The back story is he started to get after the pullets way too soon, way too aggressively. So I snatched him out and put in with the growing out Turkeys and a couple of older cockerels. That rocked his world, being low man on the pecking order quite suddenly. So the next time I saw him, he came running up to me, chattering non stop. I asked him what was wrong and if he was getting picked on, he had this whole big story to tell me. He let me causally pick him up. Ever since then, he's learned to come when called, fly onto my arm or anything I pat my hand on. He helps herd the Turkeys to bed. He knows the other cockerels won't come near me, so if he's near me they won't come for him either. He sees my flock status. He's pecked me twice and I pinned him down for it. Now I can reach out and pet his belly without getting pecked, so long as I'm slow about it. He was raised hands-off... as in I provided food and water, a couple of words and then I was gone until the next day. Now suddenly he wants to hang out and be friends.
It's neat how they learn by watching. The older Bresse cockerels in that pen were quite flighty. In watching the younger guy interact with me, they've come in for a closer look and they aren't so jumpy. I caught them all recently to feel up their frame/structure to see who's making the final cut to the breeding pen. The bachelor group share a fence line with a project group that has my best rooster in it. They get to watch him with his hens and see how it's done.
But yeah, he'll climb onto my lap now, no catching needed.
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3 of my prospects for next year I've never had to put my hands on besides checking them out, they're very sane and reasonable. Some others have already gotten their dinner invite. Now there's this weirdo who wins "Friendliest rooster of the season". He hasn't yet come at me in jest but I bet he will. I'll snatch him right out of the air if he does. The young ones will look for sparring buddies and that isn't me.
