2 cockerels, 7 pullets (one is the gold). I need to sell a trio, but I can't decide which to keep. Some of the girls are smaller than the others, and I'm not sure from the standard (yes, I bought the book) whether that is a bad thing at this age. I suspect it is. Complicating the fact is that the cockerel I prefer (I think) has a couple of girls he "pals around with" and one of them is the smallest pullet with the rattiest tail. She seems to be missing the under feathers (somebody may have pulled them, but they have always been that way), but all the tail feathers are barred, so that is a good thing, right? She is the pullet just back of the obvious cockerel in the picture.Eight pullets and a cockerel?
Watch and wait a little longer, I think. I just wish I had a little more room for them. They are so charming, I'd like to keep them all. Watching those two little cockerels (which aren't so little anymore, they just seem little next to the English Orps) square off is so entertaining. And the girls are developing their own personalities. One is a leader, and the one with the black leg band is just NOT the sharpest crayon in the box. The one with the odd tail is very shy and flighty.
Tomorrow is leg band checking day. I check each leg band once a week to be sure they are still loose. I got some multi colored zip ties, and they have worked amazingly well. I think I can remove a couple of them completely because I can identify those birds without problems now. I'll try to get some decent pictures of the boys for evaluation. They are both charming.