Looking for my best rooster

[lukkyseven]

They look to be only 4 month old, so still have to change to their adult plumage.
The wings and tail feathers are the last to change, so hold on and have patience, just like @sourland already advised, it is much too early to cull judging them by their actual looks/performance.

I plan on holding for another few months, but if there are some that can be eliminated I prefer to do that early. I don't enjoy feeding this many chickens. As well as the upkeep it puts on my run. I'm borderline over crowded as these birds start to fill out.

 

[SulkyBantam]

I'd wait. You just can't tell who'll be the right ones at this age.

 

[lukkyseven]

I'd wait. You just can't tell who'll be the right ones at this age.

Would you agree that 6 months is a much better telling point? I think that most of these birds are fault free so they're worth seeing how they turn out.

 

[SulkyBantam]

6 months at least. I'd wait until 8 but you don't have to.

 

[LaFleche]

I plan on holding for another few months, but if there are some that can be eliminated I prefer to do that early. I don't enjoy feeding this many chickens. As well as the upkeep it puts on my run. I'm borderline over crowded as these birds start to fill out.

How old are these cockerels and how many birds do you have? And how many cockerels/roosters?

If you seriously think about breeding to SOP/ASA as your goals, you will have to build bigger/more runs and coops. This will enable you to have grow out zones for your younger birds away from the adults, so they can mature without being stressed and chased

When did you last de-worm your flock? De-worming can make all the difference as youngsters can be nutrient deprived and therefore stunted in growth if infested.

 

[cmom]

As the birds mature you will have a better idea of which to keep. They are still too young to make a final decision.

I agree. I show my birds. Most shows have been canceled due to covid. I grow them out. I sell all of the males except for the ones that I'll keep as breeder's. I would wait for awhile. They aren't at peak. I have sold some that I regretted selling. Good luck and have fun...

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Multiple hatcheries. No specific breeder. I have notes that I could look back on for each bird, but I don't have that information in front of me.

I have two speckled sussex hens and they had terrible mottling the first year but this molt they are allot nicer I personally would keep the roo with the most mottling as every molt they get better mottling these are my two hens last year and then this year I'm actually using them to make mottled wyandottes and possibly tolbunt wyandottes

This year

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

View attachment 2449024View attachment 2449025View attachment 2449026View attachment 2449027View attachment 2449028

As you can start to see. The color gets lighter and away from the standard even further. The white starts to really come through as well. The wing feathers aren't completely white, but there's still a lot of it. Head shape again looks to be poor (unless I'm just way off). Only positive for this guy is he's very friendly.

I chose this guy, his colors are just... amazing

 

[lukkyseven]

I have additional space, but I need to do some work in order to properly secure that pen. These cockerels are 4 months. They are the oldest that I have. I have 8 total cockerels left. Two of which have faulted combs, but are larger in size. I'm holding them for the frying pan. I then have about 15 pullets left. I will keep half of that number for eggs and hopefully two of them for breeding. I have some that I have hopes for.

This entire flock is under 4 months I have not de-wormed at all.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Cull the cockerels with the smallest heads. Take weights on them and cull the smallest weights, quite sure it will agree with smallest heads. Those weights taken can be used to compare younger cockerels when they reach same age. Cull smallest then too.

It's the little things you can cull for early. In this case I'm literally speaking of size. Not what it looks to be in size rather actual weight and width and size of head. Feathers can't hide those crucial facts about the bird. Aging a bird won't change those facts either.

Feel the birds and note the keel length and how the fleshing is around it. Cull accordingly. Keep in mind you're culling towards a dual purpose flock. Take note of width of back and how far apart the legs are when standing. You want to keep the wide ones and cull the rest.

It's very difficult to pick out the breeders this early and one really shouldn't do so until the spring before collecting eggs to hatch. But there are plenty of culls to take before then. There is no advantage keeping a bird that already does not "meat" your needs or add up to it's flock mates in all respects pertaining to dual purpose. Pick a date/age of birds and take the weekend to evaluate them, culling the wanting. 14 weeks will still be tender for broiling, 16 weeks will give more fleshing and fryer age- don't broil but you can roast. Make space for the birds. Take a few more out at 20-24 weeks as roasters.

Take notes, take weights and mark the calendar so all birds are judged same age. You can easily get the cockerel numbers down to 3 or 4 boys or even the last two by 6 months. The choice of which to put in the pen to breed should be kept until spring.

Don't let color override the basic purpose of dual purpose. Be merciless about size and width of head and body and weights. Paint the barn after it's built. Color can be improved in future years. The body type needs to be chosen now. Wide head, back, tail and leg stance. Deep head and keel. Wide entire length of bird like a block not trapaziod.