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The three younger roos are from ShellyB at Starlight Farm in Michigan before she sold off her stock. The big guy with the dark tail and all of my hens are a blend of breeder and hatchery stock, but I'm not sure about the details of that. I'm still hoping the younger guys molt out some more of that smut, but it seems like their primary tail feathers get darker with each molt, too.
I have to tell you, I'm almost disappointed to see the boys with the better tail barring end up so nice. I had picked them for my culls because their combs are a mess and they were slower to develop than the one of the three that had a darker tail. I really want to focus on type and utility since I don't have any forums to show the birds up here, but with such handsome guys....eh, I figure I'll just hold on to 'em all until they start fighting. If they don't, then I will just build small hutches in the spring and divide up my whole flock into rotating pairs!
Kathy, I love the boys and am very happy with how they're all turning out, but there are only perhaps two hens out my five that I am pleased with at all, and they still don't excite me that much! They all seem small and waspy, pinched, and with less than acceptable black in the tail. I hope these handsome boys can add a lot of substance and size to them, or I may just have to scrap the whole batch and wait 'til the following year to breed whatever I can get my hands on in the spring.