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I would like to get rid of one of them, i have quite a few roosters and they are hard on the hens. By spring i want to be down to 1 male and 2-3 hens. but i never rush the hens, there is always a market for beautiful laying hens and they don't get rough with each other.
I have handled and critiqued those poor males soo much as they've grown trying to evaluate them, to the point where i'm a bit lost.
bird 1 is the most developed, he is very wide and very round. he has a nice full breast as well. I really dislike how low his wings sit, they look too low to me now so i can only imagine they will be far to low as he matures. There isn't much i like about his head... his wattles are a bit long, and wrinkly and if i remember right he doesn't have a point to his comb which is lumpy also.
bird 2 is least mature out of the lot, and has 0 tail so i think that throws off his look totally :S his comb is better then #1 but has a few random bumps so not as nice as #3. He's just not as massive or round as the others, but i wonder if that wont come on more as he ages?
bird #3 is i think the winner so far? has a symmetrical comb (very mild depression at front but not as bad as the shadow makes it look). Nicely proportioned wattles that are perfectly round and rather flat. Body wise he seams proportionate wise on par with #1 but not quite as big... he carries his wings better (to me at least). I think I also like that he almost has a shorter back in relation to his body then #1 does. He looks like he might finish off more round over all then #1, which looks longer with a bit more slope to me.
Am i in the ball park? and thanks for all the help, a fresh eye can give a lot of insight!
Thanks
Sib
While Jerry and I disagree on this one, he has a point about waiting and seeing. If you want the best, biggest birds, you have to wait. I don't and won't do that. I want mine to mature faster and, imho, waiting is allowing slow growth as a favorable selection criteria. I'll take the faster growing, faster maturing birds anytime and make chicken and noodles out of the slow pokes. If you end up selecting #2 and using him next year, guess what kind of offspring you will get. I hate slow. Therefore, I eat slow. Next year I can raise and eat more fast growers, cull sooner and know sooner what I have if I use fast growth/maturation as a selection criteria.
But I did sell him a young Partridge cockerel last year that matured pretty slow and it turned out really nice, see pics on his website. So in the end, maybe Jerry does always win...
Maybe its because I am getting old and not in such a hurry anymore..LOL. I think what you are saying about birds that mature faster will give you offspring that do the same thing...but I really dont have any LF wyandottes that seem to mature faster than the rest of the bunch....I probably kept picking the slow growers at the end of the cull process.
I have been really happy with the Partridge cockerel you let me have......and even happier with his offspring. I can really see a big difference in your LF Partidge and everyone elses...wide, wide bodies, good mahogany color and nice tails. You have done a great job with the Partridge over the years.
Now I cant wait to see what I get out of the Partridge cockerel you let me have at Crossroads...he is looking good so far.
Jerry
