This one is the one that I would use for breeding. You usually have to grow out 10 cockerel to find one that is worth breeding. This is the one that I would pick based on the photos.
This one has an underdeveloped tail. He also has too much red on his earlobes. There should be a dark grey color to the bottom half of the cockerel (breast, legs, fluff) and an even cream color on the top (Hackles, saddles). This one is just all running together to where there is not distinction from the top and bottom.
This one has good white color on the earlobes. He may be a decent #2, but is very heavily melonized so he will produce a lot of black crested daughters and they tend have splotchy barring on their hackles, etc. Again he has an underdeveloped tail. I like the full fanned tails. He may just be too young for evaluation but you want full well fanned tails on your cockerels with good barring (i.e. not all white).
This one also has good white earlobes and they are not folded closed like the cockerel above which is even better.This one has red color modifiers. I think that some of these are carriers of Wheaten Color patters, but most are probably just carrying autosomal red from Light Brown Leghorn ancestry. I can see for the angle of this photo that this one narrows quite a bit from the shoulders to the root of the tail. Laying breeds should be very wide through the hips. Ideally you want the hips to be as close to as wide as the shoulders as possible.
This one seems to me washed out to me.He also has a lot of red on his ear lobes and also looks to have a lot of narrowing from the shoulder to the tails.
I think I would dump the two washed out one with the red on their ear lobes and keep the last one you posted (first one I posted) as your #1 with the Melonized one as your #2, and the Red enhanced one as your #3.
Note: The most important think to start a flock with is vigor. Weight can be a good indicator of vigor so put these guys on the scale and see how they compare in weight. Also look at their activity during the day. The one that is out foraging the most is going to be a better breeder than the one that loafs by the food bucket all do. Watch how they move. A strong cockerel will strut on his toes. A cockerel that doesn't strut or who walks flat footed is not good to breed. If any of them have ever been sick they shouldn't be used for breeding. There are other considerations but this should get your started.
This one has an underdeveloped tail. He also has too much red on his earlobes. There should be a dark grey color to the bottom half of the cockerel (breast, legs, fluff) and an even cream color on the top (Hackles, saddles). This one is just all running together to where there is not distinction from the top and bottom.
This one has good white color on the earlobes. He may be a decent #2, but is very heavily melonized so he will produce a lot of black crested daughters and they tend have splotchy barring on their hackles, etc. Again he has an underdeveloped tail. I like the full fanned tails. He may just be too young for evaluation but you want full well fanned tails on your cockerels with good barring (i.e. not all white).
This one also has good white earlobes and they are not folded closed like the cockerel above which is even better.This one has red color modifiers. I think that some of these are carriers of Wheaten Color patters, but most are probably just carrying autosomal red from Light Brown Leghorn ancestry. I can see for the angle of this photo that this one narrows quite a bit from the shoulders to the root of the tail. Laying breeds should be very wide through the hips. Ideally you want the hips to be as close to as wide as the shoulders as possible.
This one seems to me washed out to me.He also has a lot of red on his ear lobes and also looks to have a lot of narrowing from the shoulder to the tails.
I think I would dump the two washed out one with the red on their ear lobes and keep the last one you posted (first one I posted) as your #1 with the Melonized one as your #2, and the Red enhanced one as your #3.
Note: The most important think to start a flock with is vigor. Weight can be a good indicator of vigor so put these guys on the scale and see how they compare in weight. Also look at their activity during the day. The one that is out foraging the most is going to be a better breeder than the one that loafs by the food bucket all do. Watch how they move. A strong cockerel will strut on his toes. A cockerel that doesn't strut or who walks flat footed is not good to breed. If any of them have ever been sick they shouldn't be used for breeding. There are other considerations but this should get your started.
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