NEED ADVICE taming rooster

[TesoroSena]

I just added a new 6-month-old RIR rooster, and he has never been handled by his former owner. I want to tame him, to be easier to catch, and to sit in my lap, but he is hard to catch. When i manage to catch him, i hold him for a few minutes, then let him go, but the whole time he is in my arms he shakes. But he never pecks of struggles. He won't come near me and doesn't eat seed. I really would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

 

[Sussex19]

I just added a new 6-month-old RIR rooster, and he has never been handled by his former owner. I want to tame him, to be easier to catch, and to sit in my lap, but he is hard to catch. When i manage to catch him, i hold him for a few minutes, then let him go, but the whole time he is in my arms he shakes. But he never pecks of struggles. He won't come near me and doesn't eat seed. I really would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

I would just leave him be.
As he gets older, he settle down, and the longer you have him the more he will trust you.
And actually, the ones which respect people are the nicest to have around.
One of my roosters was a bit like that as a cockerel, and now he comes running to meet me with is hens, but will never take food from my hands; he is to respectful of me.

 

[TesoroSena]

Thank you

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Oh my friend, I don't think it's possible unless he is the only chicken you have and you spend nearly all of your time with him. Many people have semi-tame roosters, but they were hand-raised from a newly-hatched chick. Best you can hope for, I think, is like @Sussex19 said above - with time and familiarity, he may calm down enough to tolerate being picked up and held without freaking out.

I have a BPR who is about the same age in my flock (42 with 4 roosters), but he does not have his own harem. He's been hand-raised, but still like a typical chicken did not like to be chased, picked up, held, or messed with in any way, shape or form. I'm afraid he's an outcast in the flock, but I have hopes he will be able to woo a few of the ladies over to his side; he's still young. Anyway, he endured a leg injury and beating from a gang of hens which required me to isolate and confine him for a few days to treat his wounds and allow him to heal. During that time, I gained his trust. He still doesn't like to be touched, but instead of squawking and running away, now he just coos gently and takes a step away. It's the best I can hope for.

 

[Sussex19]

Thank you

And I do think, with time, he will come to trust you, and then may take treats from you, and a really special relationship could happen.
I have found, that all the best bonds with animals have come from long-term care, when you get to know each other over the course of a year of more.
So don't hurry him, just love him as he is!
And maybe, he just isn't cut out for being a 'friend' type chicken, because some just aren't! And at least if he is timid, he wouldn't attack you.

 

[FC16]

It’s actually really good that at his age he’s not attacking and being aggressive as my RIR was a real issue at that age, I would be worried that trying to make him extra-friendly could go wrong and lead to him becoming defensive and aggressive.
If I was you I’d just let him have his space and make sure he’s aware your not a threat (such as being calm around him and occasionally giving treats perhaps)

 

[Mrs. K]

To be honest - that IS the behavior you want from a young cockerel. Often times, if they loose their respect of you, people tend to see this as loosing their fear of you, but it is not. If they have no respect for you, your space, they often time think that you need to back down from THEIR space and become aggressive.
Walk right through him, do not get down to his eye-level, do not have him sit in your lap - those are all signals that you are less dominant than he is. Make him move away from you. Especially a RIR cockerel that can be a bit aggressive.

A lot of times, an intact male cannot be trusted, his testicles are bigger than his brain.

MRs K

 

[Chikenshiken]

I just added a new 6-month-old RIR rooster, and he has never been handled by his former owner. I want to tame him, to be easier to catch, and to sit in my lap, but he is hard to catch. When i manage to catch him, i hold him for a few minutes, then let him go, but the whole time he is in my arms he shakes. But he never pecks of struggles. He won't come near me and doesn't eat seed. I really would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

It’ll take time! With any bird who’s never spent time with humans, it is absolutely terrifying being handled. I wouldn’t really go and run to catch him at first. I made this mistake with my ducks and it only terrified them more! I’ve had so much more success doing these steps:
-For about a week or two I call and throw food I want the afraid bird to recognize now that this new human voice equals food

-After you feel that this bird is comfortable with the first step, call and throw food and stay low to the ground. Try to be far but still close enough that you’re in the area. If your rooster is still scared to come, don’t worry. Snacks will entice them! It’ll especially help if other members of the flock who aren’t afraid of you are eating the same food. It’ll really bait him into eating

-Every session, try to move closer each time. This process is really long (from my experience) but it is worth it. Be patient, this process always made me extremely impatient since they’re so cute I’d love to just hug him! But you need to put yourself in the shoes of your chicken. Being handled after never being handled is so shocking so tiny exposure over a longer period of time has a lot greater success

-When you feel like you can get close enough to reach your hand out with food, call and instead of throwing the food out, sprinkle a bit on the ground and then put your hand full of food on the ground.

I’ve used these steps with afraid drakes and hens. This is a method I learned keeping parrots and my neighbor got hens never handled before that are about 2 years old who, it’s silly, I ended up training to eat out of my hand and allow me to touch. It’s so adorable watching them go to terrified to waiting for me at the fence! This method really doesn’t ensure that your rooster might be cuddly, I had a drake I did the same way and it allowed me to be close to him and feed him but he was not really friendly towards me, just tolerant. But it is better to try! Good luck if you try this method I’d love to know how it works out for you

 

[Shadrach]

Having a tame rooster is a bit like having a tame man. It all looks good in theory. He'll do the cooking and washing, never argue with you, do as you ask without question, take care of the progeny, shop, tell you you look wonderfull in whatever rags you've been tasteless enough to pick and you'll be able to tell your mates how well you have him trained.

Then one day the shite hits the fan and you find your tame man behind you pushing you out the door with a shotgun in your hand say "you deal with it dear, you know I cant cope with stress and violence."

Yes, I'm old fashioned.

"Put me down you pervert."

I'll be in my bunker. I'm expecting some incoming.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I am not a fan of forced contact to try to tame animals. I know that I personally hate being touched and I would start throwing punches if some stranger came over trying to pick me up. It's funny because people who visit always ask me how my animals are so tame and friendly. My response always is "I give them the same respect that I would want". The saying "trust is earned not given" is just the same for animals as it is people. Give animals their space, don't force interactions, treat them kindly, respect their boundaries and expect them to respect your boundaries.