What rooster should I use?

[Geena]

The pattern (mottling) was low on their priority list as long as some of them retained those genetics.

There's a wise old saying in regard to breeding that applies to most animals.
"Build the barn before you paint it"

The size is primarily to evade smaller predators.

Unfortunately there is no chicken large enough to ward off even the smallest of determined predators. A measly one pound weasel can easily wipe out a whole flock in no time.
While color can help to camouflage them once hidden, many predators actually detect prey by movement more so than any particular color.

My ultimate goal is a large dual purpose breed, dark or mottled, that goes broody (MJ and JJ), with a good feed to meat ratio (BA) and OK with heat (MJ) or cold (JJ and BA). I want them to mature relatively quickly (BA), good foragers, and produce eggs through the winter (JJ and MJ).

If you are at all relying on hatchery descriptions... don't! Unfortunately they are notoriously inaccurate and exaggerated. Anything relating to broodiness, size, meat and egg laying abilities should be taken with a grain of salt.

Since you are creating a landrace I wouldn't even worry about breed at all and would focus more on picking outstanding individuals that are close to your ideal. You may have to order multiple batches of various breeds to grow out and select from in order to get what really want. Best of luck with your project!

 

[LaurenRitz]

I'm relying on information concatenated from multiple non-hatchery websites. I have no way of knowing if they're affiliated, of course, but I should have a good general idea of what the breeds are capable of from multiple sources.

I had chickens in my urban yard before I sold the house. Two Black Australorps, and one golden Wyandotte. The cats walked wide around the BA's. Dogs would take one look and walk the other way. Hawks didn't bother them, and I know we had an owl but I never saw it near the chickens. One of them attacked my sister's dog when it got too nosy.

Understanding that most likely none of these animals were truly hungry (with the possible exception of the feral cat colony a few blocks away) and I had full grown birds rather than chicks, they had a pretty good run. While I know there are different predators in this area, I'm trying to structure things so there's as little risk as possible while still letting them be chickens.