English orpington, which boy to keep?

[OneMountainAcres]

I'm going to apologize first for the excessive amount of pictures and the blurriness of some of them but the boys were not being very cooperative. I have 2 boys to choose from. A blue boy and a lighter blue or splash boy. The lighter guy is bigger but I'm not sure if he'll still fill out more or not (they are all around 5-6 months old). I included a couple pictures of the two girls that they would be bred with. I don't need both boys. Which of the two do you like better and why? I'm not experienced with orpingtons yet so I'm not sure what to look for. Thank you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Orpingtons, especially the roosters will take up to 2 years to fully mature and fill out. Your pictures are definitely harder to judge them properly. I will say I'm no expert. I personally think the blue looks more balance and has a better comb currently. If I had to pick one now he would be my pick, but them not being able to stand upright correctly could be altering that perception.

You also need to judge them on behaviors too. I recommend finding a good picture of a good example and compare it to yours as you can see things that pictures don't always show.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

I would stick with the blue.

 

[Gray Farms]

They really need another year to mature to say for sure which would be "better". English Orpingtons take an extremely long time to fully mature. And undesirable traits can take a long time to show up.

If I had to pick one right not from these pics I'd pick the Blue. He has a little better shape. Also the Splash looks a lil long legged, and not as broad in the chest.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Thank you all. I didn't realize that they take so long to mature. I will probably just keep both until spring. The light blue/splash seems to not really have much of a chest to him and yes, he is very leggy. Right now, the blue is definitely my favorite. I will update with new pictures in a few months.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I know it's far from spring but the boys gave me a picture opportunity today so I thought I'd post a little update One of the girls wanted to photo bomb a bit so she's in there too. The other was being a sleepy head and was still on the roost lol

 

[Gray Farms]

I'm still sticking with the blue. He has better shape.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The blue is definitely better looking.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

This is becoming a monthly thing lol. I got pictures of the 2 girls too.

 

[Gray Farms]

They are nice boys. The Splash has really changed, he is pretty nice too.