Lisa, you do have too many cockerels that aren't getting along, and a "first cull" would probably settle things down a bit.
I looked back over all of the pictures and although I'm no expert, the things that jump out at me are the squirrel tails and the excessive number of points on the combs. I know that a lot is lost in a picture that can be seen in real life.
I have to bow to Walt's expertise when he says that #21 will never amount to anything. My own notes say his comb is not the worst, and he is "not too homely". How's that for a technical evaluation?
You yourself judge #23 as the worst, as skinny and dumb. You are in the best position to judge that.
Perhaps those 2 should be culled right off the bat?
Number 22 is not a bad looking bird from a distance. He does have the high tail, and the comb is... like nothing I've ever seen before. Certainly we wouldn't want to pass that on. Still, there's something about him. Maybe it's his size?
You like #20, and say that his shape is smoother than #22. I don't see it, but again, something is always lost in pictures. Could just be the pose.
Mr. No Number is the only boy I see with a lower tail angle. And he has a lot of white in his tail. Will it molt out? Who knows. I think I'd be willing to give him a little extra time to see if it molts out or not. So, despite other faults, he got a star on my score sheet just for having the lower tail.
The last guy has the best comb to my eye. But his tail is standing straight up. He's the shy one, so bad pictures. Hard to tell.
If these birds were at my house and I was determined to keep a couple of them for the time being, I would keep #22 based on the fact that he's generally easy on the eyes, and Mr. No Number for his lower tail set. For whatever that's worth.
(That said, is there any way you could get maybe 3 or 4 eggs from indianfeathers' roo and hen? Hatchery bird or not, I am quite impressed with that rooster. He's truly handsome and I hope my 2 little boys grow up to have that sort of a look. I'd be willing to gamble on a few eggs that were fertilized by him.)
