Out of 250-300 chicks that were hatched out here on Sand Castles Farm, I had narrowed the wheaten/blue wheaten cockerels down to two - one wheaten and one blue wheaten. The blue wheaten, in overall type and appearance, may be the best thing I've bred here, but he has two serious, disqualifying faults. He has duck foot on one foot and he has some porcelain white spots on his ear lobes.
Given that I do not have unlimited space and facilities - for either breeding pens or grow out space - and really maxed out both this past spring, should I just cull him or try him over a couple of my Paul Smith pullets who have neither of these problems and then cull like crazy for anything showing either of these issues.
I don't know the genetics of either of these two problems, so just don't know in which direction to go.
What would you do?