Lots of roos, so little time!

[pmoore]

Out of my 20 assorted chickens that I received, roughly 15 out of 20 are cockerels! I am fine with this, because all except 1 or 2 are going to the freezer. With that being said, I'm trying to find out which ones to keep that will (hopefully) breed with my pullets and give me decent meat or egg laying birds in the future.
I have a month or so to figure it out and I'd like to get all the advice or guidance that I can! I've listed the breeds of my cockerels and the breeds of my pullets below!

Cockerels
3 Black Sex Link
1 Blue Laced Red Wyandotte
2 White Wyandotte
1 White Giant
2 Single Comb Brown Leghorn
2 Partridge Rock
1 Buff Orpington
2 Easter Egger

Pullets
3 Black Sex Link
1 Red Sex Link
1 White Cochin
1 Partridge Rock

 

[Spartan22]

I will keep the pure breed ones as long as their nice cockerels, sometimes though might take you longer time to figure that out.

 

[Folly's place]

The sex-links will likely be smaller, and being crosses, more variable.
Leghorns lay lots of eggs but are very small, not dual purpose for meat also.
Jersey Giants get big, but very slowly. Not ideal for meat either.
EEs are also not large enough for this.
Concentrate on the Plymouth Rocks, and the Wyandottes. All tend to be good dual purpose birds, and beautiful too. Cull any with structural faults, human aggression, or slower growth. Weigh them, and I'd tend to pick larger rather than smaller.
Pick a few (three?) of the best individuals, and hang on to them longer. You only have pullets enough for one, barely, but select carefully.
Mary

 

[Sneebsey]

I agree with everything @Folly's place suggests. Check out your bigger dual purpose type birds. As you're planning on mixing these with various hens, conformation to standard doesn't matter too much. You want the healthiest boys with the strongest growth; this will pass on to their offspring.

 

[MROO]

Keeping an EE may not give you good meat birds, but you'll likely get a second generation that lays colored eggs - and lots of them. If you want true dual-purpose birds, I'd go with the Rocks or Wyandottes, like @Folly's place suggested.

 

[Folly's place]

Your EE cockerels may or may not carry the genes to produce blue/ green eggs. I'd avoid them, and get EE pullets for a better chance of having colored eggs.
Mary

 

[Mimi13]

I am in this same boat, so I am very interested in all the answers.

I have five roos and can only keep three. I’m certain of one that’s going into the freezer because he is already too human aggressive for my taste. (I’ve learned that those very curious little birds sometimes turn curiosity into aggression.) However, my dilemma is which Naked Neck roo to keep. My first thought is to keep the prettiest one, but I know that isn’t the only criteria I should use. So far I’m watching their interaction with the rest of the birds, pullets and cockerels alike.

The two cockerels that I am definitely keeping are the ones I wanted and ordered: a Welsummer and a Silver Laced Wyandotte, which I got a female in both breeds as well. Luckily, neither one of these shows any sign of meanness. Actually they have nothing to do with me which is good. I read that I should not baby them, hand feed them, etc., nothing to make them even come near me. So far, so good. And for me, that is hard to do, especially when they are still small.

All my littles are 9 weeks old and I plan on processing the two extras between 12-15 weeks, 12 wks if they become chaotic and 15 if they behave. Hopefully they won’t cause too much trouble and put a few more ounces on their little bones.

 

[pmoore]

Thanks all! Thinking I'll hold onto my White Wyandottes and one of my Partridge Rock until I can determine who has better temperament and is better with the pullets. There's so many cockerels right now that it's hard to tell who will be better with my ladies!

 

[Folly's place]

"Better with the ladies" takes longer to figure out, at least for me. Last year I kept the wrong cockerels. Twice. Not a good year. The Belgian d'Uccle had a wry tail, and now lives in another flock where he will never reproduce. The white Chantecler was too rough, and developed his obnoxious behavior after the other boys were gone. He's in the freezer. This year, I'm going to do better, so help me!
Mary

 

[pmoore]

"Better with the ladies" takes longer to figure out, at least for me. Last year I kept the wrong cockerels. Twice. Not a good year. The Belgian d'Uccle had a wry tail, and now lives in another flock where he will never reproduce. The white Chantecler was too rough, and developed his obnoxious behavior after the other boys were gone. He's in the freezer. This year, I'm going to do better, so help me!
Mary

Hopefully I get lucky!!