Which silkie roo to keep??

[Sazbaby]

Ok, I ordered 5 blue silkies from Murray McMurray, hatched on July 4, 2011. They sent a free extra, so I had a total of 6. One died early on and was the lightest color of all of them, and probably would have been actually blue. Out of the 5 remaining, I have 1 blue, 3 black, and 1 that is almost black but has a blue puff bottom and blue in the tail. Within the last two weeks I heard crowing, and this morning I heard two distinct crows. I had already suspected the one that was partially blue to be a rooster, and this morning I'm pretty sure I confirmed that. I also am nearly positive I picked out the other crower from this morning- one of the solid black ones. So... I only want to keep one rooster, and I'm afraid I could still have more in the 3 remaining unknown gender chickens... Out of those, I'm pretty sure the blue one is a hen- she is soooo much smaller than all the others, and her head is a pretty even little puff ball. The other two black unknowns are as big as the roosters, and they both have the sort of swept back look to the feathers on their head. Ugh. So out of 5 chicks that I ordered, I only got 1 blue, and possibly only 1 hen!

Ok, sorry to rant. What it boils down to, is this- which of these two would you keep?? Sorry for the odd pictures, they weren't coopering too well and kept getting into the shadows! I might someday like to raise some silkie chicks, and I know the "blue" breeding is inconsistent, but which of these roos would be better to keep, quality wise?? Thanks in advance for any and all opinions!

Partial blue on left, black on right

Black on left, partial blue on right

Partial blue guy

Partial blue on left, black on right

 

[chickendales]

i wouldnt keep either of them, there no where near breed quaiety but if u going keep one the one with black comb

 

[JenniferNgo]

I agree, neither are breeding quality. Just pick the nicer one

Who ever comes to you first and pecks treats from your hand the gentlest!

Good luck!

 

[muddyhorse]

I would give them some time to fill out more before I decided. silkies mature very slowly. you could keep both I have multiple silkie roosters and they do just fine. are you planning on breeding just for pets

. if so pick the one with the best personality.

It is very hard to get show quality birds from a hatchery. it is much cheaper in the long run ( feed medications ect ) to start with a good roo from a breeder most have extra boys and are happy to help a newbie out.
go over the boys point by point which one has
1 5 toes with good spacing
2 correct comb shape
3 dark mulberry colored comb (purplish not red )
4 nice tight wings not droopy
5 feathering on the middle toe
6 doesn't have " leakage " in the hackles gold or silver colored feathers ( its a DQ and gets passed on)

I am sure somebody else can add to this list these are just the things i go through in my first round of culling

 

[Debbi]

Quote:
X2! They are both pet quality. Now if that's all you want, then pick the nicer personality. The last pic looks to me, like they have very few feathers on their shanks/toes? It costs as much to raise quality chickens as it does mediocre ones. Your best bet is to purchase from a breeder, and not a hatchery. JMO