cull for in future generations. Also here is a picture of the second rooster when he was younger at a different angle
Your second one has better build and color. The first guy with the golden hackles should be culled. That coloring isn't something that should be passed on, especially if you have a better rooster to breed.
Unfortunately the better rooster comes from a line with green eggs and the other rooster comes from a nice blue egg line (although currently he is being used for Easter eggers)
I got my wheaten Roos and blue Wheaten hen as adults so I wouldn't know about hardiness on them but I got my black cockerel as a chick and he is still fine more rescently I got two pullets that are about his age and they are doing great as well. My nicer wheaten roo is the hardiest chicken I have ever had, but then again the breeder I got him from basically has a survival of the fittest mindset. When some if his chickens get beat up by the others all he does is separate it from them until it is better (some have been real bloody) he definitely does not baby his birds! I will breed for show (however the hens tail set is too high) she lays good blue eggs. Just starting with that pair how would I diversify their gene pool to eventually do a spiral breeding program?Decide if you are breeding for show or egg color. Breeders say to get the "type" right and then go for egg color. As a customer who bought a Blue Wheaten hen for eggs and not for show: I bought my purebred B/W because I wanted blue and not green eggs. My B/W hen was pretty but she probably would've been DQ for not having slate legs. But she qualified for me since I wanted the pretty blue eggs. The show breeder sent me 2 B/W pullets but one died promptly and unfortunately was the one with nice color and slate legs. A couple years later I ordered a Blue Amer from a different breeder and that pullet was shipped sickly and even the vet couldn't save it. So my track record for hardiness in Amer's is not so good - only 1 survivor out of 3? My surviving pullet is more PQ and although she gave us the prettiest blue eggs and not green for about 5 months her first year, she turned out a poor layer. She layed only 3 eggs her 2nd year! Our friends' had an EE that didn't lay her 2nd year at all. These girls seem to always have the dirtiest wet beards!1 B/W Amer blue egg, and 2 Buff Leghorn tinted eggs.
The Amer eggs were mostly 2.25 oz, whereas the Buff Leg eggs averaged 2.0 oz.
I don't know if we'll ever see another egg from our B/W again! We decided not to get any more blue-egg gene breeds because of their hit-and-miss production - Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legs, EEs, Favies, Isbars, OEs, etc etc. The caveat for us was when the Farmers Mkt seller told us they were no longer investing in EEs because of poor egg numbers and too many birds going to the freezer their 2nd year.
