Juvenile colour as predictor of adult colour?

[flap]

We have a few juvenile birds (painteds and gouldians) and we want to thin the numbers as it is getting a little crowded. We originally wanted to wait till the juveniles were fully coloured up so we can select some to keep for next year's season. however we now want to do an initial selection based on the little splotches of colour that come up so far. Some of the gouldians are getting purple patches, some more intense and some lighter. Would that be an indication of the adult colours after their moult? Same question with the painteds. We have 3, one with a bigger red chest patch than the other two (all three look like they are getting specs of red around the throat, so assuming they are all males). Would that be a good indication that he will have better colour than the other two as an adult?
Thanks.

[Simba]

The gouldians with the intense purple colour on their breasts should be cock birds, also at this stage you should be able to observe them singing, with white breasts it's a bit more difficult but the yellow on the belly should also be more intense on the cock birds.
One way to speed things up is to gently pull a feather or two out of the uncoloured birds it will grow back in about 3-4 weeks in the mature plumage colour, I don't do this as i like to keep them until coloured up but if you need to move them on and need to determine colours/sexes it helps.

[flap]

Thanks Simba, I have worked out some of the cock birds. But I am wondering within those birds, are the ones with the more intense purple than others likely to retain the intense colour once they moult, and will the lighter purple cock birds remain lighter?

[Simba]

Thanks Simba, I have worked out some of the cock birds. But I am wondering within those birds, are the ones with the more intense purple than others likely to retain the intense colour once they moult, and will the lighter purple cock birds remain lighter?

It's probably a good indication the more intense one are going to be the stronger coloured birds, but just a thought the lighter ones could be lilac breasted if the parents are carrying lilac breast.