Which Cuckoo Marans roo to keep

[SusanJoM]

So, back at the beginning of April I purchased a trio of CM's. I've been watching them like a hawk trying to discern the differences between the boy and the girls. Well, two weeks ago one of them started crowing, so then I continued trying to discern the difference (except for the crow, of course), until.....Yup, you've guessed the end of the story.....They are ALL roos (okay, okay, they're still too young to be roos, so they're cockerels)......No wonder I was having such a hard time. (Side bar here: the learning gets really hard when you are trying so hard to assimilate information that is in fact wrong.....aargh....)

Anyway, I now have those three roos plus two out the three I hatched myself 3 weeks later are roos, so I'm about to find new homes for 5 CM guys.

Question is: Two of the original three have a large amount of gold in their hackle feathers, while the third one is really just black and white. I'm guessing that the just black and white is the preferrable coloring? The ones with the gold are quite dramatic, but ....some of them have just got to move elsewhere....and I'm the one that has to choose who gets to stay and who has to go....

Any input?

Susan

 

[Solsken Farm]

I hope you will post some pictures of each one. I am too new to eyeball them, but I'd love to see what Cuckoo folks think.

 

[SusanJoM]

Sorry, but I'm hopeless with pictures unless I can upload them directly from my computer.

Having to deal with Photobucket or Flickr or any of those other intermediate sites gets my knickers all in a knot.

(I know, I know.....)

Susan

 

[Chickndaddy]

I would have to see pictures to tell you which rooster to keep. And do you know/ remember which one of the roosters hatched out of the darkest egg? It has been said that roosters from dark eggs will help their offspring down the line lay a darker egg. If you want to email the pictures to me or someone else I'm sure we could upload them for you.

 

[SusanJoM]

Chickndaddy, that's a great offer, and when I get back home later today I'll go and take pictures and....

Thank you.

Susan

 

[SusanJoM]

Okay, here's an attempt at uploading pictures of the three cockerels

Can you see that the first one is very clear black and white. The second has much blurrier coloring, but it's still primarily black and white, and the third has lots and lots of gold on his head and neck.

I have no idea what the color was of the eggs they hatched out of, since I bought them as a trio when they were a few weeks old.
I like them all, of course, but CM's are HUGE, and so far I still have only one CM pullet, so there will definitely be trouble coming if I don't rehome two of these and two that are much younger.

Susan

 

[Harley's girl]

I would keep the first one. Here is a pic of my CM rooster.

 

[speckledhen]

I like the first one best. He has a nice balanced comb. I believe the standard of perfection calls for five points on the comb as the correct number. He has better color, at least in the front shot. It'd be easier if we saw him from the side like the other two. Which one has the best body type and leg color? That is the first thing to assess.

 

[SusanJoM]

Oh thank you thank you.

Now that I figured out how to load the pictures up off my computer, I will go back out and get some more pictures....well....soon....(Today started way too early for me, so probably it won't happen until tomorrow.

But, I'm pretty inclined towards that first one, myself, so I'm glad that was your first suggestion. He really is a beauty.

Susan

 

[Kanchii]

Quote:
Just want to point out that all male chickens are roosters. The term cock is used for roosters over one year old and cockerel for roosters under a year, just fyi!