I'd send a photo of Zeus to your county extension office and see if they can tell you what is going on. I think that is worth doing regardless of your decision. Since you say you've seen it in your other flock it might be contagious.
You can probably guess my thoughts on how likely feather color is to affect the shade of brown on an egg shell. It depends on whether or not the person selecting the breeders paid any attention to it. The rooster has just as much influence if not more on egg shell shade than the hen since they both pass down genetics. Since one of the genes that affects the shade of brown is sex linked he may even have more influence than the hen. If you knew what shade of egg they hatched from that might be part of your criteria but since you don't I think you are chasing shadows with this one.
I don't have a clue what happened to Thor's wattle. My guess would be an injury but that's just a pure guess. If you had the parents that laid the egg he hatched from did either of them deformed wattles? Do you have that in your flock? Since you say SOP isn't important to you I'd probably not put a real high value on that. You probably don't have the parents, can you send a photo to whoever you got them form and ask about it?
Before you decide which one is bigger, weigh them. Some have thicker fluffier feathers than others. I've had some surprises in that regard when butchering cockerels. How important is "big" to you anyway? I tend to select the larger ones as I also butcher but size is not my top criteria. It is one of them though.
Does feather color mean anything to you? If you don't have it do you want that blue in the flock?
Feathers on the feet is supposed to be a dominant trait. Even if he is pure for that trait, you can select against it for a couple of generations and eliminate it. Even if he is split for that trait your next generation will have some.
I'm leaning toward Thor but obviously your decision.
You can probably guess my thoughts on how likely feather color is to affect the shade of brown on an egg shell. It depends on whether or not the person selecting the breeders paid any attention to it. The rooster has just as much influence if not more on egg shell shade than the hen since they both pass down genetics. Since one of the genes that affects the shade of brown is sex linked he may even have more influence than the hen. If you knew what shade of egg they hatched from that might be part of your criteria but since you don't I think you are chasing shadows with this one.
I don't have a clue what happened to Thor's wattle. My guess would be an injury but that's just a pure guess. If you had the parents that laid the egg he hatched from did either of them deformed wattles? Do you have that in your flock? Since you say SOP isn't important to you I'd probably not put a real high value on that. You probably don't have the parents, can you send a photo to whoever you got them form and ask about it?
Before you decide which one is bigger, weigh them. Some have thicker fluffier feathers than others. I've had some surprises in that regard when butchering cockerels. How important is "big" to you anyway? I tend to select the larger ones as I also butcher but size is not my top criteria. It is one of them though.
Does feather color mean anything to you? If you don't have it do you want that blue in the flock?
Feathers on the feet is supposed to be a dominant trait. Even if he is pure for that trait, you can select against it for a couple of generations and eliminate it. Even if he is split for that trait your next generation will have some.
I'm leaning toward Thor but obviously your decision.
