Silver Penciled Rock cockerels - help me choose between these 2

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Oh, YAY! (I actually said that out loud and scared the crap outta my cats!) I'm so glad to hear that you've decided to keep them both.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm certainly no expert - but Mr. Purple looks to me like he will grow in with a deeper chest. I'm not up on the SOP for Rocks, it's just what I see.

I'm learning a lot reading the responses here.

 

[Wynette]

I'm certainly no expert - but Mr. Purple looks to me like he will grow in with a deeper chest. I'm not up on the SOP for Rocks, it's just what I see.

I'm learning a lot reading the responses here.

Hi, Kelly! Glad you popped in!!

I have tagged these two males so they will now be known as numbers rather than colors.

It will be interesting watching them grow out a bit longer.

 

[Fred's Hens]

On our Rocks, we simply cannot select the "finalist" until they are 10-11 months of age, as they mature just that slowly. I'm not that familiar with the penciled, but both of those young cockerels have features I like and a few things I don't care for. I'd absolutely wait until end of March of beginning of April to make any kind of near final decision. If you can run them both for a hatching season, you also might be surprised what they throw. I know this isn't always possible.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I'd also take into consideration what I wanted/needed from the females under them. I'm one of these guys that think that the female contributes a lot. Are there weaknesses in your females that Purple would better serve? Blue? Is there "stuff" in the females that would help Purple or help Blue?

Edited to add: BTW, Wynette, I've seen the photos of your female and she is a knock out.

 

[PEI chicken]

Hi Wynette

Thank you for starting this thread. I too have spprs and needed to choose a young 2012 rooster to keep. The advice you received about keeping them a bit longer before making your decision is good.

I keep a large rooster from a spring 2011 hatch too. Decision was hard to make, but made easier because all the 2012 roosters had a small amount of brown "smut" feathers. I choose a tall upstanding one with the least amount of smut. My 2011 rooster is heavy (I think he is well over 12 lb), but not as stylish as the young one. I will breed the older rooster to the younger hens and the young rooster to the older hens. Unfortunately, they are all related.

Also, here is a picture of the culls I slaughtered between Christmas and New Years. They were approx. 7 months old and weighed an average of 6 lb.

I am really happy with my 2012 pullets; was not as happy with the roosters, but looking forward to what hatches in 2013.

Good luck with your 2013 hatches!

 

[snowbird]

Hi Wynette

Thank you for starting this thread. I too have spprs and needed to choose a young 2012 rooster to keep. The advice you received about keeping them a bit longer before making your decision is good.

I keep a large rooster from a spring 2011 hatch too. Decision was hard to make, but made easier because all the 2012 roosters had a small amount of brown "smut" feathers. I choose a tall upstanding one with the least amount of smut. My 2011 rooster is heavy (I think he is well over 12 lb), but not as stylish as the young one. I will breed the older rooster to the younger hens and the young rooster to the older hens. Unfortunately, they are all related.



Also, here is a picture of the culls I slaughtered between Christmas and New Years. They were approx. 7 months old and weighed an average of 6 lb.

I am really happy with my 2012 pullets; was not as happy with the roosters, but looking forward to what hatches in 2013.

Good luck with your 2013 hatches!

I really like the way your Rocks look and the female look good also. I guess Barb was right about there being some good Rocks in Canada, very nice

 

[Robert Blosl]

My 2011 rooster is heavy (I think he is well over 12 lb),

What strain of Rocks do you have that are this large?

You can cross the females from the large male to the shorter male or their chicks in a year or two.

If the smaller male has good type or color in the long run they will work out.

How many strains of Silver Pencilled Rocks are really out there.?

If two then say a female from the large strain would be a good cross to the strain in Micigan and improve size for that strain.

If there are two different Strains that is a good thing. Need to exchange eggs or chicks and help each other out.

Look forward to the answers. Also, how many miles are apart from each of the two strains?

 

[snowbird]

My 2011 rooster is heavy (I think he is well over 12 lb),

What strain of Rocks do you have that are this large?

You can cross the females from the large male to the shorter male or their chicks in a year or two.

If the smaller male has good type or color in the long run they will work out.

How many strains of Silver Pencilled Rocks are really out there.?

If two then say a female from the large strain would be a good cross to the strain in Micigan and improve size for that strain.

If there are two different Strains that is a good thing. Need to exchange eggs or chicks and help each other out.

Look forward to the answers. Also, how many miles are apart from each of the two strains?

Bob, Do not know if you saw on the bottom of the page these large Rocks are in Canada.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Lucky for Wynette, she has a very dear friend in Canada that doesn't live far from her at all.

If the poster in PEI is willing to share some hatching eggs, I'm sure we can get Wynette set up.